The hackers with ties to the intelligence agency of the nation, reportedly pilfered blueprints for over 500 Russian military sites, as per the military news agency GUR. As reported by “Newsweek,” the group known as “Blackjack” was able to infiltrate a Russian state-owned enterprise responsible for construction work for President Vladimir Putin‘s military. The hackers managed to seize over 1.2 terabytes of classified data.
Maps of Over 500 Russian Bases
The data includes maps of more than 500 Russian military bases in Russia and in the occupied areas in Ukraine. According to “Newsweek,” these also include headquarters of the Russian army, air defense installations, and weapon depots. GUR stated on their website that “extremely important information about Russian military facilities that have been completed, are under construction, or planned, was transmitted to the security and defense forces of Ukraine.”
As part of the cyber operation by Blackjack, all stolen data was deleted from seven Russian servers. According to Ukrainian media reports, the hackers also disrupted 150 computers. This blow to the data and backup copies has led to the possibility that Russian construction workers could now be forced to construct new facilities “from memory,” as sources from Ukrainian law enforcement expressed.
Cyber Strike Adds to Series of Attacks
The cyber attack occurred just days after the hacker group carried out an attack on the Moscow internet provider M9 Telecom, leaving Muscovites without internet access. According to reports, it was a trial run for an even larger attack in retaliation for Russian cyber attacks on the Ukrainian telecommunications giant Kyivstar in 2023. However, “Newsweek” has not been able to verify this claim so far.
