--- title: "300,000 Volunteer “Hackers” Are Attacking Russian Computer Systems" description: "An \"IT army\" is amassing on popular messaging platform Telegram, volunteers determined to take down the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin." date: "2022-03-15" modified: "2022-03-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/volunteers-attacking-russian-computer-systems" categories: - "Cybersecurity" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "cybersecurity" - "hackers" - "Russia" - "the digest" --- # 300,000 Volunteer “Hackers” Are Attacking Russian Computer Systems ![An "IT army" is amassing on popular messaging platform Telegram, volunteers determined to take down the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## IT Army An "army" of volunteers determined to take down the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin is amassing on the messaging platform Telegram, [*The Guardian* reports](). While taking down government websites intermittently won't stop Russian forces from shelling Kyiv, it's a noble effort that goes to show the international community is desperate to do *something* about the atrocities taking place in Ukraine. More than 300,000 people have joined the group — and, according to global internet monitoring company NetBlocks, the group has already had some successes in taking down Russian government websites. "The crowdsourced attacks have been successful in disrupting Russian government and state-backed media websites," NetBlocks director Alp Toker told *The Guardian*. ## Hybrid War Late last month, Ukraine’s vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov issued a call for people to join the group. "We are creating an IT army," [he tweeted]() at the time. "There will be tasks for everyone. We continue to fight on the cyber front." People from Ukraine are also joining the fight. "We’ve been in a hybrid war and a direct war with Russia since 2014," Sam, employee of an adtech company in Ukraine, told *The Guardian*. He has been using advertising platforms to issue what he calls "counterpropaganda," battling Russia's disinformation campaigns. Experts have a more realistic take on the matter. "It may be a nuisance to the Russians, but the attacks we’ve seen so far haven’t really affected the Russian fighting capability to any decisive effect," University of Surrey cybersecurity expert Alan Woodward told *The Guardian*. If nothing else, though, it's a sign that a lot of people care deeply about the conflict. **READ MORE:** [‘It’s the right thing to do’: the 300,000 volunteer hackers coming together to fight Russia]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on the war:** *[Elon Musk Mocks People Who Support Ukraine and Transgender Rights]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()