This was stated by a representative of Meta (formerly Facebook, which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram) in an interview with CNN. Criminals often pretend to be journalists to gain trust.

What attacks do criminals resort to?

Meta reported numerous cases of covert cyber attacks and actions on social networks by Russian and Belarusian hackers. All of them are aimed either at the civilian population or online at the Ukrainian military. According to a Meta spokesperson, the Facebook social network also frequently uses fake profile photos for misinformation.

In addition to pretending to be journalists and obtaining important information, photos and videos, the invaders also directly attack the Facebook accounts of Ukrainians. It is known that one of those trying to attack military and civilian accounts is a group of hackers from Belarus. Ghost Printer.

Meta noted that in some special cases, hackers were able to successfully gain access to accounts and post videos encouraging the Ukrainian military to pretend that the post actually came from the owners of the pages.

According to Meta’s observations, hackers on social networks became more active shortly before the Russian army invaded Ukraine. For example, several accounts linked to the Belarusian KGB, after a long period of inactivity, suddenly began to send messages in Polish and English stating that the Ukrainian army had surrendered without a fight and that the country’s leaders had already fled abroad.

Meta helps fight hackers

A Meta spokesperson said the company has removed it. 200+ accounts Relating to Russia and Belarus. Accounts often spread false statements, messages and misinformation about the war in Ukraine. In addition, these pages have been recorded. aggregate reporting (this is when a group of users suddenly complain about a particular page) online is aimed at Ukrainians.