The hacker group Anonymous has claimed that it breached Russia’s judicial system in temporarily occupied Crimea, gaining access to databases and stealing more than 240 GB of information containing over 323,000 files.
This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
In its statement, the hackers called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stressed that Crimea is part of Ukraine.
Screenshots published by the group suggest that one of the compromised resources may have been the “Justices of the Peace of the Republic of Crimea” portal, which operates as part of Russia’s occupation judicial system on the peninsula.
In recent months, the occupation authorities have been carrying out procedures to “re-elect” justices of the peace through the Russian-controlled “State Council of the Republic of Crimea.” These include “judges” in the Chornomorske district, Yalta and other settlements, according to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
According to the centre, these procedures may have involved corrupt arrangements and informal payments. Some representatives of the occupation judicial system have reportedly complained about increasing amounts allegedly demanded in exchange for assistance with their “re-election.”
Human rights advocates noted that the breach claimed by Anonymous could be significant not only from a cybersecurity perspective but also because it may provide access to internal documents of the occupation judicial system. If the leaked data is authenticated, it could contain information about the operation of judicial bodies illegally established by Russia in occupied Crimea.
Anonymous is a decentralised international movement and community of hacktivists with no formal hierarchy, leadership or permanent membership. The movement emerged in 2003 on the anonymous online platform 4chan as an internet subculture and later developed into a global digital movement associated with campaigns against government censorship, extensive internet surveillance and corruption.
