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IT Army of Ukraine: The amateur hacker team striking at Russia

An amateur army of hackers formed by the Ukrainian government is bringing down the websites of Russian government departments and national banks

By Matthew Sparkes

15 March 2022

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ukrinform/Shutterstock (12654243m) Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov is pictured during the press conference on the introduction of the Diia City application - a special legal framework for the IT industry, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine Press conference on introduction of Diia City app in Kyiv, Ukraine - 21 Dec 2021

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, requested help from amateurs to form the IT Army of Ukraine

Ukrinform/Shutterstock

Thousands of amateur hackers from countries around the world have joined a Ukrainian group dedicated to bringing down Russian government and financial websites in response to the invasion of the country, according to statements from the Ukrainian government, evidence of Russian website outages and instant-messaging groups seen by New Scientist.

The so-called IT Army of Ukraine was conceived by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister, who tweeted on 26 February – two…

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