Formed in a fury to counter Russia's blitzkrieg attack, Ukraine's hundreds-strong volunteer "hacker" corps is much more than a paramilitary cyberattack force in Europe's first major war of the internet age. It is crucial to information combat and to crowdsourcing intelligence.
"We are really a swarm. A self-organizing swarm," said Roman Zakharov, a 37-year-old IT executive at the center of Ukraine's bootstrap digital army.
His group's inventions run from software that lets anyone on the planet with a smartphone or computer participate in distributed denial-of-service attacks on official Russian websites to bots on the Telegram messaging platform that block disinformation, let people report Russian troop locations and offer instructions on assembling Molotov cocktails and basic first aid.
Zahkarov ran research at an automation startup before joining Ukraine's digital self-defense corps. His group is StandForUkraine. Its ranks include software engineers, marketing managers, graphic designers and online ad buyers, he said.
The movement is global, drawing on IT professionals in the Ukrainian diaspora whose handiwork includes web defacements with antiwar messaging and graphic images of death and destruction in the hopes of mobilizing Russians against the invasion.
"Both our nations are scared of a single man -- (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," said Zakharov. "He's just out of his mind." Volunteers reach out person-to-person to Russians with phone calls, emails and text messages. They send videos and pictures of dead soldiers from the invading force from virtual call centers.
Some build websites. "We did a site where Russian mothers can look through (photos of) captured Russian guys to find their sons," Zakharov said by phone from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
The volunteer cyber army's effectiveness is difficult to gauge. Russian government websites have been repeatedly knocked offline, if briefly, by the DDoS attacks, but generally weather them with countermeasures.
It's impossible to say how much of the disruption -- including more damaging hacks -- is caused by freelancers working independently of but in solidarity with Ukrainian hackers.
A tool developed by Zakharov's team called "Liberator" lets anyone in the world with a digital device become part of a DDoS attack network, or botnet. The tool's programmers code in new targets as priorities change.
A top Ukrainian cybersecurity official, Victor Zhora, said at his first online news conference of the war Friday that homegrown volunteers are attacking only what they deem military targets, prioritizing government services including the financial sector, Kremlin-controlled media and railways. He did not discuss specific targets.
Zakharov did. He said Russia's banking sector was well fortified against attack but that some telecommunications networks and rail services were not. He said Ukrainian-organized cyberattacks had briefly interrupted rail ticket sales in western Russia around Rostov and Voronezh and knocked out telephone service for a time in the region of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. The claims could not be independently confirmed.
A group of Belarusian hacktivists calling themselves the Cyber Partisans also apparently disrupted rail service in neighboring Belarus this week seeking to frustrate transiting Russian troops. A spokeswoman said Friday that electronic ticket sales were still down after their malware attack froze up railway IT servers.
Over the weekend, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, endorsed a volunteer group calling itself the IT Army of Ukraine, which now counts 290,000 followers on Telegram.
Zhora, deputy chair of the state special communications service, said one job of Ukrainian volunteers is to obtain intelligence that can be used to attack Russian military systems.
Some cybersecurity experts have expressed concern that soliciting help from freelancers could have dangerous escalatory consequences. One shadowy group claimed to have hacked Russian satellites; Dmitry Rogozin, the director general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, called the claim false but was also quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying such a cyberattack would be considered an act of war.
Asked if he endorsed the kind of hostile hacking being done under the umbrella of the Anonymous hacktivist brand -- which anyone can claim -- Zhora said, "We do not welcome any illegal activity in cyberspace."
"But the world order changed on the 24th of February," he added, when Russia invaded.
The overall effort was spurred by the creation of a group called the Ukrainian Cyber Volunteers by a civilian cybersecurity executive, Yegor Aushev, in coordination with Ukraine's Defense Ministry. Aushev said it numbers more than 1,000 volunteers. Zakharov said his group has 900 members.
On Friday, most of Ukraine's telecommunications and internet were fully operational despite outages in areas captured by invading Russian forces, said Zhora. He reported about 10 hostile hijackings of local government websites in Ukraine to spread false propaganda saying Ukraine's government had capitulated.
Zhora said presumed Russian hackers continued trying to spread destructive malware in targeted email attacks on Ukrainian officials and -- in what he considers a new tactic -- to infect the devices of individual citizens. Three instances of such malware were discovered in the runup to the invasion.
U.S. Cyber Command has been assisting Ukraine since well before the invasion. Ukraine does not have a dedicated military cyber unit. It was standing one up when Russia attacked.
Zhora anticipates an escalation in Russia's cyber aggression -- many experts believe far worse is yet to come.
Meantime, donations from the global IT community continue to pour in. A few examples: NameCheap has donated internet domains while Amazon is offering cloud services, said Zakharov.
He said he has international collaborators he calls "the gold team" -- elite hackers and entrepreneurs so prized they don't need to work for a single employer.
"Even Google can't afford these people."
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, ۴ý confirmed Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Turkiye’s air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
Abousfian Abdelrazik told a court Wednesday about the roller-coaster of emotions he experienced during the tense days of early 2009 when he awaited the green light to return to Canada from Sudan.
Speed was a possible factor in a Tuesday night rollover involving a semi-truck that left 17 cows dead. In a news release Wednesday, Calgary police said officers were called to the area of Stoney Trail S.E. and Macleod Trail S.E. around 8:10 p.m. for a reported rollover involving a semi-truck carrying 95 cattle.
A Real Canadian Superstore in B.C.'s Fraser Valley was evacuated Tuesday night due to a "suspicious" fire in the toilet paper aisle, according to authorities.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
Trash carried by a North Korean balloon fell on the presidential compound in central Seoul on Thursday, South Korean officials said.
Turkiye’s air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
The Justice Department warned Elon Musk’s America PAC in recent days that his US$1 million sweepstakes to registered voters in swing states may violate federal law, people briefed on the matter told CNN.
Three people were found dead Wednesday and four others were hospitalized after an 'unexplained' incident at a care home in southern England, police said.
The U.S. said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops have deployed to Russia and are training at several locations, calling the move very serious and warning that those forces will be 'fair game' if they go into combat in Ukraine.
A homemade firebomb exploded inside a public high school in Chile on Wednesday, igniting a blaze that injured at least 34 students and one teacher, with several in serious condition, firefighters said.
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, ۴ý confirmed Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
A debate has ground work in the House of Commons to a halt for weeks, but a new poll suggests that most Canadians are not even aware it's happening.
McDonald’s worked Wednesday to reassure customers that its U.S. restaurants are safe as federal investigators tried to pinpoint the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.
A quick shake of the head after a hard hit could signal that a person has a concussion, a new study suggests, based on the experiences of young athletes.
A recall has been issued for certain clothing items sold at Giant Tiger stores over high levels of lead, according to a notice published by Health Canada Tuesday.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services received its first shipment of new firefighting gear on Wednesday, advancing the department's plans to reduce cancer risk for its members.
Officials in Hong Kong said Wednesday they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that's part of a geopark.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Cardi B says she has been hospitalized with a medical emergency and will have to miss a Saturday night headlining performance at an Atlanta music festival.
Almost three years after the deadly Astroworld Festival tragedy, Houston rapper and concert headliner Travis Scott just settled hundreds of lawsuits related to the case.
American singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet suffered a stroke while on tour in Toronto earlier this month, and a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise money to cover the 'overwhelming' health-care costs.
Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
Things could be looking up for Waterloo, Ont.-based company and former tech darling Sandvine, after being removed from the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List earlier this week.
Starbucks Corp suspended its forecast through the next fiscal year as new CEO Brian Niccol looks to turn around the coffee giant struggling with falling demand for its pricey drinks.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Grab your passport and your sunscreen, Lonely Planet has just revealed its 30 must-visit destinations for 2025 as well as a brand-new rundown of top 10 travel trends.
The Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia's Kootenay National Park has undergone a $29-million makeover.
An 18-year-old has filed a lawsuit over the ownership of the ball Shohei Ohtani made baseball history with when he became the inaugural member of the 50-50 club.
Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors kick off the new NBA season tonight as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Former 'Malcolm in the Middle' star Frankie Muniz is set to continue his NASCAR career with a full-time ride in the Truck Series for 2025.
An increased risk of fire has prompted the recall of thousands of Honda hybrid vehicles in Canada.
A senior executive for Volkswagen in China has been deported for allegedly using cocaine and marijuana while on vacation in Thailand, according to Chinese authorities and German media reports.
The U.S. government's road safety agency is investigating Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that – and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.
Since the record-breaking atmospheric river hit Metro Vancouver last Friday, 266 drivers have filed ICBC claims for water damage to their vehicles. In some places, flood water was so deep, cars floated away with the drivers still inside, and the engine running.
Two B.C. RCMP officers won’t face criminal charges for their use for force that left a man who had been arrested for public intoxication with a concussion, a torn shoulder and a chunk of his hair missing – but they could face professional discipline.
A coalition of Jewish organizations says it is "deeply alarmed" by a rising tide of antisemitism at the University of British Columbia in recent weeks.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Brampton is looking to the federal and provincial government to address the growing number of its vulnerable international students being exploited and trafficked.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
Speed was a possible factor in a Tuesday night rollover involving a semi-truck that left 17 cows dead. In a news release Wednesday, Calgary police said officers were called to the area of Stoney Trail S.E. and Macleod Trail S.E. around 8:10 p.m. for a reported rollover involving a semi-truck carrying 95 cattle.
A Calgary Jewish organization issued a response Wednesday to anti-Israel graffiti spray painted on a series of road dividers near the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.
A campaign to fundraise to build a new school for children with complex medical needs just got an assist from the Calgary Flames.
One person has died and others have been injured after a two-vehicle collision involving a tractor trailer and a car on Highway 7 in eastern Ontario, according to police.
Homeowners with a variable rate mortgage in Ottawa can expect to see some savings thanks to a significant rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
A Zamboni driver in western Quebec has been arrested on suspicion of impaired driving after a low-speed crash at a hockey rink on Monday.
Nigel Berkley and CRARR plan to file complaints with the police ethics commissioner and the human rights commission after Berkley was repeatedly stopped while driving his mother's car over four months.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante will not be seeking re-election.
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, ۴ý confirmed Wednesday.
The Alberta Pharmacists' Association says upcoming government cuts to service compensation fees will have a big impact on pharmacists and also patient care.
A goal on the power play Tuesday night isn't stopping Edmonton Oilers' coaches from tinkering with the special-teams lineup.
An Edmonton tow truck operator has been charged after police say he refused to release a vehicle to its owner.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
A volunteer treasurer is facing charges after funds went missing from Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s riding.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
A 59-year-old man has died following a crash involving three vehicles that started after a tire fell off a car on the Trans-Canada Highway Wednesday morning in the RM of Tache.
A Manitoba inmate who was released from custody by mistake has been arrested, according to Winnipeg police.
Former Saskatchewan Party MLA Gary Grewal is defending his conduct and disagreeing with a recent report from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner (COIC) – which found he broke rules that prohibit MLAs from being involved with government contracts.
Regina police says officers will provide an update Thursday in its search for the suspect of a homicide that took place in the city during the summer of 2023.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders along with other Canadian Football League [CFL] clubs have announced their player nominations for the 2024 league awards.
Detective Robert Hofstetter examined Erb’s home after her death and came to several conclusions based on the blood stains he found there.
A psychologist who recently assessed Geovanny Villalba-Aleman believes he may have experienced a psychotic break before stabbing three people in a gender studies class at a University of Waterloo.
Things could be looking up for Waterloo, Ont.-based company and former tech darling Sandvine, after being removed from the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List earlier this week.
The race to form government is heating up ahead of the provincial election on Monday. Both the Saskatchewan NDP and the Saskatchewan Party feel they have the momentum as each leader has been focusing on different areas of the province as the campaign trail nears its end.
Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
The Saskatoon civic election is drawing closer, with mayoral candidates outlining their visions to keep the city competitive and attract businesses.
A Sudbury jury has found Felicity Altiman guilty of second-degree murder in the December 2020 stabbing death of a Sudbury man.
It only took minutes for North Bay pharmacist Brian Chute to be out $1,500 after fraudsters deceptively swapped his bank card with another.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
Under tough cross-examination at the London courthouse on Wednesday, Rachel Johnson, 21, was asked a number of times why there was a delay in calling 911
A 27-year-old man is miraculously alive after his pickup went over Hawk Cliff near Port Stanley. Fire fighters estimate that from the top to bottom of the embankment is around 270 feet.
OPP have confirmed that a transport truck driver crashed into a historic home just southeast of London this morning.
A haunted house in the Town of Innisfil is causing a real scare for some people a week before Halloween.
Barrie police conducted a search on Wednesday of the last place Autumn Shaganash was seen in hopes of giving her family some answers to her mysterious disappearance.
A 34-year-old motorcyclist has died following a collision in Barrie’s south end on Tuesday.
Windsor Fire and Rescue Services has been working to prepare for heightened HAZMAT risk ahead of relaxed restrictions around the transportation of some hazardous materials across the Ambassador Bridge.
As hospitals elsewhere in Ontario reintroduce mask mandates due to rising respiratory illnesses, Windsor hospitals are taking a more measured approach.
Now that production is set to begin at Windsor’s battery plant, NextStar is looking for some employees to make that production happen.
Two B.C. RCMP officers won’t face criminal charges for their use for force that left a man who had been arrested for public intoxication with a concussion, a torn shoulder and a chunk of his hair missing – but they could face professional discipline.
A man who fired at least 19 gunshots at an RCMP detachment in northern British Columbia, narrowly missing officers inside, has won a reduced prison sentence from the province's highest court, which ruled the sentencing judge failed to fully weigh the man's mental illness at the time.
Since the record-breaking atmospheric river hit Metro Vancouver last Friday, 266 drivers have filed ICBC claims for water damage to their vehicles. In some places, flood water was so deep, cars floated away with the drivers still inside, and the engine running.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
Graduate students looking to become mental-health professionals will have more opportunities to study in the University of Lethbridge’s Master of Education Counselling Psychology program.
A dazzling light display is making its return to Lethbridge this holiday season.
As part of anniversary celebrations, the City of Lethbridge is inviting the community to see VisitLethbridge.com Arena like they never have before.
The lack of 24-hour public washrooms has been a long-standing issue in the Sault, especially considering the rise in homelessness.
The union representing the fire rangers with the Ministry of Natural Resources says money won’t fix the systemic problems in the workplace.
Rallies by a group called Voices Against Violence took place across the country on Monday, including Sault Ste. Marie.
Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland earlier on the weekend.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at ۴ý. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
