Telegram messenger has become increasingly crucial in the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine, since it is widely used by both hackers and cybercriminals.
According to a survey by cybersecurity firm Check Point, the number of Telegram groups has surged sixfold since February 24, and some of them, dedicated to certain issues, have grown in size, with over 250,000 members in some cases.
The following three categories are the most popular ones that have exploded in popularity as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine:
• Various "news feeds" that claim to provide credible reports from Ukraine
• Volunteering hackers that engage in DDoS and other types of assaults against Russian organisations
• Fundraising groups that collect cryptocurrency donations reportedly for Ukrainian support
The "IT Army of Ukraine," which presently has 270,000 members, stands out among those who lead the anti-Russia cyber-warfare activities. Ukraine's IT Army was formed by cyber-specialists in the country, and the results of its operations were evident rapidly.
Apart from launching DDoS attacks against important Russian websites, the group also publishes the personal information of Russian decision-makers and other key players in the conflict.
The majority of Telegram groups that claim to be "donation support" are scammers that take advantage of the circumstance to steal people's money.
Similar operations based on phishing emails have been reported, but the same thing is happening on Telegram as well, with some of these groups having up to 20,000 members.
Unverified news
News streams that bypass mainstream outlets and publish unedited, uncensored feeds from the battle zone 24/7, are the third category that is rising. Apart from the fact that exposing unedited battle scenes is against journalistic ethics, many of the stories shared on these sites are unchecked or unverified, and might easily be made up.
As geopolitical expert Michael Horowitz revealed while sharing footage of a realistic-looking computer-generated air dogfight based on a video game engine, this is a concern even for approved social media platforms.
According to Check Point, these channels continue to attract a high number of users. 'Ukraine War Report,' for example, has 20,000 members, while 'Russia vs. Ukraine Live News,' has 110,000.
'Ukrainian Witness' (видетел крaин), another news programme dedicated to exposing Russian war crimes, has achieved 100,000 subscribers. The goal of groups that actively propagate false material on Telegram channels is to demoralise the opponent, with the hope that the content would be shared on other platforms as well. While some of these channels may provide genuine information, it's practically impossible for users to tell the difference between true and fake news.
To protect from fraud and cyber-crime when using Telegram, the researchers advised users to be cautious of the information they share on the network. Users should avoid clicking on links with unknown origins, to be wary of strange requests, and to avoid donating money to unknown sources.
