Darknet Represents Serious Potential Threat to Russian Government Infrastructure, Belovodyev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 3 – The Russian authorities have devoted a great deal of attention to preventing the Internet from becoming a means the opposition can use to organize public meetings, but up to now, Daniil Belovodyev says, they have not devoted a similar amount to the dangers hackers could present to government infrastructure.

            Russian hackers certainly have the capacity to inflict serious damage on such infrastructure, the Daily Storm journalist says on the basis of interviews with experts; but the latter say most Russian hackers are motivated by money rather than politics and thus aren’t yet interested in attacking Russian infrastructure (dailystorm.ru/obschestvo/kiberprotest-v-rossii-skrytaya-ugroza-ili-shkolniki-lomayut-chto-poluchitsya).

            That, however, could change overnight, Belovodyev says, especially as the government increases its pressure on the Internet and drives its opponents “into the Russian-language darknet” where extremist ideas circulate along with the possibility of buying guns and drugs and the acquisition of technology capable of being used against Russian institutions.

            “Today’s hacktivists,” he continues, “try to get involved in politics, but their opportunities do not allow them to carry out any serious directed attack.” But “digital weapons, used by professionals can at any moment get out of control and fall into the hands of criminals, and the number of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure will increase.”

            The Russian-language “darknet” is a place where those who want to can buy digital weapons or even acquire them for free from like-minded people.  Belovodyev points to the existence of a Russian-language forum of national socialists. On its open page, it calls for direct action of a kind.

            Thus, the site suggests firebombing the cars of members of the elite but not those belonging to the population lest that undercut the group’s appeal. And it provides instruction on how to make a Molotov cocktail, the journalist says.

            According to one of his contacts who has access to it, the closed part of the national socialist darknet site features video clips of murders of immigrants, discussion s of racial purity but so far at least “does not touch on issues of struggle with the powers that be.”  But that doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future or others don’t at present.

            “Is the appearance of a real ‘protest underground’ possible in Russia?” Belovodyev asks rhetorically. There is no question that that is the case, but “up to now, the authorities have only begun the struggle with this internet threat.” If the Kremlin continues to intensify pressure on the open segment of the Internet, at least some users will migrate to the darknet.

            And there, they will find largely free dissemination of instructions on using computer viruses and other means to disrupt Russian infrastructure, including gaining access to public area camera files and disrupting critical computer networks. At least some of those who turn to that part of the internet will make use of these things.

            And that means, the Daily Storm journalist continues, that even though today, he was “not able to find signs of active cyber-resistance” in Russia, “this does not mean that they will not arise tomorrow.”