The media have uncovered a network of Russian hackers who were using social media to recruit people to carry out arson attacks, provocations and acts of destabilisation in the UK.
Russian patriotic cyber groups, notably NoName, have attempted to use online intermediaries to promote the Kremlin’s interests and stoke social tensions in Europe. According to the investigation, they recruited people in the UK to carry out anti-Islamic provocations, as well as sabotage attacks on sites linked to the country’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
It is reported that the same organiser who orchestrated the arson attacks also recruited individuals to spray anti-Islamic graffiti on mosques and other buildings in London. These actions are seen as part of a wider campaign to artificially escalate social tensions in the UK.
The NoName group’s links to the Russian authorities have not been officially confirmed. However, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) believes that tools associated with it were created as part of a covert project by a Kremlin-backed organisation. According to US experts, some members of the network act for ideological reasons, whilst others may have direct or indirect links to the Russian state.
Most such groups do not receive direct orders from the authorities, but their activities align with the Kremlin’s interests. The more such attacks there are, the harder it is for Moscow to deny its involvement.
Particular attention is being paid to the organisation ‘Direct Action’, which positioned itself as a British far-right movement. Through Telegram and social media, it called for attacks on mosques and police vehicles and distributed instructions on how to make explosive devices.
Participants were also offered a reward for taking part in protests against the Starmer government.