Russian television programs were hacked to warn of war crimes on Victory Day
Millions of Russians were faced with a message condemning Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine after a major TV programming system was hacked during his Victory Day celebrations.
Instead of previewing their top shows of the day, various channels were adorned with lyrics saying: “Your hands are covered with the blood of thousands of Ukrainians and their hundreds of murdered children.
“Television and the authorities lie. No to war.’
That meant Russian viewers who tuned into the Kremlin’s state broadcasters to watch the annual military parade in Red Square were met with the hackers’ warning.
The news also appeared on children’s TV channel Carousel during a morning show of the hit Russian animated series Masha and the Bear.
The hack is believed to have affected customers of at least four major providers who access a variety of channels via Internet connections, suggesting that the vast majority of smart and digital TVs in Russia could be affected.
Three of the providers belong to the Russian government, the fourth to multi-billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov and his son Felix.
According to former Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak, viewers first saw the message on Sunday evening and it continued to be shown Monday morning.
She added: “I wonder who exactly was hacked. Whose head will fly off his shoulders?’
Olga Ivanova, a customer of state-run NTV Plus, said the hack also affected her satellite TV system.
She said: “The same shit happens there on every channel. It’s not on all MTS channels, but on many for several hours.
“I turned on the TV at 7 a.m., that’s how it was, and didn’t stop until 11 a.m..”
A parent in the Siberian city of Tyumen said their child saw the news on TV and it appeared on various other channels.
MTS, the provider of the Yevtushenkov family, said: “A cyberattack was carried out on Russian TV channels, as a result of which subscribers could have extremist entries in the network.
‘Now our IT specialists will immediately eliminate the consequences of a hack so that subscribers can receive services and watch TV programs and films as soon as possible.’
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/09/russian-tv-listings-hacked-to-show-war-crime-warning-on-victory-day-16608917/ Russian television programs were hacked to warn of war crimes on Victory Day