Video: Belarusian Cyber Partisans Explain Why They’re Hacking to Stop Russia

This episode of SuperUsers was produced by Louise McLoughlin; Cal Bateman was assistant producer.

The Belarusian Cyber Partisans were trying to buy some time. By hacking into systems of the Belarusian rail network, they hoped to disrupt the movement of Russian troops who eventually planned to cross over into Ukraine. The hacking group appeared to be successful; trains were delayed. Over the last few months, and in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Cyber Partisans have become one of the most high-profile hacktivist groups in the world. With the current flurry of hacktivism activity around Ukraine from the likes of Anonymous and other independent groups, the Cyber Partisans still stand as a leader, penetrating targets that could have a real, tangible effect in the physical world.

In a new on-camera interview with VICE World News, Yuliana Shemetovets, spokesperson for the Cyber Partisans, explains the group’s motivations, goes over some of their most high-profile and impactful hacks, and dives into why much of this hacking was possible in the first place.

One reason was that Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, “prefers loyalism over professionalism,” Shemetovets said. She pointed to how some of the Belarusian railway system computers were using Windows XP, a horrendously outdated operating system whose presence can make it easier for hackers to break into machines running it.

“Lukashenko’s regime disregards the security of the key infrastructure in Belarus,” Shemetovets added.

Beyond the railway system hack, the Cyber Partisans have also obtained recorded phone calls between senior Belarusian government officials, including ones confirming that the regime orchestrated attacks on peaceful protesters. Another described how police pulled a woman out of a car for just honking at a protest.

“I open the fucking car door, and pull this c*** by her hair. I kicked her, and told the riot police to… And that bitch started screaming,” one of the people said in the call.

Of course, all of this hacking paints a massive target on the Cyber Partisans from the authorities.

Shemetovets said “Yes, it’s dangerous. But you gotta do what you gotta do.”

Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER. Subscribe to our new Twitch channel.