Prorussian disinformation and neo-Nazi militias financed by Bitcoin
“Toy Soldier”. Image by Simon Lee via Flickr.com. License: Creative Commons
A blockchain analyst reveals how Prorussian telegram groups collect cryptocurrencies to finance militias and disinformation. In Northern Macedonia, meanwhile, one suffers from bomb threats with ransoms presumably outlining with ransoms in Bitcoin.
Clear. We have war. And as is well known, the truth dies in the war.
Therefore, what we report now should look at with a certain skepticism. I cannot check whether the information is true, but I also see no reason to doubt it.
The blockchain analyst Certik has examined a network of pro-Russian telegram groups that collect donations in cryptocurrencies to support the Russian invasion and disinformation campaigns. The network of these groups ranges from English-language disinformation channel to sanctions.
Overall, Certik estimates, these groups collected around five million dollars, especially in Bitcoin and Ether, which they forward to state and non -state groups in Russia. The analysts took a close look. They assume that they only shed light on a small part of this network, which includes at least 245 channels.
Eight of the 23 channels support the hard right -wing radical paramilitary paramilitary Task Force Rusich (TFR) sanctioned by the United States. TFR operates on the ground under the banner of swastika variants and Wotansknotes together with the Wagner mercenaries in the fight against the alleged “Ukrainian Nazis”. In Donbass, the TFR-NEONAZIS has been fighting on the Russia side since 2014, and in Kharkiv they noticed during the “special surgery” through special cruelty.
Some channels also serve as English -language “News Agregators”, which mostly spread Prorussian news and disinformation. One of them is said to be supported by the Russian secret service. The Hackers of Killet, who wage a kind of cyber war for Russia, also have channels.
General there seems to be a certain harmony between Russian cybercriminals and the geopolitics of the Kremlin. So Bitcoin reported.Com recently that North Macedonia is haunted by Russian or Iranian actors of bomb threats and ransom demands in Bitcoin.
The government in Skopje says that it is an intensive hybrid attack that has been running since October 2019 and concerns more than 720 buildings. Since the Russian attack war on Ukraine, however, the threats have intensified, from which Serbia and Montenegro also suffer from. In the past few months, the bomb threats have often targeted shopping centers and public institutions, which have therefore been temporarily closed.
However, the Serbian government suspects that the Ukrainian secret service and a united EU member state of the EU are behind the threats.
