He later added, somewhat confusingly, that “the Sandworm hacking group has something in common (with us)… This is the commander-in-chief of our Cyber Army.” However, it was unclear whether that comment was referring to a shared leader overseeing the two groups, or even some kind of imaginary ideological leader like Russian President Vladimir Putin, or whether Julia meant that the Sandworm himself gives his orders. to the Cyber Army. , in contradiction to her previous statements. Julia did not respond to WIRED’s requests for clarification on that question or, indeed, any questions following that comment.
A hacktivist hype machine
Russian information warfare and influence operations experts with whom WIRED shared the full text of the interview noted that, despite the Cyber Army of Russia’s claims to act as an independent grassroots organization, it closely adheres to both the talking points of the Russian government as well as information published by the Russian military. War doctrine. The group’s rhetoric about changing “hearts and minds” beyond the front lines of a conflict through targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure reflects a well-known “information confrontation” document by the Russian military general. Valery Gerasimov, For example. Other parts of Julia’s comments – a spontaneous polemic against “non-traditional sexual relations” and a description of Russia as a culturally conservative “21st century Noah’s Ark” – echo similar statements made by Russian leaders and Russian state media .
None of that proves that Russia’s Cyber Army has anything more than the close ties to the GRU that Mandiant uncovered, says Gavin Wilde, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace focused on Russia. Instead, he maintains that the group’s comments appear to be an attempt to score points with a potential government sponsor, perhaps in hopes of gaining a more official relationship. “They are really trying to hone their messages, but not necessarily for a Western audience, but rather to try to put points on the board nationally and with potential political or financial benefactors in Moscow,” he says.
In fact, at one point in the interview with WIRED, Julia explicitly expressed that request for more official government support. “I really hope that the Russian People’s Cyber Army has great prospects, that our government agencies will not only pay attention to us, but will support our actions, both financially and by forming full-fledged cyber troops as part of the Russian army. Armed Forces,” she wrote.
Outside of the conversation with WIRED, the Cyber Army of Russia posts on its Telegram channel in Russian, not English, a strange move for a group that claims to be trying to influence Western politics in its favor. Other Russian influence operations created by the GRU itself, such as the Guccifer 2.0 and DCLeaks fronts created to influence the 2016 presidential election, wrote in English. Even other “hacktivist” groups that attack critical civilian infrastructure, such as the Israel-linked Predatory Sparrow, take credit for their attacks in the language of their targets; in the case of Predatory Sparrow, posting messages on Telegram in Persian in an apparent attempt to influence the Iranians.