Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook blocked efforts by Russian and Belarus-aligned groups to conduct cyber-espionage and launch a disinformation campaign focused on the war in Ukraine, the company said Thursday.
Suspected Belarus-backed hackers attempted to compromise Facebook accounts belonging to dozens of Ukrainian military personnel and tried posting videos urging Ukraine’s army to surrender to Russian forces, Facebook said. The campaign, carried out by a documented disinformation group known as Ghostwriter, was largely blocked, according to the company.
Ghostwriter “typically targets people through email compromise and then uses that to gain access to their social media accounts across the internet,” Facebook said.
In addition to the suspected Belarus-backed hacking, the Facebook report also detailed the detection and blocking of efforts by Russia’s Internet Research Agency to create fake accounts on Facebook. Researchers determined that Russia’s IRA posed as a Western human rights group and published articles blaming NATO for Russian violence.
There are several other organizations to support:
- Army SOS, which develops drones;
- Everybody Can, an organization that supports internally displaced people;
- Help on the Ministry of Defense website.