Ukraine’s law enforcers expose Russian bot farms

That’s according to the SBU Security Service, Ukrinform reports.

It was established that Russia had been using a range of accounts registered in Ukraine to spin disinformation about the socio-political situation in the country, allegedly on behalf of Ukrainian citizens. Fake accounts were also used to spread messages aimed to compromise the Defense Forces.

Together with the National Police, the SBU exposed two local IT specialists who are believed to have set up the said bot farms.

In Poltava region, a man created almost 15,000 anonymous accounts on various social platforms and in messengers on the order of Russian handlers. To conceal the crime, he tried to sell accounts through the darknet at the rate of $1.50 per virtual user.

The bot farm with the appropriate equipment and SIM cards of Ukrainian operators was located directly in the culprit’s apartment.

In Zakarpattia region, law enforcers exposed a channel of sales to Russia of unique IP addresses registered in the region. This allowed Russian users to impersonate Ukrainians on the internet.

The suspect received funds from customers through Russian payment systems in cryptocurrency.

The inquiries are in progress. The suspects face up to five years in prison.

As Ukrinform reported, in June the SBU neutralized two bot farms that helped Russian intelligence hack the phones of Ukrainian soldiers and spread Kremlin propaganda.