Служба безпеки України та Національна поліція затримали організатора масштабної підпільної ботоферми у Житомирі. Зловмисник створив мережу з понад 20 000 фейкових профілів, які використовувалися російськими спецслужбами для розповсюдження дезінформації про Сили оборони.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have detained the organizer of a large-scale underground bot farm in Zhytomyr. The attacker created a network of over 20,000 fake profiles that were used by Russian special services to spread disinformation about the Defense Forces.
This was reported by the SBU press service on its official Telegram channel.
According to the investigation, the defendant generated and sold over 3,000 new Telegram accounts every month. He used SIM cards of Ukrainian mobile operators for registration, and sold the finished «goods» through specialized online platforms, where the main buyers were representatives of Russian special services. In addition to classic propaganda, these profiles were used to send anonymous messages about fake «mining» of infrastructure facilities.
During searches of the detainee’s apartment, a real hub was discovered: computer equipment, USB hubs with modems, and almost 2,000 SIM cards. Law enforcement officers have now blocked all 20,000 identified accounts that were «working» for the enemy.
The organizer has already been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized interference with the operation of information and communication systems). The perpetrator faces a sentence of imprisonment for a term of two to five years.
Let us recall that networks of fake accounts that write comments on social networks in support of Russia and Putin and demonize Ukraine have become more sophisticated thanks to artificial intelligence technologies. They have begun to write more unique messages and follow human routines, but sometimes they fail.
