Key facts
- Ukrinform said hackers replaced its homepage with the word ZELENET, a crossed-out Ukrainian flag and a Telegram link.
- The agency said its X account was renamed ZELENET and its biography changed to a pro-Russian slogan.
- Ukrinform said it is working with the SBU and the State Service of Special Communications on cybersecurity defenses.
- Director General Serhii Cherevatyi told Ukrainska Pravda the agency had faced several cyberattacks in recent months.
- Cherevatyi said attackers were increasingly using sophisticated methods, including artificial intelligence.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky attributed a November 1 breach of Ukraine's air raid alert app to Russia.
Hackers targeted Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform, replacing its website homepage with anti-Ukrainian imagery and compromising its account on social media platform X, the agency said on November 11.
In an official statement, Ukrinform said specialists were investigating the attack, assessing its consequences and working to restore the agency's services. The hackers replaced the homepage with the word ZELENET, an image of a crossed-out Ukrainian flag and a link to a Telegram channel. The agency's X account was also renamed ZELENET, while its biography was changed to include a pro-Russian slogan.
Ukrinform said it was cooperating with the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses. Director General Serhii Cherevatyi told Ukrainska Pravda the agency had faced several cyberattacks in recent months, adding that attackers were increasingly using sophisticated methods, including artificial intelligence. "The enemy is also constantly improving, so we are trying to respond as quickly as possible," Cherevatyi said.
The incident follows a series of cyberattacks targeting Ukrainian media outlets in November. On November 4, the Kyiv Independent was hit by a suspected Russian cyberattack that disrupted its website and allowed hackers to send readers emails containing false claims about President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hackers gained access to the outlet's content management system and one of its newsletter services, publishing fabricated messages on the website and sending emails in Russian and English.