On the occasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 72nd birthday (October 7), the country’s state media company, VGTRK, fell victim to a large-scale cyberattack. According to a Reuters report, the hack targeted Russia’s state-owned media, which operates some of the country’s major national television stations.
A Ukrainian government source claimed that the cyberattack was carried out by hackers from Kyiv.
Starting early Monday, VGTRK’s website became inaccessible, and several news channels, including Rossiya-24, went offline. Visitors attempting to access the live streams were met with a “503 Service Unavailable” error.
VGTRK confirmed the incident, stating, “A significant cyberattack has been launched against our digital infrastructure. Efforts are underway to restore normal operations.”