Ukraine's Defense Intelligence hacks Tupolev bureau, gains secret data on Russian strategic bombers
Photo: Ukraine's Defense Intelligence gained access to Tupolev correspondence and documents (Getty Images)
Ukrainian cyber specialists have gained access to critically important information from one of the key enterprises of the Russian defense sector - the Tupolev Design Bureau, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing sources.
Cyber units of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense carried out the operation.
Due to the breach, more than 4.4 GB of classified information was obtained, including internal correspondence of the company's leadership, personal data of employees, engineers' résumés, procurement documents, minutes of closed meetings, and more.
In addition, Ukrainian specialists hacked the company's official website and posted on the homepage an image of an owl clutching a Russian bomber in its talons.
"The significance of the obtained data is hard to overstate. Now, virtually nothing remains secret in the activities of the Tupolev Design Bureau for Ukrainian intelligence. In particular, we have acquired comprehensive information about individuals directly involved in servicing Russia's strategic aviation. The result will clearly be noticeable both on the ground and in the sky," a source from Ukraine's Intelligence commented on the outcome of the operation.
Since 2022, the Tupolev Design Bureau has been under international sanctions due to its direct involvement in Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
This company is responsible for the production and maintenance of strategic bombers used to strike Ukrainian cities.
Other Ukraine's Intelligence cyberattacks
In December 2024, specialists of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence carried out an attack on Russia's MTS Bank. This led to the disruption of its services, malfunctions in online applications, and outages in payment systems.
This was not the first cyberattack on Russia's financial sector. For example, in the summer, Ukrainian intelligence conducted a large-scale cyberattack on Russian banks and government resources. The operation lasted for a week.
