A Belarusian hacker activist group known as Cyber-Partisans claims to have hacked into the network of the country’s main KGB security agency. The group accessed personnel files of over 8,600 employees of the organization, which still operates under its Soviet-era name. While authorities have not commented on the claim, the Belarusian KGB website was found to be opening with an empty page that said it was “in the process of development.” Group coordinator Yuliana Shametavets stated that the attack on the KGB was in response to the agency’s chief accusing the group of planning attacks on critical infrastructure, including a nuclear power plant.
Shametavets emphasized that the group’s actions were aimed at saving the lives of Belarusians and holding the KGB accountable for what they view as political repressions. The Cyber-Partisans stated that they were able to access the KGB’s network several years ago and have been attempting to hack its website and database ever since. Once successful, the group was able to download personal files of over 8,600 KGB employees. In an effort to expose the truth about political repressions in Belarus, Cyber-Partisans launched a chat bot on Telegram that would allow Belarusians to identify KGB operatives by uploading their photos.
In addition to the KGB hack, Cyber-Partisans also claimed to have infiltrated computers at the country’s largest fertilizer plant, Grodno Azot, in an attempt to pressure the government to release political prisoners. The state-run plant has not commented on the claim, but its website has been unavailable since April 17. With approximately 7,500 employees, Grodno Azot plays a crucial role in Belarus’s chemical industries. Following the contested election in 2020, Belarus experienced mass protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko’s sixth term in office, which was widely denounced as fraudulent. The government responded with mass arrests and violence against protesters, leading to thousands being detained and top opposition figures imprisoned.
The Belarusian opposition and human rights groups estimate that nearly 1,400 people are political prisoners in the country, including prominent figures like Ales Bialiatski. Cyber-Partisans have a history of carrying out large-scale attacks on Belarusian state media and infrastructure. In 2022, the group hacked Belarusian Railways three times, causing disruptions to traffic lights and control systems and impacting the transit of Russian military equipment into Ukraine via Belarus. The group’s coordinator warned the Belarusian authorities that if political repressions continue, the attacks will escalate. Cyber-Partisans vowed to continue their actions to bring attention to the situation in Belarus and inflict harm on the Lukashenko regime.
