Hackers have reportedly breached a massive Russian jail database containing sensitive information. The action comes only weeks after the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. CNN has exclusively uncovered that a group of anti-Kremlin cybercriminals plotted to avenge the death of Navalny, a political rival of President Vladimir Putin.
A message on the hacked website said, ‘Long live Alexey Navalny
Alexey Navalny died while serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism accusations, which he maintained were politically motivated. CNN evaluated hacker interviews, as well as screenshots and data given. According to the report, hackers accessed a computer network connected to Russia’s prison system and posted a photo of Navalny on the hacked prison contractor’s website.
Following Navalny’s death, supporters, relatives, and Western officials accused the Kremlin of being responsible, which the Kremlin denied. Navalny’s widow, Yulia, has pledged to continue his work. She, along with Navalny’s supporters, have accused President Putin of orchestrating his death.
A message on the hacked website said, ‘Long live Alexey Navalny.’ The screenshot included a photo of Navalny and his wife Yulia attending a political event. According to reports, the hackers not only hacked the website but may possibly have gained access to a database maintaining information on hundreds of thousands of Russian prisoners, including their families and friends. The hackers claimed that the data contained details about prisoners in the Arctic jail facility where Navalny died.
According to reports, the hackers modified the prices in the Russian prison’s online store, making products appear extremely low-cost. “We were watching the [access logs to the online store] and it just kept scrolling faster and faster with more and more customers making purchases,” one of the hackers told CNN.
The employees took a while to realize, but it was too late. Hackers had already compromised the system. They broke into a database containing information on over 800,000 prisoners and their relatives, according to a news outlet. A cybersecurity expert validated the legitimacy of the released material.