Data leak of “pro-Kremlin” hackers, shutdown of Google Global Cache in Russia and other cybersecurity events

We have collected the most important news from the world of cybersecurity for the week.

• According to media reports, Google has starteddisconnect RF providers from Global Cache servers.
• Anonymous announced that they had gained access to the data of «pro-Kremlin» Killnet hackers.
• Unknown people hacked Chinese police databases and provided evidence of the repression of Uyghurs in “re-education camps.”

Media: Google began to disconnect Russian providers from Global Cache servers

Google has notified some Russian providers about the shutdown of Google Global Cache servers, RBC writes, citing sources in the telecommunications industry. 

One of the recipients of the letter from Google ISPRadiosvyaz confirmed that the servers were turned off on May 19, and the notification came a few days later. Radio Communications believes that such a decision may be dictated by a small amount of traffic passing through the Google Global Cache server installed by them.

The notice was also received by MIPT-Telecom. Presumably, the shutdown of servers is due to the fact that the institute of the same name is under sanctions.

Major Russian carriers Rostelecom, MTS and MegaFon have said there is no disconnection from Google Global Cache servers yet.

Google Global Cache is used to speed up the loading of all company services, including YouTube. 

Anonymous announced that they had gained access to the data of «pro-Kremlin» hackers

The Anonymous hackers reported that they had gained access to the emails and passwords of another hacker group, Killnet. The latter is associated with the Russian authorities.

The database has been made publicly available.  

Hackers hacked the Chinese police and leaked data about the repression of Uyghurs in «re-education camps»

Hackers hacked police databasesXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China and passed the information on to anthropologist Adrian Tsentz, who studies the repression of the Uyghurs. The latter created a website with the information received and told reporters, writes the BBC.

Unknown hackers gained access to thousandsphotographs of persecuted Uyghurs taken between January and July 2018. Some of the pictures show guards with batons, weapons and people in handcuffs.

The BBC believes that the database does not contain photos after 2018, since in early 2019 the Chinese authorities tightened the standards for document encryption.

It is alleged that in the so-called campsRe-education in Xinjiang holds about a million prisoners arrested without trial, mostly Uyghurs. China calls them "voluntary schools" to counter terrorism and religious extremism.

Human rights activists have repeatedly reported egregious violations of human rights in the camps, while researchers have been testing various mass surveillance technologies on Uyghurs.

Darknet marketplace Versus shut down due to vulnerability

Popular darknet marketplace Versus has announced it is shutting down after discovering a bug that allowed access to its database and revealing server IP addresses. Bleeping Computer writes about it.

After the vulnerability was identified, the marketplace went intooffline for security auditing. Some users were worried that the site team might commit an exit scam, as well as that the FBI might gain access to the site.

However, Versus operators assured that the servers were not hacked and announced the decision to close the marketplace. 

VPN service Windscribe spoke about a possible blocking in the Russian Federation

The Windscribe VPN service team suggested that Russia began to block its IP addresses. Before this, users began to complain en masse about connection problems.

Roskomnadzor has not officially announced a possible blocking. 

The Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation attracted Google to the case of The Tor Project

The Russian prosecutor's office wants to involve Google in the case of The Tor Project, reports Roskomsvoboda.

The prosecutor believes that the information distributed through the Tor browser violates the laws of the Russian Federation, and demands that Tor Browser be removed from Google Play.

Let us remind you that according to the resolution of the Saratov districtIn 2017, the main website of The Tor Project was blocked in the Russian Federation. Lawyers «Roskomsvoboda» appealed the restriction of access, achieved the cancellation of this decision and a review of the case.

What is the Tor Browser and how to use it?

Also on ForkLog:

• Hackers stole about $438,000 from Beeple's hacked Twitter account.
• The Russian Federation has developed a complex of covert screening of people based on activity in social networks.
• The media reported that the case of the REvil group had reached a dead end.
• The US State Department urged not to disconnect Russia from the Internet.
• The Solana community tricked a hacker into recovering stolen NFTs.
• The Wormhole team paid a white hat hacker $10 million for the discovered vulnerability.

What to read on the weekend?

We are talking about the Chinese system of social rating, which provides moral and material benefits to people with a good reputation and turns “low-ranking” citizens into outcasts.

How social credit works - Chinese digital dystopia