Interregional bot farm neutralized in Poltava region

In the Poltava region, the Security Service of Ukraine has eliminated a network of bot farms with an audience of nearly 200,000 users who were working to destabilize the situation in Ukraine. This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine in the Poltava region.

Cybersecurity experts from the Security Service exposed an interregional network of bot farms that were spreading disinformation to destabilize the socio-political situation in Ukraine.

First and foremost, the criminals attempted to discredit the activities of the highest military and political leadership of our state in conditions of war. They also disseminated false information about terrorist attacks in Ukrainian cities and "mining" of facilities with large gatherings of people.

To "spread" the fakes, they created anonymous accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, with a combined audience of nearly 200,000 users.

As a result of a multi-stage special operation in various regions of Ukraine, nine bot farms were neutralized, and their organizers were exposed.

The "centers" of disinformation were active in the Ternopil, Poltava, Cherkasy, Sumy, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Zakarpattia regions.

During searches of the perpetrators, the following items were found: computer equipment with evidence of illegal activities, bank cards through which they received money for spreading disinformation, 5,000 SIM cards from Ukrainian mobile operators, GSM gateways, and other specialized equipment.

Based on the gathered evidence, the suspects are planned to be charged under Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized interference in the operation of electronic computers, automated systems, computer networks, or telecommunications networks).