Russia’s Supreme Court to Consider Extremist Designation for Two Hacker Groups
Summary
Russia’s Supreme Court will consider banning Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow as extremist groups. The move follows their claims of cyberattacks, including the July 2025 Aeroflot incident that disrupted more than 100 flights.
Key points
- Russia’s Supreme Court will consider a request to designate Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow as extremist organizations in a closed-door hearing.
- The court has not explained the reason for seeking the designation.
- An extremist designation would ban the groups’ activities and could expose associated individuals to administrative or criminal penalties.
- The groups claimed responsibility for a July 2025 cyberattack on Aeroflot; the incident led to more than 100 canceled flights and disrupted travel for roughly 20,000 passengers.
- The groups also claimed to have destroyed Aeroflot IT infrastructure and exfiltrated sensitive data; those claims are attributed to the groups in the article.
- Belarusian Cyber Partisans welcomed the proposed designation in a Telegram post; Silent Crow did not publicly comment.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Russia’s Supreme Court is considering a request to designate Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow as extremist organizations and ban their activities in Russia.
- Impact
- If designated, the groups could be outlawed, their websites and publications blocked, and associated individuals subject to administrative or criminal penalties. The case follows the groups’ claimed July 2025 cyberattack on Aeroflot, which led to more than 100 canceled flights and disrupted travel for roughly 20,000 passengers. The groups also claimed to have destroyed IT infrastructure and exfiltrated sensitive airline data; those claims are attributed to the groups.
Threat Actors
Belarusian Cyber PartisansThe group has claimed responsibility for cyberattacks against Russian and Belarusian government and critical infrastructure targets, including the July 2025 Aeroflot attack. It also said its operations targeted Belarusian state institutions and the railway network.Silent CrowThe group has claimed responsibility for cyberattacks against Russian targets, including the July 2025 Aeroflot attack and an earlier breach of Rosreestr.
Countries
BelarusThe groups have previously claimed responsibility for cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and government institutions in Russia and Belarus.RussiaRussia is moving to classify Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Silent Crow as extremist organizations, following their claims of attacks on Russian and Belarusian government and critical infrastructure targets.UkraineSilent Crow, a pro-Ukraine hacking group, has claimed responsibility for several cyberattacks against Russian targets.