Pro-Russian groups are also actively recruiting people in Belgium to supply them with information, spread fake news or carry out cyberattacks. Many of those recruited are recruited online, for example via chat groups. Once recruited they are paid in cryptocurrency each time they carry out a mission. VRT News and journalists from public broadcasters from other European countries went undercover to investigate how the online pro-Russian groups operate.
VRT News journalist went undercover and was “recruited” in a pro-Russian chat group
Published:
A VRT News journalist has been a member of a pro-Russian chat group on the communications platform Telegram for several months. Some time ago, he came across a request to “Collect the email addresses of 30 Belgian journalists.”
He has succeeded in infiltrating a pro-Russian hacker group with around 8,000 members. This is the same group that paralysed the websites of several municipal and other authorities in the run-up to the local elections in Belgium. This group primarily targets partners and supporters of Ukraine.
The VRT News journalist introduced himself as someone from Brussels that is pro-Russian and only has limited digital skills. He was questioned to ensure that his views on Russia were “on message” before being given his first assignment. “Stick 10 anti-NATO stickers in the European Quarter in Brussels.”
He is told to stick up stickers with the slogan “Fuck NATO”. For doing this he would be paid 50 US Dollars in cryptocurrency. The stickers were sent to a pre-arranged address. Information on the sender refers only to a Chinese company that sells stickers. Although our colleague didn’t not stick the stickers, further orders followed.
Pretty harmless...
The orders received by our colleague appear pretty harmless. However, some examples from other EU countries show that people have been and are being recruited for missions with far more serious consquences.
In early 2024, a Ukrainian was promised 4,000 US Dollars if he set fire to a factory in Poland and in Germany, construction foam was sprayed into the exhausts of around 200 cars. In Lithuania, someone attempted to sabotage a water treatment plant and was sent a video suggesting how this might be done.
The Belgian State Security Service and NATO have been monitoring this and other chat groups and pro-Russian hacker groups for some time now and have issued an urgent warning about them.
"The orders go to freelancers or criminal organisations and range from information gathering and propaganda to military observation or sabotage. They give the impression that they can be active anywhere, while their activities are rarely traceable”.
Dangerous liaisons
The Belgian Military Intelligence Service (ADIV) is concerned: “People don't really know who their interlocutors are and why they are being asked to carry out certain acts”. ADIV adds that “There needs to be a defensive reflex among the population against this kind of thing. People need to be careful.”
This investigation was carried out as part of the EBU’s Investigative Journalist Network group and involved the public broadcasters LRT (Lithuania), Yle (Finland), ERR (Estonia), LTV (Latvia), SVT (Sweden), KRO-NCRV (Netherlands), RTVE (Spain) and VRT (Flanders).