Cyber-Partisans claim breach of Belarus state security service

The Belarusian Cyber-Partisans, a hacktivist collective aligned with the country's opposition movement, said in late April 2024 that it had penetrated the network of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the agency still commonly called the KGB. The group announced the operation on 26 April and said its initial intrusion dated back to autumn 2023.

The Cyber-Partisans claimed to have taken personnel files on more than 8,600 KGB employees. It published lists of the website's administrators, database contents and server logs on its Telegram channel, and it launched a Telegram bot that it said could identify Belarusian operatives from an uploaded photograph. The group also claimed responsibility for leaking tens of thousands of forms submitted to the agency by informants.

The KGB neither confirmed nor denied the claims. Its public website had been unreachable for roughly two months, displaying a notice saying it was in the process of development. No independent verification of the volume or authenticity of the published material was available.

Group coordinator Yuliana Shametavets told the Associated Press that the operation was a response to KGB chief Ivan Tertel, who had publicly accused the collective of plotting attacks on Belarusian critical infrastructure including a nuclear power plant. The group denied that accusation, saying it works to expose political repression and hold those responsible to account rather than to endanger people.