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VSQUARE - FAKE NEWS: RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK

Fundacja Reporterów

Created on March 29, 2021

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F A K E

Fake news ABOUT A RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK

Hackers fabricate a report of an alleged radioactive cloud that formed in Lithuania and is moving towards Poland. The attack originated in a hacked website of Lithuania’s nuclear regulatory agency, a breached website of Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency and the country’s ministry of health. In the attack, hijacked social media accounts of experts and local government officials are also used.

March 17, 2021

CONTINUE

of government officials are used to spam social media

Hijacked accounts

hacked Twitter account lends credibility to the fake report

Expert’s

of Poland’s ministry of health containing a warning about a radiological hazard

Hacked website

of Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency and fake post about an increase in radiation levels

Hacked website

of Lithuania’s Inspectorate with manipulated fake news about a ‘disaster’

Fabricated website

an authentic communication from Lithuania’s State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI)

Source content

How the attack unfolded

Original message: VATESI on the decommissioning of the radioactive waste storage facility

Lithuanian websites publish the original VATESI communication (State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate) about public consultations on the decommissioning of the radioactive waste storage facility The agency says that the radioactive waste is secure and does not pose a threat. The communication will be used as source material to create fake news.

~5:00 AM

F A K E

Hackers register the VATESL.LT domain (an exact copy of VATESI.LT) and publish a page with a fabricated article that contains fake information about a leak of radioactive materials from a decommissioned storage facility

~9:45 AM

Fabricated website with fake news about a ‘distaster’

F A K E

Hackers get into the CMS of the National Atomic Energy Agency website and publish a fake communication about increased radiation levels. To lend the story credibility, the article redirects to a fabricated Lithuanian website as a source of information. A copy of the webpage is created on Webarchives.org in case the fake news is removed.

~9:55 AM

Hackers gain access to the Atomic Energy Agency website

F A K E

Hackers hijack Poland’s ministry of health website and publish a fabricated article about a radiological threat based on a fake message from National Atomic Energy Agency To lend the news even more credibility, they supplement it with information on radiation sickness from Polish medical websites.

~11:30 AM

Hackers gain access to Ministry of Health website

F A K E

~12:00 PM

READ

Fake news is disseminated via expert accounts on Twitter

F A K E

END

READ

Fake news is disseminated via government officials

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VSQUARE - FAKE NEWS: RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK

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