This talk will discuss two Russian hack-and-leak operations since 2021 that were probably coordinated with elements of the GRU. These leaks, one in February 2021 and one in April 2022, featured material hacked from ProtonMail e-mail accounts, websites created and registered by anonymous “hacktivists,” and media coverage from both Russian state news outlets and a US website. The latter involved Coldriver, and the talk will discuss that group's potential operational role enabling Russian influence operations on-line. The presentation will contribute to a continued understanding of Russian cyber-enabled information operations, which rather than evolving since 2016 have stayed reliant on opportunistic dumps of documents amplified by friendly media outlets.
