Photo credits: radiosvoboda.org
During several weeks someone was trying to hack the profiles in social networks and messengers of at least 4 journalists of the program :Schemes: corruption in details”. Their accounts in Telegram, WhatsApp and in Facebook were targeted, as
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty informed.
On February 7th, at 4.07 a.m. some unknown persons got access to the Telegram account of Maksym Savchuk. At 4.15 a.m. there was an attack from the same IP address o the Telegram account of Valeria Yehoshyna. As to Yehoshyna, this attempt would be related to her investigation “Illusionists” on bots which are launched to the benefit of influencial politicians Arsenia Yatsenyuk and Mykola Martynenko.
In the beginning of March, someone made attempts to broke the Facebook page of another journalist of “Schemes” Kateryna Kaplyuk and got access to the WhatApp account of SMM/web editor Darya Martynenko.
Nataliya Sedletska, editor in chief and anchorperson of the program “Schemes: corruption in details” thought these attempts were alarming and relate it directly to journalistic activity.
“It seems the plotters are seeking for a “point of access” to our internal communications. I guess this could be related to two reasons: either in order to obtain some data on our sources of information, or in order to get what investigations we are going to make furtherly. I can understand what is the interest the plotters have, but I should remind that interfering to the activity of the editoirial board is contrary to law. In order to get to know what will be next investigation, it is suffiencient to switch on the program of “Schemes” today, on March 28th. And I am warning in case of hacking of our journalists’ accounts you could get to know about one of the major frauds at the presidency of Petro Poroshenko, and thus, the program that we are thouroughly making ready now, won’t be so interesting to be watched” , Sedletska told.
The journalists of “Schemes” are targeted not for the first time by hackers. On January 2018, one week after broadcasting of the investigation made by the journalist Mykhaylo Tkach on secret leave of the head of state Poroshenko on Maldive islands, the journalist claimed someone tried to hack his accounts in social networks and his e-mail.
On October 2018, on behalf of Mykaylo Tkach some unknown persons sent fishing mails from fake electronic address.
IMI informed as well, on February 7th the journalists Valeriya Yehoshyna claimed her account in Telegram messenger failed to be broken. She told that attempt could be related to her
investigation on bots of “Popular front”.
