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Threat Actor

Cyber Partisans

cyber_partisans · belarus_opposition · active since 2020-09

Cyber Partisans (canonical English naming, also Kiberpartyzany Belarusian + Kiberpartizany Russian romanizations of Кіберпартызаны / Киберпартизаны) is a Belarusian decentralized anonymous hacktivist collective that emerged September 2020 in response to the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election and subsequent protests against Alexander Lukashenko's regime brutally suppressed by government police + security forces.

Belarusian opposition diaspora attribution with ~30 core members + ~80 total volunteers operating from exile in Lithuania + Poland + EU per Binding Hook + New Eastern Europe + Wikipedia + Bloomberg + MIT Technology Review canonical interviews + The Record / Recorded Future News + Cyberscoop + Govinfosecurity + CEPA April 2024 + Belarus Partisan 2025 + Yuliana Shemetovets canonical public-facing spokesperson media presence + Pascal Geenens Radware sophistication assessment + Gabriella Coleman McGill University hacktivism expert commentary.

standalone cluster paralleling predatory_sparrow + it_army_ukraine + ghostsec in v0.1.157 2020-2025 hacktivist collectives in geopolitical conflict zones cell.

operational target profile Belarusian government primary target with Belarusian Railways (January 2022 pre-invasion Russian troop transport disruption + February 2022 second attack) + Ministry of Internal Affairs (comprehensive passport database + DMV + HR + operational drone footage + phone wiretapping database breach) + KGB (informants + officers identified) + state news media (All- National TV + Belarus-1 defaced with police brutality video streaming) + Belaruskali state- owned company + Academy of Public Administration + Mogilevtransmash + Russian military secondary target post-2022 (Orlan drone manufacturer sharing data with Ukrainian intelligence services + A-50 surveillance aircraft Machulishchy air base sabotage + Roskomnadzor General Radio Frequency Centre infiltration)

operational attack architecture: (1) cluster-defining specially- created Belarusian Railways ransomware January 2022 ("The group used a modified form of ransomware to paralyze the railway system, saying that it would return to computer network to normal if the Belarusian government released 50 political prisoners in need of medical treatment and stopped Russian forces from entering Belarus") exploiting Windows XP outdated OS + targeting freight rail to disrupt Russian military movements while deliberately avoiding passenger rail consistent with ethical-hacking principle.

(2) cluster-defining comprehensive state database extraction tradecraft with MOI passport database containing personal details of every Belarusian citizen including top government officials + special agents + spies, DMV database, MOI HR database, operational drone footage from protests, mobile phone wiretapping database + verification via publishing Lukashenko + sons passport data; (3) cluster-defining state news media defacement + police brutality video streaming September 2020 symbolic operations.

(4) signature COVID-19 excess mortality data leak with 32,000 deaths 14.4x official figure exposure 2021.

(5) signature sabotage support operations with 2023 A-50 Russian surveillance aircraft Machulishchy air base.

(6) cluster-defining Ukrainian intelligence services cooperation with Orlan drone manufacturer data sharing + Kalinousky Regiment Belarusian-volunteers-in-Ukrainian-armed- forces technical assistance + Ukraine IT Army operational overlap.

(7) cluster-defining ethical hacking principle signature ("only against the state and do not harm to ordinary citizens" + deliberately avoiding passenger rail + avoiding automation/security systems with safety concerns)

(8) cluster-defining "Inferno" / "Scorching Heat" named-operation tradecraft November 2021 with Academy of Public Administration + Belaruskali.

(9) cluster- defining December 2021 Mogilevtransmash ransomware with 10-political-prisoner-release demand establishing ransomware-with-political-demands pattern preceding Belarusian Railways.

(10) signature Belarusian Supreme Court + Ministry of Internal Affairs 2021 declaration of Cyber- Partizans + Cyber-Leaks + Telegram channels as "extremist" group + "terrorist organization" criminalizing participation demonstrating state legal recognition of operational impact.

(11) signature Yuliana Shemetovets canonical public- facing spokesperson media presence with extensive Bloomberg + MIT Technology Review + ISMG + Lazo Magazine interviews providing operational continuity + international visibility unusual for hacktivist collectives.

cluster fills the September-2020-onward-Belarusian-opposition- hacktivism + specially-created-Belarusian- Railways-ransomware-political-demands + KGB- informant-MOI-passport-database-leaks + Russian- Orlan-drone-A-50-aircraft-sabotage + Ukrainian- intelligence-cooperation + ethical-hacking- against-state-only-signature + Yuliana-Shemetovets- public-spokesperson position in 2020-2025 hacktivist collectives in geopolitical conflict zones cell.

canonical illustration of sophisticated state-targeted Eastern European hacktivism + ransomware-with-political-demands tradecraft + ethical-hacking-against-state-only principle + state legal recognition (Belarusian Supreme Court extremist designation) + foreign intelligence services cooperation evolution + sabotage support operations cited in essentially all subsequent Eastern European hacktivism industry analyses through 2020-2026 period.

belarus_opposition confidence: high 22 aliases
Sigma rules200 YARA rules0 Live IOCs0 CVEs exploited0

Profile

Cyber Partisans (canonical English naming, also Kiberpartyzany Belarusian + Kiberpartizany Russian romanizations) is a Belarusian decentralized anonymous hacktivist collective that emerged September 2020 in response to the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election + subsequent protests against Alexander Lukashenko's regime brutally suppressed by government security forces. Belarusian opposition diaspora attribution, ~30 core members + ~80 total volunteers operating from exile in Lithuania + Poland + EU per Binding Hook + New Eastern Europe. Per Wikipedia + Bloomberg + MIT Technology Review canonical interviews.

Yuliana Shemetovets public-facing spokesperson. Standalone cluster paralleling predatory_sparrow + it_army_ukraine + ghostsec in v0.1.157 2020-2025 hacktivist collectives in geopolitical conflict zones cell.

Operational target profile
  • Belarusian government primary: Railways + MOI + KGB + state news media + state enterprises + Academy of Public Administration.
  • Russian military + supporting secondary post-2022: Orlan drones + A-50 surveillance aircraft + Roskomnadzor GRFC Operational attack architecture: (1) Specially-created Belarusian Railways ransomware (cluster-defining): January 2022 attack on Windows XP outdated OS with political demands (50 political prisoners + Russian troop withdrawal) (2) State database extraction tradecraft (cluster-defining): MOI passport database + DMV + HR + KGB informants + operational drone footage + phone wiretapping database, comprehensive state-data exfiltration with verification publication (3) State news media defacement + video streaming (signature): All-National TV + Belarus-1 with police brutality videos (4) Sabotage support operations (signature): A-50 surveillance aircraft at Machulishchy air base 2023 (5) Ukrainian intelligence services cooperation (cluster-defining): Orlan drone manufacturer data shared with Ukraine + Kalinousky Regiment technical assistance (6) Ethical hacking principle (cluster-defining): "only against the state and do not harm to ordinary citizens" + deliberately avoiding passenger rail in Belarusian Railways attack (7) Yuliana Shemetovets spokesperson public- facing media presence (signature): distinctive tradecraft providing operational continuity + international visibility (8) Belarusian Supreme Court extremist + terrorist designation (signature): 2021 state legal recognition of operational impact The cluster fills the September-2020-onward- Belarusian-opposition-hacktivism + specially- created-Belarusian-Railways-ransomware-political- demands + KGB-informant-MOI-passport-database- leaks + Russian-Orlan-drone-A-50-aircraft-sabotage + Ukrainian-intelligence-cooperation + ethical- hacking-against-state-only-signature + Yuliana- Shemetovets-public-spokesperson position in 2020-2025 hacktivist collectives in geopolitical conflict zones cell.

Aliases

22
cyber_partisanscyber partisanscyber-partisansbelarusian_cyber_partisansbelarusian cyber-partisansbelarusian cyber partisanskiberpartyzanykiberpartizanyкіберпартызаныкиберпартизаныcpartisanscyber partisans september 2020 emergence belarusian oppositioncyber partisans january 2022 belarusian railways ransomwarecyber partisans yuliana shemetovets spokespersoncyber partisans kgb informant database leakcyber partisans ministry of internal affairs passport database breachcyber partisans russian orlan drone manufacturer hack ukrainian intelligencecyber partisans a-50 surveillance aircraft machulishchy air base sabotagecyber partisans ethical hacking against state only signaturecyber partisans extremist terrorist designation belarusian supreme court 2021cyber partisans inferno scorching heat operation belaruskalicyber partisans cyber-leaks subsidiary project

Notable Campaigns

11
2023-2024Cyber Partisans Russian Orlan Drone Manufacturer Hack, Ukrainian Intelligence Sharing
2023Cyber Partisans A-50 Russian Surveillance Aircraft Machulishchy Air Base Sabotage (2023)
2022Cyber Partisans Belarusian Railways January 2022 Ransomware Attack, Russian Troop Movement Disruption
2022Cyber Partisans Roskomnadzor GRFC General Radio Frequency Centre Infiltration
2021Cyber Partisans Major Database Leaks, KGB + MOI + Passport (2021)
2021Cyber Partisans COVID-19 Excess Mortality Data Leak (2021)
2021Belarusian Supreme Court Extremist + Terrorist Organization Designation (2021)
2021Cyber Partisans 'Inferno' / 'Scorching Heat' Operation (November 2021)
2021Cyber Partisans Mogilevtransmash December 2021 Ransomware Attack (Pre-Railways)
2020-2026Continued Industry Reference Status (2020-2026)
2020Cyber Partisans Origin, September 2020 Post-Election Emergence

Attribution & Reporting

Attributed by
Wikipedia (canonical longstanding 2020-2025 tracking with Belarusian + Russian language naming + operational timeline)Bloomberg (canonical August 2021 first major interview + group details disclosure)MIT Technology Review (canonical anonymous spokesperson interview)The Record / Recorded Future News (canonical January 2022 Belarusian Railways coverage + 30-member-2022 estimate)Cyberscoop (canonical January 2022 + February 2022 Belarusian Railways coverage)Bleeping Computer (canonical Belarusian Railways ransomware coverage)Govinfosecurity (canonical Hacktivists Hit Belarusian Railroad coverage)Yuliana Shemetovets (canonical Cyber Partisans spokesperson public-facing media interviews)CEPA (canonical April 2024 Belarus Cyber Partisans Prepare For Uprising analysis)New Eastern Europe (canonical May 2025 In the digital shadows Belarusian cyber partisans unnerve Lukashenka coverage)Binding Hook (canonical Belarusian Cyber Partisans' story with 30 core + 80 volunteers + 4 operational fronts analysis)Lazo Magazine (canonical February 2022 Yuliana Shemetovets interview)Belarus Partisan (canonical 2025 digital resistance retrospective)Pascal Geenens / Radware Director of Threat Intelligence (canonical sophistication assessment)Gabriella Coleman / McGill University (canonical anthropologist hacktivism expert commentary)Tetyana Lokot / Dublin City University (canonical Eastern European digital rights expert commentary)Vasileios Karagiannopoulos / University of Portsmouth (canonical modern hacktivism evolution assessment)David Kirichenko / Henry Jackson Society (canonical journalist coverage)
Key reporting
reportWikipedia: Cyber Partisans, canonical longstanding 2020-2025 tracking
reportBloomberg: August 2021 first major interview with Cyber Partisans
reportMIT Technology Review: anonymous spokesperson interview canonical
reportThe Record / Recorded Future News: Cyber Partisans hacktivists claim credit for cyberattack on Belarusian Railways (January 2022)
reportCyberscoop: Belarusian hackers launch another attack (January-February 2022)
reportGovinfosecurity: Hacktivists Hit Belarusian Railroad to Stop Russian Troops
reportCEPA: Belarus Cyber Partisans Prepare For Uprising (April 2024)
reportNew Eastern Europe: In the digital shadows Belarusian cyber partisans unnerve Lukashenka (May 2025)
reportBinding Hook: The Belarusian Cyber Partisans' story, 30 core + 80 volunteers + 4 operational fronts
reportLazo Magazine: February 2022 Yuliana Shemetovets interview
reportBelarus Partisan: Belarusian Partisans in 2025, Digital Resistance Against Lukashenko's Regime
reportPascal Geenens / Radware: canonical sophistication assessment
reportGabriella Coleman / McGill University: canonical anthropologist hacktivism expert commentary
reportYuliana Shemetovets: canonical Cyber Partisans spokesperson public-facing media presence

Operational

State sponsor

Belarusian opposition diaspora, anti-Lukashenko regime hacktivist collective with broader Belarusian opposition movement alignment. Group affirmed 2021-2022 not collaborating with foreign government but "not against it, as long as it aligns with our depicted goals, to change the regime." Per The Binding Hook + New Eastern Europe: 30 core members + 80 volunteers operating from exile in Lithuania + Poland + EU countries. Per CEPA + Belarus Partisan: extended cooperation with Ukrainian special services since 2022 Russia-Ukraine war. Attribution chain: (1) Wikipedia canonical longstanding tracking: per Wikipedia: "Cyber Partisans (Belarusian: Кіберпартызаны, romanized: Kiberpartyzany, Russian: Киберпартизаны, romanized: Kiberpartizany) is a Belarusian decentralized anonymous hacktivist collective that emerged in September 2020, known for its cyber attacks against the governments of Belarus and Russia. The group is part of the broader Belarusian opposition movement." (2) Bloomberg + MIT Technology Review canonical first major coverage: per Wikipedia: "In an August 2021 interview to Bloomberg, hackers shared some details about themselves: they are 15 people, none of whom are professional hackers; of them, only 3 or 4 perform the hacks, others deal with the analysis of obtained data.

and some group members were penetration testers before joining the group. Members are anonymous even to each other. The group describes its activities as ethical hacking, as it goes only against the state and do not harm to ordinary citizens." Per anonymous spokesperson MIT Technology Review: "What we want is to stop the violence and repression from the terroristic regime in Belarus and to bring the country back to democratic principles and rule of law." (3) The Record / Recorded Future News + Bleeping Computer canonical January 2022 Belarusian Railways coverage: per The Record + Cyberscoop: Cyber Partisans claimed credit for January 24, 2022 cyberattack on Belarusian Railways. Per Cyber Partisans tweet: "We have encryption keys, and we are ready to return Belarusian Railroad's systems to normal mode. Our conditions: Release of the 50 political prisoners who are most in need of medical assistance. Preventing the presence of Russian troops on the territory of #Belarus." Cluster-defining ransomware-with- political-demands signature. (4) CEPA + New Eastern Europe canonical 2024- 2025 tracking with Ukrainian intelligence cooperation: per CEPA April 2024: "Since then, the Cyber Partisans have continued to relay important data to Ukrainian intelligence. They recently hacked into the Russian drone manufacturer 'Orlan,' transmitting company data to Ukraine's intelligence services. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans and Ukraine's IT Army efforts overlap." Per New Eastern Europe May 2025: "Notable operations include the 2022 hack of Belarusian Railways to disrupt Russian troop movements, a major data breach exposing KGB informants, and the sabotage of a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at Machulishchy air base." (5) Belarusian Supreme Court extremist designation 2021: per Wikipedia: "In 2021, the Belarusian government (through the Belarusian Supreme Court and Ministry of Internal Affairs) declared the information resources Cyber-Partizans, its subsidiary project Cyber-Leaks, and all their Telegram channels to be an 'extremist' group and a terrorist organization. Creating or participating in such a group is a crime in Belarus." (6) Pascal Geenens Radware Director of Threat Intelligence canonical assessment: per New Eastern Europe: "the Belarusian Cyber Partisans have evolved into one of the most sophisticated and focused hacktivist collectives in Eastern Europe. Formed in 2020 to challenge the Lukashenka regime, the group expanded its operations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, turning their digital firepower against Russian military infrastructure and support networks. Geenens pointed out that unlike the broad, volunteer- based IT Army of Ukraine, the Cyber Partisans are a tightly knit and anonymous group, reportedly consisting of around 30 members in 2022." Operational mission objective: Anti-Lukashenko regime change via cyber operations (primary) + anti-Russian-military-support operations as auxiliary objective extending original anti-regime mission post-2022 Russia- Ukraine invasion. Ethical hacking principle ("only against the state and do not harm to ordinary citizens"). Cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence services + Belarusian Kalinousky Regiment in Ukrainian armed forces.

Operational target profile
Belarusian government primary target
  • Belarusian Railways (Jan/Feb 2022 disruption of Russian troop transport)
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs (passport database + DMV + HR + operational drone footage + phone wiretapping database)
  • KGB (informants + officers identified)
  • All-National TV + Belarus-1 (state news websites defaced + police brutality videos streamed)
  • Academy of Public Administration.
  • Belaruskali state-owned company.
  • Mogilevtransmash car company.
Russian military + supporting infrastructure
  • Orlan drone manufacturer 2023.
  • A-50 surveillance aircraft at Machulishchy air base 2023 sabotage.
  • Roskomnadzor / General Radio Frequency Centre (GRFC) infiltration The cluster fills the September-2020-onward- Belarusian-opposition-hacktivism + Belarusian- Railways-ransomware-political-demands + KGB- informant-MOI-passport-database-leaks + Russian- Orlan-drone-A-50-aircraft-sabotage + Belarusian- Supreme-Court-extremist-designation + ethical- hacking-against-state-only-signature position in 2020-2025 hacktivist collectives in geopolitical conflict zones cell.
Motivations
belarusian_anti_lukashenko_regime_change_objective_primary, russian_military_support_disruption_objective_secondary_post_2022, belarusian_political_prisoner_release_demand_signature, kgb_informant_exposure_human_rights_accountability_signature, ethical_hacking_only_against_state_signature_principle, ukrainian_intelligence_cooperation_objective_secondary
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Detection Blind Spots

60 techniques
Across this actor’s 60 mapped techniques, the share covered by each detection layer. Low bars are where you’d be blind if this actor targeted you.
Behavioral / log (Sigma)56/60 · 93%
Analytics (MITRE CAR)33/60 · 55%
Runtime / container (Falco)8/60 · 13%
File / malware (YARA)0/60 · 0%
Network (Suricata/Snort)20/60 · 33%
Vuln scan (Nuclei)0/60 · 0%

Atomic Test Plan

30 techniques
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Tools Used

0 mapped
Other tooling / TTPs (curation, not ATT&CK-mapped):
SPECIALLY CREATED RANSOMWARE FOR BELARUSIAN RAILWAYS JANUARY 2022
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