Russian Video Platform RuTube Has Been Paralyzed Two Days After Being Hit By A Cyberattack

JAKARTA - RuTube, a video platform like the Russian version of YouTube, has been paralyzed for two days until Tuesday, May 10, due to a cyber attack. Even when the VOI team tries to visit the site the same glitches still occur.

This attack is timed to commemorate the anniversary of Russia's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two this week.

Usually the site always shows video content, now the RuTube site is just black, with a short message that reads: "Attention! This site is undergoing technical work. This site is under attack. The situation is currently under control. User data has been saved."

The attack began on Monday, May 9 during a major national holiday when Russia commemorated the Soviet Union's victory over Adolf Hitler and President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech likening the struggle to the current war in Ukraine.

"Someone really wanted to prevent RuTube from showing the Victory Day parade and celebratory fireworks," said RuTube. "It's not a sin to remember the battles our people won. The fight for RuTube continues."

They also described this cyber attack as the worst in the site's history.

In a separate incident last Monday, Russian satellite television menus were hacked to show viewers in Moscow messages about events in Ukraine, including "You have blood on your hands", according to screenshots obtained by Reuters.

The websites of state-owned companies and Russian news sites have fallen under sporadic hacking attempts since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Often even to display information that contradicts Moscow's official lines on what it calls "special military operations".

RuTube said a large team was working to restore the service, and denied reports that they had lost the website's source code.

The long blackout explains why Russia has not blocked Alphabet Inc's YouTube, despite repeatedly fines and warning the US service for the removal of some state-backed Russian channels and for failing to remove content Moscow considers illegal.

Russia restricted access to Meta Platform's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, in early March.

Critics previously told Reuters that RuTube, although its weekly user count soared in early March as other foreign social media were forced out of the Russian market, still has a long way to go to rival Google's video products.