To hit back at Russia, Ukraine has resorted to “doxing” the names, addresses, and passport numbers of 620 Russian officers, who allegedly work for the Kremlin’s top spy agency.
On Monday, the intelligence arm of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense claimed it had obtained a list of employees at Russia’s Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB. The Ukrainian government then published the list in the local language, alleging that all 620 officers had been engaged in criminal activities for the Kremlin across Europe.
“Every European should know their names!” Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency wrote on Facebook after releasing the list.
The tactic is tantamount to doxing, which involves revealing private information, such as phone numbers or addresses, about an individual. Doing so can expose the person to harassment or worse by making their contact details public.
Hackers, internet trolls, and high-profile celebrities have resorted to doxing to retaliate against critics or hold people accountable, whether justified or not. Now Ukraine is employing the same tactic in the hopes European allies will crack down on the Kremlin’s spying.
It’s unclear how Ukraine obtained the information. But the list includes the name, passport number, and birth date of each FSB officer, along with their registration address. In some cases, the SIM card and vehicle registration numbers have also been included.
The big question is whether the list is legit. According to Aric Toler, a researcher at investigative reporting group Bellingcat, some of the names seem to come from existing leaks on FSB officers, but other details on the list appear to be original.
“Going through some of these with spot-checks, and a lot of them are direct copy-pastes from different leaked databases,” he added. So it’s possible much of the information is nothing new in the spy world. Still, it could paint a bigger target on the backs of many FSB officers.
