An unidentified attacker hacked the website of a Czech news service on April 23, 2024, and published a fake story claiming an assassination attempt on Slovakia’s newly elected president, Peter Pellegrini. The Czech News Agency (CTK) confirmed that the false article was directly posted on its website and was not distributed to its clients. The story, later retracted by CTK, falsely stated that Slovakia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Security Information Service (BIS), had prevented an assassination attempt on President Pellegrini. The incident has been reported to the country’s intelligence agencies and cybersecurity authority. The fake story, published in both Czech and English, misspelled Peter Pellegrini’s name and falsely claimed that Ukrainian nationals planned the fictitious assassination attempt. Vitaliy Usatyy, Kyiv’s charge d’affaires in Prague, was named as one of the perpetrators. CTK described the incident as an act of disinformation. However, no evidence linking the hack to a particular actor has been made public, and CTK stated that it would not provide further information. Founded in 1918, CTK operates as a government-owned public service in Czechia and Slovakia. The news service, known for its editorial independence since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, reported a cyber breach to the country’s intelligence agencies. The incident is reminiscent of previous information operations attributed to a hacking group affiliated with the Belarusian government, tracked as Ghostwriter, UNC1151, and Storm-0157. This group targets journalists with spearphishing emails to access content management systems. In this case, the attackers spread false stories via legitimate news sites to sow disinformation and inflame tensions.
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