Information Warfare — 2026-11-04

Hackers Steal 23 Terabytes From Russia's State Statistics Agency Including Data on War Casualties

BLUFRosstat's confirmed multi-day intrusion exposes Russian federal networks as persistently vulnerable, and any authenticated leak of restricted casualty data would undercut Kremlin control of the war's human cost narrative.

Silent Crow and the Belarusian Cyber Partisans claimed responsibility for an attack on Rosstat, saying they accessed about 25,000 computers and servers, stole roughly 23 terabytes, and destroyed part of the agency's IT infrastructure 123. Rosstat told Kommersant that its resources faced "targeted destructive cyberattacks" from October 29 through November 1 but that it found no database compromise or leak of legally protected information 13. Hacker logos appeared on the federal and regional Rosstat websites overnight into November 1, and The Insider reported the main site was restored by morning, while Cybernews said it remained "temporarily unavailable" at the time of writing 12. Cybernews cited a hacker-shared chart suggesting up to 50,000 Russian soldiers die monthly, and TKS.ru noted no independent confirmation of the data volume or device count exists 23.

Analysis
Rosstat's own statement confirms a coordinated, destructive intrusion from October 29 through November 1, so the open question is data loss, not whether the attack occurred. Confidence is high that the attack occurred and disrupted Rosstat's websites, since Rosstat and four outlets report it. The 25,000-device and 23-terabyte figures and the monthly soldier-death chart rest solely on the hackers' assertions, and the outlets amplify one account rather than independently verify it. Rosstat denies any database compromise. The operation may instead be mainly defacement and wiping, with the exfiltration and casualty claims inflated for information-warfare effect. If the cause-of-death or "Demography" systems were taken, restricted casualty data could surface through leaks or journalists, as the Aeroflot and Rosreestr claims were later partly corroborated. Russian federal networks remain exposed to groups Moscow designated extremist in July.

4 sources