A Russian television anchor Pavel Lobkov was shocked when he a message flashed across his that most of his intimate messages had just been published to the web.
Few days before this incident, the veteran journalist had done a mind-blowing story about a people living as HIV-positive, which showed a taboo-breaking revelations that drew a massive response from citizens fighting for their lives in Russia.
During a recent interview, Lobkov said, "These were very personal messages, describes how his life was upside down, and frantic calls to his lawyer to stop the spread of nearly 300 pages of Facebook correspondence, including sexually explicit messages. Even after two years, he didn't want to rewind the old times, saying, "it's a very traumatic story."
"I think the hackers in the service of the Fatherland were long getting their training on our lot before venturing outside."
Nearly after two years, the Associated Press has found that Lobkov was targeted by the hacking group known as Fancy Bear in March 2015, nine months before his messages were leaked.
According to the reports, he was among other 200 journalists, publishers, and bloggers who were targeted by the group in early and mid-2014.
The AP obtained the hacking list from cybersecurity firm SecureWorks, which identified journalists as the third-largest group of victims.
The list of victims includes from various news organizations, nearly 50 of the journalists worked at The New York Times. Another 50 were either foreign correspondents based in Moscow or Russian reporters. Others were prominent media figures in Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics or Washington.
Few days before this incident, the veteran journalist had done a mind-blowing story about a people living as HIV-positive, which showed a taboo-breaking revelations that drew a massive response from citizens fighting for their lives in Russia.
During a recent interview, Lobkov said, "These were very personal messages, describes how his life was upside down, and frantic calls to his lawyer to stop the spread of nearly 300 pages of Facebook correspondence, including sexually explicit messages. Even after two years, he didn't want to rewind the old times, saying, "it's a very traumatic story."
"I think the hackers in the service of the Fatherland were long getting their training on our lot before venturing outside."
Nearly after two years, the Associated Press has found that Lobkov was targeted by the hacking group known as Fancy Bear in March 2015, nine months before his messages were leaked.
According to the reports, he was among other 200 journalists, publishers, and bloggers who were targeted by the group in early and mid-2014.
The AP obtained the hacking list from cybersecurity firm SecureWorks, which identified journalists as the third-largest group of victims.
The list of victims includes from various news organizations, nearly 50 of the journalists worked at The New York Times. Another 50 were either foreign correspondents based in Moscow or Russian reporters. Others were prominent media figures in Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics or Washington.