Russian hackers claimed Monday to have launched an attack on global arms-manufacturer Lockheed Martin, threatening the company and its employees.
A pro-Kremlin news outlet, Life.ru, published a statement by the hacker groups Killnet and Killmilk, condemning Lockheed Martin for allegedly being an “actual sponsor of world terrorism” responsible for at least tens of thousands of deaths, and framing their actions as a response to Western arms-sales to Ukraine, according to the EurAsian Times.
They continued:
“The notorious HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, supplied to Ukraine by the aforementioned military-industrial corporation, allow the criminal authorities of the Kyiv regime to kill civilians, destroy the infrastructure and social facilities of the still temporarily occupied Ukraine.”
The hackers claimed they targeted the company’s production systems and also threatened to release the personal information of Lockheed employees so they could be “persecuted and destroyed around the world!”
In a separate Telegram app posted by Killmilk, the hacker group wrote, “I call on all hacker groups to create an escalation in Lockheed Martin’s production cycles around the world, as well as to spread personal information about the terrorists of this company.”
For its part, Lockheed Martin has not made any public statement on the alleged hack, nor has a U.S. government spokesperson confirmed that any such thing occurred.
However, a so-called Russian military expert, Alexei Leonkov, appeared on Russian television in late July, claiming that the Russian military had managed to hack into the U.S. HIMARS deployed in Ukraine.
“The American system has been hacked. And our secret development will be deployed in all directions. A good system, I can’t name it yet, but it works at much greater distances, instantly fixing the launch site. For the Americans, this was a very unpleasant surprise,” said Leonkov, per Pravda.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu subsequently stated on Tuesday that Russia had destroyed six HIMARS since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Reuters reported.
“We are aware of these latest claims by Minister Shoigu and they are again patently false,” stated Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon’s acting spokesman.
“What is happening, however, is that the Ukrainians are employing with devastating accuracy and effectiveness, each of the fully accounted for precision missile systems the U.S., our Allies, and partners have provided them to defend against Russia’s brutal, criminal invasion,” said Breasseale.
For more Dallas crime-related news, see how Dallas City Councilmember Chad West of District 1 was named The Dallas Express’ Crime Boss of the Month for April 2022.