Europe reveals how Kremlin pranksters call high-ranking Western officials

The fact that Russian pranksters are able to reach Western politicians is not a matter of cybersecurity, but of "governance and common sense." About this in an interview with LIGA.net said Mihkel Tikk, deputy commander of the Estonian Armed Forces Cyber Command.

The journalist asked what it says about cybersecurity or the basic level of online protection of high-level Western politicians that the Russian pranksters "Vovan and Lexus" (Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov), who work for the Kremlin, have managed to prank famous figures several times: for example, the former British prime minister Boris Johnson and the head of Polish diplomacy Radosław Sikorski.

"In a sense, every official is an official 24/7, but at the same time, they are someone's parents, friends, or colleagues. This means that they answer unexpected calls. I'm not sure if this is a cybersecurity issue," the official said.

In his opinion, this reflects a deeper problem – "where cyber begins and where it ends."

"Is artificial intelligence part of cyber, or is cyber part of AI? We used to say that cyber is about abusing processes because processes are imperfect. Today, technology permeates our entire life. Cyber is a horizontal sphere that touches everything," Tikk added.

At the same time, he emphasized that it is technically easy to block calls from such pranksters, but added that "the real issue is different."

"Think of security as a house: first you lock the doors and windows. Then you decide when and to whom to open the door. Just like with a peephole, you have to check who is behind the door before you let them in. This is the essence of security," explained the deputy commander.

According to him, it is dangerous to reduce everything to a cyber issue only, as it is essentially a matter of "governance and common sense."

"And each country discusses it differently – each cyber commander has its own structure, and each audience understands the word 'cyber' in its own way," he concluded.

• In the summer of 2024, then-British foreign secretary Cameron held a video call with a prankster who impersonated the fifth president of Ukraine, Poroshenko.
• In the winter of the same year, Ukraine's then-ambassador to the United States, Markarova, reported that she was receiving many messages from pranksters who impersonate American officials.