Hackers Breach Russian Glaz/Groza Combat Control System

Hackers have breached the Russian Glaz/Groza combat control system and gained access to its data.

The “Where is Russia today” community reported that they also obtained instructions, videos, patents, and other materials related to the system.

Groza is one of Russia’s primary apps for targeting and command-and-control of troops.

Its main purpose is to simplify interaction between reconnaissance drones using the Glaz software, commanders, and fire units on the ground. The system is designed to reduce the time required for target identification and engagement within the reconnaissance-to-fire chain.

As it turned out, the system is administered through Telegram groups, where administrators provide support to users and distribute new versions of the application to Russian military personnel.

Maps in Groza allow users to plot positions of friendly and enemy forces to guide operations and improve situational awareness.

After the breach, hackers replaced part of the cartographic data with images of the Ukrainian flag and various inscriptions.

“Numerous complaints from users about the breach have been recorded: they cannot connect to the application, are unable to remove images that keep reappearing, and administrators are trying to fix the problem,” Where is Russia today reported.

Instructions for the system were also found during the investigation, including hundreds of pages of full user guides for the application.

In addition, the team discovered a training video demonstrating the system in real time.

A patent for Groza was also found, detailing the system’s operating principles, user base, and other systems it interacts with.

The patent indicates that the application belongs to the Russian company Media Effect.