Ukrainian Journalists Hit with SMS Bombing After Reporting on Anti-Corruption Protests

July 29, 2025 – Ukraine – 

Two investigative journalists in Khmelnytskyi were subjected to a coordinated SMS bombing attack following their work covering protests against legislation perceived as threatening the independence of Ukraine’s anti‑corruption institutions, NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office)

The journalists, among them Kateryna Vovk, received hundreds of authentication codes via SMS over five hours (approximately 07:30 to 12:30 local time). The messages were linked to repeated attempted logins across multiple platforms, indicating that attackers fed her phone number into various sites to generate code messages. Simultaneously, repeated calls came from unknown numbers, and an attempt was made to access her Telegram account. Vovk noted that the targeted number had been provided to authorities only days earlier (on July 22) in connection with notifying police about a protest she participated in regarding the passage of draft bill No. 12414, which critics—including Transparency International Ukraine warned would compromise NABU and SAPO’s independence.

The journalists pointed out that both their numbers had been exposed only in connection with their reporting on the protests, and that the same websites featured in the SMS attack suggested a deliberate, coordinated targeting effort coinciding with their coverage.

SMS bombing is a disruptive cyber‑harassment technique that floods a phone with verification codes, overwhelming the recipient and sometimes hindering access to services. While it does not necessarily constitute proof of account compromise or hacking, it can lead to denial‑of‑service effects and heighten vulnerability to further technical intrusion.

This incident underscores the escalating digital and physical risks facing Ukrainian journalists covering politically sensitive topics, especially around anti‑corruption reforms. It ties into a broader pattern of cyber harassment documented by Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Information (IMI), which has previously documented threats to journalists, including sniper fire, drone targeting, bomb threats via email, and legal intimidation connected to their investigative work.

In sum, the attack on these Khmelnytskyi-based reporters appears to be retaliatory, tied directly to their independent coverage of contentious legislation and protest activity, highlighting digital harassment as a growing tool for undermining press freedom and intimidating journalists in Ukraine.

Reference – 

https://imi.org.ua/en/news/two-khmelnytskyi-journalists-targeted-in-sms-bombing-attack-after-their-media-outlets-report-on-i69559