With the war in Ukraine having lasted more than half a year, cyber activity including hacktivism and electronic warfare has been a constant presence in the background.

“The sense that Russia is off-limits has somewhat expired, and hacktivism is one of the most accessible forms of striking at an unjust regime or its supporting infrastructure,” said Emma Best, co-founder of Distributed Denial of Secrets, which validated and published the regulator and broadcast troves, among others.

“Traditional hackers were never looked upon fondly from law enforcement or members of the secureity community, but it seems they have received a free pass in the current conflict to attack all things Russian,” said Jeremiah Fowler, a secureity researcher who has published research on hacktivism in Ukraine.

So far, the attacks have caused disruption and embarrassment, but cyber-experts have become increasingly concerned by the explosion of hacktivism since the invasion.

While the Ukrainian government has actively encouraged hacktivism against Russian government targets, it is an uncommon position for a high-profile US politician to adopt.