Military

Somebody Took Down These Official Russian Websites With a ‘Teapot’ Prank

February 25, 2022Noelle Wiehe
teapot website prank

Within hours of Russian military forces invading Ukraine, somebody pulled a “teapot” prank on major Russian military and government websites. Composite by Marty Skovlund Jr./Coffee or Die Magazine.

Within hours of Russian military forces invading Ukraine, major Russian military and government websites went down, and whoever was responsible wanted the Russians to know it. 


Official Russian websites Kremlin.ru and Mil.ru began returning error messages midmorning Thursday, Feb. 24, hours after the Russian invasion began. Kremlin.ru is the official press website of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, featuring news releases and archived speeches. The pages would not load in a wide range of computer and mobile browsers attempted by Coffee or Die Magazine, and reports of the outage were widespread on social media.


Whoever was responsible set the Russian systems to return a so-called teapot error message, a reference to an arcane practical joke in the cyber world, in which an attacked system is said to be reduced to the level of an automated teapot. 




Russia’s military website, Mil.ru, was returning the error message “418 I’m a Teapot.”


According to a Mozilla developer website, the error response code indicates that the server “is, permanently, a teapot.”


The identity of the attacker or attackers was unclear, though the teapot reference suggests they were civilians steeped in cyber culture rather than government-sponsored hackers bent on damage.


Eventually, the Russians got the site restarted but only by blocking users outside of Russia.




A loophole shared by Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev allows access to the Kremlin site. Problems were also found in accessing the State Duma site, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia.


According to The Independent, the downed Russian sites mirrored incidents over recent days when Ukrainian sites experienced outages. 


[ig_post url=”https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1496872413157806085″ /]


 


“Hours before Russia began its invasion, the official websites of the Ukrainian parliament, government and foreign ministry were knocked offline in what the country said was a cyber attack,” The Independent reported Thursday. 


Read Next: Russia Attacks Ukraine, Targets Key Military Sites as Ground Forces Move In



Noelle Wiehe
Noelle Wiehe

Noelle is a former staff writer for Coffee or Die through a fellowship from Military Veterans in Journalism. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and interned with the US Army Cadet Command. Noelle also worked as a civilian journalist covering several units, including the 75th Ranger Regiment on Fort Benning, before she joined the military as a public affairs specialist.

More from Coffee or Die Magazine
dear jack mandaville
Dear Jack: Which Historic Battle Would You Want To Witness?

Ever wonder how much Jack Mandaville would f*ck sh*t up if he went back in time? The American Revolution didn't even see him coming.

west point time capsule
West Point Time Capsule Yields Centuries-Old Coins

A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that at first appeared to yield little more than dust contains hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said.

Ouija Board aircraft carrier
Low-Tech ‘Ouija Boards’ Have Helped Aircraft Carriers Operate for Decades

Since the 1920s, a low-tech tabletop replica of an aircraft carrier’s flight deck has been an essential tool in coordinating air operations.

Army vs. Navy mascot
The Navy Goat vs. the Army Mule: Mascot Origin Stories

For nearly as long as the Army-Navy football rivalry, the academies’ hoofed mascots have stared each other down from the sidelines. Here are their stories.

ukraine long-range weapon
Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Has Developed a Long-Range Weapon, a Day After Strike Deep Inside Russia

Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel the weapon was produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.

ambush
7 of the Best Movie Ambush Scenes of All Time

Ambushes make for great action scenes. Here are seven of the best to ever grace the big screen.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter, center right, reportedly named Ju Ae, review the honor guard during their visit to the navy headquarter in North Korea
North Korea Launches Missile Toward Sea After US Flies Bomber During Drills

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the launch occurred Wednesday but gave no further details, such as how far the missile flew.

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
Contact Us
© 2023 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved