The Coalition for Media Freedom warns that the latest, extremely severe hacker attacks on critical media outlets, which are currently ongoing, are part of a broader, systemic pressure on media freedom.
At present, the portals Radar, Južne vesti, Glas Šumadije, Pressek, Vranje News, the Kraljevo-based Krug, E-Braničevo, and others are being targeted.
Given the large number of media outlets exposed to these attacks, the fact that the attacks have been ongoing for an extended period, and that they are particularly intense, it can be concluded that the perpetrators are not individuals but well-organized structures with significant financial resources. We remind the public that this is not the first hacker attack on independent media in Serbia, and that such attacks have been occurring since 2014. If the perpetrators and those who ordered these attacks are not identified this time either, it is reasonable to suspect that the state itself, or structures linked to the state, are behind them.
We also recall that this problem has been highlighted in numerous reports by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the OSCE, as well as in public statements by their representatives.
In short, these institutions consider hacker attacks on critical media to be part of an escalation of threats to the safety of journalists and media outlets, and that this issue is directly related to the state of democracy and the rule of law in Serbia. For years, such attacks have not been treated as mere technical incidents, but as an instrument of political pressure and digital censorship.
As a rule, the attacks are coordinated and temporally linked to electoral processes, protests, and the publication of investigative stories.
International institutions and domestic organizations have repeatedly demanded that cases of hacker attacks be resolved, but to date, in not a single case has it been revealed who is behind them.
Hacker attacks on media websites constitute a criminal offense, and the competent institutions have an obligation to conduct an investigation and identify those responsible. Identifying the perpetrators is crucial for protecting media content, ensuring safety, and safeguarding the public’s right to timely information.
Coalition for Media Freedom: the Media Association, the Online Media Association (AOM), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (IJAV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Lokal Pres,” the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and the “Nezavisnost” Branch Trade Union of Culture, Art and Media.
