All posts tagged: Russia

Russia launches Department of European Problems to deal with EU – POLITICO

Russia launches Department of European Problems to deal with EU – POLITICO

Russia has a new governmental department to deal with the EU and NATO: The Department of European Problems. The unit already existed within Russia’s foreign ministry, but was previously known as the Department of Pan-European Cooperation (DOC) before it was last week renamed the much spicier Department of European Problems (DEP), according to Russian media. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told local media the name change reflected “changes in geopolitical realities,” including the “obvious degradation of multilateral cooperation structures in Europe.” Russia’s relations with Europe have been in a deep freeze since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The EU imposed sweeping sanctions on the Kremlin, confiscating Russian assets and pledging support for Ukraine. Moscow announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe in March 2022, and in July this year suspended its participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. Source link

Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice Gets Theatrical Release in Russia

Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice Gets Theatrical Release in Russia

The critically acclaimed Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice — which the former president has repeatedly denounced — is heading to cinemas in a somewhat surprising place: Russia.  The film, written by veteran Vanity Fair reporter Gabriel Sherman and directed by rising Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi, is opening on 800 screens across Russia on Friday. Moscow-based distributor Arna Media is handling the release after acquiring the local rights to the film last month from U.K. sales agent Rocket Science. Sources close to the film say that only modest cuts were required to get the movie into Russia.  The Russia release plan stands somewhat in contrast to the real Donald Trump’s reportedly cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin has drastically curtailed any artistic expression he deems unwelcome to his regime’s interests. Moscow has raided concerts and fined musicians who have criticized the country’s war in Ukraine, put dissenting filmmakers on wanted lists, and censored books and art exhibitions. Last month, journalist Bob Woodward reported that Trump has spoken with Putin repeatedly since leaving the White House. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened …

Cybercriminals Pose a Greater Threat of Disruptive US Election Hacks Than Russia or China

Cybercriminals Pose a Greater Threat of Disruptive US Election Hacks Than Russia or China

Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state-backed hackers have been active throughout the 2024 United States campaign season, compromising digital accounts associated with political campaigns, spreading disinformation, and probing election systems. But in a report from early October, the threat-sharing and coordination group known as the Election Infrastructure ISAC warned that cybercriminals like ransomware attackers pose a far greater risk of launching disruptive attacks than foreign espionage actors. While state-backed actors were emboldened following Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, the report points out that they favor intelligence-gathering and influence operations rather than disruptive attacks, which would be viewed as direct hostility against the US government. Ideologically and financially motivated actors, on the other hand, generally aim to cause disruption with hacks like ransomware or DDoS attacks. The document was first obtained by the national security transparency nonprofit Property of the People and viewed by WIRED. The US Department of Homeland Security, which contributed to the report and distributed it, did not return WIRED’s requests for comment. The Center for Internet Security, which runs the …

Why Are North Korean Troops in Russia?

Why Are North Korean Troops in Russia?

Over the last month, North Korea’s role aiding Russia in its war in Ukraine has significantly escalated. U.S. officials reported that North Korean soldiers are already operating in the Kursk region in western Russia, where Ukrainian forces are staging a counteroffensive. Michael Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, explains what the deeping relationship between Russia and North Korea means for the war in Ukraine and the world. Source link

Joe Rogan asked Donald Trump for specifics on how 2020 was stolen. Then could only laugh at the answer

Joe Rogan asked Donald Trump for specifics on how 2020 was stolen. Then could only laugh at the answer

Joe Rogan could be seen laughing as he pressed former president Donald Trump for specifics on how the election was stolen in 2020. The Republican nominee sat down Friday for an interview with the No. 1 podcaster. The interview ran for three hours and delayed Trump’s appearance in Traverse City, Michigan, later in the day. At one point, Trump and Rogan started to discuss the 2020 election. “I won by like,” Trump said, “I lost by like…I didn’t lose.” Rogan could then be seen laughing. “They say I lost, Joe, they say I lost by 22,000 votes,” Trump continued. “That’s like one one-tenth of one percent, it’s less than that. It’s a tiny little thing. Twenty-two thousand votes that’s spread all over this period. “Fifty-one intelligent agents lied, they lied, they knew it was Hunter’s, it was from his bed. They said it was created by Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia. It was the Russia hoax.” Donald Trump sat down with Joe Rogan for a podcast interview. At one point, Rogan could only laugh as Trump …

Chinese Hackers Target Trump Campaign via Verizon Breach

Chinese Hackers Target Trump Campaign via Verizon Breach

The Chinese spy operation adds to the growing sense of a melee of foreign digital interference in the election, which has already included Iranian hackers’ attempt to hack and leak emails from the Trump campaign—with limited success—and Russia-linked disinformation efforts across social media. Ahead of the full launch next week of Apple’s AI platform, Apple Intelligence, the company debuted tools this week for security researchers to evaluate its cloud infrastructure known as Private Cloud Compute. Apple has gone to great lengths to engineer a secure and private AI cloud platform, and this week’s release includes extensive detailed technical documentation of its security features as well as a research environment that is already available in the macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta release. The testing features allow researchers (or anyone) to download and evaluate the actual version of PCC software that Apple is running in the cloud at a given time. The company tells WIRED that the only modifications to the software relate to optimizing it to run in the virtual machine for the research environment. Apple also …

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that it was Russia’s prerogative to deploy North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine. Speaking to journalists at the final press conference of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Putin said: “This is our sovereign decision. Whether we use it or not, where, how, or whether we engage in exercises, training, or transfer some experience. It’s our business.” Putin’s comments mark the first time that the Russian president commented on the dispatch of the North Korean military to Russia. While he did not deny their presence on Russian territory, he did not specify why they were there. Source link

Cybercriminals increasingly help Russia, China, Iran target US, allies

Cybercriminals increasingly help Russia, China, Iran target US, allies

WASHINGTON —  Russia, China and Iran are increasingly relying on criminal networks to lead cyberespionage and hacking operations against adversaries such as the United States, according to a report on digital threats published Tuesday by Microsoft. The growing collaboration between authoritarian governments and criminal hackers has alarmed national security officials and cybersecurity experts. They say it represents the increasingly blurred lines between actions directed by Beijing or the Kremlin aimed at undermining rivals and the illicit activities of groups typically more interested in financial gain. In one example, Microsoft’s analysts found that a criminal hacking group with links to Iran infiltrated an Israeli dating site and then tried to sell or ransom the personal information it obtained. Microsoft concluded the hackers had two motives: to embarrass Israelis and make money. In another, investigators identified a Russian criminal network that infiltrated more than 50 electronic devices used by the Ukrainian military in June, apparently seeking access and information that could aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was no obvious financial motive for the group, aside from …

Russian army sends wolves to the front to help counter threat from Ukraine drones | World | News

Russian army sends wolves to the front to help counter threat from Ukraine drones | World | News

Vladimir Putin’s army is turning to wild animals in a desperate bid to try and counter the threat from Ukrainian drones. Army chiefs are pondering using wolves to help detect the approach of the deadly UAVS. Troops say the animals have a good sense of smell, are sociable and active, and can warn of danger in advance. Russian commanders have decided to run an experiment to see if wolves can make a difference. Two tamed wolves have been dispatched to Ukraine to serve with a unit that is fighting there. A Russian news agency reported: “The predators can hear the approach of drones and warn of danger in advance. “They will help Russian soldiers carry out combat missions in the [war] zone.” The two females were rescued from the Siberian region of Khakassia and raised by wolf-tamer Aleksandr Konchakov. In a video, he can be seen feeding ice cream to one of the wolves, called Vysota. He said: “The puppies were simply brought to me by hunters without a mother. “They have excellent intuition and …