In mid-September, the Ukrainian hacker group Hdr0 attacked the website of Mosoblenergo, a Russian state energy service provider. The hackers put on the home page a picture of Oleksiy Danilov, a high-ranking Ukrainian defense official, walking on the Red Square while the Kremlin was on fire. The hackers also obtained the database of company employees. …
Dutch high-tech companies unknowingly sell their technology to firms founded by the Russian military intelligence service. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense confirms this after statements about this by Jan Swillens, head of the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD). He warns in the FD that the Dutch high-tech sector is unwittingly supplying crucial …
Dutch high-tech sector unconsciously supplies technology to Russia Read More
Naspers affiliate Prosus has sold Avito, the Russian classifieds giant, for 151 billion rubles ($2.46 billion at the current exchange), to Kismet Capital Group. The transaction, which was announced in mid-October, was closed earlier this week, reported news agencies. A consortium of banks, headed by Russian Agricultural Bank, organized financing for the transaction, Kismet said. Avito was valued at $3.85 …
Naspers sells Russian classifieds giant Avito to Russian investor Read More
The National Republican Army (NRA) of Russia is seeking the overthrow of Vladimir Putin’s regime, including via the use of violent means. On Oct. 17, in perhaps one of the largest IT-security breaches in Russian history, NRA-affiliates told Kyiv Post that they had hacked several major Russian technology firms that are currently providing services critical to the …
Russian anti-Putin hackers claim massive attack on government contractors computers Read More
Playrix today announced it is fully withdrawing from Russia and Belarus, “due to the continued aggression against Ukraine and in order to maintain its operations.” The Russian-founded global mobile gaming giant will “close all the company’s offices” and “shut down all operations of its studios” in Russia and Belarus. The remaining staff will be “relocated from Russia and Belarus …
Playrix fully withdraws from Russia and Belarus, keeps operating in Ukraine Read More
Last week VK Company, one of Russia’s top Internet companies, announced the sale of its international gaming division My.Games to Alexander Chachava, Managing Partner of Russian venture firm LETA Capital. The deal includes 100% of the shares and assets of My.Games, including its studios and game products. The deal valued My.Games at $642 million — some …
VK sells its international gaming division in fear of sanctions Read More
The international acceptance of MIR, Russia’s answer to Visa and Mastercard, shrunk dramatically last week as major banks from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam announced the suspension of such transactions. These announcements came soon after the US authorities warned banks outside the US that supporting MIR transactions could expose them to the risk …
According to Mediascope data (cited by Kommersant), Russians spent more time on YouTube in the first six months of 2022 than previously. They spent on average about 84 minutes per day on the site in this period, then 87 minutes in July and 88 minutes in August. Among the reasons for this trend could be news fatigue and a desire for …
YouTube used increasingly in Russia mainly for entertainment purposes Read More
Russian kicksharing service Whoosh intends to go public on the Moscow Exchange this or next year, unnamed sources told Forbes Russia and Reuters last week. Under plans, the e-scooter company could raise 10 billion roubles ($167 million at the current exchange rate) at a valuation of around 40 billion roubles ($666 million), Reuters learned. A Whoosh spokesperson told Reuters: “Like …
Top Russian e-scooter service aims to raise $167 million on Moscow Exchange Read More
Yango, the international division of Yandex operating taxi, kicksharing and delivery services, has launched its taxi hailing service in test mode in the United Arab Emirates, reports Interfax. “Yandex is developing world-class technologies and services and is constantly experimenting with them on international markets. Testing of taxis in Dubai on a pilot basis is no …
Lagging behind the world in the development of microelectronics for 15 years, Russia critically depends on foreign technologies in the design and production of relevant products, the authorities concede as the sanctions have made further development even more challenging. The main issues of Russia’s microelectronics industry are listed in a draft policy document about industry development …
Russian microelectronics lags behind the world by 15 years Read More
According to the latest release of Atlas VPN’s Global VPN Adoption Index, downloads of virtual private networks (VPN) reached 215 million in the first half of 2022. Russia recorded the most significant shift, with nearly 35 million downloads of VPN services in said period. While Russians had only made only 12.5 million downloads during the previous year, …
35 million Russians downloaded VPN applications in H1 2022 Read More
