The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) acknowledges that it was the target of a hacker attack in late October, according to Reuters. The French newspaper Le Monde attributes the attack to the Russian hacker group called “APT28” (“Advanced Persistent Threat 28”), better known as “Fancy Bear,” which American officials have accused of …
Russian hackers reportedly attacked the OSCE in October Read More
State technology firm Rostec could be set to merge with one of the Russia’s largest defense contractors, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. If the plan goes through, Rostec’s Roseletroniki company would merge with defense companies RTI and Micron, which are owned by the private Sistema conglomerate. The shakeup would allow Rostec and Sistema to claim 80 percent of …
Rostec eyes merger to dominate Russian electronics market Read More
On Oct. 19, Yevgeny Nikulin, a suspected Russia hacker, was arrested in Prague by local police working with the FBI. The American side is currently seeking his extradition to the United States. “The Russian Foreign Ministry and embassy in Prague are actively working with the authorities in order to prevent the extradition of a Russian citizen …
Over the past several months, Muscovites have been busy complaining on social media that their GPS-powered mobile apps are malfunctioning. Users of Yandex.Navigator have run into frequent problems, for example, watching their vehicles’ locations bounce all over the map. When the Pokemon Go craze arrived in Russia earlier this year, Moscow’s geolocation issues became truly …
Last Friday the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) publicly named the Russian government for directing “the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations.” It claimed that the disclosures of hacked emails “on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are intended to interfere with …
Russian spycraft: How the Kremlin hacked its way into a crisis Read More
Russian companies have begun searching for ways to fully decipher intercepted messages on popular platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday. Decryption of messages is a key provision of the recently-passed anti-terror law authored by conservative lawmaker, Irina Yarovaya. As part of the wide-ranging law, all companies providing online communication are …
Russia begins search for decryption of online messengers Read More
The head of Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, has named online giants such as Google and Yandex as the ”key threats” to the company. Sberbank CEO German Gref warned that traditional banks are set to lose out as increasing amounts of money are being transferred online through services such as Facebook and Yandex Money. “The problem …
Google and Yandex are ”key threats” to banks, says Sberbank’s CEO Read More
The Kremlin has already begun work on plans to monitor and decrypt Russia’s online traffic in real-time, Kommersant has reported. According to the Russian business daily, Natalya Kaspersky, CEO of cyber-security firm InfoWatch and a member of the Kremlin’s IT and Sovereignty working group, confirmed that talks on the project were already under way. Kaspersky later denied the claims, saying that the newspaper had “twisted her words.” The …
Kremlin starts talks to decrypt all Internet traffic in real-time Read More
State censors in Russia cut off access yesterday to the world’s biggest pornography website, Pornhub. The website appeared on the list of websites banned by the government agency Roskomnadzor on Tuesday, Sept. 13. A Russian court will rule whether the ban will remain in place at a later date. A Russian Internet without the Web’s …
Russian telecom regulator blocks access to Pornhub Read More
Earlier this year, the Kremlin tasked the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian) to develop develop a new secure messaging service for government. Concerned that foreign governments could access secret Russian information shared via Western apps such as WhatsApp and Viber, officials expressed concerns that Russia’s security agencies were unable to crack encryption if …
Russian companies fight for secure government messenger contract Read More
Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has filed a case against US tech giant Apple on allegations of price-fixing. A number of retailers are continuing to sell the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, and other models at the same price as when the phones were released in October 2015, the FAS claim. Some 16 Russian companies are alleged to be involved in the case, including MTS, M.Video, Beeline, Eldorado, Euroset, Media …
Russia files case against Apple on allegations of price-fixing Read More
Moscow City Hall has announced the launch of its own version of online game “Pokemon Go.” Russians will be asked to find and “catch” historical figures in the streets of the capital via an app called “Know Moscow.Photo.” The game, which is due to be released in August, will use the augmented reality technology of …
Moscow authorities to launch their own version of Pokemon Go Read More
