A joint law enforcement operation involving the USA, the EU countries, and the UK has dismantled the infrastructure of a Russia-linked botnet known as RSOCKS stated the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The RSOCKS botnet has compromised millions of computers and devices worldwide, including IoT equipment like routers and smart garage openers.
According to the DoJ, RSOCKS customers paid between US$30 and US$200 per day to channel malicious internet activity through hacked computers to mask or hide the source of the traffic.
Wikipedia’s owner, the Wikimedia Foundation, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision which demanded that Wikipedia remove content related to the Ukraine war. Previously, Wikimedia was fined 5 million rubles (US$88,000) in a court decision for failing to remove the content in question. Wikimedia argues that people have a right to know the facts of the war and that removing information is a violation of human rights to knowledge access and free expression.
Wikimedia stated that, while its website is accessible within Russia, the country has no authority over Wikipedia, which it describes as a global resource available in 300 languages. The Moscow court argued that the disinformation posted on Wikipedia represented a threat to Russian public order and that the foundation in fact operates in Russia.
So far, the foundation has refused to comply with Russia’s demands to delete the articles in question.
Russia warned that the West’s cyberattacks against Russian infrastructure could lead to direct military confrontation.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that ‘The militarization of the information space by the West, and attempts to turn it into an arena of interstate confrontation, have greatly increased the threat of a direct military clash with unpredictable consequences.’
The statement added that Washington was ‘deliberately lowering the threshold for the combat use’ of cyberweapons.
The statement also attributes cyberattacks on Russian infrastructure and governmental institutions to the USA and Ukraine and warns: ‘Rest assured, Russia will not leave aggressive actions unanswered.’
The warning came after Russia’s housing ministry website was hacked over the weekend and its traffic redirected to a ‘Glory to Ukraine’ sign.
The EU is considering a ban on providing cloud computing services to Russia as part of a new round of sanctions, an EU official told Reuters.
Although the EU announced in a public press release that the sixth sanctions package would include a restriction on the provision of cloud services, cloud technologies were not included in the final decision. As later explained by the press officer for the EU Council, the reference to the ban on cloud services in the first statement was ‘a fabric error’.
The cloud service restriction was not recommended by the European Commission, according to an EU official familiar with sanctions decisions. Nonetheless, such a prospect was not ruled out.
Russia is prepared to face eventual internet disconnection by Europe, stated Maksut Shadayev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. The plan is for Russian internet providers to redirect traffic through international exchange points in Asia, and Rostelecom has the necessary capabilities, Shadayev explained. Traffic exchange points in Europe are still open for Russian internet providers.
Commander of the US Cyber Command General Paul Nakasone confirmed that the USA conducted offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine. ‘We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,’ the general stated, but did not elaborate further.
Twitter has introduced a new ‘Crisis Misinformation Policy‘ to crack down on online misinformation regarding the war in Ukraine and other crises.
The company explained it would begin displaying warning notices in front of some misleading content regarding the conflict in Ukraine and limit the spread of claims disproved by humanitarian groups or other credible sources. Twitter will prioritise labelling misleading content from accounts with a larger audience, including state media and official government accounts.
Meta Platforms Inc announced it had withdrawn a request for a policy advisory opinion (PAO) about content related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine previously referred to the Oversight Board. Meta cited ‘ongoing safety and security concerns,’ but not giving any further details. It’s the first time Meta has withdrawn such a request, setting a precedent that could hurt its working relationship with the Oversight Board.
Meta said it stands by its efforts related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expressed its belief that it is ‘taking the right steps to protect speech and balance the ongoing security concerns on the ground’.
The Oversight Board responded to the withdrawal in a tweet, ‘While the Board understands these concerns, we believe the request raises important issues and are disappointed by the company’s decision to withdraw it.’
The Oversight Board rules on issues as an independent body, helps Meta police content on its social media platforms for controversial posts and advises on site policies. The Board includes academics, rights experts and lawyers.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov claimed in a Telegram post that Binance, one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges, has stopped allowing Russians to perform transactions and withdraw money from their Binance accounts regardless of their residence.
Previously, Binance curbed services for users residing in Russia holding crypto worth over €10,000 but stated that non-sanctioned Russians, who can prove that they live outside the country through proof-of-address verification, would not be affected by these changes.
Four US Democratic lawmakers have written to CEOs of YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc., asking them to archive any content of alleged Russian war crimes.
That content ‘could potentially be used as evidence as the US government and international human rights and accountability monitors investigate Russian war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities in Ukraine,’ the letter said.
