Tag Archives: Russia

Mike Pompeo Publicly Blames Russia For Cyber Attack

Politico reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly blamed Russia for the monthslong cyber hack of agencies across the U.S. government. “This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity,” Pompeo told radio host Mark Levin in an interview released …

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Feds Elevate Alarm At Russian Hacking: “Grave Risk”

The Associated Press reports: Federal authorities expressed increased alarm today about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks. The hack compromised federal agencies and “critical infrastructure” in a sophisticated attack that was …

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Biden Vows Retaliation For Russian Hacking Attacks

From a statement issued today by Joe Biden: I have instructed my team to learn as much as we can about this breach, and Vice President-elect Harris and I are grateful to the career public servants who have briefed our team on their findings and who are working around-the-clock to respond to this attack. A good defense isn’t enough; we …

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Romney Rips Trump’s “Inexcusable Silence” On Hacking

Mediaite reports: Senator Mitt Romney is the rarest of breeds currently serving in the U.S. Senate: an elected Republican willing to criticize President Donald Trump. The latest example came on Thursday afternoon after news broke of a massive cyberattack reportedly carried out by Russia. Romney was mocked when, during his 2012 bid for the White House, he named Russia as …

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Russian Hackers Hit Agency That Handles US Nukes

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. nuclear weapons agency and at least three states were hacked as part of a suspected Russian cyber-attack that struck several federal government agencies. The Energy Department and its National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains America’s nuclear stockpile, were targeted as part of a larger attack by suspected Russian hackers. In an advisory Thursday that signaled …

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Russia Sanctioned For Next Two Olympics For Doping

The Associated Press reports: Russia was banned Thursday from using its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years. Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete …

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Russian Hackers Also Hit Pentagon And State Dept

The New York Times reports: The scope of a hack engineered by one of Russia’s premier intelligence agencies became clearer on Monday, when some Trump administration officials acknowledged that other federal agencies — the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and parts of the Pentagon — had been compromised. Investigators were struggling to determine the extent to which the …

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Putin Finally Congratulates Biden On Winning Election

CNN reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election Tuesday, six weeks after the vote and a day after the Electoral College officially affirmed Biden’s win. While many world leaders congratulated President-elect Biden within days of the election, the Kremlin said at the time that it deemed it “correct” to wait for …

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Russian Hackers Also Penetrated Homeland Security

Reuters reports: A team of sophisticated hackers believed to be working for the Russian government won access to internal communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter. The breach was part of the campaign reported Sunday that penetrated the U.S. departments of Treasury and Commerce. DHS is a massive bureaucracy responsible for border …

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Russian Spies Hack Into US Treasury, US Commerce

The Washington Post reports: The Russian government hackers who breached a top cybersecurity firm are behind a global espionage campaign that also compromised the Treasury and Commerce departments and other government agencies, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The FBI is investigating the campaign by a hacking group working …

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Russian State TV: Putin Should Give Trump Asylum

The Daily Beast reports: Affectionately referring to Donald Trump as “our Donald,” “Trumpusha” and “Comrade Trump,” Russian lawmakers, experts and pundits repeatedly have expressed their concerns about the future of Moscow’s all-time favorite U.S. president. Co-host of Russian state TV news talk show 60 Minutes Olga Skabeeva brought up the possibility that President Trump would end up seeking asylum in …

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Microwave Weapon Likely Used On US Diplomats

NBC News reports: The mysterious neurological symptoms experienced by American diplomats in China and Cuba are consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, according to a long-awaited report by the National Academies of Sciences that cites medical evidence to support the long-held conviction of American intelligence officials. The report, obtained Friday by NBC News, does not conclude that the …

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Russia Claims Its Vax Is 95% Effective, Will Cost $20

The Hill reports: Russia on Tuesday said its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will cost less than $10 per dose on international markets and is more than 95 percent effective. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund that is bankrolling the country’s vaccine efforts, said vaccination would be free of charge for Russian citizens beginning next year …

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AP: Russian Hospitals Overrun With COVID Patients

The Associated Press reports: Three times last week, the Russian government reported a record number of daily deaths, and the number of daily new infections per 100,000 people has more than doubled since Oct. 1, from 6 to over 15. Overall, Russia has recorded over 2 million cases and over 35,000 deaths, but experts say all numbers worldwide understate the …

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FBI Renews Probe Into Giuliani’s Link To Russian Intel

CNN reports: In recent weeks, FBI agents in New York contacted witnesses and asked new questions about Giuliani’s efforts in Ukraine and possible connections to Russian intelligence, according to a person briefed on the matter. The FBI investigators, who have spoken to at least one witness previously months ago, came back to ask new questions recently about possible origins of …

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Putin Won’t Congratulate Biden Until Results Finalized

Politico Europe reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not congratulate Joe Biden until the U.S. election results are finalized, the Kremlin’s top spokesman said Monday. “Anticipating your possible question about Putin congratulating the U.S. president-elect, I want to say the following: we consider it correct to wait for the official summing up of the results of the elections,” Putin’s spokesman …

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Giuliani Tells Russian State TV That Biden Has Dementia

The Daily Beast reports: The Kremlin-backed news network RT kicked off its Election Day coverage with an interview with Rudy Giuliani, who gleefully helped spread misinformation about the vote. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer appeared on RT’s Going Underground show in an interview broadcast Tuesday morning. During the chat, Giuliani furthered a Russian disinformation campaign to make false claims about …

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10M Gets Robocalls Urging Them To “Stay At Home”

The Washington Post reports: An unidentified robocaller has placed an estimated 10 million calls in the past several weeks warning people to “stay safe and stay home,” spooking some Americans who said they saw it as an attempt to scare them away from the polls on Election Day. The barrage of calls all feature the same short, recorded message: A …

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Edward Snowden And Wife Seek Russian Citizenship

The Guardian reports: The US whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife are applying for Russian citizenship in order not to be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders, he said on Monday. Snowden’s wife, Lindsay, is expecting a child in late December, the Interfax news agency cited Anatoly Kucherena, his Russian lawyer, as saying. …

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Putin Reinstates National Mask Mandate Amid Surge

The Moscow Times reports: Russia has reinstated a nationwide mask mandate starting Wednesday amid a record-setting second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has announced. Russians will be required to wear masks in all crowded places, including public transport, taxis, parking lots and elevators, Rospotrebnadzor said Tuesday. The new nationwide rules come amid widespread reports of hospital …

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