Monday, August 07, 2023

NATO, EU send aid to Slovenia after devastating floods kill six and destroys homes

NATO FINALLY DOES SOME GOOD

AP
7 Aug, 2023

Entire villages in Slovenia are still underwater in Slovenia, with crops destroyed and cars buried in mud. Major highways have been closed and bridges have also collapsed. Photo / AP

The European Union and Nato have begun sending urgent aid to Slovenia after severe flooding over the weekend affecting two-thirds of the small European country killed at least six people and left hundreds homeless.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke by phone with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, expressing his sympathy and Nato’s strong solidarity with Slovenia, a Nato statement said.

“I express my deepest condolences to the people of Slovenia for the loss of life and widespread devastation caused by this weekend’s floods,” Stoltenberg said.

At the weekend, Slovenia and Cyprus activated a European Union Civil Protection Mechanism because of the floods in Slovenia and wildfires in Cyprus that have affected those EU states.

The EU is sending to Cyprus two Canadair firefighting airplanes from the EU’s Civil Protection Pool stationed in Greece. Greece is also sending 20 tons of liquid retardant via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

A flooded area in Crna na Koroskem, Slovenia, after torrential rains caused rivers to swell swiftly and burst into houses, fields and towns. Photo / AP

The flooding in Slovenia was the worst in recent history in Slovenia, a country of some 2 million people, according to Slovenian officials.

France is sending two excavators with engineering units to Slovenia, while Germany is sending two prefabricated temporary bridges and two excavators with accompanying staff, the European Commission said.

Bulgaria and Croatia have also offered support, including helicopters, excavators, prefabricated bridges and engineering teams. The United States has also deployed staff to Ljubljana to assess the situation and determine urgent humanitarian needs.

The German Interior Ministry said it was sending a team from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief to Slovenia.

The floods were caused by torrential rains that caused rivers to swell swiftly and burst into houses, fields, villages and towns. Slovenia’s weather service said a month’s worth of rain fell in less than a day.

Experts say extreme weather conditions are partly fueled by climate change. Parts of Europe have seen record heat and wildfires this summer.

Entire villages are still underwater in Slovenia. Crops have been destroyed and cars are stuck in mud. Major highways in parts of Slovenia have been closed. Many bridges have also collapsed.

Slovenia's weather service said a month's worth of rain fell in less than a day. Photo / AP

Slovenian authorities warned of danger from possible mudslides and swollen rivers that could overflow at any time, overtaking banks of sandbags placed by emergency teams.

Several severe storms in the Alpine nation earlier in the summer blew off roofs, downed thousands of trees and killed one person in Slovenia and four others elsewhere in the region.

Flash floods were also reported in neighboring Austria and Croatia and heavy rains and storms caused major damage farther east in Serbia, which is downstream from the swollen Sava river that flows from Slovenia and Croatia over the Balkans.

Watch: Building destroyed in flooding in Alaska’s capital from glacial lake water release

AP
7 Aug, 2023

The swollen Mendenhall River courses along in Juneau, Alaska, after a glacial dam burst

caused flooding. Photo / BeckyBohrer, AP

At least two buildings have been destroyed and residents of others have been evacuated from Juneau after flooding caused by a release of water from a glacier-dammed lake near Alaska’s capital city, officials said.

The Mendenhall River flooded because of a major release from Suicide Basin above Alaska’s capital city, a news release from the City and Borough of Juneau said.

Video posted on social media showed towering trees behind a home falling into the rushing river as the water ate away at the bank. Eventually, the home, teetering at the edge, collapsed into the river.

River levels have since begun to drop but the city said the banks of the river remained highly unstable. Some roadways were blocked by silt and debris from the flooding.

Such glacial outburst floods happen when glaciers melt and pour massive amounts of water into nearby lakes. A study released earlier this year found such floods pose a risk to 15 million people around the globe, more than half of them in India, Pakistan, Peru and China.

Suicide Basin has released water that has caused flooding along the Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River since 2011, according to the National Weather Service. However, the maximum water level in the lake at the time of the buildings’ collapse exceeded the previous record flood stage set in July 2016, the weather service reported.

US Navy ships shadowed Russian-Chinese flotilla off Alaskan islands

By Geoff Ziezulewicz

NAVY TIMES
Aug 7, 2023

The guided-missile destroyer John S. McCain, shown here in 2021, and three other Navy destroyers shadowed a Russian-Chinese flotilla off of Alaska's Aleutian Islands last week, according to media reports and U.S. officials. (Navy)

The U.S. Navy shadowed a fleet of Russian and Chinese vessels off Alaska last week, according to media reports and U.S. Northern Command.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Saturday that 11 Russian and Chinese ships were steaming near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, citing anonymous U.S. officials.

According to the Journal report, those ships never entered U.S. waters but were shadowed by a P-8 Poseidon aircraft and four destroyers.

The Journal report does not note which days last week the patrol arrived near Alaska. NORTHCOM confirmed the sequence of events to Navy Times Monday but declined further comment.

“NORAD and USNORTHCOM actively monitored the Russian and Chinese combined naval patrol that operated near Alaska earlier this week,” according to a statement from the command. “Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada. The patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat.”

U.S. Senators Murkowski and Sullivan release Statements on Chinese and Russian Vessels off the Coast of Aleutians

The Alaskan Senators said the incident was a stark reminder of Alaska’s essential role in U.S. national defense and territorial sovereignty.

Elías Thorsson

7 August 2023

This weekend, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan released a statement regarding the 11 Chinese and Russian military vessels that were operating off the coast of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska last week. The Republican Senators expressed concerns over the incident and claimed to have been briefed on the matter by military officials.

“We have been in close contact with leadership from Alaska Command for several days now and received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels that are transiting U.S. waters in the Aleutians,” said Senator Murkowski. “This is a stark reminder of Alaska’s proximity to both China and Russia, as well as the essential role our state plays in our national defense and territorial sovereignty.”

Senator Murkowski added that incursions like this showcased the need to secure increased funding and resources to expand U.S. military’s capacity and capabilities in Alaska.

Senator Sullivan said the incursion was a reminder of a changing security landscape, defined by “authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow.”

“In recognition of this reality and our state’s unrivaled strategic location, for years, I’ve been pressing the Navy and each successive administration to commit to a greater Naval, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps presence in Alaska, more Arctic-capable vessels, and more infrastructure to host these assets, like the deep-water port of Nome,” said Senator Sullivan.

Last summer, a similar incursion took place off the coast of Alaska and the Senator praised the U.S. Navy for its more robust response this time around.

“Given that our response was tepid, I strongly encouraged senior military leaders to be ready with a much more robust response should such another joint Chinese/Russian naval operation occur off our coast,” said Senator Sullivan. “For that reason, I was heartened to see that this latest incursion was met with four U.S. Navy destroyers, which sends a strong message to Xi Jinping and Putin that the United States will not hesitate to protect and defend our vital national interests in Alaska.”

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told CNN that the operation was according to an annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries and claimed the action was “not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation”.

UK
NHS Consultants to strike if government continues to 'refuse' talks and present credible offer, BMA says

ITV News

Monday 7 August 2023

The British Medical Association (BMA) said that following a two-day strike in July, it has once again written to the Health Secretary Steve Barclay to invite him to discuss pay and reform of the doctors’ pay review body to end the industrial action which has hit the NHS.

Consultants in England are already planning to take industrial action on August 24 and 25.

The most recent NHS figures state that the waiting list for hospital treatment has risen to a record of nearly 7.5 million this year.

Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chairman said: “It is now 133 days since the Secretary of State last met with us, demonstrating the government’s complete disregard for the expertise and value of consultants, and the very future of the health service and its patients.

BMA consultants committee chairman Dr Vishal Sharma.Credit: PA

"We are once again appealing to the Health Secretary to return to the table and discuss both pay and reform of the rigged pay review process, so that we can reach a point where strikes are not necessary."

He continued: "Consultants will go out on strike at the end of this month, and for a further two days in September – demonstrating our resolve and clearly signalling to government that we’re in this for the long haul.

"However, neither of these strikes need to take place at all if the government drops its intransigent position."

Dr Sharma added: "No consultant wants to take strike action but unless we take a stand, we risk losing our most experienced doctors, putting the very future of the NHS at risk.

"It’s not too late to avert these strikes and we call upon the Health Secretary to meet with us urgently."

Junior doctors to stage fifth walkout following pay dispute

Teacher strikes end in England as all unions accept pay offer

Steve Barclay has previously said his "plea to consultants is to recognise they [the government] have listened" and "it is now time to put patients first".But no deal has yet been agreed, and thousands of operations, procedures and appointments have been cancelled and are being rescheduled.

Health leaders have warned that planned care will come to a “virtual standstill”, with senior medics providing only emergency Christmas Day-style cover.

Reconciliation but No Resolution to Poland’s and Ukraine’s Memory War

By Alex Perez-Reyes on August 7, 2023

KENNAN INSTITUTE
CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACEBUILDING HISTORICAL

Lviv, Ukraine—January 11, 2023: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda visit Lychakiv Cemetery during their visit to Lviv.

On the eve of last month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, the presidents of Poland and Ukraine came together to try to resolve a long-simmering dispute: how to countenance and characterize the Volhynia massacres of 1943 to 1945, which Poland regards as genocide and Ukraine regards as the unfortunate actions of partisan groups against the Poles, with subsequent retaliatory killings of Ukrainian citizens. When Presidents Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelensky placed commemorative candles in a Catholic cathedral during an ecumenical service in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk, they continued a pattern of presidential interventions that, while highly symbolic, has failed to bring resolution to this memory war.

A Brief History of the Volhynia Massacres and Their Commemoration

While the present-day meaning of the Volhynia massacres remains hotly contested, historians generally concur on the details of the events themselves. Between 1943 and 1945, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists—Bandera faction (OUN-B) and the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) organized the massacre of approximately 50,000–60,000 Poles in the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions, parts of the interwar Polish territories seized by the Soviet Union according to the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The OUN and UPA aimed to make these ethnically heterogenous regions definitively Ukrainian and to “cleanse the entire revolutionary territory of the Polish population.” In response to this ethnic cleansing campaign, Poles retaliated against Ukrainian civilians, killing approximately 2,000 people.

SEE

UKRAINIAN NATIONALIST ARMY OUN–UPA AND THE NAZI GENOCIDE

Historical representation of the wartime accounts of the activities of the OUN–UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists—Ukrainian Insurgent Army)

Presidents Duda and Zelensky are not the first leaders of their countries to try to reconcile strongly different national views over the violent incidents of this period. Twenty years ago, Presidents Kwaśniewski and Kuchma attended the unveiling of a commemorative monument in the Volhynia region and called for remembrance and reconciliation. In 2016, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko laid flowers and lit a candle at Warsaw’s monument to the victims of the Volhynia massacre[MP1], becoming the first Ukrainian official to visit the site. Unfortunately, this latest presidential attempt at reconciliation seems destined to meet the same fate as its predecessors owing to several crucial gaps in its proposed memory narrative.

Honor Victims Generally, Name No Perpetrators

The seeds for the downfall of this latest attempt at reconciliation lie in the very language the presidents used to describe the event. In parallel Twitter statements, they proclaimed: “Together we pay tribute to all the innocent victims of Volhynia! Memory unites us! Together we are stronger.” While the statement seems to project unity and agreement on this tragic past, it obscures the past more than resolves it. Similarly to how Soviet war memorials decentered the Jewishness of Holocaust victims through subsuming phrases such as “peaceful Soviet citizens,” the statement aims to strip the dead of their nationality and commemorate them as nationless victims. This is particularly problematic because Poles died in greater numbers than Ukrainians during the massacres and were killed as part of a deliberately organized ethnic cleansing campaign. Such attempts to achieve reconciliation by commemorating victims in a denationalized way cannot do justice to their memory.

It is worth noting the absent third party to this historical conflict: the Jewish victims of the OUN and UPA. Volhynia, for instance, had a Jewish minority amounting to 10 percent of the population prior to the war. Many of the UPA recruits in 1943 came from the ranks of the auxiliary policeman who just the year before had collaborated in the execution of over 150,000 Volhynian Jews. The exclusion of these victims from the narrative of the Volhynia massacres is a grave injustice to their memory.

Also unnamed in this statement are the perpetrators of the crimes themselves. Nowhere in the statement are the OUN or UPA named and directly condemned for their violent actions. Like the joint statements that came before it, which refer only to “those who were tragically killed” by unspecified perpetrators, the Duda-Zelensky statement eschews the question of culpability and thereby allows Ukraine to continue to cultivate the memory of the OUN and UPA as national heroes. Unnamed and unblamed for the Volhynia massacres, the OUN and UPA remain key parts of Ukraine’s nationalist pantheon for their armed resistance to the Soviets.

The Russian Dimension

The battle to define the meaning of the Volhynia massacres has gained a new sense of urgency with the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine. As Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak implied, Russia is the “common enemy who dreamed of dividing us (Ukraine and Poland)” by escalating tensions over the past. This argument, however, is fundamentally untenable. While deferring conflict in the name of projecting unity in the face of Russian aggression might work to preserve the status quo in Polish-Ukrainian relations, it fails to create a real consensus on the past. For evidence of this divide, one needs merely to consider how this past is being interpreted in each country’s capital. In Warsaw on July 11, Polish prime minister Morawiecki marked the National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Citizens of the Polish Republic Committed by Ukrainian Nationalists. Meanwhile in Kyiv, the reputation of OUN leader Stepan Bandera as a national hero and symbol of resistance to Russia is inscribed in the very streets of the city. As part of the country’s decommunization process, Kyiv’s Moscow Avenue became Stepan Bandera Avenue.

Presidents Duda and Zelensky can try to project unity and assert that their countries have reconciled with this difficult history, but until both Poland and Ukraine stop using Russia’s aggression to avoid an honest reckoning with these events, the past will continue to haunt Polish-Ukrainian relations.

The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute.

Turkey: At least 12 injured after explosion hits grain silos at port

GRAIN DUST IS HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE

Monday 7 August 2023

The Turkish Grain Board depot where the explosion took place.

Credit: Twitter / @aygunzeki

At least 12 people have been injured after an explosion hit grain silos at a port in north west Turkey on Monday.

The blast reportedly happened at a grain depot the port of Derince in the Kocaeli province, about 60 miles from Istanbul.

The explosion reportedly occurred near Turkish Grain Board silos at approximately 2:40pm local time (12:40pm BST).

Three of the 12 people injured are thought to be in serious condition in hospital, according to reports.

Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz said the explosion may have been caused by "wheat dust compression during the transfer of wheat from a ship to the silo", according to reports.

He also confirmed he visited those who were injured in hospital.

In a post on Twitter, Derince Mayor Zeki Akgun said there was no loss of life due to the blast, adding: "I convey my best wishes to our citizens who were affected by the explosion, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured, who were quickly transferred to the hospital."

An investigation into the blast is ongoing.

THIS IS WHY THE 2020 BEIRUT EXPLOSION WAS NOT GRAIN DUST

China says Jeddah talks on Ukraine helped to 'consolidate international consensus'

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the US, and European countries, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Aug 6.

PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING - China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that international talks in Saudi Arabia at the weekend on finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis had helped “to consolidate international consensus”.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

China sent its Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs and former ambassador to Russia, Mr Li Hui, who in May toured six European capitals to find common ground for an eventual political settlement of the conflict, now in its 18th month.

Mr Li “had extensive contact and communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis... listened to all sides’ opinions and proposals, and further consolidated international consensus”, the foreign ministry said in a written statement to Reuters.

“All parties positively commented on Li Hui’s attendance, and fully backed China’s positive role in facilitating peace talks,” the statement said.

China will continue to strengthen dialogue based on its 12-point peace proposal, and “accumulate mutual trust”, it said, without going into specific details.

China’s attendance signals possible shifts in Beijing’s approach but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow, analysts said.

Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion it launched in February 2022. But it has offered its own peace plan, which received a lukewarm response in both Russia and Ukraine while the United States and Nato were sceptical.

Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appears remote as fighting rages along the front line.

The two-day meeting in Jeddah was part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries that have been reluctant to take sides in a conflict that has hit the global economy.

A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: “We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media on Sunday as saying the meeting was “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts” to mobilise the Global South behind Mr Zelensky’s position.

Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry said participants had agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace.

European officials have said participants planned to establish working groups to address specific problems raised by the war.

REUTERS

Jeddah Meeting: Advancing the Consolidation of All Peace Initiatives for the Ukrainian Crisis

Saudi Crown Prince receiving the Ukrainian President on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Jeddah last May (SPA)

Jeddah : Abdulhadi Habtor
6 August 2023

AD ـ 20 Muharram 1445 AH

Today marks the commencement of a significant gathering in the city of Jeddah, situated in the western region of Saudi Arabia. National security advisors and representatives from approximately 40 nations convene to address the enduring Ukrainian crisis, which unfolded nearly 18 months ago.

The objective of this assembly is to foster a breakthrough and cultivate a cohesive vision towards the attainment of lasting peace.

Analysts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat anticipated that participants will arrive at a crucial roadmap that crystallizes all the initiatives put forth to resolve the far-reaching Ukrainian crisis, whose repercussions have reverberated across the entire globe.

Characterizing the meeting as akin to “casting a stone into still waters,” analysts said the gathering signifies potential to disrupt the stagnant status quo.

The convening of this meeting and the broad international participation in it, held in the city of Jeddah, are believed by analysts to underscore Saudi Arabia’s influential and active role on the global stage.

The Kingdom is regarded as a “balance beam” between the East and West, owing to its balanced relationships and distinctiveness with all parties.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Asaf, a media professor at King Saud University, affirmed that the participation of national security advisors from around 40 countries in the Jeddah meeting signifies that “global security is unsettled, and the participants are striving for world stability, the restoration of security to its markets and sustenance, and security in a general sense.”

“We mustn't overly indulge in optimism, but this meeting is akin to casting a stone into stagnant waters,” Al-Asaf told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is an extension of the efforts of the Saudi Crown Prince, who presented his initiative at the onset of the crisis in February 2022 and offered his mediation to both sides, garnering acceptance from all parties,” he explained.

“Saudi Arabia today is a strong and active player on the international stage in diplomatic affairs, drawing upon extensive expertise,” he added.

The media professor also believes that “Saudi Arabia now stands at a neutral starting point with everyone, and it is the optimal mediator at this stage.”

Al-Asaf anticipates that “the meeting will yield a highly significant roadmap for peace, which will later be conveyed to Russia.”

Seasoned US statesman Henry Kissinger remarked in May of the previous year that peace negotiations in Ukraine could potentially materialize later in 2023, indicating that China's involvement in the process could bolster peace talks.

China imposes curbs on drone exports, citing Ukraine and concern about military use

Beijing: China imposed restrictions on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the 17-month-old war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.

Export controls will take effect Tuesday to prevent use of drones for "non-peaceful purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

It said some drone exports still will be allowed.

China is a leading developer and exporter of drones. DJI Technology Co., one of the global industry's top competitors, announced in April 2022 it was pulling out of Russia and Ukraine to prevent its drones from being used in combat.

"The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing,” the Ministry of Commerce said.

Restrictions will apply to drones that can fly beyond the natural sight distance of operators or stay aloft more than 30 minutes, have attachments that can throw objects and weigh more than 7 kilograms (15½ pounds), according to the ministry.

"Since the crisis in Ukraine, some Chinese civilian drone companies have voluntarily suspended their operations in conflict areas,” the Ministry of Commerce said. It accused the United States and Western media of spreading "false information” about Chinese drone exports.

The government on Friday defended its dealings with Russia as "normal economic and trade cooperation” after a U.S. intelligence report said Beijing possibly provided equipment used in Ukraine that might have military applications.

The report cited Russian customs data that showed Chinese state-owned military contractors supplied drones, navigation equipment, fighter jet parts and other goods.

The Biden administration has warned Beijing of unspecified consequences if it supports the Kremlin’s war effort. Last week's report didn't say whether any of the trade cited might trigger U.S. retaliation.

Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared before the February 2022 invasion that their governments had a "no-limits” friendship. Beijing has blocked efforts to censure Moscow in the United Nations and has repeated Russian justifications for the attack.

China has "always opposed the use of civilian drones for military purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said. "The moderate expansion of drone control by China this time is an important measure to demonstrate the responsibility of a responsible major country.”

The Ukrainian government appealed to DJI in March 2022 to stop selling drones it said the Russian ministry was using to target missile attacks. DJI rejected claims it leaked data on Ukraine’s military positions to Russia.

Published: 31 Jul 2023

North Korean hackers breached top Russian weapons firm behind hypersonic missiles

Experts found North Korean hackers digging into a Russian manufacturers' database for at least five months.

LONDON – An elite group of North Korean hackers secretly breached computer networks at a major Russian missile developer for at least five months in 2022, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and analysis by security researchers.

Reuters found cyber-espionage teams linked to the North Korean government, which security researchers call ScarCruft and Lazarus, secretly installed stealthy digital backdoors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow.

Reuters could not determine whether any data was taken during the intrusion or what information may have been viewed.

In the months following the digital break-in, Pyongyang announced several developments in its banned ballistic missile programme, but it is not clear if this was related to the breach.

Experts say the incident shows how the isolated country will even target its allies, such as Russia, in a bid to acquire critical technologies.

News of the hack comes shortly after a trip to Pyongyang in July by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, the first visit by a Russian defence minister to North Korea since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

The targeted company, commonly known as NPO Mash, has acted as a pioneer developer of hypersonic missiles, satellite technologies and newer generation ballistic armaments, according to missile experts – three areas of keen interest to North Korea since it embarked on its mission to create an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the mainland United States.

According to technical data, the intrusion roughly began in late 2021 and continued until May 2022, when IT engineers detected the hackers’ activity.

NPO Mash grew to prominence during the Cold War as a premier satellite maker for Russia’s space programme and as a provider of cruise missiles.

E-mail hack

The hackers dug into the company’s IT environment, giving them the ability to read e-mail traffic, jump between networks, and extract data, according to Mr Tom Hegel, a security researcher with US cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, who initially discovered the compromise.

“These findings provide rare insight into the clandestine cyber operations that traditionally remain concealed from public scrutiny or are simply never caught by such victims,” Mr Hegel said.

Mr Hegel’s team of security analysts at SentinelOne learned of the hack after discovering that an NPO Mash IT staffer accidentally leaked his company’s internal communications while attempting to investigate the North Korean attack by uploading evidence to a private portal used by cybersecurity researchers worldwide.

When contacted by Reuters, that IT staffer declined to comment.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Monday, August 07, 2023

U.S. Senators Murkowski and Sullivan release Statements on Chinese and Russian Vessels off the Coast of Aleutians

UKRAINIAN NATIONALIST ARMY OUN–UPA AND THE NAZI GENOCIDE

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