Lawmakers Seek to Include Cryptocurrency in Russian Sanctions

Senator Elizabeth Warren and three other Democratic lawmakers urged the Treasury Department to ensure the cryptocurrency industry is complying with sanctions imposed on Russia, expressing concern that digital assets could be used to undermine U.S. foreign policy goals. In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Warren along with Senators Sherrod Brown, Mark Warner and Jack Reed questioned whether the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had effective guidelines in place to enforce sanctions compliance within the crypto industry.

Twitter to Comply with EU Sanctions on Russian State-Controlled Media

Twitter will comply with European Union sanctions on Russian state-controlled media, meaning content from such publishers will be withheld for users in EU member states, a Twitter spokesperson said. “The European Union (EU) sanctions will legally require us to withhold certain content in EU member states, and we intend to comply,” the spokesperson said.

European Officials Targeted by Ukrainian-Linked Phishing Campaign

European officials are being targeted by what appears to be a state-sponsored phishing campaign aimed at disrupting their efforts to help Ukrainian refugees, cybersecurity company Proofpoint said. According to the company's researchers, the attackers are using what's possibly a compromised Ukrainian armed service member's email account to target officials managing the logistics of refugees fleeing that country.

  • Read the article: CNET

State Attorneys General Probe TikTok's Impact on Children's Health

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general announced an investigation into TikTok, focused on whether the company is designing and promoting its platform in a way that harms the physical and mental health of children and teens. The probe, announced in a news release from the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, will examine whether the company’s practices violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.

Spotify Closes Russian Office in Response to Attack on Ukraine

Spotify said it has closed its office in Russia indefinitely in response to what the audio streaming platform described as Moscow's "unprovoked attack on Ukraine." Since July 2021, Russian legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin has obliged foreign social media companies with more than 500,000 daily users to open local offices or be subject to restrictions as severe as outright bans

Domain Registrar Namecheap Terminates Services for Russian Customers

Domain registrar and hosting provider Namecheap is terminating service provision for customers based in Russia in the face of what it describes as “war crimes” committed in Ukraine.An email sent from Namecheap to customers, and shared online by various customers of the company, reads:“Unfortunately, due to the Russian regime’s war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine, we will no longer be providing services to users registered in Russia".”

Volunteer Hackers in Ukraine Take Down Sites for Stock Exchange, Bank

Websites for the Russian Foreign Ministry as well as the country’s largest stock exchange and a key state-owned bank were offline, as loosely organized groups of volunteer hackers pledged to retaliate against the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine. An “IT army” created by the Ukrainian government urged more than 200,000 followers on its Telegram channel to attempt to take down the website of the Moscow Exchange.

TikTok Joins Facebook in Blocking Access to Kremlin-Controlled Media Sites

Facebook and TikTok said that the companies would shut down access to Kremlin-controlled media sites RT and Sputnik in Europe, setting the stage for retaliation from Russia. In blocking Russian state media in the region, the companies are complying with requests from the European Union and individual governments there to punish the media outlets for sharing misinformation and propaganda about Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Microsoft Providing 'Threat Intelligence' to Ukraine About Cyber Attacks

Microsoft said it’s been informing Ukraine about cyberattacks on civilian and military targets, though the software maker didn’t attribute the attacks to any specific actors. “In recent days, we have provided threat intelligence and defensive suggestions to Ukrainian officials regarding attacks on a range of targets, including Ukrainian military institutions and manufacturers and several other Ukrainian government agencies,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, wrote in a blog post.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Meta to Restrict Access to Facebook for Russian-Controlled Media

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. said it would restrict access to Russian state-controlled media RT and Sputnik through its services across the European Union. “We have received requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media,” Nick Clegg, Meta president of global affairs, wrote in a tweet. “Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time.”

Despite Concerns of Cyberwarfare, Ukraine's Internet Still Functioning

For more than a decade, military commanders and outside experts have laid out blueprints for how cyberwar would unfold: military and civilian networks would be knocked offline, cutting-edge software would sabotage power plants, and whole populations would be unable to get money, gas or refrigerated food. But while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spawned all manner of cyberattacks and defenses, few are playing out the way the experts thought they would.

Ukraine Urging Apple to Support Sanctions, Stop Product Sales in Russia

Mykhailo Fedorov, who serves as Ukraine’s vice prime minister and oversees digital operations, urged Apple Inc. to halt product sales in Russia and shut down its App Store in the country. The government official made the request in a letter to Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook that he posted on Twitter. Fedorov also said Apple should support the U.S. sanctions placed on Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Some Russian Banking Customers Blocked from Apple Pay, Google Pay

Following Western sanctions on Russia’s financial institutions in response to the invasion of Ukraine, customers of several of the country’s largest banks can no longer use their debit and credit cards in conjunction with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Among the affected organizations include VTB Group, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, and Otkritie FC Bank, according to a press release from the Central Bank of Russia spotted by Business Insider.

Russian Ransomware Group Vows to Retaliate Against Cyberwarfare

Russian ransomware group Conti has warned that it will deploy its "full capacity to deliver retaliatory measures" if the U.S. and its Western allies use cyberwarfare as a measure against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The threat applies if there's an "attempt to target critical infrastructure in Russia or any Russian speaking region of the world," Conti said in a blog post, as reported earlier Friday by Reuters.

  • Read the article: CNET

Russia Partially Restricting Access to Facebook, Accuses It of Censorship

Russia will partially restrict access to Facebook, according to state-owned media. RIA Novosti, the state-owned news agency, reported that Russian officials decided to recognize Facebook as “involved in the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms” and accused the platform of having “censored” the Russian media outlet.

Security Officials Fear Cyberattacks, Increase Monitoring of Networks

Weeks of warnings from Western security officials that cyberattacks in Ukraine could spread globally have pushed international companies into an uncomfortable waiting game. As foreign businesses watched Russia invade Ukraine in recent days, an accompanying surge in cyber threats has raised the stakes, pushing some companies to increase monitoring of their networks or move customer data out of harm’s way.

Internet Connectivity Disrupted in Ukraine Amid Russian Invasion

Internet connectivity in Ukraine has been affected by the Russian invasion, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country where fighting has been heaviest, internet monitors said. Russian forces captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, as Moscow launched coordinated cruise missile and artillery strikes on several cities, including the capital Kyiv.

Official Kremlin Website Down After Reports of Denial of Service Attacks

The official website of the Kremlin, the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru, was down on Saturday, following reports of denial of service (DDoS) attacks on various other Russian government and state media websites. The outages came as Ukraine's vice prime minister said it had launched an 'IT army' to combat Russia in cyberspace.

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