PayPal Shuts Down Services in Russia, Still Allows Withdrawals

Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc. shut down its services in Russia, citing "the current circumstances," joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine. A company spokesperson said PayPal will support withdrawals "for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are dispersed in line with applicable laws and regulations.”

Russian Government Blocks Facebook, Citing Discrimination Against Media

Facebook became the first American tech giant to be blocked by the Russian government, as part of the Kremlin’s broadening campaign to tighten control of the internet and limit spaces for dissent about the war in Ukraine. The move could foreshadow further restrictions against other tech companies such as Google, which owns YouTube, and Twitter.

U.S. Internet Service Provider Terminates Service for Customers in Russia

A leading American Internet service provider, Cogent Communications, said it was severing relations with Russian customers, a move that gives Ukrainian officials another victory in their campaign to isolate Russia online. Cogent chief executive Dave Schaeffer said the company did not want to keep ordinary Russians off the Internet but did want to prevent the Russian government from using Cogent’s networks to launch cyberattacks or deliver propaganda targeting Ukraine at a time of war.

Ukraine-Related Cyberattacks Created by Volunteers Causing Confusion

The war in Ukraine has provoked an onslaught of cyberattacks by apparent volunteers unlike any that security researchers have seen in previous conflicts, creating widespread disruption, confusion and chaos that researchers fear could provoke more serious attacks by nation-state hackers, escalate the war on the ground or harm civilians. The online battles have blurred the lines between state-backed hackers and patriotic amateurs, making it difficult for governments to understand who is attacking them and how to retaliate.

Surgeon General Wants Data from Tech Companies on COVID Misinformation

President Biden’s surgeon general on formally requested that the major tech platforms submit information about the scale of Covid-19 misinformation on social networks, search engines, crowdsourced platforms, e-commerce platforms and instant messaging systems. A request for information from the surgeon general’s office demanded that tech platforms send data and analysis on the prevalence of Covid-19 misinformation on their sites, starting with common examples of vaccine misinformation documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ICANN Rejects Ukraine's Request to Restrict Russia's Access to Internet

The international non-profit that coordinates management of the Internet told Ukraine it will not intervene in the country's war with Russia, rebuffing a request to cut Russia off from the global Internet. Ukraine's proposal is neither technically feasible nor within the mission of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, according to a letter ICANN sent to Ukrainian officials.

  • Read the article: CNN

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.

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The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.