dChan
Anonymous ID: 265911 Dec. 31, 2018, 4:48 a.m. No.4533927   🗄️.is đź”—kun

US citizen arrested in Moscow on spying charges

 

Russia said on Monday it had arrested a US citizen on suspicion of espionage in Moscow in the latest sign of the country’s plummeting relations with the west.

 

The Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, said Paul Whelan was arrested last Friday “in the course of carrying out espionage activities”.

 

Mr Whelan faces 10 to 20 years in prison on the espionage charges, the FSB said, adding that the investigation was ongoing.

 

No further details were given about Mr Whelan or the nature of his alleged spying. The US embassy in Moscow did not immediately comment.

 

Mr Whelan’s arrest comes two weeks after Maria Butina, a 30-year-old aide to a former Russian central bank official, pleaded guilty in Washington to charges of operating as an unregistered Russian agent during the 2016 US presidential election.

 

Although Ms Butina was not charged with espionage for her attempts to infiltrate US conservative pro-gun circles, the affair further strained Russia’s ties with the west, already at their lowest point since the Cold War. 

 

Washington and its EU allies have in 2018 accused Moscow of conducting several malignant espionage campaigns on their soil, most notably the attempted poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain by two alleged agents of the GRU, the rival military intelligence agency to the FSB.

 

The US and Dutch governments in October led a transatlantic campaign against the GRU over a litany of hacking attacks, including a thwarted incursion against the international chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague and sports agencies that accused Russia of state-sponsored doping.

 

Last year, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russian security services had intervened in the 2016 presidential election with the aim of boosting Donald Trump’s campaign.

 

US special prosecutor Robert Mueller has indicted figures including Mr Trump’s national security adviser and campaign manager, as well as senior Russian intelligence officials, as part of his investigation into the meddling. 

 

The Kremlin has angrily denied all accusations of hacking and espionage, which President Vladimir Putin has said are aimed at stopping Mr Trump from mending ties.

 

The FSB regularly claims to have foiled US intelligence operations on Russian soil. In 2013, it paraded a US diplomat, Ryan Fogle, before cameras with a ludicrous blond wig and old-time spy equipment the agency claimed Mr Fogle had when he was arrested in Moscow.

 

Another US diplomat fought his way into the embassy past an FSB guard in 2016, suffering several injuries, as part of an apparent attempt to escape arrest.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/a8b6663c-0ce3-11e9-a3aa-118c761d2745

Anonymous ID: 265911 Dec. 31, 2018, 5:28 a.m. No.4534109   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>4121 >>4166 >>4315 >>4327

Vatican spokesman, deputy resign

 

The Vatican on Monday announced the resignations of its spokesman and his deputy, without giving any explanation.

 

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the director and deputy director of the press office of the Vatican, Greg Burke and Paloma Garcia Ovejero, and named Alessandro Gisotti as acting director, it said in a statement.

 

 

 

American Burke, a member of the ultra-conservative and influential Opus Dei movement, was appointed in July 2016 after having been deputy spokesman.

 

The 59-year-old had previously worked as a journalist in Rome for the weekly National Catholic Reporter, for Time magazine and for the US television network Fox News.

 

He was the second Opus Dei member to hold the post after Spains Joaquin Navarro Valls, the powerful head of communications for Pope John Paul II.

 

Garcia Ovejero, 43, a Spaniard, was the first woman to hold the number two post in the press office. She was previously Vatican correspondent for Spanish radio network Cadena COPE.

 

https://mynaija.news/2018/12/31/vatican-spokesman-deputy-resign/

Anonymous ID: 265911 Dec. 31, 2018, 5:35 a.m. No.4534143   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>4160 >>4166 >>4221 >>4247 >>4315 >>4327

Suspected Ransomware Outbreak Disrupts US Newspapers

Tribune Media Suspects Ryuk Ransomware Hit Publishing and Production Systems

 

Production of newspapers owned by Chicago-based Tribune Publishing have been disrupted after malware began infecting the company's publishing and printing systems.

 

Multiple sources quoted by Tribune newspapers have suggested that the malware infection, which began late on Thursday, involved ransomware known as Ryuk, which may tie to North Korean operators. But security experts say it's far too soon to label Tribune's ransomware outbreak as anything more than an opportunistic infection, and note that anyone can potentially obtain and use malware, irrespective of their identity, political affiliation or other motivations.

 

Tribune Publishing says the malware infection, which it discovered on Friday, compromised no financial information and had no impact on its websites, but did disrupt systems that it uses to publish and print its newspapers. All of its newspapers were affected.

 

"This issue has affected the timeliness and in some cases the completeness of our printed newspapers," Tribune Publishing spokeswoman Marisa Kollias said in a statement released on Saturday, the Chicago Tribune reported. "Our websites and mobile applications however, have not been impacted."

 

Kollias said the company is "making progress" with restoring systems. "There is no evidence that customer credit card information or personally identifiable information has been compromised," she said.

 

Formerly known as Tronc, Tribune Publishing owns the Chicago Tribune, as well as Chicago suburban newspapers Lake County News-Sun and Post-Tribune; Los Angeles Times; The Baltimore Sun; the New York Daily News; Hartford Courant; Orlando Sentinel; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and in Virginia, the Daily Press in Newport News, and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk.

 

The Chicago Tribune reported that its Saturday edition had been published "without paid death notices and classified ads," due to the malware infection, and that some Saturday newspapers in other markets were delivered in a "slimmed-down version" on Sunday.

 

The Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune also reported experiencing disruptions due to the malware, resulting in delays in home deliveries, or no deliveries at all. Tribune sold both newspapers to biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million in June. But as part of a transition arrangement, it's continuing to support the newspapers, including their printing operations.

 

"Because of a major computer breakdown that affected our printing and deliveries, many of you did not receive your copy of Saturday's Los Angeles Times," Norman Pearlstine, executive editor of the newspaper, and Chris Argentieri, its chief operating officer, said in an apology posted on Saturday.

 

"We are also aware that many of you have been unable to report your missed delivery," they wrote. "We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we actively work to resolve these issues and restore timely service to our customers."

 

Tribune said it has alerted the FBI to the incident. "We are aware of reports of a potential cyber incident affecting several news outlets, and are working with our government and industry partners to better understand the situation," DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman said in a statement, Reuters reported.

 

https://www.databreachtoday.com/suspected-ransomware-outbreak-disrupts-us-newspapers-a-11911?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter