Slashdot Mirror
Domain: kommersant.ru
Stories and comments across the archive that link to kommersant.ru.
Stories · 2
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Russia Arrests Top Kaspersky Lab Security Researcher On Charges of Treason (bleepingcomputer.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: Russian authorities arrested Ruslan Stoyanov, one of Kaspersky Lab's top-ranked security researchers, under article 275 of the Russian criminal code, which refers to treason. According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, who broke the story today, Stoyanov was arrested in December, together with the head of the Russian Secret Service (FSB) information security department Sergei Mikhailov. In a statement released today by Kaspersky Lab, the company says that Stoyanov was arrested based on activities he partook in before joining the company. Details regarding the investigation are murky, but according to the Russian newspaper who quotes anonymous sources, Stoyanov was involved in facilitating the transfer of funds from foreign companies to Mikhailov's accounts. According to Stoyanov's LinkedIn account, before serving as Head of the Computer Incidents Investigation Team at Kaspersky, he worked as Deputy Director for a company called Indrik, but also as a Major in the Ministry of Interior's Cyber Crime Unit. -
Russia's Former KGB Invests In Political Propaganda Spambots
An anonymous reader writes "The newspaper Kommersant reports that the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (formerly part of the KGB) has invested 30 million roubles (USD $940,000) on 'blog and social network intelligence' programs (Google translation of Russian original). A small part of that money is used for surveillance and analytics, but 22 million roubles (USD $690,000) is invested in 'mass distribution of messages in social networks with a view to the formation of public opinion.' Which presumably can be rephrased as 'launching massive pro-Kremlin astroturfing propaganda spambots in order to stifle and undermine political dissent.' The brazen Russian government acknowledgement of this investment indicates that the Kremlin does not think of such activities to be in any way illegal or unethical. No words whether these spambots would respect any anti-spam laws or the Terms and Conditions of victim websites. But hey, now you can accuse anyone you disagree with online of being a 'KGB bot'!"