[kellyhound]

The hackers believed to be behind a recent attack that took some of Microsoft’s services offline are likely to be a Russian-linked group rather than a grassroots pro-Islam collective operating out of Sudan, experts say.

Anonymous Sudan, which surfaced in January 2023, has also claimed responsibility for at least 24 distributed denial-of-service attacks on Australian companies, including healthcare, aviation and education organisations.

Last week, Microsoft confirmed that outages to its Outlook service in early June were the result of a DoS attack believed to have been carried out by Anonymous Sudan, which had claimed credit.

The group presented itself as a loose group of hacktivists with a name that suggested they were located in Sudan, and it claimed to be targeting Australian organisations in March in protest against clothing worn at Melbourne fashion festival with “God walks with me” written on it in Arabic.

Cybersecurity firm CyberCX said in a report released on Monday that the group is unlikely to be an authentic hacktivist organisation and is likely linked to the Russian state, after an analysis of the group’s activities.

CyberCX said most hacktivist groups conduct their plans for operations in a semi-public way online, but Anonymous Sudan had only announced targets when they were being attacked, indicating a closely held operation.

The firm also said the organisation’s use of paid infrastructure in the attacks – directing mass amounts of traffic to a service in order to bring it down – would have cost tens of thousands of dollars, and was less likely to have been used by a loose collective.

CyberCX said Anonymous Sudan was also publicly aligned with pro-Russian threat actors and is a member of the pro-Russia hacker group Killnet.

Alastair MacGibbon, CyberCX’s chief strategy officer, told Guardian Australia that Anonymous Sudan’s generally low-level targets and the fact it was presenting itself as an Islamic group indicated a Russian-backed organisation that could be trying to “drive division in society” and disrupt the west.

“It really stems from the Russian government proclivities to drive division in society,” he said.

“They don’t really care about the issue … anti-racism, pro-environment or whatever – [they] just get into whatever it is that matters to [harm] targets. In this case, the west.”

Also: earlier this year

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to pay more than $3 million in fines for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions on Russia and other countries after its software and services ended up in the hands of blacklisted companies and persons in the Crimea region of Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments on Thursday said they had reached a joint settlement with Microsoft over the apparent violations of U.S. sanctions and export controls rules, which the software giant voluntarily disclosed.

The sanctions violations, which occurred between July 2012 to April 2019, predate the larger Russian incursion into Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin launched in 2022. The U.S. and its allies have since significantly ratcheted up economic restrictions in response to the invasion.

[Guns N' Coffee]

Originally Posted by scorpion9 ↗

Well, it has no positive effect...hell, its probably best to keep renewing licences IMO. It takes money out of russian economy.
The reality is that Russians pirate windows anyways. The few that buy licences will simply revert back to pirating.
Its better IMO to let russians pay for the licence and then donate the income from russian licences to Ukraine. It would be a double bonus.

A lot of businesses continue to deal with Russia
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-micro.../32543751.html

U.S. software giant Microsoft will not renew licenses for Russian companies from September 30, the U.S. company said in a letter sent to Telecom Daily Agency in Russia on August 11. Microsoft stopped sales in Russia in March 2022 after the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February, but continued to issue licenses for the products that had already been sold. Hundreds of Western companies left Russia after the start of the war.

https://fortune.com/2023/07/11/the-f...nnenfeld-tian/

‘The Feckless 400’: These companies are still doing business in Russia–and funding Putin’s war

[Guns N' Coffee]

https://apnews.com/article/un-georgi...keover-ukraine

6 Western nations demand Russia return two regions it took from neighboring Georgia 15 years ago

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Six Western nations marked the 15th anniversary of Russia’s takeover of 20% of Georgia’s territory by demanding on Thursday that Moscow return the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.

A joint statement by the six members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, United Kingdom, France, Albania, Japan and Malta — said Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 “marked a more aggressive trend” in its policy toward its neighbors, something being witnessed today in Ukraine.

The statement, following closed council consultations on Georgia, said the six countries “are resolute” in reaffirming the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity “within its internationally recognized borders.”

In August 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which had made a botched attempt to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Moscow then recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian province, Abkhazia, and set up military bases there.

The statement, read by Albanian Ambassador Ferit Hoxha outside the Security Council surrounded by diplomats from the five other countries, condemned Russia’s “brutal invasion” and continued occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and its “steps toward annexation of these Georgian regions.”

The Western nations also reiterated their condemnation of Moscow for “continuous provocations which go in parallel with the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine.”

They pointed to Russia’s continued military drills in Georgia’s territory, sea and airspace as well as its erection of barbed wire fences and other barriers, its unlawful detentions and abductions of local people, discrimination against ethnic Georgians, and deliberate damage to Georgian cultural heritage.

The six countries said the Russia-Georgia conflict should be resolved peacefully based on international law, including the U.N. Charter, which requires every country’s territorial integrity be recognized, “also noting the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.”

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, called the Western statement “hypocrisy” in a tweet, saying Georgia lost territory because of a “reckless gamble.”

Russia resumed direct flights with Georgia in May, and Polyansky said Moscow’s ties with the country “are gradually improving, enabling tourist and economic exchanges.”

“But the Russophobic West is not happy and trying to drive the wedge between us at any price,” he said. “This statement is a clear illustration of this.”

Polyansky called the situation “especially sickening and hypocritical” knowing that Ukraine turned “anti-Russia” in 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea. He said Ukraine “is being sacrificed right now by the U.S. and its allies for Western geopolitical interests in a futile NATO proxy war against Russia until the last Ukrainian.”

[Guns N' Coffee]

[RedactedKaos]

Does anyone know of these have actually been implemented in any way?

Ukrainian ground drone equipped with my M240 Bravo or Golf (can't See) with remote control

[Roosta]

F-16 training: Ukrainian pilots will not be operational before 2024.

The first Ukrainian pilots to undergo F-16 fighter training will not be operational before the summer of 2024.

This reported The Kyiv Independent citing the Washington Post, which refers to Ukrainian government and military officials. Two unnamed Ukrainian officials indicate that only six pilots, or roughly half the squadron, will complete the first round of training. Two other pilots have been identified as reserve candidates, according to the Post. Although the pilots are fluent in English, they must first complete a four-month English course in the United Kingdom to learn the terminology needed to fly the jets. This means that actual combat training for the pilots is not expected to begin until January 2024. Another group of pilots, which is about the same size ,would be ready toward the end of next year.

Delay highlights split between West and Ukraine
There are also to be 20 pilots with minimal English skills, and they are to begin language training in England this month. According to the Washington Post, the delays highlight the split between the West and Kyiv. The West views the F-16s mainly as a tool for Ukraine’s long-term security. Kyiv hopes to use the advanced jets against Russian forces as soon as possible. Last month, the U.S. said it allows European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets – a potential boon to Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russia’s air superiority.

Meanwhile,
Ukraine Has Downed 5,500 Air Targets Since Start of War, Says Zelensky.

[scorpion9]

Originally Posted by RedactedKaos ↗

Does anyone know of these have actually been implemented in any way?

Ukrainian ground drone equipped with my M240 Bravo or Golf (can't See) with remote control

I haven't seen these being used in combat yet, but they are becoming part of the armed forces in most countries.
I.e: this is an estonian version of this
https://polygonjournal.com/wp-conten...cd-768x466.jpg

[kellyhound]

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet met a tragic fate during a routine training flight in the Kaliningrad region.

The aircraft, carrying no ammunition, went down in an uninhabited area, resulting in the unfortunate loss of its entire crew,(2) as reported by the press service of Russia’s Western Military District on Saturday.

Initial findings indicate that the crash was attributed to a technical malfunction, as reported by the Xinhua news agency. The jet costs around $40 million.

This incident is a stark reminder of the inherent risks involved in military aviation training, and it has left the aviation community and the nation in mourning over the loss of skilled personnel in this unfortunate accident.

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet met a tragic fate during a routine training flight in the Kaliningrad region.

The aircraft, carrying no ammunition, went down in an uninhabited area, resulting in the unfortunate loss of its entire crew,(2) as reported by the press service of Russia’s Western Military District on Saturday.

Initial findings indicate that the crash was attributed to a technical malfunction, as reported by the Xinhua news agency. The jet costs around $40 million.

This incident is a stark reminder of the inherent risks involved in military aviation training, and it has left the aviation community and the nation in mourning over the loss of skilled personnel in this unfortunate accident.

A picture of the aftermath.



===

"The German company " Rheinmetall" will supply Ukraine with the new generation "Luna NG" reconnaissance drones by the end of 2023 , — Bild

"Luna NG" can fly at an altitude of 5 km for more than 12 hours and perform tasks at a distance of up to 100 km. They can also provide an LTE communication network and intercept or suppress communication signals."

[WonderMomma]

"The settlement of Urozhayne is under the control of Ukraine" Urozhaine/Urozhane

#liberated