The future of war

New technology is transforming the way wars are fought, and not just in Ukraine. 

As tension increases between China and America over Taiwan, what does the future of war look like?

Where is Russian President Vladimir Putin? – BBC News

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s whereabouts remain unknown following the short-lived rebellion from the Wagner mercenary group. 

There has been speculation that the Russian leader fled Moscow during the crisis after his presidential jets were tracked leaving the city. 

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the events show the cracks in Mr Putin's authority. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, has left Russia for Belarus after abandoning his advance on Moscow.

What’s Next for Russia as Wagner Forces Head to Moscow

Wagner paramilitary troops led by chief Yevgeny Prigozhin seized the military headquarters in Rostov, the main logistics hub for Russian forces operating in Ukraine. 

WSJ’s Ann Simmons explains what the actions mean for Russia.

War in Ukraine: Tracking the fighting with satellites

With Ukraine’s counter-offensive shrouded in secrecy and Russian-controlled territory impenetrable, can satellite data help you see into a war zone? The Economist’s Senior data journalist, Sondre Ulvund Solstad, breaks down how he uses fires to track the fighting.

Himars in Ukraine: A Rare Look at Their Use on the Front Lines

U.S.-supplied Himars have played a key role in Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia. WSJ’s Stephen Kalin gained rare access to the mobile rocket launchers on Ukraine's southern front, where soldiers are targeting Russian equipment and troops.

Why oligarchs choose London for their dirty money

Britain is one of the best places in the world to launder dirty money. Our new film tells you why—and asks whether that's likely to change.

How London became the dirty money capital of the world

Russian oligarchs and companies have been investing in London for two decades, encouraged by British politicians of all stripes, but critics say the 'London laundromat' cleans dirty money from Russia and across the globe. 

The FT examines why it took Russia's invasion of Ukraine to put the issue in the spotlight and whether new sanctions and measures to tackle the problem go far enough.

Former NSA Director on cybersecurity risks from Russia

Former head of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command Admiral Michael Rogers weighs in the risk of a Russian cyber-attack.

Ukraine's battle of the airwaves

A look at three aspects of wartime radio in Ukraine; the interception of communications between Russian soldiers; how broadcasters are using radio to combat censorship online; and the mysterious silence of a radio transmitter known as 'The Russian Lady'.

More than 600 Brands have withdrawn from Russia. How are Russians coping?

Hundreds of foreign companies from Pepsi to Apple to IKEA have pulled back operations in Russia as the West has hit the country with sweeping sanctions. Here’s how Russians are living with the economic fallout from Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Will the dominance of the dollar give way to a multipolar system of currencies?

In the wake of an invasion that drew international condemnation, Russian officials panicked that their dollar-denominated assets within America’s reach were at risk of abrupt confiscation, sending them scrambling for alternatives. The invasion in question did not take place in 2022, or even 2014, but in 1956, when Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary. 

This event is often regarded as one of the factors that helped kick-start the eurodollar market—a network of dollar-denominated deposits held outside America and usually beyond the direct reach of its banking regulators.

The irony is that the desire to keep dollars outside America only reinforced the greenback’s muscle.

In the wake of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine the new outbreak of financial conflict through sanctions has raised the question of whether the dollar’s dominance has been tarnished, and whether a multipolar currency system will rise instead, with the Chinese yuan playing a bigger role.

Read the full article on The Economist HERE. 

Why Global Supply Chains May Never Be the Same

Every day, millions of sailors, truck drivers, longshoremen, warehouse workers and delivery drivers keep mountains of goods moving into stores and homes to meet consumers’ increasing expectations of convenience. But this complex movement of goods underpinning the global economy is far more vulnerable than many imagined.

Watch this WSJ Documentary.

War in Ukraine: how far will Putin go?

Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is devastating the country and its people. How far will he go? The Economist's experts discuss the threat of escalation, from the use of nuclear weapons to attacks beyond Ukraine.

War in Ukraine: are sanctions working?

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted an unprecedented response from the West: economic warfare. The Economist's experts, Patrick Foulis and Matthew Valencia, weigh in on whether sanctions will be enough to stop further aggression from Russia.

Crypto exchanges refuse to block Russian users

Amid a wave of firms cancelling services in Russia, cryptocurrency exchanges are standing by what they call "financial freedom". This as the conflict in Ukraine continues to weigh heavy on markets causing stocks to slump in the beginning of the week. We'll break it all down. And China is facing mounting pressure as the world's second-most powerful economy in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and trade woes.

Swift Sanctions on Russia: How Cutting Off Banks Applies Pressure

A powerful coalition of democracies have announced that they will cut off some Russian banks from the global payment system Swift.

Here’s how Swift works, and how the move could ramp up pressure on Russian President Putin.

Digital geopolitics - Russia is trying to build its own great firewall

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has portrayed his aggression toward Ukraine as pushing back against Western advances. For some time he has been doing much the same online. 

He has long referred to the internet as a “CIA project”. His deep belief that the enemy within and the enemy without are in effect one and the same means that if Alexei Navalny, Mr Putin’s foremost internal foe, uses YouTube—his video of the president’s seaside palace was viewed more than 120m times—then YouTube and its corporate parent, Google, are enemies, too.

Faced with such “aggression”, Mr Putin wants a Russian internet that is secure against external threat and internal opposition. He is trying to bring that about on a variety of fronts: through companies, the courts and technology itself.

Jointly with China, Russia has stalled UN talks aimed at defining responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, instead insisting on “information sovereignty”—code for doing what ever it pleases.

Read THE ECONOMIST's full analysis HERE.

What's Next for U.S. and Russia as Tensions Grow Over Ukraine

A military buildup along the Ukrainian border is further straining ties between Russia and the U.S., after clashes over cybercrime, expulsions of diplomats and a migrant crisis in Belarus. WSJ explains what is deepening the rift between Washington and Moscow. 

 

One of the largest cyber-espionage campaigns ever

American officials claim that a group of hackers known as APT29, or more evocatively as Cozy Bear, thought to be part of the SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service, penetrated several American government bodies—the list so far includes the Treasury, Commerce, State and Homeland Security Departments, along with the National Institutes of Health—where they could read emails at will. It appears to be one of the largest-ever acts of digital espionage against America.

Full story on The Economist

The hazards of outing ATM malware

From ATM Marketplace -

"In December 2013, Russian antivirus software developer Dr. Web announced that it had added protection to its ATM Shield product to block Trojan.Skimer.18 malware.

Threats followed immediately, according to a post on the Dr. Web blog. A message from either the programmer or the crime syndicate (Dr. Web isn't sure which) read, in part:

• ... the development of Dr.Web_ATM_shield threatens activity of Syndicate with multi-million dollar profit. Hundreds of criminal organizations throughout the world can lose their earnings.
• You have a WEEK to delete all references about ATM.Skimmer from your web resource. Otherwise syndicate will stop cash-out transactions and send criminal for your programmers’ heads.

When Dr. Web proved to be indifferent to the idea of criminal organizations losing their earnings, the "syndicate" firebombed Dr. Web offices. Twice."



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