Tag Archive for: protest

Mahsa Amini death: Iran restricts internet as protest deaths mount

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CNN
 — 

Iranian authorities say they will restrict internet access in the country until calm is restored to the streets, as protests over the death of a young woman in the custody of the morality police rock the Islamic Republic.

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in protest since the death last week of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was apprehended in Tehran and taken to a “re-education center,” apparently for not wearing her hijab properly.

Since Friday, demonstrations have taken place in at least 40 cities nationwide, including the capital Tehran, with protesters demanding an end to violence and discrimination against women as well as an end to compulsory wearing of the hijab.

Dozens of protesters have reportedly been killed in the resulting clashes with security forces.

CNN cannot independently verify the death toll –  a precise figure is impossible for anyone outside the Iranian government to confirm – and different estimates have been given by opposition groups, international rights organizations and local journalists. Amnesty International said Friday that at least 30 people, including four children, had died; according to state media the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 35 people have died.

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran on September 21, 2022.

Authorities hope that by restricting the internet they can control the protests – the latest in a wave that has swept Iran in recent years. They started with the Green movement in 2009 over contested election results and more recently the 2019 protests sparked by a rise in fuel prices. Hundreds were believed to have been killed in the violent crackdown three years ago and thousands injured, according to estimates released by the UN and rights groups.

But this year’s protests are different – in their scope, scale and unprecedented feminist nature. There is also mobilization across the socio-economic divide. A young generation of Iranians are rising up on the streets against decades of repression – arguably bolder than ever.

The…

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General Dynamics’ cloud contract with NGA moves forward after Leidos withdraws protest

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WASHINGTON — The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency will begin a major upgrade of its cloud computing infrastructure after a protest over a $4.5 billion cloud-services contract was withdrawn by one of the competitors. 

General Dynamics Information Technology on Dec. 8 was selected for a 10-year deal to modernize NGA’s cloud platform and data centers. The award was challenged by another competitor, Leidos, which filed a protest Dec. 28 with the Government Accountability Office.

General Dynamics on March 18 announced it won the contract. According to GAO, the protest filed by Leidos was withdrawn March 16, allowing NGA and General Dynamics to move forward with the work. Bid protests are common on government contracts this size, especially in the highly competitive cloud market. 

A component of the U.S. intelligence community, NGA analyzes satellite imagery and other geospatial data for the U.S. military, allies and homeland security agencies. 

NGA first solicited bids for the cloud services contract in 2019. The work covers a wide range of services in support of geospatial intelligence users, including the integration of commercial clouds, data center design and operations, mobile secure wireless across multiple networks and agency locations worldwide. Much of the new technology will support NGA’s new campus in St. Louis known as NGA West. The agency’s headquarters is in Northern Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The $1.7 billion facility in north St. Louis has been under construction since November 2019 and NGA expects it will be open for business in 2025.

General Dynamics on Dec. 13 announced it is opening a new facility and geospatial innovation center at the Cortex in St. Louis. 

NGA officials said upgrading its cloud computing and data infrastructure is a top priority for the agency as it tries to improve the quality and speed of services. A modern cloud enterprise, for example, will facilitate interoperability between the agency and commercial geospatial data providers. 

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Sudanese take to the streets to protest takeover

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MILITARY RESPONSE:
Security forces reportedly fired tear gas into hospitals, and attacked doctors and the wounded, while mobile Internet services were cut

Tens of thousands of Sudanese protesters on Saturday rallied two months after a military coup, demanding that soldiers “go back to the barracks” and calling for a transition to civilian rule.

Waving flags, beating drums, dancing and chanting, crowds marched on the streets of Khartoum, despite severed communications and a heavy presence of security forces who later fired tear gas to disperse them.

An Agence France-Presse journalist saw injured people being evacuated by demonstrators.

Photo: EPA-EFE

The Doctors’ Committee, part of the pro-democracy movement, reported that security forces fired tear gas into hospitals, attacking doctors, as well as the wounded.

Ahead of the planned protests, officers had barricaded bridges connecting the capital to suburbs, cut telephone lines and restricted access to the Internet.

At least 48 people have died in crackdowns during weeks of demonstrations, the Doctors’ Committee said.

Khartoum’s state governor has said that security forces “will deal with those who break the law and create chaos.”

Demonstrators converged on the presidential palace in Khartoum, the headquarters of the military government in control since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power on Oct. 25.

Al-Burhan held civilian leader Sudansese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok effectively under house arrest for weeks.

After international pressure including a cut-off of vital aid, al-Burhan reinstated him on Nov. 21 under a deal promising elections in July 2023.

The move alienated many of Hamdok’s pro-democracy supporters, who dismissed it as providing a cloak of legitimacy for al-Burhan’s coup.

“What happened on Oct. 25 was a coup … and we will not stop demonstrating until we have a civilian government,” a masked…

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New Sarbloh ransomware supports Indian farmers’ protest

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Protestors

A new ransomware known as Sarbloh encrypts your files while at the same time delivering a message supporting the protests of Indian farmers.

Last year the Indian government passed a new set of laws called the ‘Indian agriculture acts of 2020’, also known as the Farm Bills, which the government says is necessary to modernize its agricultural industry.

Farmers believe that these new laws will hurt their livelihoods and make it more challenging to generate revenue as the new laws removed restrictions on how farmers can sell goods and for how much.

Since November 2020, thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting these bills outside of New Delhi.

New Sarbloh ransomware supports the Indian farmers

As detailed by numerous security firms, including Malwarebytes, Cyble, and QuickHeal, a new ransomware known as ‘Sarbloh’ is being distributed through malicious Word documents that contain a political message in support of Indian farmers.

It is unknown whether the malicious Word document is sent via phishing emails or another method, but when opening it, users will be prompted to ‘Enable Content’ to view its content correctly.

Malicious Word document
Malicious Word document

When the button is press, the Word document’s macros will download a file called putty.exe using bitsadmin.exe to the Documents folder and then executed.

When executed, the ransomware will encrypt files on the computer that match certain file types and append the .sarbloh to the file’s name. For example, the file 1.jpg would be encrypted and renamed to 1.jpg.sarbloh.

Sarbloh encrypted files
Sarbloh encrypted files

After the files on the computer have been encrypted, a ransom note will be created called README_SARBLOH.txt that contains a message supporting the farmers in India.

Sarbloh ransom note
Sarbloh ransom note

The full text of this ransom note can be read below:

YOUR FILES ARE GONE!!!
THEY WILL NOT BE RECOVERABLE UNTIL THE DEMANDS OF THE FARMERS HAVE BEEN MET

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?
Using military grade EnCryPtiOn all the files on your system have been made useless.

India, Sikhs have long been the face against the oppression placed upon them.
Each time we have resisted.
Today you come for the very throats of Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim farmers by trying to take their…

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