Tag Archive for: Putin

Here’s how Putin protects himself from assassins and coups

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Bodyguards with bulletproof briefcases and high-powered pistols, look-alike stand-ins and food tasters are just some of the ways Russian President Vladimir reportedly protects himself from would-be assassins and coup plotters.

The potential threats against Putin, 69, were thrust into the spotlight Thursday when US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called on “somebody in Russia to take this guy out” for ordering the deadly invasion of Ukraine.

But Putin, a former KGB agent who’s been in power since rising to power in 2000, is apparently obsessed with both his security and his health – protecting himself from assassins and avoiding COVID-19 at all costs, as demonstrated by the lengths to which he’s gone to avoid catching the virus.

Recent photos show him meeting with world leaders and even his own advisers at opposite ends of extremely long tables to maintain at least 20 feet of distance between them, and he donned a hazmat suit — complete with a full face respirator — before visiting a Moscow hospital treating coronavirus patients in April 2020.

Putin’s bodyguards — who call themselves his “Musketeers” — comprise a special unit within Russia’s Federal Protective Service, or FSO, which traces its roots to 1881, when Czar Alexander III surrounded himself with guards following the assassination of his father by a bomb-throwing revolutionary, according to The Economist.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C front) and Novgorod Region Acting Governor Andrei Nikitin (R) seen after visiting a multipurpose state and municipal service centre.
Vladimir Putin’s bodyguards are reportedly given cushy government jobs after being relieved of service.
Mikhail Metzel\TASS via Getty Images

Much of what’s been revealed about the elite Presidential Security Service comes from the “Beyond Russia” website, which is run by TV-Novosti, a state-funded operation that also oversees the embattled RT propaganda network.

The website says Putin’s bodyguards are hand-picked for qualities that include “operational psychology,” physical stamina and the ability to withstand cold and not sweat in heat.

They’re reportedly outfitted with special briefcases that serve as shields to protect Putin and carry Russian-made, 9 mm SR-1 Vektor pistols loaded with armor-piercing bullets.

Before Putin travels, advance teams…

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Hacking collective ‘Anonymous’ appears to declare war on Putin

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Anonymous, an international hacking collective that has conducted cyberattacks against governments and corporations, appeared to declare war against Putin and Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. 

The “YourAnonNews” Twitter account, which boasts 6.5 million followers, made the declaration on Thursday, saying that the hacking group is “currently involved in operations against the Russian Federation.”

“We want the Russian people to understand that we know it’s hard for them to speak out against their dictator for fear of reprisals,” the decentralized hacking collective said.

“We, as a collective want only peace in the world. We want a future for all of humanity. So, while people around the globe smash your internet providers to bits, understand that it’s entirely directed at the actions of the Russian government and Putin.”

RT.com, a Russian government-funded media outlet that the U.S. State Department describes as a critical element in “Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem,” said that it was targeted in what appears to be a widespread denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. 

A DDoS attack is a coordinated effort to knock a website offline by flooding it with traffic. 

Websites for the Kremlin and State Duma lower house of parliament were also intermittently unavailable on Thursday, which could have been caused by DDoS attacks. 

Ukraine Defense Ministry officials requested assistance from the country’s hacker underground on Thursday morning to beef up their cybersecurity defenses, Reuters reports. 

Yegor Aushev, the co-founder of a cybersecurity company in Kyiv, told the news outlet that offensive volunteers will conduct digital espionage against Russian forces, while defensive volunteers will help protect the country’s infrastructure. 

Several Ukrainian government websites were hit by DDoS attacks on Thursday as Russian troops inched closer to Kyiv. 

The U.S. government is bracing for potential cyberattacks on the nation’s financial institutions, a homeland security official told FOX Business last week. 

FOX NEWS

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Anonymous news – live: Hacking attacks launched across Europe as internet activist group trolls Putin

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While Ukrainian forces fight against the Russian military’s invasion, hackers from around the world are causing disruption to Russia’s digital infrastructure.

Hacking groups such as Anonymous and the Cyber Partisans have claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on Russia’s banks, state broadcaster RT, and a Belarusian rail network reportedly used to move troops from Russia to Ukraine.

Peace talks between the two countries are ongoing between the two nations, but it remains unclear how long the bloodshed will last. Currently, these cyber groups have said that they stand with Ukraine against Russia’s powerful online forces – causing disruption to stop the country’s own attacks against Ukraine and the West.

“DDoS alone will not bring down a regime”, one German Anonymous splinter group said in a blog post, but “Putin, who is using hacker squads and troll armies against Western democracies, is getting a sip of his own bitter medicine”.

The intention is to “keep the Russian IT apparatus busy and to provide Putin’s hacker troops … with defensive work so that they cannot do anything in Ukraine or the West . Obtaining information is also an important point and you just don’t see a lot of what activists are currently doing.”

Key points

  • Russian media sites replaced with ‘tombstone’ for war dead in mass cyber attack

  • Russian ransomware hackers pledge support to Putin and immediately have secret chats exposed by Ukrainian leaker

  • Russian hackers’ cyberattacks on Ukraine could breach Geneva Conventions, Microsoft chief warns

Russian hackers’ cyberattacks on Ukraine could breach Geneva Conventions, Microsoft chief warns

16:20 , Adam Smith

Microsoft’s president Brad Smith has said that Russia’s cyber attacks raise “serious concerns under the Geneva Convention”.

The attacks have been “precisely targeted”, with the company especially concerned about targets “including the financial sector, agriculture sector, emergency response services, humanitarian aid efforts, and energy sector organizations”

The Ukrainian government has also been warned about cyber attacks that could steal health, insurance, and transportation data that could personally identify…

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Russia – Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv artillery attacks, EU sanctions Putin, Ghost of Kiev, Chernobyl, additional NATO troops

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Selected Russian banks to be cut off from SWIFT

European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada and the US have decided to remove certain Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system. 

Their joint statement reads as follows: 

We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin’s war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. Russia’s war represents an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending. We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.

This past week, alongside our diplomatic efforts and collective work to defend our own borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their fight, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world, imposed severe measures on key Russian institutions and banks, and on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures within the coming days.

Specifically, we commit to undertake the following measures:

First, we commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.

Second, we commit to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.

Third, we commit to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden…

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