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io9TrailersWatch the Striking Trailer for Ukrainian Sci-Fi Film Atlantis
The country of Ukraine is entering a visually striking, politically vibrant science fiction film for this year’s Foreign Film Oscar category. The trailer is something else. Taking place in a near-future Ukraine, this film imagines the fallout of a terrible war between the Ukraine and Russia. A war that, well, is based on reality, specifically … Continued
By Julie Muncy -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityMicrosoft Says SolarWinds Hackers Also Broke Into Its Source Code
The hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberattack, an operation allegedly backed by Russia that compromised networks at many U.S. agencies and Fortune 500 corporations, also broke into Microsoft’s internal systems and accessed one of the company’s most closely guarded secrets: its source code. “We detected unusual activity with a small number of internal accounts and … Continued
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Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityVeterans Affairs Officials Inexplicably Blow Off Briefing on SolarWinds Hack
Senior officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs abruptly cancelled a scheduled briefing with congressional leaders this week regarding the extent and impact of the SolarWinds cyberattack, a far reaching intrusion into the networks of multiple U.S. agencies and powerful corporations allegedly perpetrated by an elite team of Russian hackers sanctioned by Moscow. Democratic lawmakers … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
Tech NewsSolarWinds Hackers Broke Into the Federal Agency That Oversees the Nation’s Nukes
The federal agency that controls the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile was also breached in the massive SolarWinds hack suspected to have been perpetrated by Russian operatives, Politico reported. This week, news broke that thousands of customers had installed a software package from IT management firm SolarWinds that had been … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityFeds Still Trying to Determine How Screwed They Are After Massive SolarWinds Hack
A cyberattack that began by targeting an IT firm used by numerous federal government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and other high-value targets is shaping up to be a historic event. The U.S. government is still reeling after the detection of a massive foreign intrusion into federal computer systems at agencies including—at a minimum—the Department of … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityEdward Snowden Leaks Intent to Become Russian
Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked a trove of classified National Security Agency secrets to journalists, never quite made it to Ecuador. His attempt to avoid extradition and prosecution by U.S. authorities hit a snag in Russia back in 2013 where he claimed political asylum and has been stranded ever since. … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPoliticsWhat the U.S. Should Have Learned From the 2016 Election
Years after revelations regarding Russian interference in 2016 started to come to light, the tiresome odes to “Soviet Russian tradecraft” ought to leave us wondering what’s changed. At this point, the fact that there were multiple Russian-led campaigns to sow disinformation around the 2016 election has become a well-documented fact. All took advantage of social … Continued
By Hannah Gais -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityUK Authorities Allege Russian Hackers Targeted the 2020 Olympics
As if the 2020 Olympics haven’t had enough hurdles to contend with, it looks like we can add cyberattacks to the list. Earlier today, UK officials put out a memo noting that hackers working with the GRU—Russia’s military intelligence agency—had carried out numerous cyberattacks against major sponsors, organizers, and other key players at this year’s … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightIs NASA Finally Done Paying Russia for Trips to Space?
NASA just handed over $90 million to the Russian space agency for launching astronaut Kate Rubins to the International Space Station. Assuming its commercial partners are able to deliver, this could mark the last time NASA purchases a seat on a Soyuz spacecraft. It was 3-2-1 blastoff at 1:45 a.m. EDT today, when a Soyuz-2.1a … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightRussian Design for a Reusable Rocket Sure Looks Familiar
Roscosmos is moving ahead with plans to build Russia’s first reusable rocket. Glancing at the design, it appears the Russian space agency doesn’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel, given the vehicle’s uncanny resemblance to the SpaceX Falcon 9. Roscosmos signed a contract with the Progress Rocket Space Centre to sketch out a preliminary … Continued
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EartherHundreds of Dead Animals Washing Up on a Beach Is Russia’s Latest ‘Ecological Catastrophe’
Hundreds of sea creatures’ bodies have washed up onto the shore in Russia’s Far East. All signs point to water pollution in what is the latest in a series of environmental catastrophes to befall Russia this year. The contamination, first reported last month, has left a bubbly yellow sludge on the water offshore of the … Continued
By Dharna Noor -
ScienceBiologyIce Age Cave Bear Found Exquisitely Preserved in Siberian Permafrost
Reindeer herders working on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island in arctic Russia have stumbled upon an incredibly well-preserved cave bear, in what scientists say is a discovery of “world importance.” When it comes to studying extinct cave bears, paleontologists have traditionally dealt with scattered bones and the odd skull. That’s why this new discovery is so important, … Continued
