Russian Info, Cyber and Disinformation (Catch all till 2017)

[AdamG]

On Saturday March 1st, the Russian Parliament approved the use of armed forces in the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine,[1] marking the first possible major Russian military operation since the 2008 invasion of Georgia. In the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, Russia demonstrated the capacity to conduct joint kinetic and cyber operations in pursuit of its political and military objectives.[2] Now, there is evidence that Russia is pursing similar tactics in Crimea.

http://georgetownsecuritystudiesrevi...ons-in-crimea/

nb: Primary thead on the Ukraine C.F. is here
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=5978

Per prior discussion, worth it's own thread for at least 24 hours, Dave.

[carl]

Can they shut down the rest of the Ukraine in the same way or does the location of the various IXPs preclude that?

[AdamG]

Can they shut down the rest of the Ukraine in the same way or does the location of the various IXPs preclude that?

Dunno, but reports from Friday (?) night claim that the Russians digitally cut off the Crimea.

[AdamG]

Welcome to War In The Bladerunner Era.

It's called "Snake" and it's being compared to another alleged state-run virus, Stuxnet. And yes, all evidence points to Russia.

According to British-based BAE systems, dozens of computer networks have been infected with the virus, which sometimes goes by the name Ouroboros (named after the serpent in Greek mythology). It works by giving remote attackers "full remote access to the compromised system." It has stealth qualities, including the ability to stay inactive for a number of days.

http://io9.com/a-powerful-new-virus-...ine-1540610770

[AdamG]

Russian Web Brigade?

"The web brigades(Russian: Веб-бригады )[1] are alleged astroturfing groups linked to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. They are purported to be teams of commentators that participate in political blogs and Internet forums to promote disinformation and prevent free discussions of undesirable subjects"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_brigades

[Firn]

Having read my fair share of articles there is a surprising amount of much-'liked' comments on quite prominent newspapers which seem to come straight out of the Kremlin, with a free use of 'Nazi', 'fascists' and so forth. In some occasions other posters commented that the writer stucking to the Kremlin line had only joined very recently and devoted all of his posts to the Ukrainian crisis. I don't doubt that there is a fair number of guys working out of their own initiative but if we consider that the Kremlin has also payed Russian 'tourists', 'self-defense' forces, and funded anti-Western protesters it seems very unlikely that we don't see much of the same in Cyberspace.

Exactly this need to pay for most of the supporting actions is a quite striking difference to the vastly bottom-up nature of the Ukrainian maidan movement. Then again this has been the general political problem, as I have mentioned before, for Putin relative to the West, especially in regard to eastern European countries. The European attraction is a massive, vastly natural headwind for Russia in this struggle. It has to work very hard, with all sorts of clever actions, just to not lose ground.

[davidbfpo]

Earlier I posted this: A number of posts have been and are in the process of being moved here, from the main Ukraine thread. They refer to suspected information operations, in particular an exchange between Mirhond and Outlaw09.

Update: I have given up. It is impossible to seperate out the posts, they are spread over a month amidst four hundred posts.

[mirhond]

What kind of culture modern day Russia is cultivating? Is this narrative ok to west? They have cultivated the victim story since 1991. They have will to get revanche. Should west help Russia to aquire (feeding state buget) enough capacities achieve revanhce?

1. You may call it Paternalistic Consumerism. Ask Westerners if it's OK to them.
2. Bravo Sierra. There is a story of "golden age lost due to the sins of fathers", victimness is marginal in our culture, left to a bunch of crack-pot conspiracy theorists and orthodox nuts. While Ukrainian political and culture establishment is raving about Ukraine - an eternal victim of bloodthirsty neighbours.

[kaur]

Mirhond

"golden age lost due to the sins of fathers"

What was the period of that age?

Who were those fathers?

What sins they did?

To whom they lost it?

[mirhond]

Mirhond

What was the period of that age?

Who were those fathers?

What sins they did?

To whom they lost it?

This theme varies greatly, you don't want to read about all the variations, besides it's a complete offtopic.

[kaur]

Mirhond, this is not off topic. Audience must understand what makes Putin tick, what makes Russians tick, how Putin's Politburo makes Russians tick etc. 300 journalists got awards from Putin due to their actions in Crimea campaign. About what they were preaching? Смерть фашистким оккупантам = death to fascist occupants? Minus word occupant. Where they borrowed it? Didn't Stalin bring it to the masses in the beginning of Great Patriotic War, when slogan "workers of the world, unite" exhausted itself? Under the workers slogan Soviet Russia tried to overthrow goverments in neighbouring countries. "Death to fascist occupants" is very deep in Russians' psychology and using this bottom drives them to war mode. Today is very popular in Russia ribbon of Saint George.

http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/number/T...radition-15573
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...want-outlawed/

So, mirhond, all those variations are buttons in the toolbox of Kremlin spin doctors.

Ps how many attempts have been made in Russia to write one history text book during last 8 years to enforce one official line? Why the attemps have failed? Why Russians are proud of Great Patriotic War that started in summer 1941, but try not to talk about period between summer 1939 till summer 1941?

2 links and questions in Russian about st George ribbon. Fascist have ribbon? No problem, historians are trying to built up story that makes this episode irrelevant. I'm waiting the moment when they present logical narrative. So far "Death to fascists!"

http://navalny.com/blog/2014/05/07/post_3573.html

http://irek-murtazin.livejournal.com/1194374.html

[mirhond]

http://eng.globalaffairs.ru/number/T...radition-15573
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...want-outlawed/

So, mirhond, all those variations are buttons in the toolbox of Kremlin spin doctors.
Ps how many attempts have been made in Russia to write one history text book during last 8 years to enforce one official line? Why the attemps have failed? Why Russians are proud of Great Patriotic War that started in summer 1941, but try not to talk about period between summer 1939 till summer 1941?
2 links and questions in Russian about st George ribbon. Fascist have ribbon? No problem, historians are trying to built up story that makes this episode irrelevant. I'm waiting the moment when they present logical narrative. So far "Death to fascists!"

http://navalny.com/blog/2014/05/07/post_3573.html

http://irek-murtazin.livejournal.com/1194374.html

1. Look, it's a free board, create a topic "Russian political psyche: history and modernity" - I'd gladly enlighten enyone who will listen about the subject.

2. first link you provided is complete BS - Navalniy has no even a smallest idea what he is talking about. Fun is that second link explains why so. (If you dont get it, I'd explain it in a suggested topic)

ps. Your choice of bloggers explains wery much of you

[kaur]

mirhond, you are not moderator here, so don't give orders

There was zero arguments in your post.

Russian propaganda avows that the ribbon — known as the St. George ribbon in Russia — symbolizes the Soviet Union's "Great Victory" in World War II. Yet, the connection between President Vladimir Putin and "Putinism" to that victory remains unclear, especially because the St. George ribbon first gained use as a propaganda tool as recently as May 9, 2005. That was when the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi had college students and school children hand out a huge amount of the ribbons to passers-by in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. That initiative set off an unexpected wave of patriotism across the country: Russians everywhere tied the ribbons to their jackets, cars and apartment balconies, and this fervor continued for a full year after the anniversary had passed. Those ribbons made headlines for a second time following the rigged State Duma elections in 2011, which sparked a series of mass anti-Putin demonstrations in Moscow. For whatever reason, the protesters wore white ribbons as the symbol for their movement. This prompted Kremlin spin doctors to come up with the brilliant idea of using the St. George ribbons to oppose the white ribbon. They organized counter-demonstrations by bussing in thousands of state employees from all over and tying a St. George ribbon on the arm of each. Then Putin himself made an appearance wearing a St. George ribbon at one such rally on Red Square. The message was clear: bad, unpatriotic people wear white ribbons but good people wear St. George ribbons in memory of those killed in war.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinio...my/498194.html

You know who are "Nashi" and who gave orders them. You know why Nashi was organised. This way we drift back to Ukraine topic. 2004. Kremlin started their own fight against orange revolution threat in Russia, due to their failure to bring to power Yanukovich. Brigadir was Surkov, who is after short pause back in Kremlin and coordinates politics in CIS. He created also "Rodina" and Rogozin to control nationalists. Rogozin just arrived from Transnistria with collection of signatures to join Russia. Surkov's team managed internal policy, but didn't hesitate to take action in neighbours yards. Etc, etc, etc. You know this better than me and there is no reason to continue.
This was "Nashi" ideology under directions of Putin's administration. This is the narrative that state sponsored talking heads are telling.

http://www.zaks.ru/pda/archive/view/54291/

Just tell us with couple words what was the "golden age lost by sins of fathers"! How many times should I say "Please!"

[OUTLAW 09]

1. Look, it's a free board, create a topic "Russian political psyche: history and modernity" - I'd gladly enlighten enyone who will listen about the subject.

2. first link you provided is complete BS - Navalniy has no even a smallest idea what he is talking about. Fun is that second link explains why so. (If you dont get it, I'd explain it in a suggested topic)

ps. Your choice of bloggers explains wery much of you

mirhond---and your great reluctance to admit openly that you work for the FSB explains a lot about yourself---by the way just how many "Russian fascists" have been sent to the Ukraine in order to "fight the Ukrainian fascists" who Putin complains about them "burning" Russians.

Although from the videos being shown on the Odessa fire---several fires were started in the upper floors where the "Ukrainian fascists" were no where to be seen. How do you explain that and do not state it is off topic.

Or do you for some strange reason want to state here on this board that there are no "fascists" to be found anywhere in the Russian Federation?

Or is that "off topic".

[OUTLAW 09]

This theme varies greatly, you don't want to read about all the variations, besides it's a complete offtopic.

mirhond---since you are working for the FSB take the common courtesy to answer direct questions placed to you but as you yourself know from my responses to you----You are the FSB and get paid for every response you submit to this board and you cannot answer anything anyway until you ask their permission.

If you have any questions from the FSB for us simply ask them at least we will take the time to get an answer back to you---a direct exchange with the FSB/GRU might just improve the relations between the US and Russia.

Nice to see you using US slang since--- when you started writing here you barely could write an coherent sentence in English---at least your handlers will be happy that your English has improved to the point that at least you could visit New York City and not be recognized as a funky Russian tourist from St. Petersburg having a hard time speaking the word "where' without a Russian accent.

Really mirhond--just how much do you get paid per blog entry?

Here is an interesting question you specifically failed to answer me when it as asked a number of times---is Putin a "good" or "bad" Hitler.

Also since when have all Russians residing in the Russian Federation started loving fascists?-- especially yourself since it was you who compared Putin to Hitler on this board.

[Firn]

This piece is about Putin's propaganda from the Moscow Times.

The deputy chief of a pro-Kremlin television holding has dismissed as an "accidental error" his network's use of footage from a gunfight in the North Caucasus to illustrate supposed recent anti-Russian violence in eastern Ukraine, a news report said.

The footage — first used in a Rossiya television report in 2012 about a clash between government troops and militants in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria — resurfaced again on the network's prime-time Vesti program last week, this time as part of a report about supposed atrocities against pro-Russian civilians in Ukraine.

....

Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, media analysts have accused state-run television of falsifying their reports to put a pro-Kremlin spin on their coverage.

"This is how they work: Re-label militants as resistance fighters, Kabardino-Balkaria as Slovyansk, and head over to the Kremlin to collect their medals and orders," opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said Monday in his blog on the Ekho Moskvy website.

Kiselyov said the latest fallacy may have been a result of a "computer error" or a mistake by the "young nymphs in video editing," Slon.ru reported.

He did not offer an explanation for how an editing or computer glitch may have led the Vesti correspondent to comment on the specific details of the footage, such as weapons lying near the dead body.

More importantly, the Russians access to non-state information gets increasingly difficult, making them easier targets for the Kremlin-backed or even owned propaganda channels.

[kaur]

The Kremlin's Trolls Go West
By Ilya KlishinMay. 21 2014

According to the analysis, many of the pro-Putin messages have been posted by Russian expats in Germany, India and Thailand. Hackers from Anonymous, a vigilante activist network, hacked the e-mail account of one "trolling" group that is charged with running the campaign in the U.S. and gave me some of the information they discovered.

The organizers of this campaign likely studied the demographic structure of the main social networks in the U.S., the online behavior of its citizens, relevant hashtags on Twitter and groups supporting U.S. President Barack Obama.

Russia's "Internet trolling squad" made detailed studies of the such sites as The Blaze, The Huffington Post and Fox News, including their audiences, owners, official and actual editorial policies as well as their attitudes toward Russia and Obama. Screenshots show comments posted in English with serious grammatical errors.

A great number of false accounts will be created for the strategically important Huffington Post website. Hacked letters showed that "up to 100 accounts will be registered and promoted" to achieve the optimum result from the site's complex system that gives "top billing" to comments posted by users with the highest number of subscribers.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinio...st/500641.html

[kaur]

The Diffusion of Kremlin Media Values

Putin’s revanchism brings with it some distressing byproducts, one of which is the projection of illiberal Kremlin media values beyond Russia’s borders. Crimea is a case in point. In the short period since its annexation, the peninsula’s media have been subdued and integrated into the repressive Russian information space. The relative media pluralism Crimeans had enjoyed until recently is gone, replaced by a Russian standard that effectively limits alternative viewpoints.

The dismantling of Crimea’s media was achieved swiftly. Days in advance of the rigged March 16 referendum on annexation, Ukrainian television broadcasts were silenced and replaced by programming from Moscow. The first order of business for Russian-backed forces in Crimea was to cut off sources of information beyond the control of the Kremlin. The crackdown on mass media was accompanied by fierce repression of local activists, bloggers, and others who voiced opinions contrary to the Kremlin line, according to a report written by Ivan Šimonović, the UN assistant secretary general for human rights. In the end, officials in Crimea reported that 97 percent of referendum voters supported secession from Ukraine and annexation by Russia. In the aftermath of Russia’s takeover, most Crimeans now get their news from Russian television and the government-run local broadcaster. These stations tend to follow Moscow’s version of events in Ukraine, describing the government in Kyiv as illegitimate, warning of instability across the country, and generally seeking to discredit any Kremlin opponents.

The same type of propaganda invasion that coincided with the physical invasion of Crimea has been on view in eastern Ukraine. As pro-Russian forces extend their hold, Kremlin media values take root there, too, with coercive tactics used on independent journalists and dissidents in ways that are common in Russia, but had been rare in Ukraine. Just this week, separatists in several eastern cities have disrupted local rebroadcasts of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in some cases replacing them with Russian or pro-Russian content. Reporters from various outlets have been threatened, attacked, or arbitrarily detained.

In addition to Ukraine, Russia’s state television influences other neighboring states with significant Russian-speaking populations. As the Kremlin’s ability to project media power has strengthened over time, the authorities in countries on Russia’s periphery have been forced to contend with increasingly provocative and destabilizing messaging. Moscow’s well-funded media complex simply outguns local Russophone alternatives in places like Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and the Baltic states.

http://freedomhouse.org/blog/russias...m#.U32URNoaySM

[kaur]

The anatomy of Russian information warfare. The Crimean operation, a case study

2014-05-22
Jolanta Darczewska

http://www.osw.waw.pl/sites/default/...on_warfare.pdf

[kaur]

Paul Goble's overview of that Polish study.

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.be/...crudeness.html