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☆ Russia is finally getting serious about its war, and it spells trouble for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Much of the war in Ukraine has gone poorly for Russia. But Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine looks very different today than it did at the start of the conflict. The Russian military continued to suffer from other problems in the first year of fighting, racking up troop and equipment losses while failing to capture significant amounts of Ukrainian territory. AdvertisementThe following month, a top US official and general said, respectively, that the Russian military was "almost completely reconstituted" and had "grown back" to its pre-war strength. The employment of glide bombs to support ground maneuver is the primary example of how Russia's military is successfully learning from its past shortcomings, Barros said.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Maxim Shemetov, George Barros, Russia's, Stringer, They've, Chris Cavoli, Andrei Belousov —, Sergei Shoigu, Barros, It's, Andrei Belousov, VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV, Oleksandra Novosel, Biden, Sergey Pivovarov, Mick Ryan, Jack Watling Organizations: Service, Business, Cuban, Institute for, Ukraine, REUTERS, Allied, US European Command, Sputnik, Security, Defense, Getty, JSC, UA, PBC, 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Russian, Kharkiv, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Ukraine —, —, Russian, Kharkiv, Kherson, Robotyne, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Soviet, Shevchenkivskyi, Avdiivka, Washington, Russia's Rostov, Australian, Kyiv

☆ A Russian drone unit is recruiting members of the Kremlin elite so they can 'sidestep' military service on the front, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A military unit called "Bars Kaskad" is recruiting Russia's elite, the UK Ministry of Defence said. It likely allows recruits to "sidestep" usual service requirements "with guaranteed safety," said the MoD. AdvertisementA special Russian military unit is recruiting Russian elites, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The unit is primarily involved in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations far from the front lines in Ukraine, likely allowing Russian VIPs to "sidestep usual military service requirements with guaranteed safety," the MoD said. AdvertisementAlexei Blinovsky was pictured serving with Bars Kaskad on April 16, per the MoD.

Persons: —, SERGEI SUPINSKY, Ruslan Leviev, Russian, Yelena Blinovskaya, Alexei Blinovsky, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: UK Ministry of Defence, MoD, Service, Russian, Russian State Duma, Putin United Russia Party, Getty Images, Conflict Intelligence Team, Guardian Locations: Ukraine, Russian, AFP, Kaskad

☆ Why the next US recession may be pushed back to 2025, according to JPMorgan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fears of an economic recession may have to be pushed back to 2025, according to JPMorgan. JPMorgan said the rebound in manufacturing activity bodes well for continued economic resilience. The note highlighted the unexpected strength seen in ISM manufacturing activity in March, which jumped above 50 for the first time since September 2022. A reading above 50 represents an expansion in manufacturing activity, while a reading below 50 represents a contraction. If a potential recession is pushed back to 2025 because of the solid manufacturing data, it would represent yet another year in which many economists were off in their recession predictions, though some have backed off their call for a recession following the resilience seen throughout 2023 even amid higher interest rates.

Persons: JPMorgan's Ellen Wang, Andrew Tyler, Wang, Tyler, Wang aren't Organizations: JPMorgan, Market Intelligence, Federal Reserve

☆ Ukraine is in a race to stop Russia's mounting glide-bomb attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Short flight times, small radar signatures, and non-ballistic trajectories make glide bombs particularly difficult to intercept as well. "When the Ukrainian air-defense bandwidth is all tied up, they then move in with the fixed-wing aircraft to conduct these glide-bomb attacks," he said. This includes the 1,100-pound FAB-500, 3,300-pound FAB-1500, and 6,600-pound FAB-3000 bombs — all of which can be modified and turned into glide bombs. "That makes the mission planning for attacks with standoff weapons that can hit fixed targets, like the glide bombs, quite practical," he explained. And it won't be entirely the fault of glide bombs — Kyiv needs all the tools its forces can get right now.

Persons: —, George Barros, Scott Peterson, they've, Alexander Ermochenko, Barros, Assad, Ivan Gavrylyuk, Justin Bronk, Su, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Bronk, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Alina Smutko, Ukraine doesn't Organizations: Service, Business, Institute for, REUTERS, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, Handout, Royal United Services Institute, Victory Day, Getty, Archer Artillery, Roman, Getty Images, Patriot, Infantry Brigade, Armed Forces Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Petropavlivka, Avdiivka, Ukraine's Donetsk, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, AFP, Donetsk

☆ Apple reportedly cancels plans to build a car
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple will wind down its team working on electric cars, called Special Projects Group, according to Bloomberg. The news signals that Apple will cease its secretive effort to build a car to rival Tesla . The program employed thousands of employees but never fit with Apple's core business of electronics and online services, and raised questions about what companies Apple would tap to manufacture a car. Reports of Apple's ambition to build a car first surfaced in 2014 after the company recruited automotive engineers and other talent from car companies. Some Apple employees in the company's car division may move to a generative artificial intelligence team, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Tim Cook, Tesla Organizations: Apple, Formula One United, Prix Circuit, Bloomberg, San Francisco Bay Area, CNBC PRO Locations: Formula One United States, Americas, Austin , Texas, San Francisco Bay

☆ Russia's air force took control of the skies before seizing victory in a front-line fight, and it could be 'devastating' for Ukraine if it continues, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And if it continues or expands, a real possibility as Ukrainian air defenses are under significant stress, it could be "devastating," war experts said. Confirming its retreat from the area, Ukraine said it was saving troops from being fully surrounded by Russian troops. This activity appears to indicate the employment of a combined arms tactic involving having air forces support maneuver elements on the ground. Ukraine's air defenses have largely denied Russia air superiority, preventing its jets and aircraft from conducting significant air campaigns since the beginning of the war. Even "recurring temporary localized and limited Russian air superiority," ISW explained in a recent update, "would likely allow Russian forces to more aggressively pursue operational advances along the frontline."

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin's, George Barros, Barros, Vlada, hasn't, ISW, Kostiantyn, Avdiivka, it's, John Kirby, Kirby, It's, Putin Organizations: Service, Bakhmut, The Institute, Washington DC, Institute for, Armored Infantry, National Security, Chemical Plant, Ukraine Locations: Russian, Russia, Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Avdiivka district, Luhansk, Lastochkino, MLRS

It said the same highly skilled Russian hacking team behind the SolarWinds breach was responsible. “A very small percentage” of Microsoft corporate accounts were accessed, the company said, and some emails and attached documents were stolen. A company spokesperson said Microsoft had no immediate comment on which or how many members of its senior leadership had their email accounts breached. In a regulatory filing Friday, Microsoft said it was able to remove the hackers' access from the compromised accounts on or about Jan. 13. After gaining a foothold, they used the account's permissions to access the accounts of the senior leadership team and others.

Persons: “ Organizations: BOSTON, —, Microsoft, . Securities, Exchange, SEC, Google, Cozy, Justice, Treasury Locations: — State, Russian, Redmond , Washington, U.S, Europe

☆ Amazon is working on a new 'Remarkable Alexa' but internal politics and technical issues plague the project
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team is working towards a June 30 launch deadline, and has been testing the underlying voice technology, dubbed "Remarkable Alexa," with 15,000 external customers, these people said. Internally, however, Amazon isn't satisfied with the performance of the new Remarkable Alexa yet. But the new Remarkable Alexa follows a more centralized structure, where language understanding and response generation use a single language model. The Classic Alexa team, for example, wants to protect their work by insisting on using what they built for the old Alexa, one of the people said. In addition to the subscription-based Alexa, Amazon is also working on a new Alexa product that can be used within a web browser, people familiar with the project told BI.

Persons: Alexa, Dave Limp, Rohit Prasad Organizations: Business, Alexa, Google, Apple, Intelligence, Amazon, Alexa Plus, Reuters

☆ 'The most taboo topic I've ever seen': Inside Microsoft's war over the war in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Viva Engage, Microsoft's slick message board designed to compete with Slack, is often touted as "Facebook for work." In October, according to internal messages viewed by BI, a Microsoft employee shared a post praising child tax credits as a way to reduce poverty. Employees with pro-Palestinian views have also used inflammatory language in their posts on Viva Engage. It has cut off the comments to Viva Engage posts it considered too incendiary. "It's important to recognize the pain and suffering of so many people, including our colleagues, as the events in Israel, Gaza, and the surrounding region continue to unfold," Nadella wrote.

Persons: Slack, —, Sandy Hook, chimed, George Floyd, Satya Nadella, Roe, Wade, Kathleen Hogan, Israel, Nadella, Benjamin Netanyahu, Charlie Bell, Scott Guthrie, Rajesh Jha, Microsoft's, Cherry, Davis Polk, Israel's, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Viva Engage, Facebook, Microsoft, Business, Engage, BI, Employees, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Harvard, Hamas, Wardwell, Ivy League, New York Times, Apple, Amazon Web Services Locations: Israel, Gaza, Uvalde, Columbia, Silicon Valley, America, Haifa, Herzliya , Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Palestine, Gaza . Harvard, Tel Aviv, Seattle

☆ Cramer examines OpenAI shakeup, says Microsoft made the right call
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday dissected the shakeup at high-profile startup OpenAI, saying Microsoft made the right call by offering a role to the company's ousted leader Sam Altman. Cramer criticized the decorum during events that transpired over the weekend, saying the company may not be worth much if the majority of its employees exit to Microsoft or other prominent tech companies. "While I think Microsoft made the right call, it's still crazy how it happened." The company's board announced late Friday it had fired CEO Sam Altman, saying he "was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities." Hundreds of OpenAI employees, including one board member who had signed off on Altman's firing, threatened to leave the company unless OpenAI's remaining board members resigned.

Persons: CNBC's Jim Cramer, Sam Altman, Cramer, Altman, it's, OpenAI, Satya Nadella, Nadella, could've Organizations: Microsoft, CNBC

☆ Leaked email shows Amazon is cutting 'several hundred' jobs across Alexa business, including the newly launched Artificial General Intelligence team
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon's Alexa business is laying off "several hundred" employees, including those on its recently launched artificial general intelligence team, Business Insider has learned. Rohit Prasad, SVP of the Artificial General Intelligence team, followed up with a separate email, saying his team, which launched in July, would be impacted as well. "While this was a hard decision to make, we remain very optimistic about the future of Alexa," an Amazon spokesperson told BI. The move continues to impact Amazon's Alexa unit, which has suffered from slow growth and low morale in recent years. The move continues to impact Amazon's Alexa unit, which has suffered from slow growth and low morale in recent years.

Persons: Amazon's, Daniel Rausch, it's, Rausch, Rohit Prasad, Prasad, Geekwire, Dave Limp, Alexa, Panos Paney, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Andy Jassy, Eugene Kim Organizations: Alexa, Business, Fire, BI, Artificial General Intelligence, Amazon, Microsoft

☆ How an Indian startup hacked the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, prominent attorneys and more. Run by a pair of brothers, Rajat and Anuj Khare, the company began as a small Indian educational startup. The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, sports figures and more. Back in 2012, Kristi Rogers was an executive at Aegis, a London-based security company. Canadian security company GardaWorld, which acquired Aegis in 2015, said it had no information on the incident.

Persons: Chuck Randall, Randall, “, ” Randall, ”, Randall’s inbox, Appin, Rajat, Anuj Khare, Rajat Khare’s, Clare Locke, Khare “, Khare, ” Clare Locke, Ted Kaczynski, Anuj, who’ve, SentinelOne, Tom Hegel, Appin “, Hegel, Mandiant, ” Hegel, Shane Huntley, ” Huntley, Google’s Huntley, ‘, Jochi Gómez, Gómez, Halevi, Tamir Mor, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mohamed Azmin Ali, ” Mor, Berezovsky, Azmin, Mor, Roman Abramovich, Mark Hastings, Hastings, didn’t, Jim H, ” Jim H, Jim H’s, Kristi Rogers, Mike Rogers, he’s, Global’s, sully, Rogers, Damian Perl, – “, Steven Santarpia, ” Santarpia, Santarpia, Leonel Fernández, ” Fernández, Rajat Khare, “ Let’s, Ministry of Home Affairs didn’t, Peter Hargitay, Stevie, Billing, ” Stevie, ’, ” Peter Hargitay, Mookhey, Norman Shark, Jonathan Camp, Shark, Camp, Norman, Dominican Republic –, Dan Brady, Sandra Schweingruber, ” Schweingruber, Schweingruber, Brady, ” Gómez, –, ” –, Anna Carter, Mark Califano, ” Rajat Khare’s, India’s, Educomp, Karen Hunter, Hunter, Bryan, Rajat’s, Vijay Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kumar, ACSG, Jay Solomon, Solomon, ” Rebsec’s, Vishavdeep Singh, Rebsec, CyberRoot, Sumit Gupta, Gupta, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Christopher Bing, Ryan McNeill, Corinne Perkins, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Reuters, Google, Harvard University, U.S, Symantec, Appin, Caribbean, El, Israeli Defense Forces, Commando, Quillon Law, U.S . House Intelligence, The Michigan Republican, U.S . Senate, Aegis, Global Security, Security, Rogers, Army Corps of Engineers, Rotary, Aegis ’, Global, ” Reuters, Britain’s, Appin Software Security, Ltd, Appin Security, –, Research, Analysis, Intelligence Bureau, Indian, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s Ministry of Defense, of Home Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Telenor, Broadcom, FBI, Dominican, Criminal Investigation Service, Appin Security Group, CERT, country’s, Bureau of Investigation, Educomp, State Bank of India, State Bank, The National Security Agency, NSA, U.S ., Swiss, Appin Technology, India’s Ministry, Corporate Affairs, Control Security Global, Technology, Kumar, Facebook, Meta, BellTroX, Services, Street, New, Rebsec, BellTroX’s, Hire Locations: Long, New Delhi, India, Yorker, Paris, Swiss, cybersecurity, Appin, Dominican, California, “, Dominican Republic, El Siglo, United States, Britain, Switzerland, New York, French, New Jersey, Israel, Russian, Malaysian, London, Rwandan, Virginia, Canadian, Chuck@shinnecock.org, Texas, Indian, India’s Punjab, Pakistan, Zurich, Australia, Norway, Oslo, Brady, Former, ”, U.S, Islip, Shinnecock, Washington, cyberespionage

☆ Video of Russia's latest Lancet drone striking a US Bradley IFV shows how the weapon has been adapted to evade Ukrainian defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's newest Lancet drones appear to have found a way to evade Ukrainian defenses. This means the warheads detonate some distance away, rather than on impact. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn advanced version of Russia's feared Lancet drone appears to have a new way to evade Ukrainian armored anti-tank grids and anti-drone nets. Russian forces posted a video of a Lancet drone striking a Ukrainian combat vehicle by exploding several feet away from the target. While the advancements will put some Ukrainian vehicles at risk, the best-protected vehicles should still be able to fend off the attacks, Forbes said.

Persons: —, Russia's, Forbes, Bradley IFV, Bradley, Ukraine's Air Force Yurii Ihnat, LIGA.net, Lancets Organizations: Service, Conflict Intelligence, Intelligence Team, Armed Forces, Ukraine's Air Force Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Donetsk, Ukraine

☆ Russia's paying for a new assault in wrecked vehicles, losing in just a few weeks what Ukraine lost over months, war analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia has lost as many vehicles in just three weeks of assaults as Ukraine lost over several months of fighting in the south. In vehicle losses, the Russian assault force has lost in just three weeks what Ukrainian troops lost over several months of intense fighting in the south. "GeoConfirmed characterized the Russian effort near Avdiivka as the costliest Russian effort thus far in the war in Ukraine," ISW wrote. It took Russia roughly three weeks fighting for Avdiivka to do the same. Avdiivka has been largely ruined by constant fighting, but the devastated area may not be entirely pointless to Russian forces, or Russian leadership.

Persons: It's, —, ISW, George Barros, Barros, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Avdiivka, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin Organizations: Service, Wednesday Institute, Washington DC, Getty, Reuters, Russia, ISW Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Washington, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk Oblast, Anadolu, Ukrainian

☆ Russia's bloody fight for a ruined Ukrainian town has been a mess, and its forces are getting slaughtered, milbloggers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

They have made progress, largely surrounding Ukrainian defenses, but at a high cost of troops and resources. And while conventional Russian forces in the Army have reinforced since the fighting began, that has not decisively improved the situation. A bird's-eye view of the destroyed buildings of the city of Avdiivka on October 26, 2023 in Avdiivka, Ukraine. The map showed Russian forces surrounding Avdiivka on three fronts, threatening to eventually surround a pocket of Ukrainian forces in the area. Although Ukrainian troops have dug deep defenses, they've also taken heavy losses in the fighting.

Persons: —, George Barros, Kostya, Russia hasn't, ISW, they've, Avdiivka, Barros Organizations: Service, Russia, Reuters, Institute for, Donetsk Peoples Republic, 1st Army Corps, Army Locations: Ukraine, Avdiivka, Russia, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Russian, Washington ,, Zaporizhzhia, Moscow, Bakhmut

☆ Russian troops celebrated conquering a waste heap, and threaten a pocket of Ukrainian troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian troops continue their offensive in Avdiivka, in Ukraine's east, and surround some Ukrainian troops on three sides. A video shows a Russian flag near Avdiivka planted in a waste pile, but any small gain comes at a high cost. Experts at the The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed the advancements on Wednesday in geolocated footage but noted: "Russian forces largely claimed that Russian forces controlled the Avdiivka waste heap, as did a Ukrainian military observer. Ukrainian Avdiivka City Military Administration Head Vitaly Barabash denied claims that Russian forces control the Avdiivka waste heap and stated that the waste heap is a contested 'gray area.'" Combat footage shared by Ukraine's military on Friday shows what it says is the destruction of Russian tanks and armor in the area.

Persons: —, Vitaly Barabash, Yuriy Butusov, Butusov, George Barros, it's Organizations: Service, Twitter, Donetsk that's, The Institute, Administration, AP, White House, Special Operations Forces Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine's, Russian, Russia, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Ukraine, Moscow, Bakhmut

☆ Russia is promising prisoners a $31,000 payout if they get injured, soldier says. It's likelier than they realize.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia is paying convicts as much as $2,000 a month if they fight in Ukraine, with a promise $31,000 if they are injured, a soldier said. The remarks were made by a Russian "Storm Z" soldier — the unofficial designation for units often made of formerly incarcerated fighters. But, it said, in reality they are staffed by Russia's worst soldiers — convicts and regular soldiers marked for punishment. The BBC also reported that the units are formed mostly of convict soldiers, or soldiers re-assigned there as a punishment.

Persons: —, dory, Vsevolod Vukolov, Olga Romanova Organizations: Wagner, Service, Sever, UK's Ministry of Defence, BBC, Storm, Team, Reuters, Wagner Group, Washington Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Misbehaving Russian troops were tossed in 'pits' at military training grounds for up to a week at a time, a deserted soldier says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

So-called "torture pits" were dug at Russian military training grounds to punish troops, a report said. A former soldier told Important Stories and the Conflict Intelligence Team that misbehaving troops were put in pits for up to a week. The investigative report, published on Tuesday, cites ex-trainees at the Prudboy military training camp in the Volgograd Oblast and the Totsky military training ground in the Orenburg Oblast. The former soldier told IStories and CIT that one recruit died at the training ground after he was put in a pit. The report said that Sergei not only left the Prudboy training ground, but also the country.

Persons: —, Sergei, IStories, Viktor Organizations: Conflict Intelligence, Service, Conflict Intelligence Team, CIT, UK's Ministry of Defense Locations: Volgograd Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Russian, Prudboy

☆ Ukraine could soon be a muddy mess, but its new Abrams were made for this fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The first batch of US-provided Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine. The heavy tanks are joining the battle just in time for the infamous muddy season, which has bogged down some systems. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkraine's infamous mud season is on the horizon, raising questions about how the country's new Western-made armor, like the heavy US-provided M1A1 Abrams tanks, will perform in the coming muddy mess. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn Abrams tank from 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment pulls security during Combined Resolve XIII at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels, Germany, on Feb. 02, 2002. In order to maintain the Abrams' Honeywell AGT1500 engine, Ukraine will need a consistent support and a solid supply chain able to provide sufficient spare parts.

Persons: Abrams, —, Robert Greenway, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, YEVHEN TITOV, George Barros, Vladimir Putin's, Barros, they've, It's, Omar Marques, Mark Cancian, They're, Greenway, Douglas R, Bush, it's Organizations: Service, Hudson Institute, Army, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, US Army, Soviet, Getty, Institute for, ARIS MESSINIS, Nowa, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Marine Corps, Abrams, Honeywell, US Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Russia, AFP, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Donbas, Southern Ukraine, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Nowa Deba, Poland, Soviet, Soviet Union, Latvia

☆ 'They're just meat': Russia deploys punishment battalions in echo of Stalin
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

"Storm fighters, they're just meat," said one regular soldier from army unit no. He said he didn't know why the commander gave the order, but claimed that it typified how Storm-Z fighters were considered of lesser value than ordinary troops by officers. Three of the five Storm-Z fighters interviewed by Reuters, and the relatives of three other Storm-Z fighters, described nightmarish engagements that saw much of their squads wiped out. At a televised meeting with a small group of regular Russian servicemen, he said he was aware that two of their comrades, former prison inmates, had been killed in action. Three Storm-Z fighters said they were offered wages of about 200,000 roubles ($2,000) per month, though said they had been paid roughly half that amount, on average.

Persons: Polina Nikolskaya, Maria Tsvetkova, who've, Wagner, Reuters wasn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Josef Stalin, Artyom, Shchikin, Vladimir Rogov, Rogov, Shchikin's, Z, Igor, they'd, we've, Christian Lowe, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, REUTERS Acquire, Maria Tsvetkova LONDON, Convicts, Storm, Reuters, Kremlin, 237th, Intelligence Team, Institute for, Red Army, 291st Guards, Rifle Regiment, 291st, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russia, Russian, Ukrainian, U.S, Soviet, Mordovia, Zaporizhzhia, Geneva, France, Siberia

☆ Inside Project Nile: Amazon's secret AI-powered plan to change the way you shop online.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"Project Nile is a confidential initiative wherein we're building a conversational shopping agent for Retail customers," one internal document explained. Wearing that "I love AI" t-shirt, Sirosh, VP of Amazon Search and Alexa Shopping, introduced Project Nile as a "super confidential" project. Project Nile isn't the only move Amazon has made in the popular generative AI space. For Amazon's retail side, Project Nile is one of the most important projects. Sirosh has told his team he's "staffing up very rapidly" as Project Nile is the "absolute top priority."

Persons: Joseph Sirosh, Sirosh, Stephen Lam, It's, they're, Andy Jassy, Doug Herrington, Jassy, Rohit Prasad, ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing, Google's Bard Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Retail, Amazon Search, Alexa, Nile, ChatGPT, Google Locations: Anthropic, OpenAI

☆ A 'decoy arms race' is playing out in Ukraine, where deception is getting harder and troops have to treat fakes like they're real to fool the enemy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine and Russia have used fake tanks and weapons to deter or draw fire. AdvertisementAdvertisementBoth Ukraine and Russia are fielding decoys on the battlefield, hoping to draw fire, waste enemy ammunition, and possibly expose enemy positions, but it's getting tougher. A "decoy arms race" is underway, a war expert told Insider, as technology pushes both sides to make their fakes appear as real as possible to fool the enemy. Decoy Ukrainian radar reflectors made from cut-up oil barrels, too, have drawn Russian fire. Earlier this year, Ukraine reported sightings of Russian inflatable tanks deployed near Zaporizhzhia, but it noted some seemed deflated.

Persons: —, George Barros, DJI, SERGEI SUPINSKY, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Barros Organizations: Service, Institute for, Ukraine's 116th Mechanized Brigade, Ukrainian, Army, Drones, Getty, Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Washington Post, Anadolu Agency, Wall Street Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's, Kyiv, AFP, Russian, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Soviet, Klishchiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Kosovo, Serbian

The FBI is investigating the MGM and Caesars breaches, and the companies did not comment on who may be behind them. In some cases - Mandia did not say which ones - hackers tied to Scattered Spider placed bogus emergency calls to summon heavily armed police units to the homes of executives of targeted companies. ALPHV, which according to Mandiant is a "ransomware-as-a-service", would provide services such as a helpdesk, webpage and branding, and in turn get a cut of whatever Scattered Spider would make from the hack. While many ransomware attacks go unpublicised, the MGM hack was a vivid example of the real-world impact of such incidents. Ransomware gangs often function like large organizations, and continue to evolve their methods to adapt to the latest security measures organizations use.

Persons: Bridget Bennett, helpdesk, they’d, Wendi Whitmore, Adam Meyers, it's, Kevin Mandia, Mandiant, Reuters couldn't, CrowdStrike's Meyers, helpdesks, David Bradbury, they've, Bradbury, ALPHV, Okta's Bradbury, Whitmore, Zeba Siddiqui, Raphael Satter, Chris Sanders, Claudia Parsons Organizations: MGM, MGM Resorts, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Alto Networks, Caesars Entertainment, FBI, Caesars, Google, Reuters, Microsoft, British, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, WASHINGTON, Canada, Japan, United States, reassign, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York

☆ The average amount of time it takes for a Russian mobilized soldier to die in Ukraine is 4 and a half months: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian draftees killed in the war lasted an average four and a half months, per a new report. It used open source data on the deaths of 3,000 mobilized troops over the past year. AdvertisementAdvertisementConflict Intelligence Team analysts said the varying intensity of the fighting over different months heavily influenced the life expectancy of mobilized troops. Mobilized troops have repeatedly reported being sent to the front lines as cannon fodder or abandoned by their commanders. Almost 500,000 Ukrainian and Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war, US officials said in August.

Persons: —, Igor, Dmitry Dadanov, Igor Dadanov, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Conflict, Kremlin, The New York Times, Russia's Ministry of Defense Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia's battered Black Sea Fleet is having another bad day after a Ukrainian missile struck its headquarters in Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia said its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea was hit by a Ukrainian missile on Friday. Intelligence and experts have said it's part of Ukraine's counteroffensive, and the goal is to make Crimea "untenable" for Russia. On Friday, Russia's Ministry of Defense said on the social media platform Telegram the fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol was damaged by a Ukrainian missile. The hit is the latest in a recent series of blows to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Photos obtained by the Conflict Intelligence Team — an open-source intelligence operation — and shared by OSINT platforms like Oryx, showed the Kilo-class sub, a formidable element of the Black Sea Fleet, with a large hole in along the waterline.

Persons: —, it's Moscow's Organizations: Fleet, Intelligence, Service, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Defense, Conflict, Kilo, Black Locations: Russia, Crimea, Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Sevastopol, Crimean, Rostov, Ukraine, Minsk

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