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BOSTON (AP) — Hewlett Packard Enterprise disclosed Wednesday that suspected state-backed Russian hackers broke into its cloud-based email system and stole data from cybersecurity and other employees. It said it believed the hackers were from Cozy Bear, a unit of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service. It said the Russian hackers accessed accounts of senior Microsoft executives as well as cybersecurity and legal employees. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesCompany spokesman Adam R. Bauer, reached by email, would not say who informed HPE of the breach. “We're not sharing that information at this time.” Bauer said the compromised email boxes were running Microsoft software.

Persons: Cozy Bear, ”, Adam R, Bauer, HPE, We're, ” Bauer, ” HPE Organizations: BOSTON, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Securities and Exchange, Microsoft, SharePoint, . Securities, Exchange, Hewlett, Packard Inc Locations: Russian, Redmond, Washington, U.S, Europe, Spring , Texas

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

MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has held Kremlin talks with Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his commanders to discuss the armed mutiny Wagner attempted to mount against the army's top brass, Putin's spokesman said on Monday. The meeting was first reported by French newspaper Liberation, which said Prigozhin had met Putin and the head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, and SVR Foreign Intelligence boss Sergei Naryshkin. Peskov told reporters that Putin had invited 35 people to the meeting, including Prigozhin and Wagner unit commanders, and that the meeting had lasted three hours. The brief mutiny led by Prigozhin, in which Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and a military headquarters building, was defused in a deal brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin was meant to leave for Belarus under the terms of the deal that ended the mutiny.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Putin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Lukashenko, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan, Caleb Davis Organizations: French, Liberation, National Guard, SVR Foreign Intelligence, Staff, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Rostov, Russia, Belarus, Moscow, London, Gdansk

☆ CIA director called Kremlin to assure US had no role in aborted mutiny, US media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - CIA Director William Burns called Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin after last week's aborted mutiny in Russia to assure the Kremlin that the United States had no role in it, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Burns' phone call with Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, took place this week and was the highest-level contact between the two governments since the attempted mutiny, the Wall Street Journal said. The boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, shocked the world by leading last week's armed revolt, only to abruptly call it off as his fighters approached Moscow. President Joe Biden said on Monday the brief uprising by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin was part of a struggle within the Russian system and that the United States and its allies were not involved in it. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jasper WardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: William Burns, Sergei Naryshkin, Burns, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Joe Biden, Kanishka Singh, Jasper Ward Organizations: CIA, New York Times, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, Moscow, Russian, Washington

☆ How mercenary revolt has gathered pace in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

- In a series of subsequent audio recordings posted on Telegram, Prigozhin says the "evil" of Russia's military leadership "must be stopped" and his Wagner mercenary force will lead a "march for justice" against the Russian military. SATURDAY- Prigozhin says his men have crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia and are ready to go "all the way" against the Russian military. - Wagner fighters have entered the southern Russian city of Rostov, Prigozhin says in an audio recording posted on Telegram. - Russian's Defence Ministry issues a statement appealing to Wagner fighters to abandon Prigozhin, saying they have been "deceived and dragged into a criminal adventure". - Russian military helicopters open fire on a convoy of rebel mercenaries already more than half way towards Moscow in a lightning advance after seizing Rostov overnight.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Reuters Wagner, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sergei Naryshkin, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Antony Blinken, Pavel Krasheninnikov, Gavin Jones, Giles Elgood, Helen Popper Our Organizations: REUTERS, Moscow, Russian's Defence Ministry, Reuters, TASS, Kremlin, European Union, Ministry, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia's, Voronezh, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Rostov, Russia's Rostov, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belarus

☆ Russian spy chief flags 'suspicious' Ukrainian nuclear activity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 19 (Reuters) - One of Russia's top spymasters said on Monday he hoped that the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the European Union would look into Ukrainian nuclear activity that he said might signal Kyiv was working on a "dirty bomb". Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, did not provide documentary evidence to back his assertions. The Ukrainian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kyiv has in the past said it takes its responsibilities for nuclear power very seriously while accusing Russia of recklessness when it comes to its control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: spymasters, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin, Andrew Osborn, Kevin Liffey Organizations: European, Reuters, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Rivne, Chornobyl, Moscow

☆ Russia keeps mum on CIA director's warning over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] CIA Director William Burns speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2021. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns warned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, a White House official said. It was the first known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Zelenskiy said the CIA director had spent time in a bomb shelter before the two men met amid Russian missile strikes. Putin has said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, if attacked.

It cited an unidentified source as saying that Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, would attend the talks. The White House official said Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, was not conducting negotiations of any kind with Naryshkin. Ukraine was briefed in advance about Burns's trip to Turkey, the official said. Burns is not discussing a settlement of the war in Ukraine but is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, the official added. Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Turkey; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CIA chief in Ankara meeting with Russian counterpart, U.S. official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns is in Ankara to speak with his Russian intelligence counterpart to convey a message on consequences of any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, a White House official said on Monday. He is not discussing settlement of the war in Ukraine," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, adding that Burns will also raise the cases of detained Americans in Russia. It cited an unidentified source as saying that Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, would attend the talks. Ties between Washington and Moscow have fallen to their worst in decades since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February. Threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine war have fueled worries about escalation.

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