logo
Suspect linked to Russian language cybercriminal forum arrested in Ukraine

Suspect linked to Russian language cybercriminal forum arrested in Ukraine

Al Arabiya13 hours ago
A person suspected of being the administrator for the Russian language cybercriminal forum XSS.is was arrested in Ukraine, with the assistance of the French police and Europol, the French Public Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday.
Active since 2013, this forum was one of the main hubs for global cybercrime. It facilitated the sale of malware, access to compromised systems, stolen data, and ransomware-related services. The forum was paired with an encrypted Jabber messaging server, facilitating anonymous exchanges between cybercriminals, the statement added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

French president Macron sues influencer over claim France's first lady was born male
French president Macron sues influencer over claim France's first lady was born male

Arab News

timean hour ago

  • Arab News

French president Macron sues influencer over claim France's first lady was born male

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. on Wednesday against right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, centered on her claim that France's first lady is male. The Macrons said in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court that Owens has waged a lie-filled "campaign of global humiliation" to promote her podcast and expand her "frenzied" fan base. The Macrons said the lies included that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, the actual name of her older brother. "Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade," the complaint said. "The result," the complaint added, "is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale." In a statement, a spokesperson for Owens called the lawsuit itself an effort to bully her, after Brigitte Macron rejected Owens' repeated requests for an interview. "Candace Owens is not shutting up," the spokesperson said. "This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist." In a joint statement released by their lawyers, the Macrons said they sued after Owens rejected three demands that she retract defamatory statements. "Ms. Owens's campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety," the Macrons said. "We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused." HIGH LEGAL STANDARD Wednesday's lawsuit is a rare case of a world leader suing for defamation. U.S. President Donald Trump has also turned to the courts, including in a $10 billion lawsuit accusing The Wall Street Journal of defaming him by claiming he created a lewd birthday greeting for disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The Journal said it would defend against that case and had full confidence in its reporting. In December, meanwhile, Trump reached a $15 million settlement with Walt Disney-owned ABC over an inaccurate claim that a jury found him liable for rape, rather than sexual assault, in a civil lawsuit. To prevail in U.S. defamation cases, public figures must show defendants engaged in "actual malice," a tough legal standard requiring proof the defendants knew what they published was false or had reckless disregard for its truth. Owens has more than 6.9 million followers on X and more than 4.5 million YouTube subscribers. CARLSON, ROGAN The Macrons' lawsuit focuses on the eight-part podcast "Becoming Brigitte," which has more than 2.3 million views on YouTube, and X posts linked to it. According to the Macrons, the series spread "verifiably false and devastating lies," including that Brigitte Macron stole another person's identity and transitioned to female, and that the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest. The complaint discusses circumstances under which the Macrons met, when the now 47-year-old president was a high school student and Brigitte was a teacher. It said their relationship "remained within the bounds of the law." According to the complaint, baseless speculation about Brigitte Macron's gender began surfacing in 2021, and the topic has been discussed on popular podcasts hosted by Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, who have many conservative followers. In September, Brigitte won a lawsuit in a French court against two women, including a self-described medium, who contributed to spreading rumors about her gender. An appeals court overturned that decision this month, and Brigitte Macron has appealed to France's highest court. The case is Macron et al v Owens et al, Delaware Superior Court, No. N25C-07-194.

A Former Security Guard at the US Embassy in Norway Is Accused of Spying for Russia and Iran
A Former Security Guard at the US Embassy in Norway Is Accused of Spying for Russia and Iran

Asharq Al-Awsat

time8 hours ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

A Former Security Guard at the US Embassy in Norway Is Accused of Spying for Russia and Iran

A former security guard at the US Embassy in Norway has been indicted by prosecutors there on suspicion of espionage after he allegedly spied for Russia and Iran, according to state broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. The Norwegian man, whose name has not been made public, was arrested last November on suspicion of having damaged national security. He is accused of handing over details about the embassy's diplomats, its floor plans and security routines, among other things, NRK reported. His defense attorney, Inger Zadig, told NRK that her client acknowledges the indictment's facts but denies guilt. The broadcaster reported that America's ties to Israel and the war in Gaza prompted the man to contact Russia and Iran. The defendant faces up to 21 years in prison, NRK reported. The US Embassy, the prosecutor's office and Zadig did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for comment. At the time of his arrest, the man had been studying for a bachelor's degree in security and preparedness at Norway's Arctic University, UiT. It is a second such case at UiT in recent years, according to NRK. One of the people the West swapped with Russia in a major prisoner exchange last year was a UiT guest researcher who claimed to be a Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria, arrested on espionage allegations in 2022. The police revealed him to be Russian, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin. Norway has a 198-kilometer (123-mile) long border with Russia in the Arctic. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has heavily restricted entry for Russian nationals. Last year, the Norwegian government said it was considering a plan to build a fence along all or part of its border with Russia.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store