Russian GRU engages in malign espionage

The essay below is an excellent source for anyone interested in how Putin has weaponized the internet. That includes deployment of one or more viruses. The timeline is tied to the beginnings of GRU attacks on Ukraine. It’s long and worth the time to read.

Scary stuff considering the buffoon who was selected by Tsar Putin occupies our WH. The Republicans in Congress, especially loud mouth rumpers like Graham, are a disgrace to our democracy. I continue to be disgusted, outraged and shocked by the daily betrayals of the American people by Republicans.

Who are these members of Congress or candidates who have taken Russian/NRA money to fund political self-interests?
I am not in favor of a McCarthy style inquisition. I do expect our Congress to enforce The Rule of Law and follow established law on contributions to campaigns by hostile foreign governments. As an idealist, I want to believe in fair, equal and swift justice for all.

Congress must police their own. They have the tools to do. Establish priorities and hold hearings, bring the filth out into the open for public shaming. Failure to do so is to be complicit in this systematic destruction of our institutions by powers both foreign and domestic.
As always, just my opinion

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-russia’s-military-intelligence-agency-became-the-covert-muscle-in-putin’s-duels-with-the-west/ar-BBRwGaB

The Washington Post

How Russia’s military intelligence agency became the covert muscle in Putin’s duels with the West
Anton Troianovski, Ellen Nakashima 1 day ago
…snip
GRU units also are suspected of deploying a highly disruptive computer virus dubbed NotPetya, analysts said. Launched on June 28, 2017 — Ukraine’s Constitution Day — the virus wiped data from the computers of banks, energy firms, senior government officials and an airport in Ukraine.

It also affected computers in Denmark, India and the United States. The White House called it “the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history.”

In response to the NotPetya virus and other suspected hackings, the United States in March placed sanctions on six GRU officials.
“Ukraine is to 21st-century hybrid warfare what Spain was in the 1930s for battlefield blitzkrieg techniques — the place where the bad guys try out what they may use against us later on,” said Daniel Fried, a former senior State Department official who helped lead the West’s response to Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

Russia has denied that the GRU engages in malign activity around the world. After Mueller’s indictment of 12 officers accused of interfering in the U.S. election, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that “it has become the norm in Washington to promote fake news and initiate criminal proceedings for obvious political purposes.”