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UK Targets Russian-linked Cybercrime with Sanctions

The Russian flag waves in the wind - US, September 2, 2017. (File/Reuters)
The Russian flag waves in the wind - US, September 2, 2017. (File/Reuters)
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UK Targets Russian-linked Cybercrime with Sanctions

The Russian flag waves in the wind - US, September 2, 2017. (File/Reuters)
The Russian flag waves in the wind - US, September 2, 2017. (File/Reuters)

Britain sanctioned Russian cyber group Zservers and six of its members on Tuesday, saying they helped facilitate crippling ransomware attacks globally.
The measures, taken in coordination with the US and Australia, will impose asset freezes on Zservers and its UK front company XHOST Internet Solutions LP, and asset freezes and travel bans on the six individuals.
Affiliates of notorious cybercriminal group Lockbit are known to have used Zservers as a launch pad for ransomware attacks, Britain said, Reuters reported.
Ransomware attacks, which can compromise sensitive data, disrupt essential services and threaten national security, generated $1 billion from their victims globally in 2023 alone, it added.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has built a corrupt mafia state  driven by greed and ruthlessness," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.
"It is no surprise that the most unscrupulous extortionists and cyber-criminals run rampant from within his borders."

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Netanyahu Says He Will Seek to Dismiss the Head of Israel’s Internal Security Service

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)
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Netanyahu Says He Will Seek to Dismiss the Head of Israel’s Internal Security Service

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday he will seek to dismiss the head of the country's internal security service this week, following a power struggle over the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu said in a statement he has had “ongoing distrust” with Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and “this distrust has grown over time.”

The Shin Bet is responsible for monitoring Palestinian armed groups, and recently issued a report accepting responsibility for its failures around the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. But it also criticized Netanyahu, saying failed government policies helped create the climate that led to it.

The tensions boiled over this weekend when Bar’s predecessor, Nadav Argaman, said he would release sensitive information about Netanyahu if it is found that the prime minister had broken the law. Netanyahu accused Argaman of blackmail and filed a police complaint.

The Shin Bet did not have an immediate response to Netanyahu's announcement.

Netanyahu has resisted calls for an official state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack and has tried to blame the failures on the army and security agencies. In recent months, a number of senior security officials, including a defense minister and army chief, have been fired or forced to step down.

Bar had been one of the few remaining senior security officials since the Oct. 7 attack to remain in office.

Netanyahu said removing Bar from his position would help Israel “achieve its war goals and prevent the next disaster.” The prime minister is expected to appoint a loyalist in his place, slowing any momentum for the commission of inquiry.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a good-governance civil society group, called Netanyahu’s announcement a “declaration of war on the rule of law” and claimed that he does not have the authority to take the step against Bar because of investigations into his own office.

Netanyahu is also angry that the Shin Bet is investigating members of his staff for their dealings with Qatar. The Shin Bet, and Bar, have been closely involved with the hostage negotiations during the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu recently removed Bar from the negotiating team and replaced him with a loyalist, Cabinet minister Ron Dermer. Israeli media have reported on deep policy differences between the negotiators, who have pushed for a hostage deal, and Netanyahu, who continues to threaten to resume the war.