Latest news with #Cyberattacks
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
What to know about past meetings between Putin and his American counterparts
Bilateral meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterparts were a regular occurrence early in his tenure. But as tensions mounted between Moscow and the West following the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and allegations of meddling with the 2016 U.S. elections, those became increasingly less frequent, and their tone appeared less friendly. Here's what to know about past meetings between Russian and U.S. presidents: Putin and Joe Biden met only once while holding the presidency –- in Geneva in June 2021. Russia was amassing troops on the border with Ukraine, where large swaths of land in the east had long been occupied by Moscow-backed forces; Washington repeatedly accused Russia of cyberattacks. The Kremlin was intensifying its domestic crackdown on dissent, jailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny months earlier and harshly suppressing protests demanding his release. Putin and Biden talked for three hours, but no breakthroughs came out of the meeting. The two exchanged expressions of mutual respect, but firmly restated their starkly different views on all of the above. They spoke again via videoconference in December 2021 as tensions heightened over Ukraine. Biden threatened sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine, and Putin demanded guarantees that Kyiv wouldn't join NATO –- something Washington and its allies said was a nonstarter. Another phone call between the two came in February 2022, less than two weeks before the full-scale invasion. Then the high-level contacts stopped cold, with no publicly disclosed conversations between Putin and Biden since the invasion. Putin met Trump met six times during the American's first term -– at and on the sidelines of G20 and APEC gatherings — but most famously in Helsinki in July 2018. That's where Trump stood next to Putin and appeared to accept his insistence that Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and openly questioned the firm finding by his own intelligence agencies. His remarks were a stark illustration of Trump's willingness to upend decades of U.S. foreign policy and rattle Western allies in service of his political concerns. 'I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said. 'He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.' U.S. President Barack Obama met with Putin nine times, and there were 12 more meetings with Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president in 2008-12. Putin became prime minister in a move that allowed him to reset Russia's presidential term limits and run again in 2012. Obama traveled to Russia twice — once to meet Medvedev in 2009 and again for a G20 summit 2013. Medvedev and Putin also traveled to the U.S. Under Medvedev, Moscow and Washington talked of 'resetting' Russia-U.S. relations post-Cold War and worked on arms control treaties. U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton famously presented a big 'reset' button to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting in 2009. One problem: instead of 'reset' in Russian, they used another word meaning 'overload.' After Putin returned to office in 2012, tensions rose between the two countries. The Kremlin accused the West of interfering with Russian domestic affairs, saying it fomented anti-government protests that rocked Moscow just as Putin sought reelection. The authorities cracked down on dissent and civil society, drawing international condemnation. Obama canceled his visit to Moscow in 2013 after Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower. In 2014, the Kremlin illegally annexed Crimea and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies responded with crippling sanctions. Relations plummeted to the lowest point since the Cold War. The Kremlin's 2015 military intervention in Syria to prop up Bashar Assad further complicated ties. Putin and Obama last met in China in September 2016, on the sidelines of a G20 summit, and held talks focused on Ukraine and Syria. Putin and George W. Bush met 28 times during Bush's two terms. They hosted each other for talks and informal meetings in Russia and the U.S., met regularly on the sidelines of international summits and forums, and boasted of improving ties between onetime rivals. After the first meeting with Putin in 2001, Bush said he 'looked the man in the eye' and 'found him very straightforward and trustworthy,' getting 'a sense of his soul.' In 2002, they signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty -– a nuclear arms pact that significantly reduced both countries' strategic nuclear warhead arsenal. Putin was the first world leader to call Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attack, offering his condolences and support, and welcomed the U.S. military deployment on the territory of Moscow's Central Asian allies for action in Afghanistan. He has called Bush 'a decent person and a good friend,' adding that good relations with him helped find a way out of 'the most acute and conflict situations.' —— Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau contributed.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
What to know about past meetings between Putin and his American counterparts
Bilateral meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterparts were a regular occurrence early in his tenure. But as tensions mounted between Moscow and the West following the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and allegations of meddling with the 2016 U.S. elections, those became increasingly less frequent, and their tone appeared less friendly. Here's what to know about past meetings between Russian and U.S. presidents: Putin and Joe Biden Putin and Joe Biden met only once while holding the presidency –- in Geneva in June 2021. Russia was amassing troops on the border with Ukraine, where large swaths of land in the east had long been occupied by Moscow-backed forces; Washington repeatedly accused Russia of cyberattacks. The Kremlin was intensifying its domestic crackdown on dissent, jailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny months earlier and harshly suppressing protests demanding his release. Putin and Biden talked for three hours, but no breakthroughs came out of the meeting. The two exchanged expressions of mutual respect, but firmly restated their starkly different views on all of the above. They spoke again via videoconference in December 2021 as tensions heightened over Ukraine. Biden threatened sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine, and Putin demanded guarantees that Kyiv wouldn't join NATO –- something Washington and its allies said was a nonstarter. Another phone call between the two came in February 2022, less than two weeks before the full-scale invasion. Then the high-level contacts stopped cold, with no publicly disclosed conversations between Putin and Biden since the invasion. Putin and Donald Trump Putin met Trump met six times during the American's first term -– at and on the sidelines of G20 and APEC gatherings — but most famously in Helsinki in July 2018. That's where Trump stood next to Putin and appeared to accept his insistence that Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election and openly questioned the firm finding by his own intelligence agencies. His remarks were a stark illustration of Trump's willingness to upend decades of U.S. foreign policy and rattle Western allies in service of his political concerns. 'I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said. 'He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.' Putin and Barack Obama U.S. President Barack Obama met with Putin nine times, and there were 12 more meetings with Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president in 2008-12. Putin became prime minister in a move that allowed him to reset Russia's presidential term limits and run again in 2012. Obama traveled to Russia twice — once to meet Medvedev in 2009 and again for a G20 summit 2013. Medvedev and Putin also traveled to the U.S. Under Medvedev, Moscow and Washington talked of 'resetting' Russia-U.S. relations post-Cold War and worked on arms control treaties. U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton famously presented a big 'reset' button to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting in 2009. One problem: instead of 'reset' in Russian, they used another word meaning 'overload.' After Putin returned to office in 2012, tensions rose between the two countries. The Kremlin accused the West of interfering with Russian domestic affairs, saying it fomented anti-government protests that rocked Moscow just as Putin sought reelection. The authorities cracked down on dissent and civil society, drawing international condemnation. Obama canceled his visit to Moscow in 2013 after Russia granted asylum to Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower. In 2014, the Kremlin illegally annexed Crimea and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies responded with crippling sanctions. Relations plummeted to the lowest point since the Cold War. The Kremlin's 2015 military intervention in Syria to prop up Bashar Assad further complicated ties. Putin and Obama last met in China in September 2016, on the sidelines of a G20 summit, and held talks focused on Ukraine and Syria. Putin and George W. Bush Putin and George W. Bush met 28 times during Bush's two terms. They hosted each other for talks and informal meetings in Russia and the U.S., met regularly on the sidelines of international summits and forums, and boasted of improving ties between onetime rivals. After the first meeting with Putin in 2001, Bush said he 'looked the man in the eye' and 'found him very straightforward and trustworthy,' getting 'a sense of his soul.' In 2002, they signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty -– a nuclear arms pact that significantly reduced both countries' strategic nuclear warhead arsenal. Putin was the first world leader to call Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attack, offering his condolences and support, and welcomed the U.S. military deployment on the territory of Moscow's Central Asian allies for action in Afghanistan. He has called Bush 'a decent person and a good friend,' adding that good relations with him helped find a way out of 'the most acute and conflict situations.' —— Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau contributed.
Fast Company
7 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Exclusive: Visa announces new cybersecurity protections in the wake of rising scams
Cyberattacks are on the rise, and artificial intelligence is making it easier for bad actors to scam individuals and businesses alike. In response, Visa is launching a new initiative that offers businesses tailored data to better combat cybercrime. Today, August 6, Visa unveils its new Cybersecurity Advisory Practice, providing customers and businesses with access to advanced tools designed to protect against the growing threat of cybercrime. Over the past year, the digital payments giant says it has invested billions in cybersecurity infrastructure and enhanced its global payments network by deploying generative AI to detect and block fraud. With its latest initiative, Visa plans to share those capabilities directly with clients to address mounting concerns around information security in the AI era. The new practice will leverage Visa's internal fraud-fighting insights and adapt them to meet the specific needs of each business. Utilizing AI and drawing from a team of 2,000 consultants, data scientists, and product experts, Visa aims to help clients defend against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. Visa's Cybersecurity Advisory Practice emerged from what Carl Rutstein, the company's global head of advisory services, describes as a clear need from clients for 'deeper, more proactive support' amid a rapidly evolving threat landscape. As online commerce grows, so does cybercrime. 'There has been a nearly 300% increase in internet fraud just over the last few years,' he tells Fast Company, prompting businesses to seek new ways to 'proactively identify, evaluate, and obviously mitigate emerging cyber threats.' According to cybersecurity and compliance firm VikingCloud, cybercrime could cost businesses as much as $10.5 trillion by year's end, and up to $15.63 trillion by 2029. The FBI reported that in 2024 the top three internet crimes were phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches. Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to AI, using it to crack passwords, manipulate or poison data, and create deepfakes. Rutstein says fraud has escalated as bad actors adopt AI to exploit the financial system. Visa, he notes, blocked $14 million in presumed fraud in 2024—a 30% increase over 2023. The Cybersecurity Advisory Practice is intended to build on Visa's current 'payment ecosystem,' offering services such as dark web threat detection, vulnerability testing, enumeration defense, employee training, and cybersecurity maturity assessments. Other digital payments providers are also responding to the growing threat. Just last month, Mastercard announced its Security Solutions Program, which includes financial investments in startups that are developing cybersecurity and fraud prevention technologies. Much like Mastercard's strategy of investing in next-gen security, Visa says its approach focuses on advising businesses of all sizes directly, emphasizing a proactive, rather than reactive, stance. 'We built it to just help our clients,' Rutstein said. 'We do exactly what you would expect an advisory firm connected to a network to be doing, and therefore these are resources and capabilities that are available.'
CNET
14-07-2025
- CNET
My Smart Home Is Much Safer After These 5 Vital Password Changes
Password management is key for the smart home -- and also a major security vulnerability if passwords get bad or lazy. It can be easy to make password mistakes when first setting up new devices, but it's also very effective to go back and make some upgrades. Are you ready for your smart home password checkup? Here are the best password improvements I've learned to make while testing smart devices. They'll make your home safe and your device use faster, so it's all winning with these improvements. Read more: New Reports Say Smart Device Cyberattacks More Than Doubled In 2024: Should You Worry? Upgrade lazy passwords for new devices The login screen for the Tapo smart home app. Tyler Lacoma/CNET Many people received new smart home gadgets for the holidays or various new year's resolutions (like fitness tech). I know from personal experience that when trying to set up your new device, it's easy to just choose a quick, simple-to-remember password for your account and move on. You may even promise yourself that you'll change it later. That rarely happens. Now is the perfect time to review the smart home devices that you've got in the past year and make sure that each app and account you sign up for has a strong password. This is a key line of defense for every device in your home and you don't want new devices to be vulnerable, especially if you recently got a security cam or something similar. If you didn't turn on available two-factor authentication options for your login, now is also the time to enable this important security feature. Replace old passwords with more complex versions Complex passwords are a must in today's digital landscape. While home hacking is very rare, it's more common (unfortunately) for devices to be invaded by roommates, family or exes who already know your old passwords or can guess them. And if a cybercriminal ever does try to hack into your home, they're likely to start with brute force methods of finding more basic passwords. Fix this problem by checking of all your older passwords, especially those you haven't thought much about in years. Replace old and simplistic passwords with complex versions that are well protected (no sticky notes on the computer, in other words). Bring the family together and hold the big password-updating event together if necessary. Remember, good passwords combine upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Don't give into the temptation to use one of the most common and weakest passwords like "123456" or, yes, even "password." Create a robust Wi-Fi password TP-Link's router. TP-Link/CNET Your Wi-Fi network is the gateway to most of your smart home and home security technology and one of the easiest ways for someone to digitally sneak inside. Prioritize giving your Wi-Fi network a particularly robust password that's difficult to guess or copy. If you frequently have people over, create a guest Wi-Fi network with a password that you can share with them. Oh, and if you haven't checked your Wi-Fi settings in a while, dive in and make sure you're at least using WPA2 encryption for all devices and WPA3 for any that support it. This could be a good time to get a new router if necessary. Delete repeated passwords Repeat passwords are a dangerous practice for any home security. Hispanolistic via Getty It's especially easy to repeat the same password for smart home and home security devices to help keep everything organized and straightforward. But this common security mistake leaves your devices and accounts more vulnerable than ever. Guessing or forcing one password can give cyber trespassers access to many more devices. So as you review your password habits, change any smart home passwords that repeat. The same goes for keypad codes to gain access and home safe codes. Make sure everything login is unique. Adopt a password manager 1Password software is one of the better options for juggling multiple device logins. 1Password/CNET A password manager helps you complete all the other steps with minimal stress. It can generate and save passwords for you automatically when you set up new devices, replace old passwords with just a few seconds of work and give you suggestions on which of your passwords are repeats or too simple. They can also save any number of passcodes or emergency numbers and phrases. Many password managers are free, and those with subscriptions typically cost only a couple of dollars each month, making them a worthy addition to any home. Check out our guide to the best choices. Bonus tip: Check all devices for updates Review all your home smart home apps and devices. If there are any firmware updates available, apply them immediately. Many updates will load automatically, but sometimes, they can get blocked or require individual permissions. Firmware updates like these are vital to keeping security tight and helping your passwords stay effective. With your passwords taken care of, check out the top home security mistakes to stop making, the best security tips of you're living solo and important security suggestions before a vacation.
Arab News
03-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
China, EU should not ‘seek confrontation,' says FM Wang Yi
BRUSSELS: China's top diplomat warned his EU counterpart against 'confrontation,' his foreign ministry said Thursday, after she urged Beijing to stop undermining Europe's security. Meeting Kaja Kallas in Brussels on Wednesday, Wang Yi said China and the European Union 'should not be regarded as opponents because of differences, nor should they seek confrontation because of disagreements,' according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. Europe is 'facing various challenges,' Wang said, but stressed that none were caused by China 'in the past, present or future.' Ahead of their meeting, Kallas, the EU's foreign affairs chief, said China was 'not our adversary, but on security our relationship is under increasing strain.' She said Chinese firms were 'Moscow's lifeline to sustain its war against Ukraine' and accused Beijing of carrying out cyberattacks, democratic interference and unfair trade practices that 'harm European security and jobs.' China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia's more than three-year war with Ukraine. But Western governments say Beijing has given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support. 'Enabling war in Europe while seeking closer ties with Europe is a contradiction Beijing must address,' Kallas added on Wednesday. Wang, meanwhile, sought to cast Beijing as a steady counterweight against superpower rival Washington, which has threatened to slap sweeping tariffs on imports from European nations. 'The path taken by the United States should not be used as a reflection of China,' he said. 'China is not the United States.' Beijing's foreign ministry also said the two sides had discussed Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and the Iran nuclear issue. Beijing and Brussels should treat one another with 'respect,' Wang said, adding that Europe should pursue a more 'active and pragmatic' China policy. The Chinese diplomat also met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prevot on Wednesday. China and the EU should 'uphold multilateralism and free trade... and work together to address global challenges such as climate change,' Wang told von der Leyen. Wang will next travel to Germany, where he will hold talks with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on diplomacy and security. And in France, Wang will meet minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, who visited China in March. The visits come about three weeks ahead of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the EU's top officials in Beijing.
