Your post answers questions I had about the possible uses of all these antennae and about how Moldova's geography might make it advantageous for Russian spying during the Ukraine war. I'm a bit worried about their apparent ability to attack individuals locally via sound waves or something; hopefully Western intelligence has figured this out despite news stories to the contrary.
(Also brings to my mind my belief ten years ago that Moldova was already completely electronically transparent to Russia because no one could afford any virus anti-programs on their PCs besides kaspersky's "free" one.)
Hey Connie, some interesting points there. Your thoughts on the anti-virus stuff is true but I have to imagine that there just isn't all that much interesting to read! I think the government has always have *slightly* better information security at a national level than at a local government level but still poor. One key issue is that almost no government agency issues phones to people - so they use personal ones. It's probably an interesting problem for hackers since things are so decentralized and maybe that slows some things down. But realistically it also means that no one has any real idea how much has been penetrated.
And let's not forget that this isn't all about viruses and hacking. Most Moldovans have Russian made apps on their phones (Yandex for example) and the primary providers of things like security cameras are Chinese companies.
So it's probably fair to say the situation is not great from the standpoint of keeping secrets in cyberspace.
As to the number of Russian "Diplomats" and families to removed; - Russian president Putin has been designated as a war crimes criminal with an international arrest warrant, Russia has been internationally designated as a terrorist state, it has violated international law by invading and prosecuting an illegal war of aggression on Ukraine, it is acting pirates ( an international crime) in international waters in the Black Sea, and, directly for Moldova, funded Ilan Shor to over-through the Moldovan government and has illegally hacked into Moldovan government systems... Why does not Moldova call back any of its diplomats from Russia and then expel all Russian "diplomats, families and spies", and shut down the embassy?
Well, breaking diplomatic contact is usually a prelude to war. Moldova has no desire to see a war come here and is doing everything in it's power to keep people safe.
I think the bigger question is "would Russia be doing any of this if Moldova was in NATO?" and the answer is likely no. It doesn't mean they wouldn't spy - that's a given. But if Moldova had real allies then it would be hard to imagine Russian intelligence assets attempting to overthrow the government from Israel (or allowing Platon to continue living in London... though he is unlikely a Russian asset).
The real problem is that Moldova has very few tools of self defense. I think that expelling the majority of the Russian Embassy is a huge and bold statement given all the context.
Your post answers questions I had about the possible uses of all these antennae and about how Moldova's geography might make it advantageous for Russian spying during the Ukraine war. I'm a bit worried about their apparent ability to attack individuals locally via sound waves or something; hopefully Western intelligence has figured this out despite news stories to the contrary.
(Also brings to my mind my belief ten years ago that Moldova was already completely electronically transparent to Russia because no one could afford any virus anti-programs on their PCs besides kaspersky's "free" one.)
Hey Connie, some interesting points there. Your thoughts on the anti-virus stuff is true but I have to imagine that there just isn't all that much interesting to read! I think the government has always have *slightly* better information security at a national level than at a local government level but still poor. One key issue is that almost no government agency issues phones to people - so they use personal ones. It's probably an interesting problem for hackers since things are so decentralized and maybe that slows some things down. But realistically it also means that no one has any real idea how much has been penetrated.
And let's not forget that this isn't all about viruses and hacking. Most Moldovans have Russian made apps on their phones (Yandex for example) and the primary providers of things like security cameras are Chinese companies.
So it's probably fair to say the situation is not great from the standpoint of keeping secrets in cyberspace.
Excellent coverage as usual Dave. Thank you.
As to the number of Russian "Diplomats" and families to removed; - Russian president Putin has been designated as a war crimes criminal with an international arrest warrant, Russia has been internationally designated as a terrorist state, it has violated international law by invading and prosecuting an illegal war of aggression on Ukraine, it is acting pirates ( an international crime) in international waters in the Black Sea, and, directly for Moldova, funded Ilan Shor to over-through the Moldovan government and has illegally hacked into Moldovan government systems... Why does not Moldova call back any of its diplomats from Russia and then expel all Russian "diplomats, families and spies", and shut down the embassy?
Well, breaking diplomatic contact is usually a prelude to war. Moldova has no desire to see a war come here and is doing everything in it's power to keep people safe.
I think the bigger question is "would Russia be doing any of this if Moldova was in NATO?" and the answer is likely no. It doesn't mean they wouldn't spy - that's a given. But if Moldova had real allies then it would be hard to imagine Russian intelligence assets attempting to overthrow the government from Israel (or allowing Platon to continue living in London... though he is unlikely a Russian asset).
The real problem is that Moldova has very few tools of self defense. I think that expelling the majority of the Russian Embassy is a huge and bold statement given all the context.
And the U.S. is apparently even cooperating with the ICC in the Hague by providing evidence.