6:00 PM ET, Friday, August 11, 2023

The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here’s a look at today’s headlines, broken down by region of the world:  

In the Americas

US Sanctions Four Russians on the board of Alfa Group in response to war in Ukraine.  The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Friday that target four Russians who serve on the board of Alpha Group.  Alpha Group is one of Russia’s largest conglomerates with operations in oil, natural gas and banking.  The individuals targeted by the sanctions are Petr Olegovich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev.  Following the announcement Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said “Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people”.  All four individuals had been previously sanctioned by Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  Associated Press

Central and Eastern Europe

Ukraine begins consultations with the UK on security guarantees. Ukraine has started holding consultations with the United Kingdom to hash out security guarantees. A senior official said on Friday that Kyiv aims to have their first agreements in place by the end of the year. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said in televised comments, “Our goal is to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year,” Reuters

Ukraine fires army recruitment chiefs amid new anti-graft shakeup. President Zelenskiy has broadened the battle against graft on Friday, firing all the heads of Ukraine’s regional army recruitment centers. Zelenskiy said a state investigation into centers across Ukraine has brought to light abuses by officials, ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite the current wartime ban on them leaving Ukraine. He said that 112 criminal cases had been opened during the probe launched after a graft scandal in a recruitment office in Odesa region last month. Last month, the head of the Odesa region’s recruitment center was ordered into pre-trial detention. He was detained on suspicion of illegal enrichment after his family had been found to have acquired lavish property in Spain. Reuters

Asia and Oceania

China Claims to Have Outed a CIA Spy.  China’s Ministry of State (MSS) Security says it has discovered a Chinese spy who had been working for the CIA.  The suspect, who was identified by his surname Zeng was allegedly recruited by the CIA while Zeng was studying in Italy.  Zeng later returned to China were the MSS, in a statement on its WeChat channel says he continued meeting with CIA personnel to disclose classified information.  Reuters says that the US Embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment.  The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile public espionage accusations between the US and China.  Reuters CNN

Analysts Say Beijing Has Few Options for Retaliation After U.S. Investment Ban.  The Wall Street Journal is out with a new report that says Beijing is unlikely to retaliate to the new US ban on Chinese investment in a “blow for blow” manner.  Analysts cite the relative lack of dependance on Chinese capital for American companies along with China’s own challenging domestic economic conditions as factors that will likely rein in a potential robust response from Beijing. Wall Street Journal 

Middle East and Northern Africa

Gunmen Kill 20 Syrian Soldiers in Ambush.  Gunmen thought to be part of Islamic State (IS) have ambushed a bus carrying soldiers in Syria.  At least 23 soldiers are reported to have been killed in the attack which occurred in Syria’s east.  Despite the loss of its sanctuary in 2019, IS reportedly still maintains hideouts and sleeper cells in the region capable of hit and run style attacks.  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a group operating in the region says the death toll is likely to rise from the attack.  Associated Press BBC

Cyber and Tech

Germany says Charming Kitten hackers target Iran dissidents. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has warned Iranian dissidents and activists about the threat of cyber espionage targeted at them. The agency has said that the ‘Charming Kitten’ espionage group works through trust building with victims in order to get them to expose data on themselves. They employ so-called spear phishing tactics, according to the interests and preferences of the target. The aim is to gain access to email accounts, cloud storage, or messenger services used by the potential victim. They first seek a personal connection with the victim, before sending them a link in which the victim must enter login details, which are sent back to the hacker. Recent attacks have been mostly aimed at dissident organizations and professionals, like human rights activists and journalists living in Iran and abroad. Charming Kitten is able to convince victims of their legitimacy by impersonating real people, such as journalists or NGO employees. The agency recommends treating communications with non-established contacts with heavy skepticism. Deutsche Welle

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