<ul class="summary-list"><li>Explosions were reported Monday and Tuesday in the Russia-backed separatist region of Transnistria, which borders <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li><li>Former <keyword id="13199147" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="moldova" source="Orion">Moldova</keyword> Defense Minister Vitalie Marinuta told Insider the attacks look to be Russian.</li></ul>CHISINAU, Moldova — Explosions reported in the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria in the last 24 hours appear to be part of an effort by Russian intelligence to build the case for foreign intervention, Moldova's former defense minister told Insider.Transnistria — a long sliver of land along Moldova's eastern border with Ukraine that's home to roughly 300,000 people, most of whom are Russian speakers — broke from the central government in 1992 with the assistance of the Russian military.Around 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there today, ostensibly as part of a peacekeeping operation but also to guard a major ammunition depot.Although leaders of the self-proclaimed republic have long expressed a desire to join <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> — Insider witnessed the Russian Federation's flags on government buildings during a recent trip there, and Moscow generously subsidizes the territory — they have also seemed eager to avoid being drawn into the war in Ukraine, having grown increasingly dependent on trade with Europe. Around a third of the population in Transnistria is ethnically Ukrainian, with the numbers having recently increased with an influx of refugees.<h2>'They have to build a case'</h2>Vitalie Marinuta, who served as Moldova's minister of defense from 2009 to 2014, said it doesn't make sense for either Moldovan or Transnistrian forces to have carried out or staged the attacks. Neither Moldova nor Transnistria have an incentive to turn a frozen conflict hot, and Ukraine would not have an interest in opening another potential front.<div type="image" title="hall of the soviets" height="2642" width="3523" msid="91104050" hostid="261"></div>"What we have left is just the Russian Federation," Marinuta said. "Having studied how the GRU, or their military intelligence, works — it seems like it's their signature."The explosions come a week after a top Russian general <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/22/russia-to-seek-full-control-of-donbas-southern-ukraine-russian-general-a77463">said</a> that Moscow intends to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-general-says-ukraine-war-goal-conquer-east-south-2022-4">conquer southern Ukraine</a> and link up its forces with those in Transnistria, where he implausibly claimed that Russian speakers were being oppressed by a central government that exercises no control there.Two days later, there was a reported grenade attack on a building used by security services in Tiraspol, the self-proclaimed capital. On Tuesday morning, there were more reported attacks on radio transmission towers in the region.In a statement, Moldova's Bureau of Reintegration Policies described the explosions as "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moldova-warns-of-pretexts-after-explosions-in-separatist-transnistria-2022-4?utmSource=twitter&amp;utmContent=referral&amp;utmTerm=topbar&amp;referrer=twitter">pretexts</a>" designed to inflame tensions, with President Maia Sandu on Tuesday convening a meeting of the country's top security officials to discuss the situation.Marinuta believes the alleged provocations are all about Russia's domestic audience, which needs to be primed to believe intervention is necessary to fulfill President Vladimir Putin's stated goal of protecting Russians in former Soviet republics."They have to build a case," he said. "I see them building more and more facts that will give them the 'right' — they'll say the 'right' — to intervene in the Transnistria region," he said."Also, probably, they want to convince the Ukrainian government that they will attack from Transnistria — to make Ukrainians bring some more forces here."<div type="image" title="military base" height="3648" width="4864" msid="91104052" hostid="261"></div><h2>How an attack could play out</h2>Ukrainians are of course privy to the same facts as other observers of Transnistria. On paper, the territory's armed forces, combined with that of the Russians, could number in the tens of thousands if reserves are called up or locals are drafted. There are tanks there — and that Soviet-era ammunition depot, though the quality of the equipment is anyone's guess.But will anyone from Transnistria fight outside their own land? Russian officers will likely fight, and force those under their command to do so as well, as they are ideologically committed to Putin's brand of nationalism, Marinuta said. But locals who hold Moldovan or Romanian passports — and have no combat experience — will try to flee, he said.It's possible Russia could bring in more of its forces by plane — currently unable to by land, thanks to Ukrainian resistance around Odesa. But would they fare any better than those Russian forces already trying and failing to win territory to the east. In one scenario, using Transnistria as a launching pad into Ukraine is a recipe for Russia losing its own grip on the territory.Marinuta doesn't think that really matters."I don't want to make you panic," he said, "but we can see with the Russians that they can make, sometimes, irrational decisions, from our point of view." The war in Ukraine, for instance, was a "special military operation" that Moscow initially believed could be over days.As for Moldova, another former Soviet republic with Russian speakers that the Kremlin could and has claimed are oppressed — Marinuta doesn't see an immediate threat of military intervention. He thinks Moscow is content for now to sit back and change the government here through peaceful means: Regime change in the next elections.The current party in charge is trying to join the European Union, but Moldova has a record of electing pro-Western governments only to throw them out every few years for the pro-Russia opposition.If it did come to war, though, Marinuta does not think Russia will face much resistance, at least not from Moldova's small military."I don't think they will have a hard time," he said.Have a <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

Explosions in Transnistria have the 'signature' of Russian military intelligence, former Moldova defense minister says

<div type="image" msid="58061915" hostid="261"></div>

 
 
Sanjay Mehta is popularly known as an angel investor and acts as a mentor to many entrepreneurs, but little is known about how Mehta became the go-to angel investors for many. 
 
He was born in a middle-class Gujarati joint family in Mumbai, and calls himself a ‘first-generation entrepreneur’. He was the first person in his family to take the leap into starting his own business but credits his family for teaching him the art of nurturing relationships with diverse people. 
 
He studied engineering from Mumbai University in 1993 and he was adamant about being an industrialist. 
His first company was Bespoke Software Consultancy, while he was interested in IT, he didn’t want to sell computers, he wanted to sell the software inside them. 
 
The entrepreneur that failed and started again 
 
His first venture was successful, but Sanjay felt the need to get out of the country like his peers albeit it was a short trip. 
 
He went at a time when the dot-com bust was about to happen and his exposure to trending e-commerce at the time propelled him to start a B2B commodity trade portal which failed and he returned in 1999. “I lost everything as investors backed out on the term sheet. I had to start from scratch. I realized that this was going to be a rollercoaster ride,” recalls Sanjay. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-voonik-is-redefining-fashion-e-commerce-for-indian-masses/articleshow/58044307.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Voonik is Redefining Fashion E-commerce for Indian Masses</a> 
 Mehta came back to India in 1999 and went back to the grind and started another ahead-of-its-time company which too shut down. Undeterred he started again with <keyword id="4390649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="udyog-software-india-ltd">Udyog Software India Ltd</keyword> which was a taxation product company in the year 2000. This third-time-lucky charm turned around things as Sanjay sold the venture to an Indian owned US company in 2004. 
 Mehta started his last company <keyword id="4390651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="maia-intelligence">MAIA Intelligence</keyword> in 2007 which dealt with business intelligence software and analytics which he sold to Datamatics in 2015. While he was reaping the benefits of the two exits, he invested in real estate which was just in time for the boom. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/the-stayzilla-fiasco-is-an-ugly-heads-up-of-the-future-of-the-indian-startup-ecosystem/articleshow/57689230.cms">ALSO READ: The Stayzilla fiasco is an ugly heads-up of the future of the Indian startup ecosystem</a> 
 Equipped with new found wealth, he decided to look for other areas of investment and entered venture funding with Aditya Birla <keyword id="34499" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="private-equity">Private Equity</keyword> Fund as an LP. He joined Indian Angel Network which was the first angel network and then decided to be an ‘angel’ full time. 
Since the past four years, as a full-time investor, Mehta always wanted to either be an entrepreneur or support one and it all started with him watching his father’s hard work. “My father has always been in the corporate sector and he toiled really hard all his life but he never owned anything. If I’m building something, I thought that I should be the one owning it. That’s why I never applied for a job.” 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/i-stayed-at-tajs-first-property-in-amritsar-and-heres-what-i-experienced/articleshow/58028999.cms">ALSO READ: I Stayed at Taj's First Property in Amritsar and Here’s What I Experienced</a> 
 
He shares one instance wherein 1993, as a young lad, he wanted a PC to start his own business that cost up to a Lakh rupees and went to my grandfather to ask for a loan. He suggested visiting a bank, and all the financial institutions shooed him away after which his relatives helped in undersigning for the loan. 
 
The Mumbai-based investor was made to feel the importance of money from the beginning as he paid his own loan installments and it taught him a lot about financial discipline. That’s why Sanjay credits his business learning to his family and his father notably who worked with Fevicol and struck up a business building chord that stuck with him with only one hard and fast rule- ‘Do not innovate in Legal and Finance’.

Exclusive: Ace Angel Investor Sanjay Mehta’s true-life experiences that make his investments in startups fool-proof

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Demand for AI chips is heavily outstripping supply right now.</li><li>Sam Altman doesn't want OpenAI to be slowed down by a shortage of compute power.</li></ul>Sam Altman doesn't want OpenAI to be derailed by something as simple as a lack of microchips.But shortages of such chips, integral to the development of AI, have caused him and many other execs at tech companies seeking to emulate OpenAI's success enormous headaches.Since the launch of ChatGPT, demand for graphics processing units (GPUs) and other high-end chips has soared, with existing supply lines unable to keep up.Altman went as far as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/dd9ba2f6-f509-42f0-8e97-4271c7b84ded">calling the crunch a "brutal" one</a> in November, while Microsoft even identified the shortages as a <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/06/tech/ai-chips-supply-chain/index.html">potential risk factor for investors to consider</a>.Currently, these chips are sourced from a select few companies that control the market for AI processors. Nvidia wields the most power thanks to demand for its H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), a much-sought-after piece of kit that can cost <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/nvidias-h100-ai-chips-selling-for-more-than-40000-on-ebay.html">over $40,000</a> each.But apparently, Altman is done relying solely on them: he's ready to start making his own.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/nvidia-ceo-makes-first-china-tour-in-years-as-us-curbs-roil-ai">That's according to a report from Bloomberg</a>, which stated that Altman had been busy pitching heavyweight investors to back a new AI chip venture that would give his company a lot more control over its chip supply.<h2>Building a new supply line</h2>Typically, companies like Nvidia really only design chips before outsourcing their manufacture to specialists who operate expensive and complex fabrication plants, like Taiwan's TSMC and Intel.But a bunch of tech companies have started designing their own. In November, for instance, <a target="_blank" href="https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/ai/in-house-chips-silicon-to-service-to-meet-ai-demand/">Microsoft unveiled its new Azure Maia AI chip</a>, designed with large language model (LLM) training in mind. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-unveils-enterprise-ai-tools-new-ai-chip-2023-08-29/">Google, meanwhile, unveiled a new chip design</a> last year for a similar purpose."I think the magic of capitalism is doing its thing here," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/dd9ba2f6-f509-42f0-8e97-4271c7b84ded">Altman told the FT in an interview in November</a> when asked about efforts to rival Nvidia's chips. "A lot of people would like to be Nvidia now."<div type="image" title="Nvidia" height="3334" width="5000" msid="107082792" hostid="261" sizebytes="187146"></div>For Altman, however, it seems emulating Nvidia isn't the only goal.Though the OpenAI CEO had been weighing his own designs, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-is-considering-making-its-own-ai-chips-chatgpt-2023-10">per a report in October</a>, the Bloomberg report suggested Altman's plans would involve not only designing chips but setting up an entire network of fabrication plants to manufacture them too.Altman would also work with "top chip manufacturers" as part of the plan. How they would work together remains unclear but it was reported the network would be "global in scope."The plan represents a do-it-yourself approach that would set his company apart from the rest by making it vertically integrated.That would mean <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-usage-policy-chatgpt-military-purposes-2024-1">OpenAI</a> would exercise full control over the chip-making process while rivals continue to chase supply from third parties or outsource manufacturing of their own designs to others.It's an incredibly costly plan that's by no means guaranteed, as Bloomberg noted the talks are still early.Hurdles for Altman would include securing the billions of dollars and expertise needed to build state-of-the-art fabrication facilities, as well as technical challenges in coming up with designs that can rival Nvidia's H100 units.Despite this, Altman's plan has already won fans.Adam Niewinski, managing partner at OTB Ventures, told Business Insider that Altman's potential investment in chip technology was a dual-purpose move."It's essential for the evolution of AI and represents a potentially lucrative investment opportunity given the massive anticipated demand in this sector'" he said.<h2>Stockpiling the strategy for now</h2>While Altman's grand plan may address shortages in 10 years time and beyond, for now many execs are scrambling to get as many chips as they can get their hands on.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-ai-flex-meta-nvidia-gpus-2024-1">Mark Zuckerberg proved as much in a video last week</a>, in which he outlined Meta's plans to secure around 350,000 Nvidia H100s, or "600,000 H100 equivalents of compute," by the end of the year in order to build "an absolutely massive amount of infrastructure" that supports his long-term goal of building open source AGI.<blockquote class="text-post-media" data-text-post-permalink="https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C2QBoRaRmR1" data-text-post-version="0" id="ig-tp-C2QBoRaRmR1" style=" background:#FFF; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: #00000026; border-radius: 16px; max-width:540px; margin: 1px; min-width:270px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <a href="https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C2QBoRaRmR1" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, sans-serif;" target="_blank"> <div style=" padding: 40px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center;"><div style=" display:block; height:32px; width:32px; padding-bottom:20px;"> <svg aria-label="Threads" height="32px" role="img" viewbox="0 0 192 192" width="32px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <path d="M141.537 88.9883C140.71 88.5919 139.87 88.2104 139.019 87.8451C137.537 60.5382 122.616 44.905 97.5619 44.745C97.4484 44.7443 97.3355 44.7443 97.222 44.7443C82.2364 44.7443 69.7731 51.1409 62.102 62.7807L75.881 72.2328C81.6116 63.5383 90.6052 61.6848 97.2286 61.6848C97.3051 61.6848 97.3819 61.6848 97.4576 61.6855C105.707 61.7381 111.932 64.1366 115.961 68.814C118.893 72.2193 120.854 76.925 121.825 82.8638C114.511 81.6207 106.601 81.2385 98.145 81.7233C74.3247 83.0954 59.0111 96.9879 60.0396 116.292C60.5615 126.084 65.4397 134.508 73.775 140.011C80.8224 144.663 89.899 146.938 99.3323 146.423C111.79 145.74 121.563 140.987 128.381 132.296C133.559 125.696 136.834 117.143 138.28 106.366C144.217 109.949 148.617 114.664 151.047 120.332C155.179 129.967 155.42 145.8 142.501 158.708C131.182 170.016 117.576 174.908 97.0135 175.059C74.2042 174.89 56.9538 167.575 45.7381 153.317C35.2355 139.966 29.8077 120.682 29.6052 96C29.8077 71.3178 35.2355 52.0336 45.7381 38.6827C56.9538 24.4249 74.2039 17.11 97.0132 16.9405C119.988 17.1113 137.539 24.4614 149.184 38.788C154.894 45.8136 159.199 54.6488 162.037 64.9503L178.184 60.6422C174.744 47.9622 169.331 37.0357 161.965 27.974C147.036 9.60668 125.202 0.195148 97.0695 0H96.9569C68.8816 0.19447 47.2921 9.6418 32.7883 28.0793C19.8819 44.4864 13.2244 67.3157 13.0007 95.9325L13 96L13.0007 96.0675C13.2244 124.684 19.8819 147.514 32.7883 163.921C47.2921 182.358 68.8816 191.806 96.9569 192H97.0695C122.03 191.827 139.624 185.292 154.118 170.811C173.081 151.866 172.51 128.119 166.26 113.541C161.776 103.087 153.227 94.5962 141.537 88.9883ZM98.4405 129.507C88.0005 130.095 77.1544 125.409 76.6196 115.372C76.2232 107.93 81.9158 99.626 99.0812 98.6368C101.047 98.5234 102.976 98.468 104.871 98.468C111.106 98.468 116.939 99.0737 122.242 100.233C120.264 124.935 108.662 128.946 98.4405 129.507Z" /></svg></div> <div style=" font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; color: #999999; font-weight: 400; padding-bottom: 4px; "> Post by @zuck</div> <div style=" font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; color: #000000; font-weight: 600; "> View on Threads</div></div></a></blockquote>"It's become clearer that the next generation of services requires building full general intelligence," he said. "Building the best AI assistants, AIs for creators, AIs for businesses and more – that needs advances in every area of AI."

Sam Altman wants to solve the great AI chip shortage himself

<ul class="summary-list"><li>It's easy for older workers to complain about Gen Zers as being lazy or entitled.</li><li>Yet some Gen Z workers are questioning norms that need to be reconsidered, experts tell Insider.</li></ul>We've all heard the complaints about Gen Z and how they're <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-work-life-balance-interview-questions-millennial-genx-managers-2023-3">rattling older managers</a>.They're entitled. They're lazy. They reject the 9-to-5 workday. And let's not even get started on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/expert-talking-to-employees-about-professional-appearance-and-dress-2022-8">their dress code</a>.Generational badmouthing is nothing new, of course. Boomers complained about Gen X and millennials and vice versa.Granted, there are indeed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-ai-bad-bosses-replace-young-employees-chatgpt-2023-7">knowledge gaps for Gen Z</a> regarding day-to-day interactions in the workplace, Insider previously reported.But there are also different forces at play this time between Gen Z — the oldest of whom are in their mid-20s — and their more senior counterparts that should make us all stop and think. In a post-pandemic workplace, the conversation has shifted and the norms of the past decades probably deserve to be questioned.Indeed, the upheavals are coming quicker now so it's harder for many of us to keep our balance. There's war, the climate crisis, economic polarity, the rise of technology like artificial intelligence, and our broken politics. All of this bleeds into the workplace.But if we stop to listen to what some Gen Zers, who will soon make up more than a quarter of the US workforce, are really "complaining" about, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/gen-z-work-culture-quit-job-2023-10">things young workers are asking for</a> might not sound so bonkers. In actuality, for all the carping many of us do about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-reoutines-giving-gen-z-millennial-workers-sense-of-purpose-2023-6">kings and queens of TikTok</a> who are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-wants-to-go-in-office-bosses-dont-2023-7">showing up</a> — or not — at the office, we can be better teachers and mentors to Gen Z.People older than Gen Z created the social platforms some Gen Zers are sounding off on. For the first time, a bottom-of-the-ladder worker can have a voice as loud as someone in charge. And it's older corporate honchos and stewards of public policy — including those of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gerontocracy-united-states-government-red-white-gray-2022-9">US gerontocracy</a> — who have allowed yawning <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealth-gap-rich-poor-americans-saps-economic-gdp-growth-billions-2022-5">gaps in wealth equality</a> to fester.Kenneth Matos, global director of customer people science at Culture Amp, an employee-experience software company, told Insider that successive generations have felt like the promise that hard work leads to success and gratification is becoming more and more untrue."So, no, waiting until I'm 60 to be happy is just not a viable strategy," he said.Matos, who's on the cusp a late Gen Xer and early millennial, said members of Gen Z have watched as older generations struggled with things like job losses and pay that doesn't keep up with expenses."There's a lot of Gen Z-generated commentary that is explicitly that statement of, 'The rules change and you keep holding me to old standards that don't result in the same outcomes,'" Matos said.He said social media has amplified the voices of younger workers. "Previously, you only heard the older generation because they controlled the mechanisms of mass communication. With social media, you know, Gen Z can write their own narrative," he said.And part of that narrative echoes the things older generations have told younger people, Matos said. "Parents have been telling children for some time that work actually isn't worth it. But they all want everybody else's kids to believe the opposite," Matos said. "If you ask it independent of your employees, people will agree with these maxims of 'you only live once.' When you're talking about your employee who's not getting you what you want, suddenly it's 'Why is this person so lazy?'"<h2>Managers, interact with and train your Gen Z workers</h2>There are steps leaders can take to patch up some of the gaps between younger workers and their older colleagues. After all, Gen Zers came into the workforce during a pandemic that upended decades of workplace boundaries and norms, and when social media remade how we communicate. It's little wonder, then, that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-taking-courses-send-emails-office-clothes-wsj-2023-6">some schooling might be in order</a>.Rebecca Fagan, a 24-year-old senior audit associate at KPMG, told Insider she's been surprised by how useful some of the company's workplace training has been. There were discussions on how to work in a virtual environment, how to present to clients, and even things like what background you should have on video calls and how to write a professional email."I was like, 'Oh, I thought I knew how to write a good email.' But I definitely learned tips from that," Fagan said. "Things that I thought might have been self-explanatory, but they really weren't until I really sat and thought about it."Maia Ervin, the chief impact officer at Gen Z firm JUV Consulting, told Insider the No. 1 thing she hears from older workers is that Gen Zers ask too many questions. Ervin, who at 27 sees herself as a young millennial, said, "Gen Z wants to know why, and they're not settling for the answer 'Because I told you so.'"Ervin pointed out that because the pandemic rewrote workplace rules, it's no surprise that many young workers "have no idea what's considered normal, what's considered average for a workplace," she said, adding that many young workers had intense political experiences during that pandemic that shaped how they think about humanity."Folks are very frustrated with Gen Z but are also forgetting that it is your responsibility to upskill and train them, because they're your employees," Ervin said.<h2>Gen Z wants to write their own narrative, not follow ours</h2>Zaria Parvez, the senior global social media manager at Duolingo, told Insider that Gen Zers are unique even compared with millennials who grew up during a deep recession. Parvez, 25, said millennials facing tough economic times worked hard but still didn't get ahead."We kind of learned from millennials saying they put their head down, and they're still struggling to buy houses, to do things that you think that they would've gotten," she said. "So we're Gen Z, we're going to pivot, and this is how we're going to pivot."The lesson that Gen Z drew from the financial and other hardships that older generations faced is, Matos said, "Conserve as much happiness as I can because I could lose it all in a moment."He recommended older leaders explain themselves to their younger colleagues. He said too often older workers have authority so they don't have to explain themselves to younger people at work. "That doesn't help people grow. It just makes them subservient. And then you complain that they're not living up to your expectations, but you never actually explained to them why things are the way they are," Matos said.Failing to explain means older workers and leaders will get pushback from "the generation that's been told, 'Don't just obey because they're just gonna suck you dry.'"

Hey managers, we should be answering Gen Z's questions, not just complaining

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meta allowed a Moldovan oligarch, sanctioned by the US, to run paid Facebook ads, per AP.</li><li>The ads featured Ilan Shor promoting an uprising against Moldova's pro-Western government.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/meta?r=US&amp;IR=T">Meta</a> allowed an exiled Moldovan oligarch, who is on the <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1049" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US</a> sanctions list over his ties to the Kremlin, to run Facebook ads promoting protests and uprisings against the country's pro-Western government, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-politics-united-states-government-us-department-of-the-treasury-russia-6277b515a552c980c262c72731dccdbe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Associated Press reported.</a>Moldova, which borders Ukraine, has found itself increasingly caught up in Russian intrigue and fears related to the conflict raging over its border.The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=all&amp;country=MD&amp;q=Ilan%20Shor&amp;search_type=keyword_unordered&amp;media_type=all">paid Facebook ads</a> featured oligarch Ilan Shor, who now lives in Israel after being <a href="https://www.intellinews.com/moldovan-court-sentences-businessman-shor-in-1bn-bank-fraud-case-123989/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted of massive financial fraud</a>. They included political messaging stoking anger at rising inflation, high fuel prices, and the government of President Maia Sandu, according to AP.In one ad, Shor, who heads the pro-Russia Shor Party<a href="https://www.intellinews.com/moldovan-court-sentences-businessman-shor-in-1bn-bank-fraud-case-123989/">,</a> can be heard accusing Sandu's government of corruption."You and I will have to pull them out of their offices by the ears and throw them out of our country like evil spirits," he said, according to AP's translation.The ads, which were identified by London-based nonprofit Reset, largely ran on Facebook in late October and early November last year, reaching an audience of millions, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=all&amp;country=MD&amp;q=Ilan%20Shor&amp;search_type=keyword_unordered&amp;media_type=all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook's online advertising library shows.</a> Moldova was <a href="https://ziare.com/proteste-chisinau/proteste-chisinau-manifestantii-cer-demisia-maiei-sandu-1766470">rocked by mass protests</a> late last year, which were <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-presidency-shor-protests/32051416.html">organized by the Shor Party</a>, the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/over-50000-people-take-part-in-anti-government-protests-in-m">largest of which took place shortly after the ads were placed</a>.In October 2022, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1049">the US Department of the Treasury</a> accused Shor of working with Russian individuals to try to destabilize and create unrest in Moldova.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/28/russia-fsb-moldova-manipulation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a> has previously referred to Shor as "a leading figure in the Kremlin's efforts to subvert" Moldova, citing intelligence reports.One senior Russian politician praised Shor, as "a worthy long-term partner," according to the Post.In a statement provided to Insider, Meta said that the company "took action" on accounts known to belong to Shor and the Shor Party after the oligarch was added to the US sanctions list in October."We adhere to US sanctions laws and will continue working to detect and enforce against fake accounts and pages that violate our policies," a Meta spokesperson said.Most of the ads were removed within a week of the US sanctions announcement, per AP.Another ad was placed on Facebook by Shor in January 2023 but Meta removed it because it ran without a disclaimer that it was about politics or elections, a note on the platform's advertising library shows.Felix Kartte, a senior adviser at Reset, told AP that the ads and Meta's response have concerning implications for the security of Europe."Their platforms continue to be weaponized by the Kremlin and Russian secret services, and because of the company's inaction, the U.S. and Europe risk losing a key ally in the region," Kartte told the news agency.On Thursday, President Sandu described destabilization attempts on the country as a "reality" and "real challenge" as she swore in a new government led by a pro-Western prime minister, AP reported.This followed <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/02/13/moldova-fears-it-may-fall-victim-to-a-russian-coup-plot">claims on Monday that there was a plot by Moscow to overthrow Moldova's government</a>.Russia rejected the accusation as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-russia-government-maia-sandu-moldova-5d91576cf6878de3dd5250e5e618e2df">"unfounded."</a>

Meta allowed a Kremlin-linked oligarch to run Facebook ads calling for uprisings against pro-Western government in Moldova

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Moldova, next door to Ukraine, has been under pressure from Russia for decades.</li><li>Russia has long supported the breakaway region of Transnistria, even stationing troops there.</li></ul>The war in Ukraine has dominated headlines around the world, but that's not the only European country under pressure from Russia's military.Moldova, formerly part of the Soviet Union and now <a href="https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-per-capita/country-comparison/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of Europe's poorest countries</a>, is home to just 2.6 million people and is landlocked, surrounded by Ukraine and Romania. Moldova is also home to Transnistria, a breakaway region with a predominantly Russian-speaking population that Moscow has supported for decades, including with troops.Moldova is often overlooked and the Russian force there is small, but amid growing tensions, especially in the Black Sea region, Russia's presence in Transnistria is still a problem for Europe.Moldova "is in the danger zone probably more so than the Baltic countries and Poland," John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8x0gbgCrJg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a Georgetown University event in February.<h2>Tilting West</h2><div type="image" title="Russia Moldova Transnistria Bender" height="1362" width="2000" msid="101029520" hostid="261" sizebytes="575674"></div>In 1990, as the Soviet Union was collapsing, Moldova looked to leave the federation. In an effort to remain part of the Soviet Union, Transnistria attempted to secede.As a result of a 1992 war between Moldovan forces and Transnistrian separatists, Russian troops entered the breakaway region to support the separatists. Following that war, Transnistria gained a form of autonomy. Russia keeps 1,500 troops there, who it claims act as peacekeepers.Transnistria is home to a large percentage of Moldova's industrial and manufacturing base due to the presence of Russian businesses there. The region also houses a large depot of Soviet weaponry — although much of it may no longer be usable — and <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/15/how-russia-torpedoed-its-own-influence-in-moldova-a81100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has produced much</a> of Moldova's electricity. (That electricity was produced using Russian gas and the war in Ukraine has interrupted production.)Despite Russia's 1992 intervention, Moldova maintained strong relations with Moscow. In exchange, it received Russian gas at <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/05/15/how-russia-torpedoed-its-own-influence-in-moldova-a81100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considerably reduced prices</a>. Chișinău has moved closer to the West, however, <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49727.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establishing relations with NATO</a> in 1992 and signing an association agreement with the EU in 2014.<div type="image" title="Moldova Sandu European Union EU" height="1333" width="2000" msid="101029523" hostid="261" sizebytes="76726"></div>That Western tilt accelerated after the 2020 election of President Maia Sandu, who has <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220517IPR29930/moldova-belongs-in-the-european-union-says-president-maia-sandu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Moldova "belongs in the EU," and in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has affected Moldova's economy and brought an influx of Ukrainian refugees.In April 2022, the EU agreed to provide <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eastern-partnership/moldova/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">150 million euros</a> to assist Moldova in response to the "detrimental effects" caused by Russia's attack on Ukraine. That June, Moldova <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eastern-partnership/moldova/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was accepted as an EU candidate member</a>.Moldova has synchronized its energy grids with the EU's and has <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-war-forcing-moldova-escape-russia-gas-trap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diversified its gas supplies</a> to reduce its reliance on Russia, which had increased gas prices citing unpaid bills. Moldova's prime minister <a href="https://www.power-technology.com/news/recean-moldova-natural-gas-reliance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in May that integration with Europe means Moldova "no longer consumes Russian gas," but the country still uses electricity produced in Transnistria using Russian gas.Moldova is constitutionally neutral, which means it cannot join NATO as a member, but the alliance opened a liaison office in Moldova in 2017 and is helping Chișinău <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49727.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improve its defense and security</a> capabilities. The country <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_215424.htm?selectedLocale=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will attend NATO's upcoming summit</a> in Lithuania, where the accession of Sweden will be discussed.<h2>Russian threats</h2><div type="image" title="Pervomaysk Transnistria Moldova Ukraine border guard" height="1331" width="2000" msid="101029526" hostid="261" sizebytes="318978"></div>Moldova declared a state of emergency after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, and it <a href="http://moldpres.gov.md/en/news/2023/03/29/23002517" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remains in effect</a>.That April, a top Russian general <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/22/ukraine-south-occupation-russian-military-chief-rustam-minnekayev" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said control of southern Ukraine</a> would give Russia access to Transnistria, where he claimed Russian speakers were being oppressed. A few days later, explosions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/27/where-is-transnistria-and-why-is-region-being-drawn-into-ukraine-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hit government and military targets in Transnistria</a>, leading to fears that the war was spreading to Moldova.In February, Ukraine said it had intercepted a Russian plan <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-deploy-mission-moldova-combat-threats-russia-josep-borrell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to overthrow Moldova's government</a>. In March, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-03-10/us-to-help-moldova-fight-russias-destabilization-efforts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> US officials believed Russia was working "to weaken the Moldovan government probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian-friendly administration.""Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment and manufacture insurrection against the Moldovan government," Kirby added.<div type="image" title="Russia Moldova military officers monument" height="1333" width="2000" msid="101029530" hostid="261" sizebytes="212956"></div>Pro-Russian sentiment remains strong <a href="https://iwpr.net/global-voices/court-upholds-election-gagauzias-pro-russian-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in some regions</a> of Moldova and there are other signs that feelings toward Moscow are mixed — Moldovan lawmakers voted in March <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldovan-parliament-condemns-russian-invasion-ukraine-2023-03-02/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to condemn</a> the invasion only by a narrow margin — but the country is <a href="https://newsmaker.md/rus/novosti/obval-rejtinga-putina-i-proevropejskij-konsensus-vadim-pistrinchuk-novyj-mir-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">generally pro-European</a>. In April, the EU announced that it would send a civilian mission to Moldova to <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-deploy-mission-moldova-combat-threats-russia-josep-borrell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help protect it</a> against Russian interference.Russia <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-cancels-decree-underpinning-moldovas-sovereignty-separatist-conflict-2023-02-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signaled</a> this year that it may not respect Moldova's sovereignty over the issue of Transnistria, but Russian troops there may not be the best suited for pushing Chișinău around. Only a few are actually Russian, <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/15/expired-arms-tepid-fighters-russian-ally-transnistria-may-have-little-to-offer-for-putins-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Thomas de Waal</a>, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Europe think tank. The rest are Moldovans who have been given Russian passports.Russian forces in Transnistria "without exaggeration" are probably "the least capable in all of the Russian army," Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the RAND Corporation think tank, said at a Georgetown University event in April.Those troops are "isolated," their equipment "is not great," and they have "very little combat power," Massicot added. "It is a distraction, though, and Russia is more than happy to like suggest that Transnistria is going to get involved keep the Ukrainians off balance, to keep Moldova off balance."<div type="image" title="Moldova military soldiers NATO Bulgaria" height="1125" width="1500" msid="101029532" hostid="261" sizebytes="64642"></div>Nevertheless, Moldova's military is also in poor shape. Its <a href="https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.php?country_id=moldova" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6,000 active-duty troops and 12,000 reserves</a> rely mostly on old Soviet equipment, and it has no fighter jets or significant armored forces.In 2020, Moldova decided to transition to Western hardware and create a "mobile, modular, flexible and functional army." The EU is also <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/05/04/european-peace-facility-council-adopts-assistance-measures-to-support-defence-sector-of-the-republic-of-moldova-and-georgia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">helping Moldova</a> boost its non-lethal military capabilities.In late May, Moldova hosted the second European Political Community summit, during which Moldovan officials said they would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/31/moldova-press-for-accelerated-eu-membership-process-chisinau-leader-summit-nicu-popescu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press for accelerated EU accession</a>. Sandu <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-31/moldova-sees-eu-entry-by-2030-along-with-russian-occupied-region" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the country could join by 2030 if it pursues economic reforms and fights corruption.The gathering of 50 national leaders in Chișinău "gives a very strong message," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/31/moldova-european-summit-bulboaca/163ba4a8-ffa4-11ed-9eb0-6c94dcb16fcf_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> upon arriving for the summit. "Moldova is at the heart of Europe. Moldova is Europe."Constantine Atlamazoglou works on transatlantic and European security. He holds a master's degree in security studies and European affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. You can contact him on <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fconstantine-atlamazoglou&amp;amazonTrackingID=null&amp;site=bi&amp;vikingID=6361621a71518a06bc1f310d&amp;platform=browser&amp;sc=false&amp;disabled=false&amp;sessionID=1666213839364g7wks1lw&amp;postID=646e3819255dba3cbe6c45b4" target="_blank" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noindex noopener sponsored">LinkedIn</a>.

Russia's 'least capable' troops aren't in Ukraine, but they're still causing problems next door, experts say

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13718227" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="transnistria" source="Orion">Transnistria</keyword> is a Russian-backed breakaway region in <keyword id="13199147" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="moldova" source="Orion">Moldova</keyword> that's home to 300,000 people.</li><li>Authorities there reported a Wednesday attack on an ammunition depot and said it came from <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li></ul>CHIŞINĂU, Moldova — Authorities in the breakaway republic Transnistria on Wednesday claimed that shots were fired from Ukraine in the vicinity of an ammunition depot guarded by Russian troops.The claim, which could not be independently verified, comes after a series of reported explosions in the territory within Moldova, which borders Ukraine and is home to an estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers.Ukraine has not claimed credit for any of the incidents, which included a purported attack with a grenade launcher on a building used by security services in Tiraspol, the self-proclaimed regional capital.In a statement posted to its official Telegram, the government of Transnistria said that drones launched from Ukraine were seen Tuesday night in the sky above Klobasna, in the region's north, where the ammunition depot is located. The next morning, "shots were fired from the Ukrainian side in the direction of" the town, it said.Vitalie Marinuta, a former defense minister for Moldova, told Insider this week that the blasts in Transnistria had the "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/transnitria-explosions-have-signature-of-russia-military-moldova-former-minister-2022-4">signature</a>" of Russian military intelligence, perhaps part of an effort to build support for further intervention there or force Ukraine to divert resources amid fears the territory could be used to launch attacks against it.The Moldovan government has also said the attacks were mere "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moldova-warns-of-pretexts-after-explosions-in-separatist-transnistria-2022-4">pretexts</a>" for heightening tensions.Moldovan President Maia Sandu has also suggested there may be a split among the military and business interests in Transnistria, with the latter reticent to get involved in the Ukraine war. The territory relieves heavily on subsidies from <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>, but it also exports most of its goods to Europe — a relationship that has enriched local oligarchs.On Wednesday, Vitaly Ignatiev, the foreign minister for Transnistria — which is not internationally recognized, having broken from Moldova in 1992 with Russian support — insisted that his government wanted nothing to do with the war next door."We are not a threat to Ukraine," Ignatiev said."For our part, we are doing everything to ensure peace and security," he continued, adding that Transnistrian officials have repeatedly stated "no plans or preparatory actions in relation to Ukraine."When <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/transnistria-anxiety-in-a-land-controlled-by-pro-russia-separatists-2022-4">Insider visited last weekend</a>, Russian flags were flying on government buildings but there was no visible public support for Moscow's invasion.Have a <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

Russian-backed Transnistria claims attack near ammunition depot was launched from Ukraine

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Swiss hacker says she found a copy of the FBI's "no-fly" list on an unsecured server.</li><li>The 2019 list, with over 1.5 million entries, includes an overwhelming number of Muslim passengers.</li></ul>The FBI Terrorism Screening Center's secret "no-fly" list just got a lot less mysterious thanks to a bored Swiss hacker exploring unsecured servers in her free time.Maia arson crimew, described by the Department of Justice as a "prolific" hacker in an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/swiss-hacker-indicted-conspiracy-wire-fraud-and-aggravated-identity-theft">unrelated indictment</a>, said she was clicking around on an online search engine full of unprotected servers on January 12 when she accessed one maintained by a little-known airline and found the highly sensitive documents, along with what she called a "jackpot" of other information.<a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/no-fly-list-us-tsa-unprotected-server-commuteair/">The Daily Dot first reported</a> on Thursday that the server, hosted by CommuteAir, a regional airline that partners with United Airlines to form United Express routes, contained among its files a redacted 2019 version of the anti-terrorism "no-fly" list.The file "NoFly.csv," found by crimew, contains over 1.5 million entries including names and dates of birth of people the FBI identifies as "<a href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support/travel-redress-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">known or suspected terrorists</a>," who are prevented from boarding aircraft "when flying within, to, from and over the United States." A second file, titled "selectee.csv" contains 251,169 entries of names of people who are subject to additional screening while flying. The lists contained alternate spellings and aliases for included individuals, making the total number of unique entries lower than the total number of included names.A spokesperson for the airline confirmed the authenticity of the files to Insider and said personally identifiable information belonging to employees was also found in the hack, but declined to answer detailed questions about the hack itself."Based on our initial investigation, no customer data was exposed," Erik Kane, a spokesperson for CommuteAir, said in a statement to Insider. "CommuteAir immediately took the affected server offline and started an investigation to determine the extent of data access. CommuteAir has reported the data exposure to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and also notified its employees."The Transportation Security Administration confirmed to Insider that it had been made aware of the incident."We are investigating in coordination with our federal partners," Lorie Dankers, a spokesperson for the TSA, said in a statement to Insider. The TSA, which enforces the "no-fly" list, declined to answer detailed questions about the list and its leak, referring Insider to the FBI — the federal agency that maintains the list.In a statement emailed to Insider, a representative for the FBI would neither confirm nor deny any individual names on the list, but said individuals are included "in a manner consistent with protecting privacy and civil liberties."<h2>Easily accessible secrets</h2>Crimew told Insider it took just minutes for her to access the server and find credentials that allowed her to see the database. She said she was exploring the servers as a way to combat boredom while sitting alone and didn't intend to discover something with US national security implications.While browsing files in the company's server, "it dawned on me just how heavily I had already owned them within just half an hour or so," crimew wrote in a <a href="https://maia.crimew.gay/posts/how-to-hack-an-airline/">blog post</a> detailing the hack. The credentials she found, which gave her access to the files, would also allow her access to internal interfaces that controlled refueling, canceling and updating flights, and swapping out crew members — if she were so inclined, she wrote."It's disturbing to see such information revealed to people that are not with the need-to-know for that," Kenneth Gray, a retired FBI agent who served for 24 years, told Insider. "There's a number of reasons why a person on that list may not actually be a terrorist. But the thing is, there are also people on there that are suspected of being a terrorist or are known to be a terrorist. And so, if that information is released, then the public becomes aware of ongoing investigations. And those international terrorism cases, those ongoing investigations are normally classified. And so revealing this kind of information could lead to those individuals becoming aware that they are under investigation."The massive files, reviewed by Insider, contain over a dozen aliases for <a href="https://www.insider.com/viktor-bout-convicted-arms-dealer-russian-prison-swap-brittney-griner-2022-8">Viktor Bout</a>, the Russian "Merchant of Death" who was traded in a prisoner swap for basketball player Brittney Griner, as well as a large number of names of people suspected of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/fifteen-northern-ireland-organised-crime-gangs-have-cross-border-footprint-in-the-republic-11834007">organized crime in Ireland</a>. However, crimew said there was a notable trend among the names."Looking at the files, it just confirmed a lot of the things me, and probably everyone else, kind of suspected in terms of what biases are in that list," crimew told Insider. "Just scrolling through it, you will see almost every name is Middle Eastern."Edward Hasbrouck, an author and human rights advocate, wrote in <a href="https://papersplease.org/wp/2023/01/20/the-nofly-list-is-a-muslimban-list/">his analysis of the documents</a> that the lists "confirm the TSA's (1) Islamophobia, (2) overconfidence in the certainty of its pre-crime predictions, and (3) mission creep.""The most obvious pattern in the data is the overwhelming preponderance of Arabic or Muslim-seeming names," Hasbrouck <a href="https://papersplease.org/wp/2023/01/20/the-nofly-list-is-a-muslimban-list/">wrote</a> in an essay published Friday by Papers, Please, an advocacy group dedicated to addressing creeping identity-based national travel rules. However, the FBI maintains its procedures for including people on the list are not indicative of bias."Individuals are included on the watchlist when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that a person is a known or suspected terrorist," an FBI spokesperson said in a statement to Insider. "Individuals are not watchlisted based solely on race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, or any First Amendment-protected activities such as free speech, the exercise of religion, freedom of press, freedom of peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government for redress of grievances."Though the recent news about the list has prompted a resurgence of accusations of Islamophobia levied against the FBI, the "no-fly" list has long faced criticism and legal challenges from civil rights groups over its targeting of Muslim and Middle Eastern people.The targeting of people from Arab nations was not limited to federal restrictions on travel, as the entire nation faced a spike in anti-Muslim discrimination and hate crimes across the country following the 9/11 attacks, according to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/combating-post-911-discriminatory-backlash-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the DOJ</a>. "It's no secret to anyone that the years following 9/11, measures that the government claimed were in the name of our national security wrongly, unfairly and discriminatorily impacted Muslims and people who appear to be Muslim," Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, told Insider. "That's the very definition of bias and it appears to be the case, the list that you have continues to reflect that bias and it just shows the need for reform and change is as urgent as it ever was."<h2>'No-Fly' mission creep</h2>The federal "no-fly" list was created under the George W. Bush administration, originally beginning as a small list of people prevented from flying on commercial flights due to specific threats. The list was formalized and vastly expanded in scope after the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/september-11-911-newspaper-headlines-2018-9">9/11</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/us/us-attacked-president-vows-to-exact-punishment-for-evil.html">terror attacks</a>, when Al Qaeda-affiliated hijackers crashed commercial flights into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing 2,977 people."What you've got to remember is that the purpose of this list is part of the entire movement that tried to stop another 9/11 from happening," Gray told Insider. "In the case of 9/11, terrorists came into the country, some of the terrorists took flight lessons here in the country. Others came into the country to be the muscle on board the aircraft so that they can hijack the aircraft to turn them into weapons. And so the purpose of this is to stop another 9/11 from happening."Inclusion on the list prevents people the <a href="https://ucr.fbi.gov/nsb/tsc/terrorist-screening-center-frequently-asked-questions-032416.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI identifies</a> who "may present a threat to civil aviation or national security" from boarding planes flying within, to, from, or over the United States. They do not need to have been charged or convicted of a crime to be included, just "reasonably suspected" of aiding or planning acts of terrorism."This was part of the US government's response to the tragedy of 9/11," Shamsi told Insider. "And from the beginning, we were gravely concerned about the civil liberties and rights impacts given how watchlists have been used in this country's history in the past. And, unfortunately, virtually all the things that we warned against have happened and are becoming entrenched."She added: "What that means is that we've got a massive and ever-growing watchlisting system that can stigmatize people — including Americans — as known or suspected terrorists, based on secret standards, secret evidence, without a meaningful process to challenge government error and clear their names."In the years since the original "no-fly" list was formed, it has gained official federal recognition and grown from just 16 individual names, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/unprecedented-release-government-documents-reveal-confusion-and-absence-policy">according to the ACLU</a>, to the 1,807,230 entries of names and aliases contained in the documents found by crimew."The ever-expanding scope of these lists are due to the revelations of people in the course of investigations," Gray told Insider. "And it couldn't help but expand because of the fact that more and more people become suspected, just through the course of their activities — which could be misinterpreted, for instance. There are many reasons why the list continues to expand."Gray added that, with limited procedures for challenging a wrongful inclusion on the list, it's exceptionally difficult to get your name off if it has been incorrectly added."People who are on the no-fly list are denied the ability to be with family members at funerals, sickbeds, weddings, graduations, all of life's big and small events, because the ability to fly is necessary to the modern era," Shamsi told Insider. "The negative and harmful impact of wrongful placement on the no-fly lists is hard to overstate."When looking at the list, crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." Among the hundreds of thousands of names on the list are the children of suspected terrorists including a child whose birth date indicates they would have been four years old or five years at the time they were included.In the early 2000s, there were many reports of people being wrongly placed on the "no-fly" list, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17073-2004Aug19.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">then-Senator Ted Kennedy</a> and <a href="https://www.aclu.org/other/no-fly-list-risk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">peace activists Rebecca Gordon and Jan Adams</a>. In 2006, the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/tsa-and-fbi-ordered-pay-200000-settle-no-fly-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACLU settled a federal suit</a> over the list, prompting a release of its then 30,000 names and the TSA's creation of an ombudsman to oversee complaints. Despite the existing ombudsman process, Shamsi and Gray said it is difficult to navigate and remains challenging to remove your name from the list, causing substantial trouble for people who have not committed an act of terrorism."What problem is this even trying to solve in the first place?" crimew told Insider. "I feel like this is just a very perverse outgrowth of the surveillance state. And not just in the US, this is a global trend."<h2>Not the first hack</h2>Crimew, a staunch self-described leftist and anti-capitalist, was indicted for conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft related to a previous hack in 2021. The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/swiss-hacker-indicted-conspiracy-wire-fraud-and-aggravated-identity-theft">alleges</a> she and several co-conspirators "hacked dozens of companies and government entities and posted the private victim data of more than 100 entities on the web."The outcome of the 2021 case is still pending, crimew told Insider. Though she hasn't been contacted by law enforcement in relation to the latest hack, she said she wouldn't be surprised that she had once again caught the attention of federal agencies."This will become the subject of a cybersecurity investigation looking into who is responsible," Gray told Insider. "The person who committed this hack, who got this information, may have done this for bragging rights, may have done this not with the intent of using this information for bad purposes. However, that information, since it's out in the public now, in the public domain, it may eventually cause problems. This could be of potential use for a terrorist group, even if that was not the original intent for the hack."For that reason, crime told Insider said she chose to release the list through journalists and academic sources instead of freely publishing it on her blog."It's just a whole lot of personally identifiable information that could be used against people, especially in the hands of non-US intelligence agencies," crimew wrote in a statement to Insider. For that reason, she said she chose to release the list through journalists and academic sources instead of freely publishing it on her blog. "I just feel iffy about publicly releasing a list full of people some government entity considers 'bad.' (Not that the US doesn't use it against people, it just doesn't need to get in the hands of even more people doing harm)." CommuteAir faced a similar data breach in November, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/politics/tsa-no-fly-list-data-cybersecurity/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN reported</a>, after an "unauthorized party" accessed information that included names, birthdates, and partial social security numbers held by the airline."I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time," crimew told Insider.January 25, 2023: This story has been updated with additional comments and context from the FBI, TSA, ACLU, and a retired FBI agent.

A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no-fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveillance state.'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider traveled to the breakaway "republic" of <keyword id="13718227" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="transnistria" source="Orion">Transnistria</keyword> on the border of <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>.</li><li>The territory is occupied by Russian troops and controlled by pro-Russia separatists.</li></ul>TIRASPOL, Transnistria — This might be the only city in Europe where there is no indication that a war is being waged in Ukraine, despite that country only being a 20-minute drive away.Along the main drag in Tiraspol, the capital of what billboards proclaim to be the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, also known as Transnistria, there are smart cafes with modern, all-glass exteriors that look like they would be more at home in Manhattan than a breakaway, unrecognized state currently occupied by 1,500 Russian soldiers. There is an Italian restaurant, an India-themed casino, consulates for Abkhazia and South Ossetia (other separatist enclaves recognized by Moscow but not the <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> community) and a decommissioned tank commemorating the 1992 war that led this heavily industrialized region along the Dniester river, controlled by oligarchs and subsidized by free Russian gas, to break away from <keyword id="13199147" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="moldova" source="Orion">Moldova</keyword>. On a pleasant Saturday afternoon, there were cyclists and children rollerblading on clean, paved streets crowded with trolleys and late-model cars — including a convoy of BMW enthusiasts. A movie theater was lined with posters for "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and the latest superhero film from Marvel.What there was not was any sign of was the conflict next door. Ukrainians live here, as do <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>ns, but there is no propaganda either for or against the Feb. 24 invasion, an odd and conspicuous silence given that this pseudo-state's leaders have for decades proclaimed their desire to be annexed by Moscow. The flag of the Russian Federation hangs on all local government buildings, there is a special housing complex built for Russian military officers, and soldiers in Russia's military are manning checkpoints across the territory.<div type="image" title="military base" height="3648" width="5472" msid="91109044" hostid="261"></div>A day before Insider visited, a Russian general, Rustam Minnekaev, insisted that his country's goal was to conquer southern Ukraine and liberate this separatist region of some 300,000 people, claiming there was "oppression of the Russian-speaking population." Russian leaders weighed similar accusations in launching the Ukraine war, but fierce resistance in Mykolaiv has stopped their troops from surging west to besiege Odesa, the country's third-largest city, just an hour from Moldova's border.But there was no indication of a pending military operation here, although days later there were a series of explosions at a building used by the local services — "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moldova-warns-of-pretexts-after-explosions-in-separatist-transnistria-2022-4">pretexts</a>," Moldovan authorities said, for inflaming tensions. That was followed by reported attacks Tuesday on radio transmission towers that bore the "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/transnitria-explosions-have-signature-of-russia-military-moldova-former-minister-2022-4">signature</a>" of Russian intelligence operatives, a former Moldovan defense minister said.Forty-eight hours earlier, at the de facto border checkpoint between Moldova and Transnistria, yards away from a contingent of Russian troops, a guard in military fatigues did not even ask why someone with a US passport would be visiting, simply handing this reporter a slip of paper granting admission.But the war, while absent in Transnistria's public spaces — if not its television, which is flooded with propaganda directly from Moscow — is just behind the facade. There are refugees here, including cars with Ukrainian plates, as well as inflation and a shortage of goods that used to be imported through an eastern border that is now sealed. At a train station in the city of Bender, a sign in English informed visitors that there are no more departures. You can enter the station, it stated, "but there is no way you go on rail tracks. We repeat: No way!!!" At the start of the war, Ukrainian soldiers blew up the rails that connected the region to Odesa.On an elevated walkway that allows residents to cross the 14 tracks outside the station, a little girl could be heard complaining to a little boy: she can no longer find her favorite Ukrainian brand of chocolate. <div type="image" title="tank monument" height="3648" width="5472" msid="91109045" hostid="261"></div>Outside the cities, in a village where people can speak with less fear of being overheard by the security services, an old woman, Amina — not her real name — said she opposed the war in Ukraine. But, she added, the conflict was not something she would feel comfortable even discussing with neighbors who had lived alongside her for decades. A code of silence prevails."It's a taboo — nobody talks about this in public, so nobody knows who supports the war," she said. It's the kind of thing one only discusses in the kitchen with the radio on.In the first days after the war, she walked around the village with an ornament, called a martisor, that is usually made of red and white string and worn on one's chest to celebrate the beginning of spring. Hers was done in the blue-and-yellow of the Ukrainian flag. Neighbors warned her to take it off, she said, not necessarily because they believe what's on their televisions from pro-Russian channels but because they were concerned for her safety.She herself came to oppose the war because the historical analogies were too striking. At a museum inside an Ottoman-era fortress in Bender — located above a military base with Russian soldiers, and currently undergoing renovations funded by the European Union — a sign celebrating the foreign military presence justified it in terms identical to those used by Russian President Vladimir Putin today. Russian soldiers, it said, had ended a "bloody genocide" perpetrated by "radical nationalists" in Moldova, whose reactionary preference for the Romanian language, previously suppressed by the Soviet Union, had led them to impose "a number of discriminatory language laws." "I was here in 1992," Amina said. "And now I have the same feeling as 30 years ago. It's the same thing happening."If war does come here again, locals think it won't stop with Ukraine and Transnistria.<div type="image" title="museum statue of Russian soldier" height="3492" width="4656" msid="91109046" hostid="261"></div>Since the beginning, before Putin even came to power, Russia has been using Transnistria as a "kind of blackmail," Igor Munteanu, Moldova's ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015, said in an interview at his office in Chisinau. The vast majority of Moldova's electricity is generated in Transnistria, the power plants there running on Russian gas and coal. In part, that protects Moldova — Russia is seen as unlikely to cut off the supply to a loyal proxy state — but it also ensures dependence."Anytime that Moldova says that 'we would like to join the European Union,'" he said, Russia responds, 'Well, keep in mind, we are against that.'"But the most important political leverage, Munteanu said, is Russia's intelligence and military presence in Transnistria.In addition to its own military presence, "they have trained and recruited local inhabitants." The self-declared republic has a military force of its own that is at least as large as the Republic of Moldova's, with better arms and a number of tanks. "And they can enlarge the military contingent, which is following the orders of the Russian Federation, by 10 times — they can easily recruit and mobilize 50,000 soldiers from Transnistria."<div type="image" title="sign for coins" height="3648" width="4864" msid="91109047" hostid="261"></div>Transnistria is the site of a former USSR ammunition depot that is believed to be one of the largest in eastern Europe. The statelet's railroads, which use the same broad-gauge track as Ukraine and Russia, are seen by analysts as a potential resupply route for the railway-dependent Russian military if the war eventually comes to Odesa. In the immediate wake of Russia's invasion, Munteanu thought it reasonable to conclude that Ukraine was not the only objective. Putin has repeatedly expressed his anger not just at Kyiv, but at the rest of Moscow's former satellites in Eastern Europe who have chosen closer relations with the West — he views them as client states of Washington, akin to what he's sought over Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia — and at the Soviet leaders who allowed them to regain their independence."I think when he speaks about recovering what belongs to Russia, he means also Moldova," Munteanu said. "And from day zero, he meant an invasion."<div type="image" title="railroad cars on tracks" height="3648" width="5472" msid="91109048" hostid="261"></div>In Chisinau, life goes on, families packing churches over the weekend for Easter celebrations and taking home with them a candle lit by the Holy Fire — a flame that is delivered by plane from Jerusalem to Orthodox churches across Eastern Europe.People are nervous, but Moldovans who fled the country after the Feb. 24 invasion have trickled back, officials say, encouraged by Russian setbacks, particularly the failure to capture Odesa; the Ukrainian port city, a short drive from the border, is a commonly accepted bellwether — if it falls, Moldova will be next. Eyes are also on America: if US diplomats start leaving, thousands of Moldovans will follow.No one, certainly, believes Moldova could resist an invasion, should it ever come to that. Locals joke that the country's armed forces would be able to hold the capital for about two hours — the time it would take Russia to drive an armored vehicle from the border. Not even the country's elected officials pretend its armed forces would be any match.In his office on the sixth floor of the Soviet-era parliament building in Chisinau, lawmaker Radu Marian, vice president of the governing Party of Action and Solidarity, rubbed his face and sighed when asked if his country would be able to put up a fight."With Russia?" he said. "I don't know how."<div type="image" title="Flags of Transnistria and Russia" height="3648" width="5472" msid="91109049" hostid="261"></div>At 32, Marian is one of a slew of young people with no prior experience in politics who have come to power in Moldova. PAS, the pro-Western party of President Maia Sandu, was founded in 2016 and won a parliamentary majority with 60% of the vote in 2021, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform and defeating a Socialist party widely seen as a proxy for the Kremlin. Since then, the party's anti-corruption message has been overshadowed by consecutive crises: two deadly waves of COVID-19 followed by a war that has changed the tiny country's demographics, with nearly 100,000 of its 3 million inhabitants now refugees from Ukraine.The war has not, however, changed Moldova's security policy. The country is not in the EU and, so long as part of its territory is controlled by Russian-backed separatists, it can never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.In order to avoid a confrontation, Moldova, its constitution committing it to military neutrality, has condemned the war in Ukraine and accepted more refugees per capita than any other nation. But it has refused to allow its territory to be used for the transfer of weapons. It has also declined to sanction Moscow — and it's not requesting any new weapon from its allies in Washington and Brussels, fearing that would put a target on its back.There is no Plan B."We are not Ukraine," Marian said. "We don't have Stingers, we don't have tanks, we don't have planes, and we have no combat experience whatsoever. It's just the reality."It's a reality that raises an uncomfortable question."Do you put up a fight and trigger massive killings?" Marian asked. "Or, you know, just do what the Netherlands did in the Second World War when the Nazis came in — and just hope that the regime will be overthrown at one point.""It's a bit crazy to talk about these things," he added, "but we need to talk."<div type="image" title="man walking in front of supermarket" height="3648" width="5472" msid="91109050" hostid="261"></div>Back in Transnistria, the normalcy is artificial. People are scared to act any other way.According to Moldovan authorities, Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted a large uptick in residents there applying for passports issued by their ostensible "radical nationalist" enemy in Chisinau, needing documents from an internationally recognized country if they wish to escape their self-proclaimed state ahead of an invasion.Andrei Crigan of the business consulting group Gateway &amp; Partners in Moldova, who was born in Transnistria, said the lack of real opportunity is another driving factor. "There's a group that holds a monopoly on the economy, called Sheriff," Crigan noted, founded by Viktor Gushan and Ilya Kazmaly, both of whom enjoy Russian citizenship. "They're controlling everything. If you want to open a business and you want to grow it, you cannot do that. You will be slapped on your head at some point and they will take this business from you."Many people in Transnistria "kind of feel like Russians," Crigan said, "but they see the reality and they say, 'What kind of Russia is that? Or what is Russia doing for us?'"<div type="image" title="Lenin statute" height="3648" width="4864" msid="91109052" hostid="261"></div>But people stay in undesirable situations for the same reasons people do anywhere else.Amina, for example, has seen both her children move away. And now she lives with the fear of a coming war.Why stay, then, in a breakaway state? "This is home," she said. Generations of her family lived here, Amina said, and it's like a magnet: if she tries to leave it pulls her back.Many of her neighbors may well identify with Russia, but merely residing in the territory should not be read as support for any purported liberation by Moscow. As Amina spoke, <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> was breaking that Russian missiles had struck residential buildings in Odesa, killing eight people, including a mother and her newborn child.Pouring some wine in her garden, she proposed a toast: "To the death of Putin."Have a news tip? Email this reporter: <a href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

In Transnistria, controlled by pro-Russia separatists, a fear of war and a toast: 'To the death of Putin'

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46690236.cms" /> Life is never fair. Right from the time that one is born till the soul departs, a person’s life goes through several ups and downs. Probably more downs than ups. There is always a <keyword id="6385657" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Choice">choice</keyword>, a trade-off of sorts that one needs to make to better one’s life. The choices one makes to emerge out of <keyword id="2780487" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tough-situations">tough situations</keyword> is what creates their <keyword id="24620" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="destiny">destiny</keyword>. The tough situations can be ones that pull you down completely, sometimes these are mistakes you commit and sometimes these are conditions over which you have no control. Go through this infographic to know how best to emerge a winner from such <keyword id="2780486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="adverse-situations">adverse situations</keyword>. 
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	(Lead image: maia-intelligence.com)

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