OSCE Monitors under Fire

[PGreen]

The OSCE and Joint Centre for Control & Coordination (JCCC) have confirmed that its employees came under artillery fire from large-calibre Uragan weapons of the Ukrainian army in Gorlovka on Sunday. The monitors managed to safely escape the shelling.

OSCE Monitors under Fire from Ukrainian Artillery 8211 Ukraine on fire - My Telegraph

There is such a termin as Fail State. Well, it's all about Ukraine. And by the way, Ukraine's President Poroshenko rejected a peace plan proposed to him by Putin. Obviously, a plan was much better than nothing.

 

[waltky]

FancyBear suspected in major cyber attack against OSCE...

OSCE confirms 'major' cyber attack
Thursday 29th December, 2016: International observer body the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed Wednesday (Dec 28) being the victim of a "major" cyber attack.

"Early November the OSCE became aware of a major information security incident," OSCE spokeswoman Mersiha Causevic Podzic told AFP via email. The attack "compromis[ed] the confidentiality" of the OSCE's IT network and put "its integrity at risk", although the organisation was still able to operate, she said.

According to French daily Le Monde, which first reported the incident, a Western intelligence agency believes that Russian hackers group APT28 was behind the attack. This group, also known as Pawn Storm, Sofacy and Fancy Bear, is believed to be behind other high-profile cyber attacks and to be linked to Russia's security services, Le Monde said. The OSCE declined to comment on this, saying only that "the way in which the attacker accessed the OSCE was identified, as have some of the external communication destinations".

The Vienna-based OSCE has its origins in the Cold War but after 1991 the organisation expanded and now has 57 member states including the United States, Russia and Ukraine. It currently has some 700 monitors keeping on the eye on the conflict in eastern Ukraine and is also active in monitoring elections and media freedom.

OSCE confirms 'major' cyber attack