Bytes and Borscht
@bytesandborscht.bsky.social
Something something computers, conflict, crime. | https://bytesandborscht.com
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The Byzantine Heritage in Russian Security Culture
I would argue that Byzantium remains a key driver of Russian (strategic) security and intelligence culture. In this post I want to explore how I came to this conclusion and talk about how Byzantine "intelligence traditions" influenced Russian statecraft across the ages.
bytesandborscht.com
After a long hiatus I finally managed to sit down and write about a topic that I have been researching for a while - the (potential) impact of the Byzantine Empire on current Russian security / intelligence culture.
bytesandborscht.com/the-byzantin...
bytesandborscht.com/the-byzantin...
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my two ADHD states are:
1. slacking off, playing video games, complaining that society makes me work and wear pants sometimes
2. doing anxiety-fuelled pomodoros under deadline pressure; you should Fear what I can output in 4x25 + 3x5 minutes
1. slacking off, playing video games, complaining that society makes me work and wear pants sometimes
2. doing anxiety-fuelled pomodoros under deadline pressure; you should Fear what I can output in 4x25 + 3x5 minutes
November 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
my two ADHD states are:
1. slacking off, playing video games, complaining that society makes me work and wear pants sometimes
2. doing anxiety-fuelled pomodoros under deadline pressure; you should Fear what I can output in 4x25 + 3x5 minutes
1. slacking off, playing video games, complaining that society makes me work and wear pants sometimes
2. doing anxiety-fuelled pomodoros under deadline pressure; you should Fear what I can output in 4x25 + 3x5 minutes
Listening to an audiobook about Alexei Navalny, and the more I learn about his (hi)story, the more I am surprised he survived for that long. Guy was basically talking shit about / to the entire Russian establishment for a decade straight.
I respect the shit out of that, but still .. woah.
I respect the shit out of that, but still .. woah.
November 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Listening to an audiobook about Alexei Navalny, and the more I learn about his (hi)story, the more I am surprised he survived for that long. Guy was basically talking shit about / to the entire Russian establishment for a decade straight.
I respect the shit out of that, but still .. woah.
I respect the shit out of that, but still .. woah.
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As I was looking for malware (like you do on a quiet Friday afternoon 😂) I found a classic fake “your system is infected” page. After the fake scan, the Renew Now button goes straight to Avast through an affiliate link🤣🤣
TAs doing a 180, selling AV to get their commission LOL
TAs doing a 180, selling AV to get their commission LOL
November 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
As I was looking for malware (like you do on a quiet Friday afternoon 😂) I found a classic fake “your system is infected” page. After the fake scan, the Renew Now button goes straight to Avast through an affiliate link🤣🤣
TAs doing a 180, selling AV to get their commission LOL
TAs doing a 180, selling AV to get their commission LOL
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All in all a terrible day to be literate
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
All in all a terrible day to be literate
Just installed a printer on a little table next to my desk. My boomer-ification continues.
November 13, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Just installed a printer on a little table next to my desk. My boomer-ification continues.
Reposted by Bytes and Borscht
Reposted by Bytes and Borscht
For Economist subscribers: a new episode of Inside Defence. I spoke to John Foreman, UK defence attaché in Moscow at the time of the invasion. We looked at the culture, strengths & weaknesses of Russia's armed forces, challenge of working in Moscow & much else www.economist.com/insider/insi...
How strong is the Russian army? | The Economist Insider
Shashank Joshi, The Economist’s defence editor, returns for the second edition of Inside Defence. This month he interviews a former navy captain who has been Britain’s military man in both Moscow and ...
share.google
November 11, 2025 at 9:10 PM
For Economist subscribers: a new episode of Inside Defence. I spoke to John Foreman, UK defence attaché in Moscow at the time of the invasion. We looked at the culture, strengths & weaknesses of Russia's armed forces, challenge of working in Moscow & much else www.economist.com/insider/insi...
Having outgoing traffic on port 25 blocked for new customers: Okay. I understand the rationale, although it is annoying for me. But having to *call* customer support to get it unlocked .. come on.
November 11, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Having outgoing traffic on port 25 blocked for new customers: Okay. I understand the rationale, although it is annoying for me. But having to *call* customer support to get it unlocked .. come on.
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This summer I obtained an internal document of Germany‘s domestic #intelligence service #BfV, written by the counter-espionage unit, dated August 1993. It is pretty interesting, dealing with the question: Will the new #Russia continue the KGB‘s „Illegals“ spy program? 🧵 ⬇️ #history #Verfassungsschutz
two men in trench coats are reading newspapers one of which has a headline which starts with the word ' berg '
ALT: two men in trench coats are reading newspapers one of which has a headline which starts with the word ' berg '
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:32 AM
This summer I obtained an internal document of Germany‘s domestic #intelligence service #BfV, written by the counter-espionage unit, dated August 1993. It is pretty interesting, dealing with the question: Will the new #Russia continue the KGB‘s „Illegals“ spy program? 🧵 ⬇️ #history #Verfassungsschutz
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The entire point of social media is being able to surround yourself with people who start posts with sentences like "Hi, shipwreck autist here!"
Hi, shipwreck autist here! It was in fact true at the time. The Edmund Fitzgerald also had a sister ship, the Arthur B. Homer, which had the same structural defect the Edmund Fitzgerald did and was quietly retired shortly after Fitz sank. She remains the largest ship ever scrapped on the Great Lakes
November 10, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The entire point of social media is being able to surround yourself with people who start posts with sentences like "Hi, shipwreck autist here!"
I wake up and this is the first thing I see. I want to go back to sleep.
Bad news for human rights and national security, no matter how you spin it
NSO Group has a new executive chairman, David Friedman, who's a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and onetime bankruptcy lawyer for President Trump.
www.wsj.com/tech/israeli... via @WSJ
NSO Group has a new executive chairman, David Friedman, who's a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and onetime bankruptcy lawyer for President Trump.
www.wsj.com/tech/israeli... via @WSJ
Israeli Spyware Maker NSO Gets New Owners, Leadership and Seeks to Mend Reputation
Investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds have taken a controlling stake in the company behind Pegasus, and former Trump official David Friedman has been named executive chairman.
www.wsj.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:52 AM
I wake up and this is the first thing I see. I want to go back to sleep.
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German ISP Aurologic GmbH has Become a Central Nexus for Hosting Malicious Infrastructure
German ISP Aurologic GmbH has Become a Central Nexus for Hosting Malicious Infrastructure
cybersecuritynews.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:41 AM
German ISP Aurologic GmbH has Become a Central Nexus for Hosting Malicious Infrastructure
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Great read from @lawrencesec.bsky.social & @whoisnt.bsky.social !
1/ New report from myself and @whoisnt.bsky.social: “Malicious Infrastructure Finds Stability with aurologic GmbH.”
We uncover how German ISP aurologic GmbH has become a central nexus for high-risk hosting networks, sustaining large concentrations of malicious infrastructure.
We uncover how German ISP aurologic GmbH has become a central nexus for high-risk hosting networks, sustaining large concentrations of malicious infrastructure.
November 6, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Great read from @lawrencesec.bsky.social & @whoisnt.bsky.social !
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i owe so many video game designers an apology
November 3, 2025 at 6:49 PM
i owe so many video game designers an apology
.. that is definitely not something I had on my infosec-bingo for 2025. Or any year for that matter.
November 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
.. that is definitely not something I had on my infosec-bingo for 2025. Or any year for that matter.
When you are doing *highly* questionable (if not outright illegal) stuff, but are incompetent.
November 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
When you are doing *highly* questionable (if not outright illegal) stuff, but are incompetent.
I get what they are saying, but ..
October 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I get what they are saying, but ..
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Recorded Future just published Dark Covenant 3.0, revealing how global crackdowns and shifting Russian enforcement are reshaping the cybercriminal underground, exposing ties to state actors and turning cybercrime into a geopolitical tool: www.recordedfuture.com/research/dar...
Dark Covenant 3.0: Controlled Impunity and Russia’s Cybercriminals
Explore how Russia’s cybercriminal ecosystem evolved under Operation Endgame—where state control, selective enforcement, and criminal alliances collide.
www.recordedfuture.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Recorded Future just published Dark Covenant 3.0, revealing how global crackdowns and shifting Russian enforcement are reshaping the cybercriminal underground, exposing ties to state actors and turning cybercrime into a geopolitical tool: www.recordedfuture.com/research/dar...
Spirit animal.
guy who brought the trans flag we iwo jima’d described himself as “yeah i was pretty neutral about trans people, think i still am honestly, but these people are being so goddamn weird about it that i gotta get off the fence”
October 20, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Spirit animal.
This hits very differently these days.
October 20, 2025 at 8:51 AM
This hits very differently these days.
Hope this is recorded and made available. Very interesting topic of research .. and hopefully people will believe Amazon CTI more than me when I say that "cyber-enabled kinetic warfare" is much more worrying concept than "cyberwar" (whatever this means these days ..).
‼️ The @cyberwarcon.bsky.social agenda and presenters list is live. Proud that Amazon Cyber Threat Intelligence will be presenting for the first time on the intersection of Iranian cyber ops and kinetic strikes with Dlshad Othman and @davidmagnotti.bsky.social! www.cyberwarcon.com/ping-first-b...
Ping First, Boom Second — CYBERWARCON
www.cyberwarcon.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Hope this is recorded and made available. Very interesting topic of research .. and hopefully people will believe Amazon CTI more than me when I say that "cyber-enabled kinetic warfare" is much more worrying concept than "cyberwar" (whatever this means these days ..).
Reposted by Bytes and Borscht
Recorded Future just published a report diving into the Beijing Institute of Electronics Technology and Application (BIETA), which is almost certainly a front for China’s MSS, developing technologies to support intelligence and military missions. Full report: www.recordedfuture.com/research/bie...
BIETA: A Technology Enablement Front for China's MSS
Discover how China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) almost certainly operates BIETA and its subsidiary CIII as public fronts for cyber-espionage, covert communications, and technology acquisition. C...
www.recordedfuture.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Recorded Future just published a report diving into the Beijing Institute of Electronics Technology and Application (BIETA), which is almost certainly a front for China’s MSS, developing technologies to support intelligence and military missions. Full report: www.recordedfuture.com/research/bie...
Excellent roast, 10/10, no comments. (From "Beirut Rules" by Fred Burton)
October 5, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Excellent roast, 10/10, no comments. (From "Beirut Rules" by Fred Burton)
Watching a documentary involving Syria. And whenever the narrator says "serious", I can't help but go "syrious" in my head.
October 4, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Watching a documentary involving Syria. And whenever the narrator says "serious", I can't help but go "syrious" in my head.
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This Tumblr user summarizes something I've been feeling/doing lately. Against everything going on, it somehow feels helpful.
October 2, 2025 at 12:47 PM
This Tumblr user summarizes something I've been feeling/doing lately. Against everything going on, it somehow feels helpful.