News Updates for 4 April

Novaya Gazeta front page reporting the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Hundreds of Journalists Flee Russia, Independent Media Needs Support

Hundreds of journalists are going into exile to escape repression in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia in an exodus similar to those fleeing the Bolsheviks in 1918, said Christophe Deloire, head of Reporters Without Borders.

Deloire told EURACTIV that he expects more of Russia’s journalists will leave the country as independent and impartial journalism has become all but impossible in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. News outlets face fine or closure – and journalists possible arrest – if they diverge from the official narrative about the war, which can only be referred to as a ‘special military operation.’

It is effectively no longer possible for independent media to function inside Russia. Well known broadcasters Ekho Moskvi and TV Dozhd have been forced to close and newspaper Novaya Gazeta has decided to cease publication for the duration of the conflict.

“We clearly have a lot of requests of journalists who had to flee the country,” Deloire said. Estimates of emigration from Russia since the beginning of the war put the numbers in the tens of thousands and include employees of international companies and IT specialists as well as journalists. Many have gone to countries like Turkey, Armenia and Georgia, where no visa is required for those holding Russian passports.

Deloire said the EU has to help Russian emigrees, adding that RSF group is working on an initiative to “help Russian journalists abroad, fund them, and help them secure the sustainability of their work.” One of the side-effects of international banking sanctions means that Russian citizens can no longer pay subscriptions to independent media organisations which have been forced to move abroad.

Cyberattacks on EU institutions increasing exponentially, says European Court of Auditors

The European Court of Auditors (ECA), a EU body based in Luxembourg which oversees the financial management of the European institutions has reported a “sharp” increase in cybersecurity threats against the bodies of the EU. In a special report, the body said it had recorded a tenfold increase in major cybersecurity incidents aimed at the European institutions between 2018 and 2021.

The increase was ascribed to a number of factors, including the growth in home working due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The sensitivity of information handled by the EU institutions across a range of subject areas has made them an increasingly attractive target for state-backed hackers. In 2020, the EU imposed cyber sanctions for the first time, blacklisting a number of Russian, Chinese and North Korean hackers.

The ECA noted examples of cyberattacks with a presumed political intent, including an intrusion into the systems of the European Medicines Agency in late 2020, when the EU was moving towards authorising the first COVID-19 vaccines.

“Sensitive data was leaked and manipulated in a way designed to undermine trust in vaccines,” the ECA said.

The ECA report warns that attacks are becoming more sophisticated as well as more frequent, and that the EU “has not achieved a level of cyber-preparedness commensurate with the threats.” In response, it recommends a number of measures including technical controls, information sharing and better funding of the Computer Emergency Response Team of EU bodies, or CERT-EU, which, says the ECA, has struggled to meet its increasing workload effectively.

Cybersecurity Experts Worried EU Rolling Back Online Protections

Consumers relying on security for electronic payments could be undermined by proposed changes to European Union regulations that cybersecurity groups have said will expose them to the risk of online fraud.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) technologists and 36 of the world’s top cybersecurity experts urge the European Parliament to reject changes they say will weaken Internet security.

The amendment to the EU's Digital Identity Framework (eIDAS) requires popular browsers like Firefox, Google, and Safari to accept Qualified Website Authentication Certificates (QWAS), a specific EU form of website certificate that has known implementation flaws and is not widely recognised by the major browsers.

Website certificates are a fundamental part of how online payments work. Authentication ensures that user data is not intercepted – so, for instance, someone trying to make a purchase can be sure that they are using the right website, and not an imitation set up by criminals.

“While we understand that the intent of these provisions is to improve authentication on the web, they would in practice have the opposite effect of dramatically weakening web security,” the groups wrote. The letter encourages EU lawmakers to revise the amendment to “ensure that browsers can continue to undertake their crucial security work to protect individuals from cybercrime on the web.”

Croatian Journalists Facing 951 SLAPP suits, says Union

While the European Commission prepares to unveil proposals to rein in nuisance lawsuits against journalists and other public watchdogs (SLAPPs), new data shows the scale of the problem in Croatia, where journalists are facing at least 951 legal actions. The figure, reported by the Croatian Journalists Association, reflects a total demand by plaintiffs of nearly 77.4 million kuna ($11.3 million) in damages..

HND President Hrvoje Zovko said, “We are talking about a culture of suing journalists and media and a systematic aggression in order to intimidate journalists and force them into self-censorship.”

The profile of the plaintiffs going after journalists and trying to chill their reporting is varied and includes municipal officials, politicians, and judges.

Monika Kutri, who conducted the survey of Croatian media organisations for HND, said that Hanza Media, was the target of the highest number of suits – 443 – each demanding an average of 95,000 kuna ($13,872.)

According to research produced by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe – which Blueprint is a member of - Croatia has one of the the highest number of SLAPP cases in Europe. Only about one in ten of the cases against Croatian journalists ever reach a courtroom but, as testimony given to the UK House of Lords last week reinforced, the nature of SLAPPs means that even obviously meritless cases can do enormous damage.

Russia Denies Entry to EU Commissioners, Lawmakers and Journalists in wave of countersanctions

Retaliating for European Union sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has prohibited EU officials, lawmakers and journalists from entering the country. The move drew a rebuke from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Borrell’s office said the EU “deplores the decision of the Russian authorities to ban a number of European Union nationals” in a response to Russia issuing the ban while complaining the “ sanctions against Russia oversteps all limits.”

The Russian ministry said that the restrictions were aimed primarily at the “top leadership of the EU, a number of European commissioners and heads of EU military bodies, as well as the overwhelming majority of members of the European Parliament that have advanced anti-Russian policies.”

An unnamed list of EU journalists have also been barred from entering Russia, on the ostensible grounds that they are “responsible for promoting illegal anti-Russian sanctions, inflaming Russophobic sentiments and infringing on the rights and freedoms of Russian-speakers.”

A previous wave of Russian sanctions in 2021 already banned European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová and other senior European officials from entering the country.