The United States is deeply concerned about Russia’s supply of military equipment to Myanmar’s junta and will continue to seek ways to limit such cooperation between the two countries, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Wednesday.

Speaking in a telephone briefing on the two-year anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup, U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told reporters that Washington would keep looking for ways to increase sanctions to make it difficult for the junta “to acquire arms or to generate revenue.”

He spoke shortly after Myanmar’s junta extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing also said multi-party elections must be held “as the people desire”, but he did not provide a timeline.

Chollet reiterated the Biden administration’s position that “any regime-led elections have no chance of being free or fair.”

“Any election without the full participation of Myanmar’s people would represent a naked attempt by the junta to cling to power,” he added.

Asked about Russia’s military ties to Myanmar, he said Moscow was the junta’s most reliable military supplier while the junta was among Russia’s diminishing “circle of friends” following its invasion of Ukraine last year.

“It’s something we are deeply concerned about … because of course Russian military capability is being used directly against the people of Myanmar,” Chollet said, adding that Washington was seeking ways to restrict that relationship.

The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday with curbs on energy officials and junta members, among others.

The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch in February 2021, overthrowing the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi after five years of tense power-sharing.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, setting aside the rapid hikes used last year to curb a surge in inflation in favor of a more stepwise hunt for a stopping point.

The expected increase would set the U.S. central bank’s benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.50%-4.75% range, the highest since November 2007, when the economy was on the eve of what would prove to be a long and deep recession.

Policymakers hope to avoid that sort of outcome this time, and economic data since their last policy meeting in December generally has moved in the right direction: Inflation is slowing under the impact of higher interest rates and tighter financial conditions, while the economy continues to grow and create jobs.

The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee is due to release its policy statement at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT). Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a news conference half an hour later to elaborate on the decision.

“Recent events suggest that the coming year may be a notch less challenging than previously thought,” Nathan Sheets, chief global economist at Citi, wrote this week, noting that recession risks were easing on a global basis while U.S. data “pointed to continued growth, moderating inflation, and a slower pace of Fed rate hikes.”

Ahead of the Fed’s two-day meeting this week, the International Monetary Fund increased its outlook for a global economy that its officials said had proved “surprisingly resilient” in the face of monetary policy tightening and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Caught flat-footed last year as inflation accelerated and threatened to prove far more persistent than anticipated, the Fed approved the fastest interest rate hikes since the 1980s. Starting with a quarter-percentage-point increase in March, the central bank by the summer was raising rates in increments of three-quarters of a percentage point, and all told moved the target policy rate up by 4.25 percentage points in just 10 months. It delivered a half-percentage-point hike at its Dec. 13-14 policy meeting.

The impact of the policy moves seems to be gaining steam. New data last week showed a key inflation measure slowed faster than expected in December, continuing a six-month downward trend. Growth in employment costs, closely watched as a possible indicator of future price increases, also slowed in the fourth quarter.

But the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, still rose at a 5% annual rate in December, down from a June high of nearly 7% but still more than double the central bank’s 2% inflation target.

New data released on Wednesday also showed one closely-watched measure of worker demand remained elevated, with the number of job openings in December rising back above 11 million to a level nearly double the number of people unemployed. The mismatch between the number of open jobs compared to the number of people looking for work is among the main economic imbalances the Fed feels may keep inflation elevated.

Policymakers are adamant they will not make what they consider to be the crucial error of pausing further rate hikes until they are convinced inflation is on a durable path back to the 2% goal.

Some analysts do expect the Fed to remove from its policy statement the current, open-ended promise of “ongoing increases” in interest rates, a phrase used since the central bank began its tightening cycle in March. Any new language, however, would still leave the door open for further increases depending on incoming economic data, particularly on inflation and jobs.

The expected move to 25-basis-point rate increases will be a “hawkish downshift,” BNP Paribas economists wrote ahead of this week’s policy meeting. “While we expect the Fed to downshift the pace of tightening to 25bp increments … we also anticipate a hawkish resolve … Policymakers are encouraged by recent developments, but appear to remain united in the need to ‘keep at it’ with respect to reducing inflation pressures.”

The Fed’s meeting this week, its first of 2023, will not include new economic forecasts from its policymakers, the most explicit way for them to signal where rates may be headed this year.

As of December, policymakers’ median forecast was for the Fed’s target interest rate to peak in a range between 5.00% and 5.25%, an outlook that would imply a pause in the policy tightening after two more quarter-percentage-point increases.

Traders of futures that settle to the Fed’s policy rate see the path somewhat differently, with the benchmark rate peaking in the 4.75%-5.00% range, and the central bank cutting that rate to around 4.4% by December.

Related Galleries:

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia’s military must stop the shelling of Russian regions from Ukrainian territory, which he said had left many people homeless or without power.

Putin was addressing a government meeting about restoring destroyed housing and infrastructure in regions of southwest Russia that border Ukraine.

“Of course, the priority task is to eliminate the very possibility of shelling. But this is the business of the military department,” Putin said in remarks published on the Kremlin website.

Ukraine does not claim responsibility for strikes inside Russian territory but has described them as “karma” for Moscow’s invasion, which has razed Ukrainian cities and systematically targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving people frequently without power and water in the depths of winter.

Putin cited the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, as well as Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014, as areas where housing had been damaged or destroyed.

People were facing “very acute” problems, and repairs and compensation were needed, he said.

“Many people found themselves in a difficult situation, lost their homes, were forced to move to relatives or to temporary places of residence, faced interruptions in the supply of water, heat, and electricity,” he said.

His comments signalled Moscow’s frustration at the frequency of attacks in southern Russia, which have included strikes on sites such as electricity sub-stations and depots for weapons and fuel.

Just as Zelensky is preparing to host a summit on Friday with representatives of the EU, which insists that Ukraine must enact corruption reforms, another graft crackdown rocked Ukraine.

FBI agents on Wednesday reportedly searched President Joe Biden’s Delaware beach house for classified documents.

According to CBS News, agents showed up at Biden’s home at Rehoboth Beach on Wednesday to conduct the search, which was consensual and planned with Biden’s attorneys in advance.

The search comes after reports this week that the FBI searched Biden’s Washington, D.C., think tank, the Penn Biden Center, in mid-November as part of the documents probe. The White House had failed to disclose that the search took place.

“Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware,” Bob Bauer, a personal attorney for Biden, said in a statement.

“Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate,” he added. “The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today’s search.”

The documents saga started on Nov. 2 when Biden’s personal lawyer discovered classified documents at the Penn Biden Center, which the president formed in 2017. The Justice Department opened an inquiry into the matter on Nov. 14. Biden’s attorneys informed the agency on Dec. 20 that additional classified documents were found at the president’s house in Wilmington, Del. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel on Jan. 12 to oversee the investigation.

Biden’s representatives have claimed that they searched Biden’s Rehoboth residence but did not find any classified materials.

Republicans have questioned why the White House waited more than two months to publicly disclose that the records had been found at Biden’s properties. Between 20 and 30 documents, some marked Top Secret, have been recovered. Documents found at the Penn Biden Center reportedly discussed Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.

The post FBI Searches for Classified Docs at Biden’s Delaware Beach House appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will launch her candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Feb. 15, squaring off against her one-time boss, former President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with her plans.

Haley is expected to release details about her White House bid in an invitation to supporters later on Wednesday, according to local news outlet The Post and Courier, which first reported the planned announcement.

The daughter of two Indian immigrants who ran a successful clothing store in a rural part of the state, Haley has gained a reputation in the Republican Party for her ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers.

She has also pitched herself as a stalwart defender of American interests abroad, having served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2017 to 2018. During that time, the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, which was inked under Democratic President Barack Obama and was highly unpopular among Republicans.

Haley received national attention in 2015 when, as governor, she signed a bill into law removing the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol, following the murder of nine black churchgoers by white supremacist Dylann Roof.

If she were to win the nomination, Haley would be the first woman at the top of the Republican presidential ticket in history, as well as the party’s first non-white nominee.

Among her major challenges will be nailing down a consistent message. Even in a field where most candidates have changed their mind about key issues multiple times, Haley is particularly chameleonic.

She has distanced herself from Trump several times, only to later soften her rhetoric toward the former president, saying he has an important role to play in the Republican Party.

While she has criticized Republicans for baselessly casting doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election, she campaigned on behalf of multiple candidates who supported Trump’s false election fraud claims during the 2022 midterms.

And even as she has at times adopted a conciliatory message on racial issues, she often opts for a less measured tone. In November, she said at a campaign rally that Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, a Black man born in Savannah, should be “deported.”

Playing into Haley‘s hands may be geography: South Carolina is historically the third state to host the Republican nominating contest, and it often plays an outsized role in the race. Haley, who governed the state from 2011 to 2017, is popular there, polls show.

While she comes into the race as an underdog – most national polls show her support in the single digits – Haley is used to running from behind, having gained a reputation in political circles for coming out on top in tough-to-win races.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery; Editing by Ross Colvin, Daniel Wallis and Andrew Heavens)

The post Nikki Haley To Launch 2024 Presidential Run appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

(NewsNation) — The Department of Justice is searching President Joe Biden’s Delaware beach house as part of an ongoing investigation into the handling of classified documents.

In a statement, Bob Bauer, personal attorney for the president, said the search was voluntary and that Biden agreed in advance.

“Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware. Under DOJs standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate. The search today is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate. We will have further information at the conclusion of today`s search,” the statement read.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to handle the investigation after classified documents were discovered at a former office and Biden’s Delaware home.

Biden is not alone in his handling of classified documents. Former President Donald Trump is also subject to a special counsel investigation over classified material and it was recently revealed that former Vice President Mike Pence also had materials that should have been returned to the National Archives.

The DOJ has asked all former presidents and vice presidents to check their homes and offices for classified material that should be returned.

Authors of the Prolex PoS malware improved their malicious code to target contactless credit card transactions.

The threat actors behind the sophisticated point-of-sale (PoS) malware Prilex have have improved its capabilities to block contactless payment transactions.

Researchers from Kaspersky Lab discovered three new versions of the PoS malware designed to target credit cards using NFC technology.

“A frequent question asked about this threat was whether Prilex was able to capture data coming from NFC-enabled credit cards. During a recent Incident Response for a customer hit by Prilex, we were able to uncover three new Prilex versions capable of blocking contactless payment transactions, which became very popular in the pandemic times.” reads the analysis published by Kaspersky.

Prilex is a modular malware, Kaspersky researchers believe it is actually the most advanced PoS threat they have seen so far. The malware adopts a unique cryptographic scheme, doing real-time patching in target software, forcing protocol downgrades, manipulating cryptograms, doing GHOST transactions and performing credit card fraud, even on smart cards using CHIP and PIN technology.

The malicious code is able to disable the contactless payment feature to force the user to insert the card into the PIN pad.

A version discovered by the experts in November 2022 implements a rule-based file that specifies whether or not to capture credit card information and an option to block NFC-based transactions.

The experts pointed out that NFC-based transactions often generate a unique ID or card number valid for only one transaction. When Prilex detects an NFC-based transaction, the PoS malware blocks it and the EFT software will display an error message (i.e. “Contactless error, insert your card”) on the PIN pad requesting the user to insert its card in the pad reader.

“Of course, the goal here is to force the victim to use their physical card by inserting it into the PIN pad reader, so the malware will be able to capture the data coming from the transaction by using all the techniques described in our previous publication, such as manipulating cryptograms and performing a GHOST attack.” continues the report.

The new version of the PoS malware is also able to filter credit cards according to segment and create different rules for each segment. The malware can be instructed to block NFC-based transactions only if the card is a Black/Infinite, Corporate or another tier with a high transaction limit.

“Since transaction data generated during a contactless payment are useless from a cybercriminal’s perspective, it is understandable that Prilex needs to force victims to insert the card into the infected PoS terminal. While the group is looking for a way to commit fraud with unique credit card numbers, this clever trick allows it to continue operating.” concludes Kaspersky.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Prilex PoS malware)

The post New Prilex PoS Malware evolves to target NFC-enabled credit cards appeared first on Security Affairs.