November 01, 2023

From Russia with Hate


From Russia with Hate
"Hamas" grafitti. Wikimedia Commons.

A recent Meduza report described how a number of websites associated with the Palestinian political and military organization Hamas use Russian-based web hosting platforms.

Insikt Group, the threat intelligence research arm of US-based cybersecurity company Recorded Future, reported that the website "alqassam.ps" was moved on October 11 to Russian web hosting service VDSina, operated by Moscow-based company Hosting Technology LTD. The website in question relates to Al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas. Later, the site was moved to hosts in Lebanon and Panama. Insikt Group suggests that the constant moving of hosting services is an attempt to evade takedowns and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by third parties.

Furthermore, Meduza reported that, according to Russian-language Israeli volunteer news service Mesusah, the main Hamas website "hamas.ps" was also recently hosted by VDSina. Mesusah also reported that Hamas had used another Russian web infrastructure provider, Selectel. Selectel board chairman Lev Binzumovich Leviev responded quickly, shutting down the relevant domains and noting that Hamas had only used their free DNS services.

Insikt Group also reported on recent activity in Hamas Telegram channels, where a mobile app that communicates with the "alqassam.ps" website has been propagated. Their report notes a web infrastructure link between Hamas websites and Iran, which they observed earlier in May 2023. One domain name redirecting to the "alqassam.ps" website, "nikanps.top," contained subdomains with Farsi words and the word "Iran."

You Might Also Like

Escaping the Draft – in Israel
  • October 23, 2023

Escaping the Draft – in Israel

Russian-Israelis want to return to Russia to avoid being drafted into Israel's military. But Russia is also conscripting.
Russia Reacts to Gaza War
  • October 16, 2023

Russia Reacts to Gaza War

400 Russians asked to be evacuated from Gaza as Israel ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955