Neowin

We don't have a busy launch schedule this week in terms of rocket launches. China will launch an unknown payload while Russia will launch a group of astronauts to the International Space Station.

STC IT ROSA, a Russian IT firm, has been developing a made-in-Russia phone. The head of APPSIM has leaked purported details about the phone on its Telegram channel with photos and videos.

Google was fined after failing to remove an alleged fake news video about the Russia-Ukraine conflict from YouTube, a Russian district court ruled after the company broke its administrative laws.

Microsoft discovers a phishing attack by a Russian-backed hacker group. They are using compromised Microsoft 365 accounts to pose as tech support in Teams. The group targets govts, NGOs, and more.

A cybersecurity team found a new Mac malware on the Dark Web forum using ChatGPT prompts. It prices up to $60,000 and can gain full access to a target's machine. Apple didn't immediately respond.

Following sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, gaming piracy levels have rocketed. Research has found that 7 in 10 gamers have engaged in game piracy over the last year.

We have just two rocket launches coming up this week. One will include a Falcon 9 carrying ESA's Euclid space telescope into orbit where it will map the universe across a third of the sky.

Kremlin's concerns about US technology continue. Russia alleges the NSA used Apple iPhone vulnerabilities to spy on officials and civilians. And officials in Russia urged to stop using iPhones.

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Binance for helping Russians skirt the US sanctions. This is not the first time Binance has come under fire for violating sanctions.

Finish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat leaking the Ukraine war atrocities to Russians through a secret room. It created a map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with a hidden underground room.

American technology giant Microsoft Corporation sent out letters to around 1,000 Russian companies that are not under sanctions to renew their licenses of its software amidst the ongoing crisis.

Xiaomi has hit back at Ukraine's assertion that it's an international sponsor of war. The Chinese company said that the phones it sells in Russia are for civilian and commercial use only.

We've got a busy week of rocket launches coming up next week. SpaceX, China, Russia, and India all have missions planned. It'll mostly be satellite launches, however, so nothing too exciting!

In response to allegations, Meta has shared some details about its content moderation mechanism to deny claims that its review process censors Ukrainian content while allowing Russian propaganda.

Russian courts have recently issued a $57,000 fine to Amazon-owned Twitch for failing to remove content about its military campaign in Ukraine which it reportedly says is falsified.

This week, SpaceX is set to carry out two launches and the Russian space agency will carry one out too. In this week's recap, we got footage of the Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket launching a satellite.

Ever since Intel and Microsoft withdrew from Russian markets following the invasion of Ukraine, citizens who wanted to download drivers and other software have faced difficulty until today.

MSI has confirmed that there is indeed a funding-related issue due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. As a result, the development of the extremely popular MSI Afterburner tool has been stalled.

Google has rolled out tools to Search to help people in Europe with the ongoing energy crisis. It includes news on the matter, local guidance, and steps you can take to cut usage and save money.

Microsoft is pledging continued support for Ukraine since its conflict with Russia started in late February. The software giant will provide additional technology aid valued at roughly $100 million.

A newly discovered ransomware strain is framing cybersecurity experts by claiming that they are the ones behind the attacks. However, the people blamed are not associated in any way with the malware.

This week we have two rocket launches. The first will see Roscosmos deliver cargo to the International Space Station, and the second will see SpaceX bolter its Starlink internet constellation.

Germany has sacked its chief of cybersecurity after media allegations that the executive has close ties to a Russian firm with links to president Vladimir Putin. An investigation is underway.

After SpaceX wrote to the Pentagon asking to fund Starlink in Ukraine and withdrawing the request the next day, the EU fears Elon Musk might wake up one day and cut off Ukraine's internet.

Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's financial monitoring agency, has added Meta to its list of "terrorists or extremists", as reported by Russian news agencies today. This tag does not include WhatsApp so far.

Apple has removed the apps owned by Russia's biggest social network, VK, from the App Store citing recent sanctions by the UK. The Russian firm's developer accounts have been revoked too.

This week we have a number of interesting rocket launches. Russia is due to send two cosmonauts and an astronaut to the ISS and United Launch Alliance will launch a top-secret spy satellite.

Following today's announcement from Ericsson, Logitech has also stated that it will be closing up shop in Russia stating the "ongoing uncertain environment" was the main factor in the decision.

Another tech company, Ericsson, has announced that it will cease its business operations in Russia over the next few months in its obligations to customers, as a result of the Ukraine war.

Dell is on the verge of fully exiting Russia. The company already closed all its offices in the country a few days ago and is expected to lay off all employees operating in the region soon.

We have a quiet week coming up. SpaceX will launch more Starlink satellites, and Russia is planning to launch a remote sensing satellite called Khayyam for the Iranian military from Baikonur.

Roscosmos space agency will abandon the International Space Station (ISS) to build successor to Mir. It will fulfill its obligations, including delivering NASA astronauts and cargo to the ISS.

A robot recently broke the finger of a seven-year-old during a chess tournament in Russia. The machine practically pounced on the child's finger and grabbed it with force, proceeding to break it.

Russia's President Putin signed a law to enact suspension of certain provisions of Federal Law “On Banks and Banking Activity”, and bans the use of digital assets as a payment mode in Russia.

Although this was a fairly regular week in the world of Microsoft, for Neowin it still means a lot of news to cover in the past few days. If you missed anything, check out our handy recap here!

Recently, there were reports of a blockade of Windows 11 and 10 ISOs in Russia. Following that, it looks like the block may have been expanded to include Windows Insider Preview builds too.

In the next week, China will send a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station and Russia will send a resupply mission to the International Space Station so it should be an interesting week.

The Russian social media firm, VK, has launched a new app store for Android devices called RuStore. At launch, it will feature a paltry 100 apps, including some government-run apps.