Ukraine isn't just relying on foreign government aid to finance its defense against the Russian invasion. According to Reuters, Elliptic reports the Ukranian government has raised over $13 million ($13.6 million as of this writing) in cryptocurrency from more than 18,000 contributors after it launched a crowdfunding effort on February 26th to bolster its fight. The country has raised a total of $20.9 million since the invasion began, but got its biggest lift when it published wallet addresses for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether on Saturday.

The nation's digital transformation ministry told Reuters it would use the crypto to "destroy as much [sic] Russian soldiers as possible." Unofficial efforts like Come Back Alive and Support Ukranian Sovereignty have also raised cryptocurrency to support the Ukraine military and local charities.

The actions come as cryptocurrency exchanges have partially clamped down on Russia. Finbold and Reuters note Binance has already restricted crypto accounts affected by sanctions against Russia, while Kraken is warning Russians their accounts might be frozen if there's a "legal requirement" to do so. Both exchanges have ruled out blanket bans for all Russian users despite Ukranian Vice Prime Minister Mykhalio Fedorov calling on major exchanges to "sabotage ordinary users" in addition to addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians.

The cryptocurrency donations are tiny compared to the conventional aid Ukraine has received so far. The US government alone contributed $350 million in military support this past weekend. The amount is still significant, though, and it's a novel concept — a country is directly requesting crypto to fuel its military and defend its existence.

Ukraine is recruiting international volunteers to carry out cyberattacks against Russia. On Saturday afternoon, Mykhailo Fedorov, the country’s digital transformation minister, took to Twitter to announce he was assembling an “IT army” on Telegram. “There will be tasks for everyone,” he said. “We continue to fight on the cyber front.”

As of the writing of this article, the channel has more than 26,000 subscribers. In one post, translated into English by The New York Times, the Ukrainian government urges people “to use any vectors of cyber and DDoS attacks” on a variety of Russian targets. In a separate post, the country calls on people to report YouTube channels posting pro-Russian content, with the hope of getting them delisted. That call to action came at around the same time YouTube said it was temporarily barring Russia Today and other Kremlin-affiliated channels from earning ad revenue on the platform.

The call for volunteers also came after Anonymous claimed responsibility for taking down multiple Russian government websites, including those belonging to the Kremlin and Ministry of Defence.

The choice to manage the effort on Telegram is one that could hurt Ukraine in the long run. As Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of Signal points out, Telegram isn’t encrypted in the way most people think it is. Unless you enable its Secret Chat feature, your conversations aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means the company can unlock most messages at any time. In the current situation, that’s a problem because many Telegram employees have family in Russia, and, as Marlinspike notes, there’s a scenario in which the country's government could exploit that fact.

On Saturday morning, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third day, some of the country’s official government websites went down following a series of alleged cyberattacks. Among the sites that aren’t accessible as of the writing of this article include that of the Kremlin and the country’s Ministry of Defence. Several Twitter accounts claiming affiliation with Anonymous say the international hacking collective is behind the attacks.

“Faced with this series of attacks that Ukraine has been suffering from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, we could not help but support the Ukrainian people,” said one account. At the start of the conflict, the group said it would launch a “cyber war against the Russian government.” However, the Kremlin has denied Anonymous is behind the attacks, according to CNN.

It’s believed Anonymous is also responsible for hacking several Russian state TV channels. People have uploaded videos showing those channels playing Ukrainian music and displaying images of the country’s flag and other nationalistic symbols. 

The collective has also pledged to “keep the Ukrainian people online as best we can,” even as the invasion takes a heavy toll on the country's internet infrastructure. While there hasn’t been a widespread blackout, some parts of Ukraine, particularly those areas where fighting has been the most intense, have seen greatly diminished access. That's something that has prevented people from staying in touch with their loved ones.

A new bill that guarantees benefits for ride-hail drivers while still classifying them as gig workers has passed the Washington State House. It's backed by Uber and Lyft, as well as the local Teamsters union, and represents a compromise between all parties involved. Under the legislation, drivers are guaranteed benefits that include paid sick leave, a minimum pay rate and a resource center for drivers who want to appeal their deactivation — all while still being classified as gig workers. 

Meanwhile, the companies can't set their workers' schedules under the legislation, and cities won't have the power to regulate ride-hailing firms. According to LaborNotes, the bill is getting mixed reception from drivers, with some arguing that the benefits may not be enough.

Uber, Lyft and other gig companies have long fought attempts to force them to classify their workers as employees, even spending hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that's the case. In California, the companies spent over $200 million to campaign for Proposition 22, a ballot that overturns a local law that made drivers full employees. The companies prevailed, and the proposition passed with a decently wide margin. 

Peter Kuel, president of the Teamsters-affiliated Drivers Union, told Bloomberg:

"Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers — predominantly immigrants and people of color — will benefit from this long overdue expansion of pay raises, benefits and protections statewide."

LaborNotes says, though, that Drivers Union supported the bill mainly because the companies threatened to pursue a ballot initiative if they don't get a compromise in Washington. Don Creery, a Drivers Union board member, told the publication:

"They're also holding the gun at our heads with the possibility of an initiative. They spent $200 million on California. It comes down to the reality that we don't have the money to buy TV ads. They do. They will misinform the public with a barrage of TV ads, so we will lose an initiative. We could lose everything."

The legislation is now heading to the State Senate, which will hold a public hearing for it today, February 26th.

The US government has imposed harsh export restrictions against Russia designed to drastically limit its access to both low- and high-tech goods from overseas. As first reported by Reuters, the Commerce Department has posted a list of expanded licensing policies and requirements implemented in response to Russia's further invasion of Ukraine. 

Under the expanded sanctions, US suppliers that want to ship to Russia will have to obtain licenses for goods that didn't require one in the past. Those goods include microelectronics, telecommunications items, sensors, navigation equipment, avionics, marine equipment and aircraft components. 

In addition, the US is adding companies designated as "military end users" due to their alleged ties to the Russian military to the entity list. Any company seeking to ship products made abroad to those military end users will have to obtain licenses from the United States if they're using US-made tools, technology and software for their products. The government says these sanctions should "significantly impact Russia's ability to acquire items it cannot produce itself."

The new rules state that license requests will be reviewed "under a policy of denial," which means the Commerce Department will deny almost all of them. The administration will only approve licenses in rare exceptions, such as applications related to aviation and maritime safety, as well as humanitarian needs. Smartphone exports to Russia are also allowed, so long as they're not shipped to Russian government employees and state-owned enterprises. 

Former Commerce Department official Kevin Wolf told Reuters that the rules are so complex, many companies might simply stop dealing with Russia completely to avoid mistakes despite the carveouts. However, Cordell Hull, another former official, predicted that the rules would be difficult to enforce.

During a speech announcing the new measures, President Joe Biden said partner countries are adopting or have expressed intent to adopt similar sanctions. The list of partner countries includes 27 members of the European Union, such as Italy, France and Germany, along with Canada, Australia, Japan and the UK, to name a few. "Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports," he said.

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister has called on Apple to stop selling its products and to block App Store access in Russia. Mykhailo Fedorov, who also serves as the country's Minister of Digital Transformation, has asked Tim Cook for the tech giant's support in a letter. "The whole world is repelling the aggressor through the imposition of sanctions — the enemy must suffer significant losses... [I]n 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to tanks, multiple rocket launchers and missiles," he wrote in a bid to convince Apple's chief executive.

Russia launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine in early Thursday, entering the country from three sides and attacking by land, air and sea. It bombed the country's major cities, including the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which was bombarded with missiles on Friday morning. As a response to the invasion, the US government and its allies have unveiled new sanctions against Russia to block its access to exports in hopes of constraining its military and technological capabilities. In addition, the sanctions are targeting Russian oligarchs by limiting their ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen. 

As Bloomberg notes, Apple has an online store in Russia and offers a local version of its App Store in the country. Last year, it complied with a Russian legal requirement to highlight apps made by local developers. According to the news organization, it also registered a business office and posted job listings for positions in Moscow in the past few months, most likely to comply with local regulations. Russia started enforcing a law last year that requires tech companies like Apple, Google and Meta to have a physical presence within its borders.

Fedorov ended his letter to Cook, which he posted on Twitter, with what Ukraine hopes would happen if Apple pulls out of Russia: "We are sure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression." Cook previously said that Apple is doing all it can for its teams in Ukraine and "will be supporting local humanitarian efforts," but the company has yet to publicly respond to Fedorov's plea.

The Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation this week into a large number of media, telecom and infrastructure companies that operate in the United States with ties to Russia, CNN reported. The probe, allegedly being conducted jointly with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, is aimed at firms considered a “national security risk,” and covers a wide array of business types including wireless providers, VoIP services and submarine cable operators.

The FCC’s review also arrives as many US cybersecurity experts warn of the increased danger of cyber attacks, especially on critical infrastructure. The US recently imposed a number of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, and it’s possible Russia may retaliate through cyber warfare. Recent cyber campaigns suspected to have ties to the Russian government include the hacks of the Olympics, SolarWinds, Ukraine's government websites and coronavirus vaccine research in the US, UK and Canada. US cyber officials have also warned businesses, banks and state and local governments to be vigilant for ransomware.

A similar investigation against Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE launched by the FCC in 2019 over concerns their equipment allowed for Chinese surveillance of US activities. It’s unknown exactly how many similar companies with Russia ties will be covered by the probe. Russia also funds media companies in the US and other countries. UK prime minister Boris Johnson recently ordered a probe into the UK license for RT (Russia Today) a Kremlin-backed global news outlet with offices in the United States and across Europe. US company T&R Productions, which backs RT America, has received over $100 million from the Russian government, an Open Secrets investigation revealed.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now affecting technology trade shows. TechCrunch and Reuters report the GSMA will ban some Russian companies from exhibiting at Mobile World Congress 2022 when it starts February 28th. While the wireless industry association didn't say which companies were barred from attending, it said there would be no Russian Pavilion to showcase that country's mobile products.

There are no plans to cancel or delay MWC 2022 itself, GSMA chief John Hoffman told Reuters. However, the organization said on its website that it would honor all "sanctions and policies" targeting Russia. Some companies are on the sanctions list, Hoffmann added. The measures allow mobile devices, but only as long as they aren't sent to Russian government workers or affiliates.

Like with some trade shows, Russian companies like the carrier VimpelCom can buy dedicated show floor space that could give them a presence. The main ban will primarily affect those companies that were leaning on the Russian Pavilion for a presence.

The bans arrive as tech increasingly serves as a battleground for Russia and its Western opponents. Meta's Facebook and Twitter have respectively taken steps to protect Ukranians and those tracking Russian military movements. Russia, in turn, has limited access to Facebook in retaliation for actions restricting four Russian media outlets. Whether it wants to or not, the GSMA is embroiling itself in politics that could affect the mobile world at large.

Catch up on all of the news from MWC 2022 right here!

The UK government is introducing a bill that will require Facebook, Google and other tech platforms to verify the identities of users. The measure is part of the government's Online Safety Bill announced last year and is ostensibly designed to help users block anonymous trolls online. 

“Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms,” said UK digital Minister Nadine Dorries in a statement. “People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms.”

Tech firms would need to decide how to carry out the checks when users create social media accounts. Some options proposed by the government include facial recognition via profile pictures, two-factor authentication and government-issued ID. The UK's media regulator Ofcom would be in charge of laying out the rules. 

Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms.

The government has also proposed measures that would force companies to filter out "legal but harmful" material. That would allow parents, for instance, to apply settings stopping their kids from receiving search results about certain topics, or putting "sensitivity screens" over them. 

Tech firms in violation could face fines of up to 10 percent of their global annual revenues, which could be in the billions with companies like Google and Facebook. The government could also block services from being accessed in the UK under the proposed rules, which would need to be approved by parliament to become law.  

“We are reviewing the details of the new proposed duties,” a Twitter spokesperson told CNBC. “Our focus remains on a safe internet for all — whether or not someone is able to or chooses to verify themselves.” It add that it sees anonymity as “a vital tool for speaking out in oppressive regimes."

The UK government said it would introduce online safety rules back in 2018, and the idea has gained impetus following recent racial abuse of Black England soccer players by anonymous trolls. On top of that, a petition in favor of the idea has gained nearly 700,000 signatures. However, critics of identity verification have said that anonymity can help protect LGBTQ+ and other oppressed minorities, whistleblowers and critics of oppressive regimes. 

The USPS is moving forward with plans to spend $11.3 billion on a fleet of next-generation mail trucks that mostly run on gas, despite requests from the EPA and Biden administration to electrify its new vehicles instead. The new trucks, which were revealed last year, feature modern amenities like air conditioning, 360-degree cameras, and collision detection. While they can be powered by either gas or electric engines, the initial order from the USPS only included 5,000 electric trucks, or around 10 percent of the entire order.

"Our commitment to an electric fleet remains ambitious given the pressing vehicle and safety needs of our aging fleet as well as our fragile financial condition," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement. He went on to say that the agency would try buy more EVs as additional funding became available, but added that "the process needs to keep moving forward" to give postal workers more modern vehicles. 

Today's postal trucks, which include the Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV), have been in service since the 1980s, have few safety features and abysmal single-digit fuel economy. Practically any modern truck would be an improvement, but the EPA argued earlier this month that investing in more gas vehicles would ultimately accelerate climate change and hurt American health. The USPS ultimately decided to ignore the EPA's request for supplemental environmental impact statements, and it refused to hold a public hearing about the next-gen vehicle plan.