Experts warn of ongoing credential stuffing and brute-force attacks targeting Cisco ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance) SSL VPNs.
Cisco is aware of attacks conducted by Akira ransomware threat actors targeting Cisco ASA VPNs that are not configured for multi-factor authentication.
“Cisco is aware of reports that Akira ransomware threat actors have been targeting Cisco VPNs that are not configured for multi-factor authentication to infiltrate organizations, and we have observed instances where threat actors appear to be targeting organizations that do not configure multi-factor authentication for their VPN users.” reads a post published by Cisco PSIRT.
“This highlights the importance of enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) in VPN implementations. By implementing MFA, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access, including a potential ransomware infection. If a threat actor successfully gains unauthorized access to a user’s VPN credentials, such as through brute force attacks, MFA provides an additional layer of protection to prevent the threat actors from gaining access to the VPN.”
Cisco has been actively investigating the hacking campaign with the help of Rapid7. Rapid7 researchers have observed increased threat activity targeting Cisco ASA SSL VPN appliances dating back to at least March 2023.
“Rapid7 identified at least 11 customers who experienced Cisco ASA-related intrusions between March 30 and August 24, 2023.” reads report published by Rapid7.
Threat actors are conducting credential stuffing and brute-force attacks targeting Cisco ASA (Adaptive Security Appliance) SSL VPNs.
The Akira ransomware has been active since March 2023, the threat actors behind the malware claim to have already hacked multiple organizations in multiple industries, including education, finance, and real estate. Like other ransomware gangs, the group has developed a Linux encryptor to target VMware ESXi servers.
The group now is targeting Cisco VPN products to gain initial access to corporate networks.
Sophos researchers observed in May the threat actor using compromised Cisco VPN accounts to breach target networks.
Bleeping Computer reported the information shared by the incident responder as ‘Aura’ on Twitter. Aura confirmed that threat actors targeted organizations using CISCO VPN appliances without MFA enabled.
BleepingComputer also reported that SentinelOne is investigating the possibility that the Akira ransomware group is exploiting an unknown vulnerability in the Cisco VPN software.
Rapid7 experts identified the Windows clientname WIN-R84DEUE96RB and the IP addresses 176.124.201[.]200 and 162.35.92[.]242 as part of the attackers’ infrastructure. The researchers also observed overlap in accounts used to authenticate into internal systems, some of these accounts are TEST, CISCO, SCANUSER, and PRINTER.
“Upon successful authentication to internal assets, threat actors deployed set.bat. Execution of set.bat resulted in the installation and execution of the remote desktop application AnyDesk, with a set password of greenday#@!.” cntinues the report. “In some cases, nd.exe was executed on systems to dump NTDS.DIT, as well as the SAM and SYSTEM hives, which may have given the adversary access to additional domain user credentials. The threat actors performed further lateral movement and binary executions across other systems within target environments to increase the scope of compromise.”
Several intrusions observed by Rapid7 led to Akira or LockBit ransomware infections.
Rapid7 published Indicators of compromise (IoCs) for these attacks.
It started as one man’s hobby, but watching Russian cargo ships on the Bosphorus Strait and spotting those that are busting sanctions by carrying illegal cargo from occupied ports in Ukraine has become a crucial resource for global media and others who monitor compliance. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
Gabrielian – Henry case is the propaganda ploy: It clearly conveys the pro-Ukrainian and pro-Azerbaijani messages and sentiments on one hand, and the anti-Russian and anti-Armenian ones on another.
This points to the original authors of this soap-operatic, trans-phobic drama.
How witting or unwitting were their FBI partners? That’s the question.
“Azerbaijan and Ukraine officially consider each other “strategic partners” and have consistently supported each other’s territorial integrity and inviolability of their internationally-recognized borders,” writes Vasif Huseynov in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. “Azerbaijan’s support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders exemplifies the country’s broader foreign policy principles. Having itself experienced invasion and ethnic cleansing by neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan possesses a clear understanding and empathy for Ukraine’s current challenges,” he writes.
On 1 June, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan had a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the second gathering of the European Political Community in Chișinău, Moldova. It is noteworthy that President Aliyev was the only leader from the South Caucasus to meet with the Ukrainian President, which holds particular political significance in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing struggle against Russian invasion.
During their meeting, both leaders expressed mutual support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their respective countries within their internationally recognized borders. One intriguing and quite symbolic aspect that drew observers’ attention was the use of English as the language of the meeting, despite the fact that both leaders are more comfortable speaking in Russian.
Azerbaijan and Ukraine officially consider each other “strategic partners” and have consistently supported each other’s territorial integrity and inviolability of their internationally-recognized borders. In January 2022, just a month before the full-scale invasion, and amidst the escalation of hostilities, President Aliyev was conspicuously the only leader from the post-Soviet space (excluding the Baltic States) who travelled to Kyiv, where he signed a number of agreements on deepening bilateral cooperation and declared his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Hence, the latest meeting between the two leaders demonstrated Azerbaijan’s consistency in its support to Ukraine, despite all the pressure from the Russian side. According to the Azerbaijani government, Baku has provided around €20 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. Azerbaijan’s state energy company, SOCAR, has been providing free fuel at its gas filling stations in Ukraine specifically for ambulances and vehicles operated by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS). Considering that there are more than 50 such stations of SOCAR in Ukraine, this assistance may have been important for the DSNS.
Azerbaijani humanitarian aid for Ukraine draws “bewilderment” from Moscow
Furthermore, Azerbaijan has extended its humanitarian support to Ukraine by sending various forms of aid, including medical supplies and clothing. Azerbaijan dispatched 45 power transformers and 50 generators to regions in Ukraine that were experiencing power shortages and lacked heating. Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “bewilderment” over Azerbaijan’s provision of transformers and generators, portraying them as military assistance to Ukraine.
“Such a step on the part of Baku is puzzling. As part of a special military operation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are destroying the critical infrastructure of Ukraine used by the Kyiv regime for military needs. Azerbaijani supplies, which are unlikely to fundamentally change the situation, do not amount to humanitarian aid,” a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said to local media in December 2022.
This reaction has, however, not stopped Azerbaijan from providing this support. In a recent act of solidarity, Azerbaijan provided humanitarian aid consisting of pumps, boats, protective suits and uniforms to mitigate the consequences of the collapse of the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant on 6 June.
In the course of the 1 June meeting, President Zelensky thanked the Azerbaijani leader for Baku’s assistance provided for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. “We highly appreciate Azerbaijan’s participation in the restoration of infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast. We hope for assistance in the further reconstruction of Ukraine. In the post-war period, we look forward to Azerbaijan’s active participation in investment projects in Ukraine,” the country’s president said.
Increasing speculation that Armenia is helping Russia evade sanctions
Along with providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, Azerbaijan has been one of the few countries in the entire post-Soviet space that has refused to help Russia evade Western sanctions. This approach by the Azerbaijani government, which is in line with the country’s overall support to Ukraine, appears in a stark contrast to that of some other former Soviet countries, including Armenia.
For example, a latest international report reveals that “Armenia’s exports to Russia surged in 2022, at a staggering growth rate of 187% compared to the previous year. Moreover, over half of these exports were re-exports originating from third countries, adding fuel to speculation that Armenia is playing a key role in the rerouting of Western imports to Russia to avoid sanctions”. This is presented as the reason why the US has also identified Armenia as one of five countries that pose challenges in terms of evading sanctions.
This situation forms a contradiction to the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who tries to convince the Western public that “Armenia is not Russia’s ally in its war against Ukraine”. Some commentators explain Azerbaijan’s more independent standing in this present geopolitical context due to the country’s resources and geographical position as a necessary link on both the Middle Corridor and on the international North-South Transportation Corridor.
Baku has never aligned its foreign policy with Russia, or joined Moscow-led integration projects
This analysis disregards the fact that Azerbaijan’s balanced approach in foreign policy and independent stance against Russia’s regional ambitions date back to the mid-1990s. As opposed to Armenia, who joined Russia’s military and economic blocks decades ago and benefitted from the Russian support to maintain a some three-decade long occupation of 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory, Baku never aligned its foreign policy with that of Russia and avoided Moscow-led integration projects despite the Kremlin’s insistence and pressure.
That said, Azerbaijan’s support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders exemplifies the country’s broader foreign policy principles. Having itself experienced invasion and ethnic cleansing by neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan possesses a clear understanding and empathy for Ukraine’s current challenges.
source: Dr Vasif Huseynov, is a Senior Advisor at the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) and Adjunct Lecturer at Khazar University in Baku, Azerbaijan. photo: AzTV
The views expressed in opinion pieces and commentaries do not necessarily reflect the position of commonspace.eu or its partners
In a one-page court document filed on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Zelinsky and P. Michael Cunningham informed U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher that the government is “prepared to proceed to retrial” against Anna Gabrielian, a former anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her spouse, U.S. Army Maj. Jamie Lee Henry, a physician who had been stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, as soon as the court’s schedule permits.
The investigation started after Gabrielian sent an email offering assistance to the Russian Embassy on March 1, 2022.
The FBI special agent testified while wearing a “light disguise” and using the pseudonym of Lena Simon. The press and public were not permitted in the courtroom in the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse during her testimony.
The government presented almost five hours of surreptitiously recorded videos.
Christopher Mead, Gabrielian’s attorney, and David Walsh-Little, Henry’s attorney, argued that their clients were humanitarians who wanted to save lives and did not act with the intent to commit the crimes.They also contended that the government entrapped their clients.
Gabrielian testified for hours in her own defense and admitted that she breached the confidentiality of her patients. But she said she thought she was dealing with a Russian intelligence agent and provided the medical records out of fear.
Both Gabrielian and Henry remain free but on 24-hour lockdown at their home except for approved activities.
One of 12 jurors believed the government tricked two Maryland doctors into passing private medical records to an agent posing as a Russian official, and that they shouldn’t be found guilty as a result.
That juror’s stance led to a deadlock in the federal jury’s deliberations and prompted U.S. District Stephanie A. Gallagher to declare a mistrial Thursday, following five days of trial and two more of jury deliberations.
Dr. Anna Gabrielian, a former Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and her spouse, Dr. Jamie Lee Henry, a physician and U.S. Army major, are still charged with conspiring to assist Russia after it invaded Ukraine and disclosing the health information of several patients. The charges carry maximum penalties of decades in prison.
Prosecutors can retry the doctors if they wish, and a spokeswoman for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday that officials would “review the matter and make a determination as to next steps.”
Defense lawyers for Gabrielian and Henry declined to comment after court, as did the doctors, who left the federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore hand-in-hand after the mistrial.
At trial, prosecutors said the doctors violated their duty to protect their patients’ information as well as their respective oaths to America, all to aid Russia, which violently attacked its neighbor.
“These two defendants want to be ‘long-term weapons’ for Russia,” said prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, deputy chief of the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section, in closing arguments.
Zelinsky was quoting language Gabrielian used in a meeting with an undercover FBI agent. The government presented hours of footage captured by that agent’s covert camera during several meetings with Gabrielian and Henry last August. During one of those meetings, the doctors provided medical information of eight of their patients to the agent.
Defense lawyers for the couple contend the doctors only wanted to help save lives during the nascent war and that the undercover agent coerced them to break the law. They also said the government had no evidence that their clients’ actions were motivated by causing “malicious harm” to America or for personal gain, the elements of intent required to find them guilty.
“This was not about helping Russia and hurting the United States. This was about offering humanitarian aid,” said Henry’s attorney, David Walsh-Little, in closing.
The FBI launched an investigation into Gabrielian after she emailed the Russian embassy five days after the war broke out, identifying her and Henry as doctors.
“We are ready to help if there is a need for that,” she wrote. “We are for life, and do not want to cut Russia off from the international community.”
The undercover agent approached Gabrielian outside a garage at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 17, 2022, calling to her in Russian. They met four more times, at least twice with Henry present.
The undercover FBI agent testified in “light disguise” using her undercover name, Lena Simon. For the duration of the agent’s testimony, the courtroom was physically closed to everybody but attorneys in the case, court personnel and the jury. An audio feed of the agent’s testimony was broadcast into another courtroom for others to listen.
During their meetings, the agent spoke in Russian to Gabrielian, who was born in Russia, according to the footage from the agent’s camera played in court. Lawyers on the case agreed on a translation of the conversations, and the video featured English subtitles. The jury also got a binder with an English transcription of the meetings.
Near the end of her second meeting with the undercover agent, Gabrielian appeared to notice the agent’s camera.
Gabrielian testified that was around the time she started believing she was dealing with a Russian intelligence officer, rather than an embassy official. She said she feared for her and her family’s safety, noting that she has relatives who live in Russia and Ukraine, and only complied with the undercover agent’s requests for medical records out of fear of retribution.
Christopher Mead, Gabrielian’s attorney, said the lack of evidence that the doctors intended to provide records before the agent began probing for them made entrapment a “slam dunk,” and that the jury should acquit them as a result.
If the government proves it did not induce the defendants to commit the crime or that they would have committed crimes regardless of whether a government agent approached, then there is no entrapment, according to federal jury instructions. It also is not entrapment if government agents “merely provide an opportunity” for someone to commit a crime.
The jury spent much of two days deliberating about entrapment, sending several questions to the court about the concept.
“Does it need to be proven that the defendants would’ve committed the crimes for certain if the agent had not approached?” a note from the jury Wednesday afternoon read.
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The FBI’s probe, testified the agent who led the investigation, Matthew Walker, evolved when investigators realized Gabrielian was married to Henry. The agency was concerned Russian officials might take advantage of the doctors’ offer of help and convince Henry to abuse his “secret” security clearance with the Army to provide classified documents.
It’s unclear from trial testimony whether Henry, who was trying to leave the military, still had a security clearance at the time of the crimes charged.
During her testimony, Gabrielian said she knew it was illegal to disclose patient records.
The records Henry and Gabrielian showed the undercover agent were considered individually identifiable health information, and violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Prosecutors charged them with felonies for each record, arguing they disclosed them for personal gain or malicious harm to America.
The jury never got as far as their intent during deliberations, and several members of the panel declined to comment.
Juror Denise Fortson, however, apologized for the panel being unable to reach a consensus.
“I believe the government proved its case,” Fortson said.
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Anna Gabrielian, age 36, and her husband, Jamie Lee Henry, age 39, both of Rockville, Maryland, with conspiracy and for the disclosure of individually identifiable health information (“IIHI”), related to their efforts to assist Russia in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. The indictment was returned on September 28, 2022 and unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendants.
Gabrielian is scheduled to have initial appearance at 11:30 a.m. today, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan A. Hurson. Henry is also expected to have an initial appearance today, although a time has not yet been set.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
As stated in the indictment, Gabrielian is an anesthesiologist and worked at Medical Institution 1, located in Baltimore, Maryland. Henry, a Major in the United States Army, who held a Secret-level security clearance, is Gabrielian’s husband and a doctor. During the time of the alleged conspiracy, Henry worked as a staff internist stationed at Fort Bragg, the home of the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, headquarters of the United States Army Special Operations Command, and the Womack Army Medical Center.
According to the eight-count indictment, Gabrielian and Henry conspired to cause harm to the United States by providing confidential health information of Americans associated with the United States government and military to Russia. Specifically, the indictment alleges that beginning on August 17, 2022, Gabrielian and Henry conspired to provide IIHI related to patients at Medical Institution 1 and at Fort Bragg to an individual they believed to be working for the Russian government in order to demonstrate the level of Gabrielian’s and Henry’s access to IIHI of Americans; their willingness to provide IIHI to the Russian government; and the potential for the Russian government to gain insights into the medical conditions of individuals associated with the United States government and military in order to exploit this information.
Gabrielian and Henry met with an individual they believed to be associated with the Russian government, but who was, in fact, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Undercover Agent (“UC”), in order to convey to the UC their commitment to aid Russia, and to discuss ways in which they could help the Russian government. Gabrielian told the UC that she had previously reached out to the Russian embassy by email and phone, offering Russia her and her husband’s assistance. Gabrielian told the UC that, although Henry knew of Gabrielian’s interaction with the Russian Embassy, she never mentioned Henry’s name to the Russian Embassy. Gabrielian wanted to make sure Henry could deny any knowledge of her actions. On August 17, 2022, Gabrielian met with the UC at a hotel in Baltimore. During that meeting, Gabrielian told the UC she was motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail. Gabrielian proposed potential cover stories for meeting the UC and stressed the need for “plausible deniability” in the event she was confronted by American authorities about meeting with the UC. Gabrielian also told the UC that, as a military officer, Henry was currently a more important source for Russia than she was, because he had more helpful information, including how the United States military establishes an army hospital in war conditions and information about previous training provided by the United States military to Ukrainian military personnel. Gabrielian arranged to meet with the UC and Henry later that evening.
At about 8:10 p.m. that evening, the indictment alleges that Gabrielian and Henry met with the UC in the UC’s hotel room. During the meeting, Henry explained to the UC he was committed to assisting Russia and had looked into volunteering to join the Russian Army after the conflict in Ukraine began, but Russia wanted people with “combat experience” and he did not have any. Henry further stated, “the way I am viewing what is going on in Ukraine now, is that the United States is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred toward Russia.” Henry and Gabrielian allegedly offered to provide the UC with private medical records from the United States Army and Medical Institution 1 in order to help the Russian government. During the same meeting, Gabrielian demanded that if she were put at significant risk of arrest, she wanted her and Henry’s children to, “have a nice flight to Turkey to go on vacation because I don’t want to end in jail here with my kids being hostages over my head.” Henry also indicated that he was concerned about passing a background check for his security clearance, telling the UC, “I don’t want to know your name . . . because I want plausible deniability too. In a security clearance situation they want to know names and people and all this stuff.”
As detailed in the indictment, a few days later Gabrielian and the UC again met at the hotel in Baltimore to discuss providing Army medical records to the UC. Gabrielian told the UC that Henry was concerned about violating HIPAA, but Gabrielian had no such concerns. Gabrielian stated that she would check with Henry about providing medical records from Fort Bragg patients and get back in touch. The next day, Gabrielian sent a text to the UC, using coded language, to advise that Henry would provide Army medical records to the UC. On August 31, 2022, Gabrielian and Henry allegedly met the UC at a hotel room in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to the indictment, Gabrielian provided the UC with IIHI related to two individuals, including the spouse of an employee of the Office of Naval Intelligence, whom Gabrielian pointed out had a medical condition Russia could “exploit.” Henry also allegedly provided IIHI related to five individuals who were military veterans or related to military veterans.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for each count of disclosing IIHI. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Army Counterintelligence for its collaboration Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, who is prosecuting the federal case.
A former Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist and her spouse, an Army doctor — who are charged with providing sensitive medical information to an undercover FBI agent who they believed was a representative of the Russian government — are seeking to argue that they were entrapped, new court records show. Selected Articles – Michael Novakhov’s favorite articles […]
Link – Audio Post – Ukraine’s Gay Super Soldiers: Putin is in panic: Ukraine is preparing to introduce “gay super soldiers” into the war against Russia! August 28, 2023 KYIV, May 31 (Reuters) – As volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova pack for a return to active duty, they contemplate the unicorn insignia that […]
Gabrielian – Henry case is the propaganda ploy: It clearly conveys the pro-Ukrainian and pro-Azerbaijani messages and sentiments on one hand, and the anti-Russian and anti-Armenian ones on another.
This points to the original authors of this soap-operatic, trans-phobic drama.
How witting or unwitting were their FBI partners? That’s the question.
“Azerbaijan and Ukraine officially consider each other “strategic partners” and have consistently supported each other’s territorial integrity and inviolability of their internationally-recognized borders,” writes Vasif Huseynov in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. “Azerbaijan’s support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders exemplifies the country’s broader foreign policy principles. Having itself experienced invasion and ethnic cleansing by neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan possesses a clear understanding and empathy for Ukraine’s current challenges,” he writes.
On 1 June, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan had a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the second gathering of the European Political Community in Chișinău, Moldova. It is noteworthy that President Aliyev was the only leader from the South Caucasus to meet with the Ukrainian President, which holds particular political significance in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing struggle against Russian invasion.
During their meeting, both leaders expressed mutual support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their respective countries within their internationally recognized borders. One intriguing and quite symbolic aspect that drew observers’ attention was the use of English as the language of the meeting, despite the fact that both leaders are more comfortable speaking in Russian.
Azerbaijan and Ukraine officially consider each other “strategic partners” and have consistently supported each other’s territorial integrity and inviolability of their internationally-recognized borders. In January 2022, just a month before the full-scale invasion, and amidst the escalation of hostilities, President Aliyev was conspicuously the only leader from the post-Soviet space (excluding the Baltic States) who travelled to Kyiv, where he signed a number of agreements on deepening bilateral cooperation and declared his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Hence, the latest meeting between the two leaders demonstrated Azerbaijan’s consistency in its support to Ukraine, despite all the pressure from the Russian side. According to the Azerbaijani government, Baku has provided around €20 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war. Azerbaijan’s state energy company, SOCAR, has been providing free fuel at its gas filling stations in Ukraine specifically for ambulances and vehicles operated by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS). Considering that there are more than 50 such stations of SOCAR in Ukraine, this assistance may have been important for the DSNS.
Azerbaijani humanitarian aid for Ukraine draws “bewilderment” from Moscow
Furthermore, Azerbaijan has extended its humanitarian support to Ukraine by sending various forms of aid, including medical supplies and clothing. Azerbaijan dispatched 45 power transformers and 50 generators to regions in Ukraine that were experiencing power shortages and lacked heating. Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “bewilderment” over Azerbaijan’s provision of transformers and generators, portraying them as military assistance to Ukraine.
“Such a step on the part of Baku is puzzling. As part of a special military operation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are destroying the critical infrastructure of Ukraine used by the Kyiv regime for military needs. Azerbaijani supplies, which are unlikely to fundamentally change the situation, do not amount to humanitarian aid,” a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said to local media in December 2022.
This reaction has, however, not stopped Azerbaijan from providing this support. In a recent act of solidarity, Azerbaijan provided humanitarian aid consisting of pumps, boats, protective suits and uniforms to mitigate the consequences of the collapse of the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant on 6 June.
In the course of the 1 June meeting, President Zelensky thanked the Azerbaijani leader for Baku’s assistance provided for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. “We highly appreciate Azerbaijan’s participation in the restoration of infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast. We hope for assistance in the further reconstruction of Ukraine. In the post-war period, we look forward to Azerbaijan’s active participation in investment projects in Ukraine,” the country’s president said.
Increasing speculation that Armenia is helping Russia evade sanctions
Along with providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, Azerbaijan has been one of the few countries in the entire post-Soviet space that has refused to help Russia evade Western sanctions. This approach by the Azerbaijani government, which is in line with the country’s overall support to Ukraine, appears in a stark contrast to that of some other former Soviet countries, including Armenia.
For example, a latest international report reveals that “Armenia’s exports to Russia surged in 2022, at a staggering growth rate of 187% compared to the previous year. Moreover, over half of these exports were re-exports originating from third countries, adding fuel to speculation that Armenia is playing a key role in the rerouting of Western imports to Russia to avoid sanctions”. This is presented as the reason why the US has also identified Armenia as one of five countries that pose challenges in terms of evading sanctions.
This situation forms a contradiction to the statement of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who tries to convince the Western public that “Armenia is not Russia’s ally in its war against Ukraine”. Some commentators explain Azerbaijan’s more independent standing in this present geopolitical context due to the country’s resources and geographical position as a necessary link on both the Middle Corridor and on the international North-South Transportation Corridor.
Baku has never aligned its foreign policy with Russia, or joined Moscow-led integration projects
This analysis disregards the fact that Azerbaijan’s balanced approach in foreign policy and independent stance against Russia’s regional ambitions date back to the mid-1990s. As opposed to Armenia, who joined Russia’s military and economic blocks decades ago and benefitted from the Russian support to maintain a some three-decade long occupation of 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory, Baku never aligned its foreign policy with that of Russia and avoided Moscow-led integration projects despite the Kremlin’s insistence and pressure.
That said, Azerbaijan’s support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders exemplifies the country’s broader foreign policy principles. Having itself experienced invasion and ethnic cleansing by neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan possesses a clear understanding and empathy for Ukraine’s current challenges.
source: Dr Vasif Huseynov, is a Senior Advisor at the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) and Adjunct Lecturer at Khazar University in Baku, Azerbaijan. photo: AzTV
The views expressed in opinion pieces and commentaries do not necessarily reflect the position of commonspace.eu or its partners
In a one-page court document filed on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Zelinsky and P. Michael Cunningham informed U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher that the government is “prepared to proceed to retrial” against Anna Gabrielian, a former anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her spouse, U.S. Army Maj. Jamie Lee Henry, a physician who had been stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, as soon as the court’s schedule permits.
The investigation started after Gabrielian sent an email offering assistance to the Russian Embassy on March 1, 2022.
The FBI special agent testified while wearing a “light disguise” and using the pseudonym of Lena Simon. The press and public were not permitted in the courtroom in the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse during her testimony.
The government presented almost five hours of surreptitiously recorded videos.
Christopher Mead, Gabrielian’s attorney, and David Walsh-Little, Henry’s attorney, argued that their clients were humanitarians who wanted to save lives and did not act with the intent to commit the crimes.They also contended that the government entrapped their clients.
Gabrielian testified for hours in her own defense and admitted that she breached the confidentiality of her patients. But she said she thought she was dealing with a Russian intelligence agent and provided the medical records out of fear.
Both Gabrielian and Henry remain free but on 24-hour lockdown at their home except for approved activities.
One of 12 jurors believed the government tricked two Maryland doctors into passing private medical records to an agent posing as a Russian official, and that they shouldn’t be found guilty as a result.
That juror’s stance led to a deadlock in the federal jury’s deliberations and prompted U.S. District Stephanie A. Gallagher to declare a mistrial Thursday, following five days of trial and two more of jury deliberations.
Dr. Anna Gabrielian, a former Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and her spouse, Dr. Jamie Lee Henry, a physician and U.S. Army major, are still charged with conspiring to assist Russia after it invaded Ukraine and disclosing the health information of several patients. The charges carry maximum penalties of decades in prison.
Prosecutors can retry the doctors if they wish, and a spokeswoman for the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday that officials would “review the matter and make a determination as to next steps.”
Defense lawyers for Gabrielian and Henry declined to comment after court, as did the doctors, who left the federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore hand-in-hand after the mistrial.
At trial, prosecutors said the doctors violated their duty to protect their patients’ information as well as their respective oaths to America, all to aid Russia, which violently attacked its neighbor.
“These two defendants want to be ‘long-term weapons’ for Russia,” said prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, deputy chief of the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section, in closing arguments.
Zelinsky was quoting language Gabrielian used in a meeting with an undercover FBI agent. The government presented hours of footage captured by that agent’s covert camera during several meetings with Gabrielian and Henry last August. During one of those meetings, the doctors provided medical information of eight of their patients to the agent.
Defense lawyers for the couple contend the doctors only wanted to help save lives during the nascent war and that the undercover agent coerced them to break the law. They also said the government had no evidence that their clients’ actions were motivated by causing “malicious harm” to America or for personal gain, the elements of intent required to find them guilty.
“This was not about helping Russia and hurting the United States. This was about offering humanitarian aid,” said Henry’s attorney, David Walsh-Little, in closing.
The FBI launched an investigation into Gabrielian after she emailed the Russian embassy five days after the war broke out, identifying her and Henry as doctors.
“We are ready to help if there is a need for that,” she wrote. “We are for life, and do not want to cut Russia off from the international community.”
The undercover agent approached Gabrielian outside a garage at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 17, 2022, calling to her in Russian. They met four more times, at least twice with Henry present.
The undercover FBI agent testified in “light disguise” using her undercover name, Lena Simon. For the duration of the agent’s testimony, the courtroom was physically closed to everybody but attorneys in the case, court personnel and the jury. An audio feed of the agent’s testimony was broadcast into another courtroom for others to listen.
During their meetings, the agent spoke in Russian to Gabrielian, who was born in Russia, according to the footage from the agent’s camera played in court. Lawyers on the case agreed on a translation of the conversations, and the video featured English subtitles. The jury also got a binder with an English transcription of the meetings.
Near the end of her second meeting with the undercover agent, Gabrielian appeared to notice the agent’s camera.
Gabrielian testified that was around the time she started believing she was dealing with a Russian intelligence officer, rather than an embassy official. She said she feared for her and her family’s safety, noting that she has relatives who live in Russia and Ukraine, and only complied with the undercover agent’s requests for medical records out of fear of retribution.
Christopher Mead, Gabrielian’s attorney, said the lack of evidence that the doctors intended to provide records before the agent began probing for them made entrapment a “slam dunk,” and that the jury should acquit them as a result.
If the government proves it did not induce the defendants to commit the crime or that they would have committed crimes regardless of whether a government agent approached, then there is no entrapment, according to federal jury instructions. It also is not entrapment if government agents “merely provide an opportunity” for someone to commit a crime.
The jury spent much of two days deliberating about entrapment, sending several questions to the court about the concept.
“Does it need to be proven that the defendants would’ve committed the crimes for certain if the agent had not approached?” a note from the jury Wednesday afternoon read.
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The FBI’s probe, testified the agent who led the investigation, Matthew Walker, evolved when investigators realized Gabrielian was married to Henry. The agency was concerned Russian officials might take advantage of the doctors’ offer of help and convince Henry to abuse his “secret” security clearance with the Army to provide classified documents.
It’s unclear from trial testimony whether Henry, who was trying to leave the military, still had a security clearance at the time of the crimes charged.
During her testimony, Gabrielian said she knew it was illegal to disclose patient records.
The records Henry and Gabrielian showed the undercover agent were considered individually identifiable health information, and violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Prosecutors charged them with felonies for each record, arguing they disclosed them for personal gain or malicious harm to America.
The jury never got as far as their intent during deliberations, and several members of the panel declined to comment.
Juror Denise Fortson, however, apologized for the panel being unable to reach a consensus.
“I believe the government proved its case,” Fortson said.
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Anna Gabrielian, age 36, and her husband, Jamie Lee Henry, age 39, both of Rockville, Maryland, with conspiracy and for the disclosure of individually identifiable health information (“IIHI”), related to their efforts to assist Russia in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. The indictment was returned on September 28, 2022 and unsealed today upon the arrest of the defendants.
Gabrielian is scheduled to have initial appearance at 11:30 a.m. today, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan A. Hurson. Henry is also expected to have an initial appearance today, although a time has not yet been set.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.
As stated in the indictment, Gabrielian is an anesthesiologist and worked at Medical Institution 1, located in Baltimore, Maryland. Henry, a Major in the United States Army, who held a Secret-level security clearance, is Gabrielian’s husband and a doctor. During the time of the alleged conspiracy, Henry worked as a staff internist stationed at Fort Bragg, the home of the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, headquarters of the United States Army Special Operations Command, and the Womack Army Medical Center.
According to the eight-count indictment, Gabrielian and Henry conspired to cause harm to the United States by providing confidential health information of Americans associated with the United States government and military to Russia. Specifically, the indictment alleges that beginning on August 17, 2022, Gabrielian and Henry conspired to provide IIHI related to patients at Medical Institution 1 and at Fort Bragg to an individual they believed to be working for the Russian government in order to demonstrate the level of Gabrielian’s and Henry’s access to IIHI of Americans; their willingness to provide IIHI to the Russian government; and the potential for the Russian government to gain insights into the medical conditions of individuals associated with the United States government and military in order to exploit this information.
Gabrielian and Henry met with an individual they believed to be associated with the Russian government, but who was, in fact, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Undercover Agent (“UC”), in order to convey to the UC their commitment to aid Russia, and to discuss ways in which they could help the Russian government. Gabrielian told the UC that she had previously reached out to the Russian embassy by email and phone, offering Russia her and her husband’s assistance. Gabrielian told the UC that, although Henry knew of Gabrielian’s interaction with the Russian Embassy, she never mentioned Henry’s name to the Russian Embassy. Gabrielian wanted to make sure Henry could deny any knowledge of her actions. On August 17, 2022, Gabrielian met with the UC at a hotel in Baltimore. During that meeting, Gabrielian told the UC she was motivated by patriotism toward Russia to provide any assistance she could to Russia, even if it meant being fired or going to jail. Gabrielian proposed potential cover stories for meeting the UC and stressed the need for “plausible deniability” in the event she was confronted by American authorities about meeting with the UC. Gabrielian also told the UC that, as a military officer, Henry was currently a more important source for Russia than she was, because he had more helpful information, including how the United States military establishes an army hospital in war conditions and information about previous training provided by the United States military to Ukrainian military personnel. Gabrielian arranged to meet with the UC and Henry later that evening.
At about 8:10 p.m. that evening, the indictment alleges that Gabrielian and Henry met with the UC in the UC’s hotel room. During the meeting, Henry explained to the UC he was committed to assisting Russia and had looked into volunteering to join the Russian Army after the conflict in Ukraine began, but Russia wanted people with “combat experience” and he did not have any. Henry further stated, “the way I am viewing what is going on in Ukraine now, is that the United States is using Ukrainians as a proxy for their own hatred toward Russia.” Henry and Gabrielian allegedly offered to provide the UC with private medical records from the United States Army and Medical Institution 1 in order to help the Russian government. During the same meeting, Gabrielian demanded that if she were put at significant risk of arrest, she wanted her and Henry’s children to, “have a nice flight to Turkey to go on vacation because I don’t want to end in jail here with my kids being hostages over my head.” Henry also indicated that he was concerned about passing a background check for his security clearance, telling the UC, “I don’t want to know your name . . . because I want plausible deniability too. In a security clearance situation they want to know names and people and all this stuff.”
As detailed in the indictment, a few days later Gabrielian and the UC again met at the hotel in Baltimore to discuss providing Army medical records to the UC. Gabrielian told the UC that Henry was concerned about violating HIPAA, but Gabrielian had no such concerns. Gabrielian stated that she would check with Henry about providing medical records from Fort Bragg patients and get back in touch. The next day, Gabrielian sent a text to the UC, using coded language, to advise that Henry would provide Army medical records to the UC. On August 31, 2022, Gabrielian and Henry allegedly met the UC at a hotel room in Gaithersburg, Maryland. According to the indictment, Gabrielian provided the UC with IIHI related to two individuals, including the spouse of an employee of the Office of Naval Intelligence, whom Gabrielian pointed out had a medical condition Russia could “exploit.” Henry also allegedly provided IIHI related to five individuals who were military veterans or related to military veterans.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy, and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for each count of disclosing IIHI. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Army Counterintelligence for its collaboration Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, who is prosecuting the federal case.
A former Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist and her spouse, an Army doctor — who are charged with providing sensitive medical information to an undercover FBI agent who they believed was a representative of the Russian government — are seeking to argue that they were entrapped, new court records show. Selected Articles – Michael Novakhov’s favorite articles […]
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“Relations between Ukraine and Azerbaijan have deep historical roots and are based on mutual respect, trust and fruitful cooperation,” said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as he sent a letter of congratulation to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of Independence Day of Azerbaijan, APA reports.
“I am confident that through joint efforts we can fully realize the existing potential of strategic partnership in all areas of mutual interest between Kyiv and Baku,” it was noted in the letter of Zelensky.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has addressed a letter of congratulation to President of the Republic of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the occasion of the National Holiday of the country, APA reports.
The letter of congratulation reads:
“Dear Mr. President,
On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and through you, your entire people on the occasion of the national holiday of Ukraine – the Independence Day.
The current high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Ukraine stems from the historical traditions of close friendship and mutual respect between our peoples. It is gratifying that thanks to our joint efforts, our interstate relations, which stem from this will and are built on solid foundations, have developed dynamically and reached a new stage. I believe that Azerbaijan-Ukraine relations will continue to develop in accordance with the goals and objectives reflected in the Joint Declaration we signed during my visit to Ukraine in January of last year.
I recall our meeting in Chisinau this June, our exchange of views on Azerbaijan-Ukraine bilateral relations with fond memories.
Guided by the UN Charter, the norms and principles of international law, Azerbaijan respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine. We always keep the issues of humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine in the spotlight, and express our readiness to continue to provide the necessary assistance.
I am confident that we will consistently continue our joint efforts to expand friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Ukraine and strengthen our mutually beneficial cooperation in line with the interests of our peoples.
On this festive day, I extend my best regards to you, and wish the friendly people of Ukraine peace and tranquility”.
Former President Donald Trump routinely overstated his personal net worth to financial institutions, by as much as $2.2 billion one year, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office alleged in a filing Wednesday.
The figures, tucked into a 100-page motion for partial summary judgment, are the latest details in the sweeping $250 million civil lawsuit James brought against Trump, some of his eldest children and the Trump Organization last year. The lawsuitalleges efforts spanning 10 years to inflate Trump’s personal net worth to attract favorable loan agreements.
In court papers filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court, prosecutors asked the court to rule in favor of the attorney general’s office on only the first cause of action they brought against Trump last year, which argued that the former president and some Trump Organization employees used financial statements as a “vehicle” to fraudulently inflate his net worth by billions of dollars annually from 2011 to 2021.
Prosecutors said in Wednesday’s filing that defendants had “falsely inflated by billions of dollars” the value of various assets listed on Trump’s annual statement of financial condition — his own personal financial report card — which falsely puffed up his overall net worth.
According to calculations submitted by prosecutors, Trump routinely overstated his personal financial condition from 2011 to 2021, and he overstated his personal financial condition by comparable levels while he was in office.
“Correcting for these and other blatant and obvious deceptive practices engaged in by Defendants reduces Mr. Trump’s net worth by between 17-39% in each year, or between $812 million to $2.2 billion, depending on the year,” the filing said.
During his first year in office, prosecutors allege, Trump overstated his personal wealth by over $1.1 billion and then overstated his financial condition by $1.9 billion in 2018.
Trump, and at times trustees of his revocable trust, repeatedly provided those statements to financial institutions to secure and maintain more favorable loans and insurance, “reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits,” prosecutors wrote.
They urged the court to consider “two simple and straightforward questions,” specifically whether Trump’s statements of financial conditions from 2011 to 2021 were “false or misleading” and whether defendants “repeatedly or persistently” used the documents to conduct business transactions.
Prosecutors argue that answering yes to both questions should prompt the court to resolve the matter in their favor before trial.
The filing details how Trump overstated his wealth by valuing properties at amounts that “significantly exceeded professional appraisals of which his employees were aware and chose to ignore.”
In one instance, they argue, Trump valued undeveloped land at his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, based on an assumption that he could build and sell more residential homes than approved by local authorities.
Meanwhile, in the case of his leased property at 40 Wall St. in New York City, Trump at times valued it “at more than twice the appraised value,” they wrote.
Trump also inflated the value of his triplex apartment at Trump Tower by nearly tripling its actual square footage, an error that they argue “inflated the apartment’s value by approximately $100-$200 million each year from 2012 to 2016.”
An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Trump has denied wrongdoing in the case, calling it a “witch hunt.”
The civil trial on the other counts is scheduled to begin in October.
CORRECTION (Aug. 30, 2023, 10:49 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated that Trump is accused of having “overstated” his net worth by as much as 38.5% in a given year. Prosecutors allege in the court filing that the true worth of his properties in a given year was as much as 38.5% less than what he asserted. The incorrect paraphrasing has been replaced with a direct quotation from the filing.
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