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Extra! Fortune On Sony Hacks

Six months after the revelation that computer hackers had targeted Sony, leading to the release of a range of confidential information, Fortune has published an extensive investigative piece about the failure that led to the massive breach of security.

Read the first installment of the three-part series HERE.

After the November revelations — which included private emails, scripts of unreleased films and staff salaries — cyber-security experts were called in to better understand how the company had been compromised. Once inside the headquarters, the Norse Corp security experts were stunned by the striking lack of security in their Info Sec department. As one of them explains, the janitor could have walked in the room and taken control of the system.

Fortune's investigation was led by correspondent Peter Elkind, and includes interviews with present and past Sony executives, cyber-security experts and law enforcement officials. With the Sony example in mind, Elkind also tackles the wider subject of American companies' preparedness regarding this new type of threat.

ABOUT THE SOURCE: Fortune is a national triweekly American business magazine published by Time Inc. The magazine was founded in 1929 by Henry Luce.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Wagner Group 2.0: Why Russia's Mercenary System Is Here To Stay

Many had predicted that the death last month of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin meant the demise of the mercenary outfit. Yet signs in recent days say the private military outfit is active again in Ukraine, a reminder of the Kremlin's interest in continuing a private fighting formula that has worked all around the world.

Photograph of a Wagner soldier in the city of Artyomovsk, holding a rifle.

Ukraine, Donetsk Region - March 24, 2023: A Wagner Group soldier guards an area in the city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut).

TASS/ZUMA
Cameron Manley

-Analysis-

“Let’s not forget that there is no Wagner Group anymore,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had declared. “Such an organization, in our eyes, does not exist.”

The August 25 statement from came less than two days after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the infamous Russian mercenary outfit, as questions swirled about Wagner's fate after its crucial role in the war in Ukraine and other Russian military missions around the world.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

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How could an independent military outfit survive after its charismatic founder's death? It seemed highly unlikely that President Vladimir Putin would allow the survival of a group after had launched a short-lived coup attempt in late June that most outside observers believe led to Prigozhin's private airplane being shot down by Russian forces on August 23.

"Wagner is over,” said the Kremlin critic and Russian political commentator Maksim Katz. “The group can’t keep going. There’s the possibility that they could continue in parts or with Defense Ministry contracts, but the group only worked with an unofficial agreement between Putin and Prigozhin.”

Yet barely a month later, and there are already multiple signs that the Wagner phoenix is rising from the ashes.

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