VOA慢速英语--报告称俄罗斯在加泰罗尼亚的黑客活动或加剧

Report Warns that Russian Hacking² in Catalonia Could Intensify³

A new report says that Russian hacking operations to support Catalonian independence continue and could intensify.

The Spanish Defense⁴ Ministry⁵’s Center for Strategic and Defense Studies published the report this week. It says Russia is destabilizing Spain as tensions grow in the northeastern region.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hoped to ease tensions by holding local elections last month. Instead, the voting returned the pro-independence majority to the regional parliament.

In another protest of the Spanish government, the party then nominated exiled leader Carles Puigdemont as president.

Social media interference

Spanish defense minister Maria Dolores Cospedal, as well as EU and NATO officials, have expressed suspicion about Russian interference in Catalonia.

Cospedal has resisted blaming Russia directly. However, in November she said that the government was examining how thousands of robot accounts supporting Catalonia's independence operated from Russia.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Spain of trying to "blame Russia for its internal weaknesses."

Spain has recorded a 2,000 percent increase in social media traffic since Catalans voted for and then declared independence late last year. The Spanish government enforced direct rule over the region after the declaration. It also ordered the arrest of Puigdemont.

Spain's defense ministry says it agrees with the report.

University of Barcelona political scientist, Josep Basques, wrote the report. He said Russia is using Spain's conflict to weaken NATO. He also said similar efforts could be repeated in other European countries with pro-independence movements.

Operations from a “troll farm”

A majority of the pro-independence social media traffic has been linked to a Russian "troll farm" in a building near St. Petersburg. A company called Internet Research, or IR, is based in the building owned by Evgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin is closely linked in business to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Former employees have told Western media that IR employs hackers⁶, bloggers and writers to spread false news reports supportive of the Russian government.

Manuel Huerta is a Spanish computer system security expert. He said IR employees can create any kind of news, commentary and opinion extremely quickly.

Katrin Palanska is a Ukrainian computer networks expert. She says IR also targets Ukraine and Baltic states where Russia supports separatist movements. Russian computer attacks are increasingly common, she says, and have included attempts to enter Ukraine's electrical system and government records.

Anti-independence reporters in Catalonia say hackers in Russia have attacked press websites and email accounts.

Eric Encinas, publisher of a digital magazine, told VOA that in the past month he has received notices of unusual activity in his email accounts. The activity was linked to Ekaterinburg, Russia, home to the IR troll farm.

Venezuela’s role

Spanish defense officials say over 30 percent of robot accounts supporting Catalonian independence are based in Venezuela. That country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, a Russian ally, has attacked Rajoy for supporting opposition⁷ to Venezuela’s government.

Accounts such as #VenezuelaSalutesCatalunya have posted messages calling Rajoy a “dictator" and telling Catalans to "resist."

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

hack¹ - n. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage, etc.?

destabilize - v. to cause (something, such as a government) to be unable to continue existing or working in the usual or desired way?

region - n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way?

robot - n. a real or imaginary machine that is controlled by a computer and is often made to look like a human or animal?

account - n. a company's record of the products or services used by a customer and of the money that the customer owes or has paid to the company?

internal - adj. existing or located on the inside of something?

blogger - n. someone who writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences? online

cyberattacks - n. an attempt by hackers to damage or destroy a computer network or system.?

cybersecurity - n. the state of being protected against the criminal or unauthorized use of electronic data, or the measures taken to achieve this.?

profile - n. a brief written description that provides information about someone or something?

troll farm - n. An organization whose employees or members attempt to create conflict and disruption in an online community by posting deliberately⁸ inflammatory or provocative⁹ comments.

1 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

2 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

3 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。