Today is Thursday. Welcome to Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Subscribe here and view the full edition here.
The results of the union election at Amazon’s Bessemer, Ala., facility were too close to call after an hours-long vote counting session — and may not be known for several weeks.
Meanwhile, a new report from Google found Russian-backed hackers tried to get inside the networks of NATO, U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations and the militaries of several eastern European countries.
Send tips and feedback to The Hill’s tech team, Rebecca Klar (rklar@digital-stage.thehill.com) and Chris Mills Rodrigo (cmillsrodrigo@digital-stage.thehill.com), and cyber reporter Ines Kagubare
(ikagubare@digital-stage.thehill.com).
Let’s get to it.
Too close to call
The results of the union election at Amazon’s Bessemer, Ala., facility may not be known for several weeks after the final vote tally was too close to call Thursday.
After a four-hour vote counting session, 993 workers had voted against being represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) while 875 had voted “yes.”
However, more than 400 votes out of the total 2,384 received by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were not counted Thursday because they are contested by either the union or Amazon. Another 59 ballots were voided.
Russian hackers target NATO, American NGOs
A new Google report found that Russian-backed hackers have tried to get inside the networks of NATO, U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations and the militaries of several Eastern European countries.
The hackers, referred to as Calisto or Coldriver, launched phishing campaigns also targeting U.S. think tanks, the military of a Balkans country and a Ukraine-based defense contractor, per Google.
“These campaigns were sent using newly created Gmail accounts to non-Google accounts, so the success rate of these campaigns is unknown,” the report said. “We have not observed any Gmail accounts successfully compromised during these campaigns.”
The report comes amid heightened security and warnings from U.S., European Union and NATO officials against possible Russian cyberattacks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
LOOMING LABOR COMPLAINTS
Gerald Bryson was fired by Amazon in April 2020 after taking part in several protests of the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic at its Staten Island, N.Y., facilities.
Nearly two years later, and despite the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finding that he was illegally discharged, Bryson is still fighting to get his job back.
While the lengthy legal process to restore Bryson’s role and grant him much needed backpay has played out, his colleagues at the JFK8 facility have formed a union that is in the midst of a contentious election.
RUSSIAN INVASION SPOTLIGHTS CRYPTO
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is thrusting cryptocurrency into the spotlight as policymakers ramp up their scrutiny of digital currencies.
Supporters of Ukraine are donating digital currencies to help fund the nation’s defense and aid humanitarian efforts in a movement that has bolstered crypto’s reputation. But Western officials have warned that Russian actors could use crypto to circumvent severe sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies.
Biden administration officials have stressed that they will hold crypto firms accountable if they help Russian actors evade sanctions. Earlier this month, Group of
Seven leaders announced measures to “ensure that the Russian state and elites, proxies and oligarchs cannot leverage digital assets as a means of evading or offsetting the impact of international sanctions.”
BITS & PIECES
An op-ed to chew on: Removing time from Putin’s side
Lighter click: Thanks, Apple
Notable links from around the web:
Adults or Sexually Abused Minors? Getting It Right Vexes Facebook (The New York Times / Michael H. Keller)
Blue Origin successfully completes fourth space tourism mission (CNN / Jackie Wattles)
One more thing: 1 in 5 invested in crypto
One in 5 adults has invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, according to a new NBC News poll.
The poll, which surveyed 1,000 Americans, found that half of men between the ages of 18 and 49 said they have dealt with cryptocurrency, the highest amount of any demographic group.
Black Americans also reported using crypto at a significant level at 40 percent, compared to 42 percent of all people between the ages of 18 and 34 who said the same.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s technology and cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you Friday.