As Tanks Rolled Into Ukraine, So Did Malware. Then Microsoft Entered the War.
After years of talks about the need for public-private partnerships to combat cyberattacks, the war in Ukraine is stress-testing the system.
'Last Wednesday, a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine, alarms went off inside Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center, warning of a never-before-seen piece of “wiper” malware that appeared aimed at the country’s government ministries and financial institutions.
Within three hours, Microsoft threw itself into the middle of a ground war in Europe — from 5,500 miles away. The threat center, north of Seattle, had been on high alert, and it quickly picked apart the malware, named it “FoxBlade” and notified Ukraine’s top cyberdefense authority. Within three hours, Microsoft’s virus detection systems had been updated to block the code, which erases — “wipes” — data on computers in a network.
Then Tom Burt, the senior Microsoft executive who oversees the company’s effort to counter major cyberattacks, contacted Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for cyber- and emerging technologies. Ms. Neuberger asked if Microsoft would consider sharing details of the code with the Baltics, Poland and other European nations, out of fear that the malware would spread beyond Ukraine’s borders, crippling the military alliance or hitting West European banks.
Before midnight in Washington, Ms. Neuberger had made introductions — and Microsoft had begun playing the role that Ford Motor Company did in World War II, when the company converted automobile production lines to make Sherman tanks.
After years of discussions in Washington and in tech circles about the need for public-private partnerships to combat destructive cyberattacks, the war in Ukraine is stress-testing the system. The White House, armed with intelligence from the National Security Agency and United States Cyber Command, is overseeing classified briefings on Russia’s cyberoffensive plans. Even if American intelligence agencies picked up on the kind of crippling cyberattacks that someone — presumably Russian intelligence agencies or hackers — threw at Ukraine’s government, they do not have the infrastructure to move that fast to block them.
“We are a company and not a government or a country,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, noted in a blog post issued by the company on Monday, describing the threats it was seeing. But the role it is playing, he made clear, is not a neutral one.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/us/politics/ukraine-russia-microsoft.html?
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Only those akin to a bully on a playground catching a couple of weaker kids alone. Heavily favored to win & no supply chain needed. Just a few days to surrender.
But Putin is such the narcissist. He thought he knew better.
Just like Hitler and we know what happened there.
I'd be embarr assed, but not sure he is capable of that.
Such dedicated, brave, & creative people! 
One thing nobody is saying is that Ukranians know what it's like to live under Russian rule. Perhaps why they are so willing to die defending their freedom from oppression!
Brave beyond words, smart, clever, creative, adaptable.
Truly an amazing people.
I think in the future visitors from all over the world will want to travel to Ukraine to see the country and the people.
Yes that is a good point Sheltie, the Ukrainians are not naive like Americans. They full well know how dangerous Putin is and what it is like to live under an oppressive regime.
Their people sure are all you've said!
And so much history.
I don’t feel so bad about that microchip in my arm now. 
