Cyber Mercenaries Microsoft is urging the United States and its allies to collaborate in deterring state-backed cybercriminal gangs, warning that adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly relying on hackers, who face no “meaningful consequences” for their violations.

Microsoft said it is seeing “increasingly blurred lines” between actions directed by Moscow or Beijing and those of cybercrime gangs. While these criminal groups usually focus on financial gains, they’re now more involved in advancing the goals of nation-states, aiding in espionage and destabilization efforts aimed at geopolitical rivals.

Russia, for instance, appears to have “outsourced” some of its cyber espionage tasks as its war against Ukraine drags through a third year. In June, a suspected cybercriminal group hacked into at least 50 Ukrainian military devices with no apparent financial incentive. Microsoft said this suggests the hackers were likely operating on behalf of the Russian military. Read the full story here›

Walgreens Shrinking Pharmacy chain Walgreens announced it will shut down 1,200 storesacross the United States over the next three years. Closures of Walgreens stores were announced in June, but the company had not disclosed the number of affected stores at that time. It had more than 8,000 stores in the United States as of Aug. 31 last year.

Walgreens, like its competitors, has been struggling for years with tight reimbursement for the prescriptions it sells as well as other challenges such as rising costs to operate its stores. Drugstore chains have also been dealing with more competition from online retail giant Amazon, as well as Walmart and Target.

Rival CVS Health Corp. is wrapping up a three-year plan to close 900 stores. Another major chain, Rite Aid Corp., emerged from a bankruptcy reorganization earlier this year after whittling its store count down to about 1,300 locations. Read the full story here›

Harris Targets Rural Voters Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz debuted a batch of policies aimed at rural voters, including financial incentives to recruit health care workers and permanently extending Medicare coverage of telehealth benefits. The Harris campaign also says it will seek to ensure that farmers have the right to repair their equipment and is asking Congress to require manufacturers to allow them to do that.

Rural voters have been trending further away from the Democratic Party, and that voting block was a key part of Trump’s 2016 victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Four years later, he won the rural vote by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to AP VoteCast.

The Trump campaign has worked to galvanize rural voters this year as well, hosting rallies and events in rural communities throughout the “blue wall” battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read the full story here›

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