Report: Russian television network evaded boycott via IBM Cloud

IBM has responded to reports that the Russian state-owned RT television network was using its cloud service despite the company”™s ban on doing business with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

According to the CyberScoop.com blog, RT was sharing its broadcasts on the YouTube competitor Rumble since early March. Through late June, RT was still reaching audiences in the West via Rumble, thanks to the video platform”™s use of the IBM Cloud platform.

The Armonk-based company was alerted by CyberScoop.com to how it was inadvertently aiding RT. A spokesperson for IBM said the company was “unaware of the situation” and has “taken steps so that RT content is not available via services provided by IBM Cloud.” However, CyberScoop.com reported RT”™s livestream and individual videos are still available on Rumble because that company operates its own cloud infrastructure, and its current IP addresses point back to that infrastructure.

“Rumble operates its own cloud network, with which IBM has no association,” the IBM spokesperson added.