'Bout a year ago, I spent several months working with a team of computer engineers in the Ukraine. Smart bunch, competent, did good work. I mention this because it can be a dangerous mistake to underestimate the computer skills of anybody anywhere in the world these days. Given a pretty even global distribution of skills, it's more likely to find criminal computer hacking in places that have undergone recent upheavals, like former parts of the Soviet Union, and places with ongoing economic challenges, adding up to higher levels of official corruption and lax law enforcement. The Ukraine qualifies on both counts.

I liked my Ukrainian colleagues, so I find myself with mixed feelings about your news. Any criminal hacking is bad, of course, but that it appears to be Ukrainian hackers is a bit bemusing. Think about how much the world has changed that a phrase like "Ukrainian computer hacker" is perfectly comprehensible. Couple of decades ago we'd have laughed our asses off at the absurdity of the concept, but not any more.