Something About This Russia Story Stinks

[Locutus]

ya think?


Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment

In an extraordinary development Thursday, the Obama administration announced a series of sanctions against Russia. Thirty-five Russian nationals will be expelled from the country. President Obama issued a terse statement seeming to blame Russia for the hack of the Democratic National Committee emails.

"These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government," he wrote.


Russia at first pledged, darkly, to retaliate, then backed off. The Russian press today is even reporting that Vladimir Putin is inviting "the children of American diplomats" to "visit the Christmas tree in the Kremlin," as characteristically loathsome/menacing/sarcastic a Putin response as you'll find.



This dramatic story puts the news media in a jackpot. Absent independent verification, reporters will have to rely upon the secret assessments of intelligence agencies to cover the story at all.


more


Something About This Russia Story Stinks - Rolling Stone





To a befuddled Rolling Stone reporter.

By lance on December 30, 2016 5:32 PM | 7 Comments



(Ed: Please pardon me for the wall of text, but that last entry annoyed the heck out of me.)

You know how in your teenage and college fantasy where you played Dustin Hoffman in All The Presidents Men? Remember when you dreamed of getting that one little lead and following breadcrumbs from point A to Pulitzer Prize? Yeah, network security and audits are a lot like that. Your problem is that you've had eight years of getting used to reading gov't reports and taking for granted that they tell the story. Stenographers 'R Us, in a nutshell.


When you talk about IT or whether to 'believe' intelligence reports about it, do better than read a 13pp PDF directed to network admins. You should really look at the data supplied too.


This page released by CERT (that's important) is the Joint Analysis Report released by the FBI and DHS. At the bottom is the link to the 13 page PDF that they released. What the author of the Rolling Stone article linked to in the last entry failed to do is look at the other file on that page. It's available in a handy CSV file format if you don't grok STIX XML. The CSV is utterly redundant. CERT only needs to distribute the STIX format as that's what admins will use to harden their networks. The CSV is there for reporters.


Back to CERT, which is one of the most trusted of information disseminating entities in the world of IT. For the most part, they send out weekly bulletins about security related patches for firmware, OS's, services, and applications. Occasionally they'll send out flashes of things, but that is rare and a big deal when they do.


To say yesterdays publication via CERT is unprecedented may be accurate, but to question the make up of a document that is light on 'facts' misreads the purpose of the document. It was aimed at security and network professionals on the front-lines. It wasn't written for reporters. If every administrator of machines and networks followed the recommended security setups and procedures in that document no one would ever be talking about hacking.


Now, rather than write an article complaining how not enough data was spoon-fed to you, you could look at the actual data files, contact some of the owners of the IP addresses and maybe figure out why the intelligence services are confident in their claim.



Email spam is already well-known. Targeted email is a different beast. If the target is a hunter then the crafted email they get looks like an email from Cabela's. The hit ratio goes way up. Most people would just think that google sold their search info instead of them being the target of a malicious attack. In actuality the website the email links to goes to one of the domains below and hosts a malicious website made to look like Cabela's site. It has javascript in it that infects your computer. Even worse, the link in the email is a shortened form link. 'bty.com/276dfgr, 'tco.com/erfgh' or 'ln.com/badlink' so the target can't verify the end point by looking at it. Anyone can make these.


These domains were used in targeted email spoofs.

Xarelto Lawsuit (Rivaroxaban) – Make a Claim Today - 209.236.67.159 - WestHost, Inc. - Providence UT, USA
ritsoperrol.ru - dead domain name
littjohnwilhap.ru - dead domain name
wilcarobbe.com - dead domain name
one2shoppee.com - dead domain name
insta.reduct.ru - 146.185.161.126 - Digital Ocean, Inc., New York, NY
editprod.waterfilter.in.ua - 176.114.0.120 - FOP Sedinckin Olexandr Valeriyovuch - Boyarka, Ukraine
mymodule.waterfilter.in.ua - dead domain name
efax.pfdregistry.net - dead domain name


Of the 249 identified IP addresses, these are Canadian: (Any CDN reporters wanna call McGill? For kicks, maybe?)


167.114.35.70 - OVH Hosting - Montreal - McGill College
198.50.177.202 - OVH Hosting - Montreal - McGill College
142.10.38.212 - Ontario Hydro
69.70.199.50 - Videotron Ltee - Montreal
207.176.226.8 - Rigstar Communications Inc - Calgary
66.158.142.2 - MORGAN SCHAFFER INC. - Lasalle, Quebec


See below the fold for a numerical count of IP's by country.



45 China
44 the United States
19 the Netherlands
14 Germany
11 France
8 Sweden
8 South Korea
6 Thailand
6 Japan
6 Canada
5 Denmark
4 Romania
3 Vietnam
3 Turkey
3 the United Kingdom
3 Taiwan
3 Swaziland
3 Spain
3 Puerto Rico
3 Mexico
3 Italy
3 Indonesia
3 Bulgaria
2 Russia
2 Luxembourg
2 Lithuania
2 Iraq
2 Iran
2 India
2 Greece
2 Finland
2 Estonia
2 Czech Republic
2 Brazil
1 Venezuela
1 United Kingdom
1 Ukraine
1 the Slovakia
1 Singapore
1 Serbia
1 Poland
1 Mongolia
1 Malaysia
1 Kenya
1 Kazakhstan
1 Hungary
1 Ghana
1 Egypt
1 Cambodia
1 Belgium
1 Bangladesh
1 Austria

https://www.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/publications/JAR_16-20296A_GRIZZLY STEPPE-2016-1229.pdf




now get on with your lives and try to maintain.

that is all.

 

[Murphy]

Not a problem. Just a twist on an old game. The Cold War sweats. The only relatively new feature is the Interwebs. Spying and disinformation just got more difficult to deal with. There are plenty of trained pers that can handle the pressure however.

No worries. Posturing and chest beating is all part of the dance.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ru1M6dY0cY

 

[taxslave]

The fact still remains that regardless of who or even if the DNC Emails were hacked or released by an insider if they were not written in the first place there would have been no scandal to attempt to cover up.

 

[davesmom]

Democrats are now claiming the Russian diplomats are spies.
They have blown this thing up our of proportion, using it as a weapon against Trump.
Putin has shown himself to be the better man by refusing to retaliate and instead, turning the other cheek.
It looks like their loss of the election has driven the Democrats totally insane.
It's going to be an interesting year ahead, folks!


As for the hacking, Obama said last October that the Russians were doing it. Why didn't he act then?
I think he is doing this now hoping that Russia will commit some hostile act in retaliation and he and his cohorts can lay the blame on Trump.
Those who have doubts about Russia's involvement have a point; intelligence has been skewed for political reasons in the past. Why should they be trusted now?

Furthermore, Americans go on about what Russia's done in Crimea and Syria and other parts of the world.
What business is it of America what Russia does elsewhere? Is it any different than America's meddling all over the world that they have been doing for decades?
Poor America! They have been policing and dictating policy in other countries for decades. But when Russia does it it's a terrible thing!
America ought to wake up and realize they are NOT the world's police. If they had been minding their own business all those years they wouldn't be in the mess they are in with debt, divisiveness and lack of respect from other world leaders.

 

[Cannuck]

The fact still remains that regardless of who or even if the DNC Emails were hacked or released by an insider if they were not written in the first place there would have been no scandal to attempt to cover up.

Yes, blaming the victim is good.

Relax folks. Trump will fix everything

 

[Murphy]

It's his turn. No one else has managed. You suffer from low T.

 

[Locutus]

possibly, appears, connects, indicates.


can’t be reminded enough that all of this evidence comes from private companies with a direct financial interest in making the internet seem as scary as possible, just as Lysol depends on making you believe your kitchen is crawling with E. Coli.

Virtually everything the (liberal) media has said about Russian hacks, including what has been said by the current administration and in the Hillary camp, are all completely unsubstantiated. What is frightening is this just shows how politicized the FBI and CIA have become. I would like to think I trust the FBI but it seems the very top has been compromised.

What is very telling is that so many liberals believe the conspiracy theory that Russia hacked the election. Something like ~55% of them believe Russia physically hacked into machines and changed the vote. The hysteria is fukking insane.

There are real crises looming on the horizon. If the media and people freak out at every tweet or want to pander to their baser instinct and believe conspiracy theories we will miss the big events.


anyway...


Given that the U.S. routinely attempts to intercept the communications of heads of state around the world, it’s not impossible that the CIA or the NSA has exactly this kind of proof. Granted, these intelligence agencies will be loath to reveal any evidence that could compromise the method they used to gather it. But in times of extraordinary risk, with two enormous military powers placed in direct conflict over national sovereignty, we need an extraordinary disclosure. The stakes are simply too high to take anyone’s word for it.

https://theintercept.com/2016/12/14/heres-the-public-evidence-russia-hacked-the-dnc-its-not-enough/

 

[tay]

And we all were told that Obama was Russia's friend ..........

 

[Curious Cdn]

Of the 249 identified IP addresses, these are Canadian: (Any CDN reporters wanna call McGill? For kicks, maybe?)

167.114.35.70 - OVH Hosting - Montreal - McGill College
198.50.177.202 - OVH Hosting - Montreal - McGill College

Speaking of false news,what the heck is "McGill College"?

 

[Locutus]

^ heh...nobody in the U.S. gives a sh!t about our little colleges and universities son.


anyway, back to this imaginary hackery stuff:

the Guardian made up the story

Mangling facts for the benefit of U.S. government’s anti-Russia, anti-Trump propaganda campaign, yet again corporate media published an article — which subsequently went viral — claiming that, in an interview, Julian Assange ‘praised’ Donald Trump but ‘blasted’ Hillary Clinton because, essentially, he’s working for The Russians.

It simply isn’t true.

In fact, as journalist Glenn Greenwald countered in The Intercept, the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs cherry-picked specific details to create a fictionalized account of the actual la Repubblica interview with Assange in order to fit a preordained narrative favorable to the American political establishment.

In short, corporate media is guilty of publishing fraudulent clickbait — Fake News — the exact thing it claims to be waging a war against.

Read more at Corporate Media Admits to Publishing Viral Fake News After Independent Media Busted Them

and, more follow the leader from fox:

US gives detailed look at Russia's alleged election hacking | Fox News

yes yes, of course...

"The report did not go far beyond confirming details already disclosed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was hired to investigate the DNC hacks".

(see OP about crowdstrike and other claims of 'hacking')

 

[Remington1]

The hacks are real, and Russia should have been smart enough to know when to stop, the Germans, French, etc.. were warning everybody about the hackings. Russia's good neighbour response to the US is a charade. They are in trouble and they know it, on a scale of computer science advancement, US Silicon Valley is still # 1 in the world, and Russia is #10, so the question is why would the US have stood by and allow this affrontery!!

 

[captain morgan]

The fact still remains that regardless of who or even if the DNC Emails were hacked or released by an insider if they were not written in the first place there would have been no scandal to attempt to cover up.

Well put.

The Obama-o-philes have managed to blame everyone but themselves for the misfortunes of which they were their own architects.

What becomes even more pathetic is that rather than own-up and accept responsibility, the (expected) response is to scream even louder in blaming Trump, the Rooskies, aliens (next target, I'm sure) and whomever is convenient at the time.

Sad and pathetic, I know.. What's worse is that these people that can manage no more than endless temper tantrums are somehow allowed (and encouraged) to vote

 

[petros]

Sad and pathetic, I know.. What's worse is that these people that can manage no more than endless temper tantrums are somehow allowed (and encouraged) to vote

In fits of arrogance and complacency they didn't vote.

Next time they should cast ballots with snap chat.

 

[captain morgan]

In fits of arrogance and complacency they didn't vote.

Thank God for small miracles

Next time they should cast ballots with snap chat.

Yabut, what about the Rooskies?

 

[Locutus]

Well put.

The Obama-o-philes have managed to blame everyone but themselves for the misfortunes of which they were their own architects.

What becomes even more pathetic is that rather than own-up and accept responsibility, the (expected) response is to scream even louder in blaming Trump, the Rooskies, aliens (next target, I'm sure) and whomever is convenient at the time.

Sad and pathetic, I know.. What's worse is that these people that can manage no more than endless temper tantrums are somehow allowed (and encouraged) to vote

what is more pathetic are the so-called media. the new age ones, the lacking in fakeness ones. true reporters the lot. no fakery for us they exclaimed. no jingling of keys keys they proclaimed. after all, aunt hillary had spoken. we must protect ignint ol' uncle podesta.

well without investigating any of this, by swallowing barry's load, by the regurgitation of never-ending liberal angles...they reveal themselves as the whoars they are. gagging to make the headlines. to be the truth speakers, the source. gagging for the metrics, the clickbait. how ironic.

#fakenewsmakers

 

[petros]

Cocksuckers.

 

[davesmom]

Re the power grid hack, two 'experts' on Newsbreak (CNN) this morning revealed that Russia, China, Iran and U.S. and other countries all hack into each other's computer systems. In fact U.S. did exactly the same thing to Iran to prevent/disrupt something they were doing.
So what's the big deal?
Yes, it's dangerous. But if everything is computerized it is going to happen.
It's not that different from countries having nuclear weapons. Each one knows that if they use it, the other country can do the same thing to them.
What was recommended was a treaty. But then, how could it be enforced when they can't even be sure who is responsible? Retaliation against an innocent country could trigger one hell of a response!

 

[Locutus]

yeah, the public might (must) insist (demand) that their government provide absolute proof of such a grievous accusation with regards to a belligerent nuclear power.

anyway, if true, why aren't they declaring war on russia?

 

[Murphy]

It's revised sweat, similar to what was done before the Iron Curtain fell.

It's a dance. A choreographed cat and mouse game that became the rage after WWII. Before that, it was uncoordinated spying, narrow in focus, to keep track of military movements and diplomatic contacts.

After WWII, the scope widened. More industrial espionage. Tech was burgeoning. The space race started, and the US and USSR were trying to outdo each other by taking over countries or financing small conflicts around the globe. More ideological sparing. Communism vs. Capitalism. Each wanted to be the boss, no longer content to control only their part of the globe. As a result, each became 100 times nosier.

When the Iron Curtain fell, things seemed calmer, but the spy game kicked into overdrive. Russia was poorer and needed to make money. The US carried on, but had to protect its position.

Fast forward a few years and Putin figures the best way to be great again is to use some of the old USSR's tactics, which included military involvements with other nations - the same as what the US does. Arms sales - which the US does. Political involvement with other nations - which the US does.

They also got into computer chess - the same as the US does. The spy game has never been easy for anyone to fully comprehend, and with computer and satellites, it's a huge, multi-million dollar game. High stakes with lots of money and politics power to be gained or lost without invading anyone right away. The invasion part still has to happen, but best to soften things up with a concentrated tech war first.

These daze, it's business as usual.

Go to war? Not really any need. No great crisis, despite what the media would have you believe. If Russia truly influenced the election, Obama would have put the kibosh to it early, but he didn't. He didn't because there was no encroachment. If anything, Russia was testing the e-fence - the same as the US does. It's the 21st century equivalent of when we used to purposely breech the border to test the other side's reaction time. Once you are detected, you pull back.

Even with tech, it's best to funnel activities through other nations. It saves dropping the big ones and keeps the mess and death outside your border. Fighting in the ME for example, allows the US and Russia to test new tech (explosives, guidance systems, other computer hardware and software, etc.) in real world situations in real time.

It's a new twist on an old dance.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR65AmNJsDM

This next bit is my opinion, based on my time with the federal government and the military. I have no inside knowledge, but so few actually do.
---

What about the press and their involvement in how governments operate? The press has little to do with what is truly happening, and they never have. The press, despite their insistence that they have a right to be nosy, has never been a player in how governments operate. The US and Russia still operate almost unhindered by the fifth estate.

As was common practice in the first half of the 20th century, today's press is fed what the government wants to give them. Does anyone actually think that an "investigative reporter" could ever get close enough to a sensitive issue to find out what is going on? Rarely did/do reporters and journalists uncover anything of which the government is unaware. It is enough to say that in order to be a first tier player, you have to keep an eye on everything. That includes your own press.

Even things like Snowden leak didn't slow or redirect operations. They are expected. They may cause minor embarrassment, but the truth is, only Snowden's life has been changed for the worse. The agencies involved learned, adapted and carried on.

Will your average citizen ever really know what is going on with their government? No. Citizens do not have a need to know. It goes without saying that sensitive information cannot become common knowledge. In a democracy, you have to trust that certain facts and situations must be kept under wraps. The best we can hope for is that government committees can keep an eye in things and not let anything outrageous happen. But the thing is, we'll never really know if the committees are effective either.

I don't think that anything I've posted here should come as a surprise. People just don't like to be told that a story or situation is none of their business. It's the same with the press. Everyone has the right to know what the government releases.

So what just happened with these diplomats being expelled and phone calls and wagging of fingers? Nothing. No harm was done to the US, despite what the press would have you believe. And honestly, can you trust the press much these days?

If harm was done, the reactions from both sides would be considerably more hostile. Bay of Pigs hostile. West Side Story, 'I'm calling you out!' type hostile. It doesn't appear to be the case. The press will prattle on about things of which they know little or nothing. It makes them happy to have a story, and your average citizen thinks the press is watching to protect the country's interests.

Mmmm-kay.

It's business as usual.

That is all.

 

[Cannuck]

yeah, the public might (must) insist (demand) that their government provide absolute proof of such a grievous accusation with regards to a belligerent nuclear power.

Nope. What they should demand is that the government investigate fully and completely.