Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
Current time: March 28, 2024, 6:21 am

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
#11
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
The complicity of an admin goes to the allocation of resources, focus, and opportunity.

For example, multiple cyber security bills have been proposed and blocked due to their proximity to the russian issue. It's not certain that any action we might have taken would have prevented this, but in retrospect (and, for sane people, before the fact) it seems silly for an american president or party to shoot itself in the foot on security on account of legal or political embarrassment. It has become clear that simply saying the word russia is career suicide under this admin, and we already know that the rank and file had been ringing the fire alarm on this one, but we don't know how many non public and perhaps even specific warnings this admin ignored and/or plowed over.

It's reasonable to assume that this admins rejection of reality left it not so much incapable of dealing with the issue as dogmatically opposed to doing so. Textbook institutional failure. While it may not be likely that we catch all of this stuff before the fact - it's even more likely that we will fail to detect those things we would rather not find, or would refuse to see.

Beyond that, as far as personal accountability...as we all know, our president takes no responsibility.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Reply
#12
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
(December 21, 2020 at 12:21 am)Jackalope Wrote:
(December 20, 2020 at 4:17 pm)FlatAssembler Wrote: I am not sure what you mean, as I have mentioned I am a third-year computer science student.

Third year student.  I have 30 years of experience.  You don't know what you don't know.

Nor does he have the necessary security clearances.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
Reply
#13
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
(December 20, 2020 at 3:59 pm)FlatAssembler Wrote: As most of you probably know, American media is reporting about some Russian hackers having hacked the SolarWinds servers and inserted a spyware in some of the SolarWinds most popular programs, and no antivirus program detected that spyware for almost a year. Do you think it is true?

As a third year computer science student, such a story sounds rather implausible to me. I mean, those supposed Russian hackers would need to be more skilled than programmers in Microsoft, Google, Motorola or Mozilla.
To Microsoft, it has occurred a few times that their innocent programs get misdetected as malware. In April 2010, McAfee misdetected SVCHOST from Windows XP SP3 as malware, leaving perhaps around a hundred thousand machines unable to boot. In December 2010, AVG misdetected CSRSS from 64-bit Windows 7 as malware, also leaving many machines unable to boot. And there have been a few other such cases, though not as devastating. To Google, it has occurred a few times that BoringSSL (part of Chrome that ciphers HTTPS traffic) gets misdetected as ransomware, leaving a large part of the Internet ciphered using flawed algorithms. To Motorola, it has occurred that their Bluetooth drivers get misdetected as malware. To Mozilla, it has occurred many times that SpiderMonkey (the JavaScript engine of the Firefox browser, using some advanced JIT-compilation techniques) gets misdetected as a virus (because AVs think it is self-replicating code).
So, if the programmers working at Microsoft, Google, Motorola and Mozilla have trouble making innocent programs that does not get detected by some antivirus software as malware, is not it kind of absurd to claim there are Russian hackers who can make actual malware that does that? It is obviously incredibly hard to make a good JavaScript engine that won't be detected as malware by some AV (since not even Mozilla can do it), so it must be significantly harder to make actual malware that won't be detected as malware by any AV, right?

This is a joke, right?  Surely you don't really believe that malicious hackers don't have the skills to penetrate major US corporations and insert harmful software.  I can personally attest to at least half a dozen such events that caused serious harm to companies that I've worked for.  Iran's nuclear program was hacked about a decade ago and the damage set them back years.  And the hackers have only gotten better.  So yeah, hacking is as real as it gets.

Now, as to where the attacks are coming from, Russia is certainly a valid threat.  Russia has plenty to gain from disrupting US corporations.  Open war is not an option in the current world order, but make no mistake, we are at war with both Russia and China.  Corporate war is the battlefield now and both China and Russia are the aggressors and for the most part they are kicking our ass.  We've mostly just played defense so far.  Trumps idiotic trade war was his idea of retaliation, but that's done more harm to the US than to China.
Why is it so?
~Julius Sumner Miller
Reply
#14
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
At work.

So, wait? Let me get this straight SpongBob.

Cyberpunk 2077 and its 'Corporate wars' is the norm and not the outlier/fiction?
Reply
#15
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
(December 21, 2020 at 12:53 pm)Peebo-Thuhlu Wrote: At work.

So, wait? Let me get this straight SpongBob.

Cyberpunk 2077 and its 'Corporate wars' is the norm and not the outlier/fiction?

I keep seeing articles about this Cyberpunk 2077 thing, but I don't know what it is.  And I don't really understand your question, probably because I don't know what CP2077 is.
Why is it so?
~Julius Sumner Miller
Reply
#16
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
(December 21, 2020 at 1:41 pm)Spongebob Wrote:
(December 21, 2020 at 12:53 pm)Peebo-Thuhlu Wrote: At work.

So, wait? Let me get this straight SpongBob.

Cyberpunk 2077 and its 'Corporate wars' is the norm and not the outlier/fiction?

I keep seeing articles about this Cyberpunk 2077 thing, but I don't know what it is.  And I don't really understand your question, probably because I don't know what CP2077 is.

It's a recently released videogame. Apparently, the XBOX and Playstation ports suck, and there's some controversy regarding the company going back on its "crunch time" policy (crunch==massive overtime at the end)
[Image: extraordinarywoo-sig.jpg]
Reply
#17
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
At work.

Yes, it's a game. Seems to work well enough on PC's. Sucks to own an inferior platform. (I kid)

It's basis is back in the 80's when 'Robo Cop', 'Max Headroom', 'Judge Dredd', 'Ghost in thd shell' and 'Blade Runner' were casting their dystopian predictions over an unknown technologically different future. Though still expecting the darker side of human nature to be prevalent if not prevailing.

Of course, another fourty years of tech advance shows we should all be terrified of the monsters awaiting us due to the evils of genetics being unleashed.

Dammit! "Godzilla" was NOT supposed to he a 'How to' manual! Tongue

Cheers.
Reply
#18
RE: SolarWinds Russian Hack - is it reasonable to believe it is real?
(December 21, 2020 at 2:02 pm)Angrboda Wrote:
(December 21, 2020 at 1:41 pm)Spongebob Wrote: I keep seeing articles about this Cyberpunk 2077 thing, but I don't know what it is.  And I don't really understand your question, probably because I don't know what CP2077 is.

It's a recently released videogame.  Apparently, the XBOX and Playstation ports suck, and there's some controversy regarding the company going back on its "crunch time" policy (crunch==massive overtime at the end)

OK, well in that context I still don't understand the question that was asked.  I suppose there's an aspect of corporate warfare within the game.  If so, I would say that's certainly an element of reality.  Companies do a lot of legal maneuvering to protect their intellectual property both from competing corporations and foreign governments.
Why is it so?
~Julius Sumner Miller
Reply



Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  [Serious] Attack on Russian Concert Hall Ravenshire 11 284 Yesterday at 11:14 am
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  Russian ransomware site... brewer 1 229 July 13, 2021 at 11:37 pm
Last Post: Fireball
  CNN- UN expert recommends Kushner change his phone after suspected Saudi hack WinterHold 1 521 January 25, 2020 at 6:04 am
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  Russian Woman Reportedly Faces 6 Years in Prison for Insulting Memes about Xtians purplepurpose 1 543 October 16, 2018 at 5:31 am
Last Post: Gawdzilla Sama
  Shitheads, and Gun Nuts and Russian Bears, Oh My! Minimalist 6 983 May 26, 2018 at 10:47 am
Last Post: tjakey
  NRA.... New Russian Allies. Brian37 49 9002 April 12, 2018 at 9:27 pm
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  This Actually Seems Reasonable Minimalist 1 236 February 28, 2018 at 8:26 pm
Last Post: BrianSoddingBoru4
  FBI looking at potential transfers from Russian banker to NRA Gawdzilla Sama 17 2248 January 19, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  Real russian colusion Drich 35 6354 October 27, 2017 at 9:40 pm
Last Post: Crossless2.0
  Russian helicopter accidentally fires on bystanders Jello 6 1371 September 21, 2017 at 6:31 am
Last Post: Gawdzilla Sama



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)