Russia Suspected In Major Cyberattack On U.S. Treasury, Commerce Departments

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
I expect rapid sanctions and swift response by... someone. I hope it's Trump. I'm not holding out hope.
I would be surprised if trump sanctioned them. I have a feeling he will end up running to russia to avoid all the court cases waiting for him when he loses his presidential protections.
 

Agema

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I would be surprised if trump sanctioned them. I have a feeling he will end up running to russia to avoid all the court cases waiting for him when he loses his presidential protections.
That ain't going to work. He might have international businesses, but a massive percentage of his wealth is tied up in the USA and I don't think he'll accept a 90% haircut. More likely, he'll just tie it up in so much litigation for so many years that he'll either die or claim he's too old to go to prison.

I love the idea that Trump will be prosecuted for something like fraud, but it either won't happen, or will just be a slap on the wrist. People who have risen that high have too many favours owed, too many connections, even if they are also widely reviled. It takes really screwing up (Madoff, Epstein, Kenneth Lay) to get taken down.
 
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Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
That ain't going to work. He might have international businesses, but a massive percentage of his wealth is tied up in the USA and I don't think he'll accept a 90% haircut. More likely, he'll just tie it up in so much litigation for so many years that he'll either die or claim he's too old to go to prison.

I love the idea that Trump will be prosecuted for something like fraud, but it either won't happen, or will just be a slap on the wrist. People who have risen that high have too many favours owed, too many connections, even if they are also widely reviled. It takes really screwing up (Madoff, Epstein, Kenneth Lay) to get taken down.
I don't know, I mean he might not be hit as hard as I really want him to be on the federal level but New York has some good investigations into him and with the super pac stuff he's pulling in Georgia he might find some AG there suddenly interested in him as well. Plus all the loans has has coming due in a few years, going to be interesting.
 

Exley97

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I can confirm that yes, credentials for SolarWinds' FTP server were exposed in publicly accessible GitHub repositories, and yes, the password was Solarwinds123.

That doesn't necessarily prove that the attackers behind Sunburst used those credentials to breach SolarWinds, but it would make sense -- skilled hackers, whether they're red teamers/pen testers or nation-state threat actors, look for exposed credentials in places like GitHub as part of their initial reconnaissance.

In any case, this is BAD. In terms of widespread, devastating hacks, it's not the absolute worst-case scenario, but it's close. The only silver linings here are 1) someone, possibly Microsoft, detected the campaign, and 2) it seems like threat actors, if they are indeed Russian/APT29, breached these government agencies in advance of January in order to spy on the incoming Biden administration, and that effort has been disrupted.
 

Agema

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You colossal shitheads. Heads need to roll for this.
Some mid-level jobswroth deciding that making his life more convenient is preferable to safety is pretty much ubiquitous. It just rarely has such appalling results when things go wrong.

Although, not so well publicised, Russia has more than its own far share of problems. Apparently, their security is like a sieve, and it's child's play to find people hawking information - including on high level officials - on the streets of Moscow.
 

Shadyside

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They really need to allocate the military budget to cybersecurity. Most wars will be fought by computers rather than foot soldiers.
 

Agema

You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver
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They really need to allocate the military budget to cybersecurity. Most wars will be fought by computers rather than foot soldiers.
Although, let's remember, all the cybersecurity in the world doesn't stop 1 million guys with rifles.
 

Agema

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And here's the USA's mighty POTUS weighing in:

“The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because [US media] is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!)”

To put that in context, Pompeo has squarely blamed Russia. And once Trump leaves office, he's potentially going to need a lot of Russian and Arabian finance to prop up his crumbling business empire.
 

Agema

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Exley97

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Mike Pompeo has a record of brazenly lying in order to promote US violence against other states. He is no more credible about this or anything else than Donald Trump.
I 100% agree. Pompeo has an enormous credibility issue, and not just for the shit he pulled with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

That said....I think is speaks volumes that he clearly and unambiguously pointed the finger at Russia, going against not only Trump's stance on Russia but *his own* as well (recall that Pompe has frequently sowed doubt that Russia hacked the DNC/Clinton campaign and influenced the 2016 election).
 

Seanchaidh

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I'm not citing Pompeo so we should believe it was Russia, I'm citing Pompeo to indicate the US government's official line that it was Russia. The point being that the president undermines his own government to indulge his personal benefit.
I suppose that sort of thing matters to people who do not believe that the government of the United States has been captured by a loose collection of groups that, when their interests do align with those of the general public, it is only by trivial coincidence.
 

Agema

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I suppose that sort of thing matters to people who do not believe that the government of the United States has been captured by a group that, when their interests do align with those of the general public, it is only by trivial coincidence.
One might point out that the hacking of the US government by external entities is one area where the interests of the US general public and the group that has captured the US government do align.
 

Seanchaidh

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One might point out that the hacking of the US government by external entities is one area where the interests of the US general public and the group that has captured the US government do align.
Is it, though?