Unnamed DHS Official Breaches Confidentiality in Utilities Malware Hack

Submitted by bondibox on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 10:59am

One week ago the Washington Post breathlessly ran a story with the headline “Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, U.S. officials say." But that was not the truth. It wasn't Russian hackers, and they didn't "penetrate" the U.S. electricity grid.

Some guy checked his email on his laptop, some SPAM pinged an IP known to be connected to malware hacks. That is all. The laptop wasn't connected to "the grid" any more than your computer is.

Turns out nearly the entire story was bullshit.

But the one thing which wasn't bullshit is the title of this article.

Unnamed DHS Official Breaches Confidentiality in Utilities Malware Hack

The investigation by officials began Friday, when the Vermont utility reported its alert to federal authorities, some of whom told The Washington Post that code associated with the Russian hackers had been discovered within the system of an unnamed Vermont utility.

That is the one notable fact here. Someone at DHS notified the utility of an intrusion and they reported the steps taken to remediate the situation. And then someone at DHS went to the Washington Post and disclosed everything, national security be damned. And the Washington Post gleefully reported it.

It's a diversion within a diversion. Look! Russian hackers! No! Fake news!!
But don't pay any attention to the fascist propaganda coordinated between Homeland Security and the media.

Tags:

fake-news

Propaganda

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Comments

Submitted by bondibox on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 11:06am

Even Trump is on it

Not exactly sure what this references, but obviously the same situation - someone spilled confidential info to NBC.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/817164923843280896

How did NBC get "an exclusive look into the top secret report he (Obama) was presented?" Who gave them this report and why? Politics!

—

“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”

Submitted by OLinda on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 12:32pm

top secret

intelligence report. Possibly the current Russian/hacking report.

I am asking the chairs of the House and Senate committees to investigate top secret intelligence shared with NBC prior to me seeing it.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017

Submitted by Amanda Matthews on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 4:14pm

This buffoon just might not be the pushover that some seem

to think he is. Bypassing him and going to a major news network just might piss this guy off. This game the the intelligence services vs Trump vs Democrats vs whomever are playing is a waste of time, much needed resources, and no on but die-hard Clintonistas are buying this shit anyway. (And they're eating it by the shovelful.)

—

I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 11:55am

It reminds me of the GWOT

Where some crazy loaner, without weapons, money, or connections, can make headlines.

Submitted by Oldest Son Of A... on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 11:58am

I'm amazed at the sheer volume of BS News...

This Pseudo Hacking has generated...
It's beyond Fake News...

We are all mushrooms...
Kept in the dark and fed BS...

—

"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

Submitted by LaFeminista on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 12:13pm

So surprised

not

Submitted by Citizen Of Earth on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 1:29pm

So Grizzly Steppe operates on a shared web server

and the shared server has tons of legitimate web sites on it. If you get an email from any of the legitimate sites and you open the email, when your browser renders the page it will ping the senders server to get any images contained in the email. That would have kicked off the alert, that the vermont utility worker had pinged the Grizzly Steppe server.

Not to mention the utility worker was checking his yahoo email. And yahoo had a breach in 2016 in which hackers stole 100s millions of id/passwords.

WaPo screaming WOLF yet again.

—

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Submitted by Lily O Lady on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 3:03pm

Yeah, they keep screaming "Wolf!" but people still believe

them. In fact, they believe them more each time, so it's the opposite of the fable. sigh

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by native on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 4:39pm

A lot of people believe them,

but certainly not everyone. Far from it I would hazard to guess. Remember, the anti-Trump media barrage preceding the election did nothing to dissuade millions of people from voting for him anyway. I think this past election and its aftermath has done considerable damage to the msm's credibility among the general populace.

—

native

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 1:34pm

Dr. Sambo Dambuski has moved :-D

Please update the address books, ha ha. Just the other day I received this incredible offer from test@edinorog-fk.ru! Thank Microsoft for "first to market" dumbing-down software to hide that name so it appears as From: Dr. Sambo Dambuski instead of the actual address, which then gave birth to the Nigerian 419 scam. Thanks a lot.

whois edinorog-fk.ru % By submitting a query to RIPN's Whois Service % you agree to abide by the following terms of use: % http://www.ripn.net/about/servpol.html#3.2 (in Russian) % http://www.ripn.net/about/en/servpol.html#3.2 (in English).

domain: EDINOROG-FK.RU
nserver: ns2.isnet.ru.
nserver: ns.isnet.ru.
state: REGISTERED, DELEGATED, UNVERIFIED
person: Private Person
registrar: RU-CENTER-RU
admin-contact: https://www.nic.ru/whois
created: 2009.01.27
paid-till: 2018.01.27
free-date: 2018.02.27
source: TCI

Last updated on 2017.01.06 22:01:33 MSK

Wouldn't be a surprise if Microsoft had a patent on that "spoofing" idea too. Can hardly believe 419s are still out there, they must still get people. Here is the entire glorious request; typos, grammar mistakes, floating paragraphs and everything. It's a good one.

Dr.Sambo Dasuki,
National Security Adviser to the President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Tel:+234-909-396-3052

Attn:

I am Dr. Sambo Dasuki,National Security Adviser to the President Muhammadu Buhari The new president Federal Republic of Nigeria. I decided to contact you because of the Prevailing security report reaching my office and the intense nature of polity in Nigeria. This is to inform you about our plan to send your fund to you via cash delivery. This system will be easier for you and for us. We are going to send your contract/ part payment of $20Million USD to you via courier service.

Note: The money is. Coming on 2 security proof boxes. The boxes are sealed with Synthetic nylon seal and padded with machine. This fund was brought to us from United State of America;

it was meant for our Local AFEM market. But since the money was not used, I will use my position as the National Security Adviser to the President to send this fund to you. Please you don't have to worry for any thing I will finance the transaction. The boxes are coming with a Diplomatic agent who will accompany the boxes to your

House address. All you need to do now is to send to me your full name,house address and your identity such as, international passport or driver’s license if you have including your contact phone numbers, The Diplomatic attached will travel with it. He will call you immediately he arrives in your country's airport. I hope you understand me. Please know that the only money you are going to spend is for the dispatch and registration of your consignment key and the original documentary. I will let you know when the special Grace of God will airlift the boxes. Note: The diplomatic does not know the original contents of the boxes. What l

Declared to them as the contents is Sensitive Photographic Film Material? I did not declare money to them please. If they call you and ask you the contents

Please tell them the same thing Ok. Call me on my phone +234-909-396-3052 once you get this mail. i will let You know how far I have gone with the arrangement. I will secure the Diplomatic

Immunity clearance certificate that will be tagged on the boxes to make it stand As a diplomatic consignment. This clearance will make it pass every custom checkpoint all over the world without hitch. Confirm the receipt of this message and send the requirements to Me immediately you receive this message.

Please I need urgent reply because the boxes are schedule to be as soon as we Hear from you. Call me immediately you receive this message.

Best Regards,

Dr.Sambo Dasuki,
National Security Adviser to the President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Tel:+234-909-396-3052

You have to be as dumb as Podesta to answer it, but this is our new "knowledge-based" economy where keeping people dumb means profit, making them smarter does not. Do that math.

Submitted by Sandino on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 2:58pm

What did WaPo know, when did they know it

Did they know it was fake news when they published, or did they really think they were endangering US National Security by revealing a nascent investigation into foreign attempts to hack the power grid?

Submitted by sojourns on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 2:59pm

This is onion skin--

As they unravel the so called evidence, it'll be worse than 9/11 in terms of the volume of bullshit.

However, I do wonder why D. Drumpf seems to be rather worried as expressed by his defensiveness on the matter.

—

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Submitted by Bisbonian on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 3:53pm

Because he is as stupid

as all the rest of the people that believe this shit.

—

"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

Submitted by sojourns on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 4:00pm

True enough that but it does give me pause

I am inclined to believe that Putin has tons of dirt on Drumpf. From the days when he was, in his infinite arrogance, tripping around Russia doing deals, as he likes to call it (the Miss Universe pageant comes to mind). Meanwhile, the FSB was happily bugging his hotel rooms, tapping his phones (he's too stupid to use a burner phone) and doing whatever over the internet with no concern at all as to security.

—

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Submitted by Bisbonian on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 9:17pm