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Privacy Advocate Jacob Appelbaum Reports Break-In Of Berlin Apartment
Jacob Appelbaum isn't shy about his role as a pro-privacy (and anti-secrecy) activist and hacker. A long-time contributor to the Tor project, and security researcher more generally, Appelbaum stood in for the strategically absent Julian Assange at HOPE in 2010, and more recently delivered Edward Snowden's acceptance speech when Snowden was awarded the Government Accountability Project's Whistleblower Prize. Now, he reports, his Berlin apartment appears to have been burglarized, and his computers tampered with. As reported by Deutsche Welle, "Appelbaum told [newspaper the Berliner Zeitung] that somebody had broken into his apartment and used his computer in his absence. 'When I flew away for an appointment, I installed four alarm systems in my apartment,' Appelbaum told the paper after discussing other situations which he said made him feel uneasy. 'When I returned, three of them had been turned off. The fourth, however, had registered that somebody was in my flat - although I'm the only one with a key. And some of my effects, whose positions I carefully note, were indeed askew. My computers had been turned on and off.'" It's not the first time by any means that Appelbaum's technical and political pursuits have drawn attention of the unpleasant variety.
It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you.
So someone managed to turn off three alarm systems, but didn't think to make sure that the contents of the apartment were all left in the same position that they found them?
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
As we improve our ability to keep private things private the government's orginizations will find it easier to snoop by gaining physical access first. There's no doubt we're on the slippery slope. I have to wonder, which orginization broke into his apartment? Or maybe it was a combined effort and they are sharing in the information gained, if any.
There's no way he can trust using the electronic devices that were in the apartment now. In fact, he should probably move to a new place, or go all Gene Hackman on it.
Seriously, if you don't want the American secret police to dig around through your shit, kidnap, torture, and possibly kill you (while making your body disappear), don't piss off anyone in the American government.
I'm not being sarcastic.
It's surprising that there are still some people in the USA who are surprised that your spooks are generally perceived, all over the world, to be criminals.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
Common tactic of the German Stasi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi#Zersetzung
Come on, he installed four alarm system and didn't bother with a single surveillance camera? I am not saying that there wasn't somebody in his apartment, but it's hard not to think this might have just been a case of a malfunctioning alarm system and a whole bunch of paranoia on top. If the government is after you, at least make sure you get some pretty pictures of them, cams are cheap these days.
Plug in UEFI bootable USB stick.
Turn off
Turn on
Keylogger and remote backdoor installed.
So those machines are toast. He needs new ones.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
This computer holds the latest and greatest they have in espionage software and possibly hardware. I'd say get it thoroughly examined so we know what to look for on other machines.Make good forensic copies of anything that is able to hold data in the device and only work on copies of copies so you'll always be able to start from scratch if you mess up or want to prove your findings.
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
None of your hardware can be trusted any longer, your apartment is bugged, and man do I feel for you having to clean it up.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
many agencies would be interested in those files...
Competent spies can do it without you noticing. Perhaps "they" are getting sloppy? Maybe "they" subcontracted it out to a 3rd party private security agency? Maybe it was deliberately sloppy and intended to send a message to Appelbaum? Or maybe it was aliens? We can speculate about this all week if we want to ;)
By the sound of it, he's doing a lot of things right. Read his bio. I'm very glad and thankful there are still brave men left.
and replaced all my furniture with exact duplicates.
Sure, there are probably some surveillance things tossed in mainly "to be found", but the fact is that a break-in like this - where 3/4 of the systems weren't even turned back on is either a) laughably amateur, or b)(more likely) a deliberate message TELLING him he's under surveillance.
If he's practicing even moderately good security measures, he's likely beyond all but governments' ability to crack. And if they're after him, there are few things that he could do to PREVENT such surveillance.
-Styopa
Child porn either hidden on his computer or on cds hidden in the depths of the apartment somewhere. On his computer a timer to reveal it in a few days time; the disks are 'stumbled across' at some point in the future. He needs to check the apartment and totally shred the computer disks... Any bets anyone?
He doesn't need help with a messed up head...who wants to bet this is some stunt? What proof we have besides the word of a wacko?
Seriously, people, why is this modded down into oblivion?
Is it not at least plausible, and worth discussing?
No proof, no details, no explanations on how he "knows" these things? No Pictures? Four alarms, carefully positioned objects, and not one camera?
Sure he might not want to give away his trade-craft, but then why give away his knowledge that it happened?
We all want to blame the three letter agencies these days, but we should at least entertain the thought that this might be cheap self aggrandizement.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Do you really believe they ever really leave the organisations they used to work for? Putin is clearly still KGB...
The French didn't drink cool aid.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
he finds the nice hardware and software and analyses them. I guess he's clever enough not to use his systems after this.
Considering that the computers weren't just taken, it was hired thugs or police. The GCHQ, NSA, etc. simply exploit your system remotely with the zero-day-exploits purchasable on the black market.
Trying to hoodwink us with your fairy tales again, Cold Fjord ?
Quoting from a major German paper is deceptive?
Just a few days ago NSA admitted that they have NO IDEA HOW EXTENSIVE IS THE SNOWDEN'S SECRET FILE COLLECTION ) and the one who has the BIGGEST PANIC ATTACK is NSA, not Russia, not China, and of course, not the Germans.
My post had nothing to do with panic, but rather the lack of evidence about who actually entered Applebaum's apartment.
The fact that the Berlin apartment of one Jacob Appelbaum was invaded, with 3 of his 4 alarms cut off, and his computers tempered with, signifies the SHEER PANIC ATTACKS NSA is suffering right now !
Interesting. What is the source of your claimed knowledge that it was NSA, and not some other country or intelligence service? Are you making it up, or is there a clue in this line in your post:
And btw, Cold Fjord, you are NOT the only one who has worked in clandestine projects.
That seems to be quite an admission on your part. Who are you working for? Is that why you are trying so hard to discredit the NSA and the US?
Had the Ruskies so hard up for the files, Edward Snowden is IN THEIR HAND RIGHT NOW and KGB sure knows a lot of ways to GET RESULT OUT OF PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO TELL THEM ANYTHING.
Even the KGB/FSB can't get something that doesn't exist. If Snowden didn't bring the files with him, as people keep claiming, then there is nothing for them to get, is there? Are you claiming that is a lie, and that he really has the files with him?
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
if i was him, i'd leave a computer behind with disinformation on it, while always carrying my laptop which would have the real information on it.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
I have not seen a reference to your "Deutsche Vaterlands" yet (what is it supposed to mean?), but Jacob Appelbaum is still a US-citizen.
ARM machines dont have uefi (yet)
And are unlikely to any time soon. UEFI is too complex for a system that is intended for single-purpose use. Until ARM systems go down the route of modularised hardware designed to be used for multiple purposes, they will continue to use simple single-purpose boot systems like uBoot.
Is it the Russian government trying to get their hands on the full cache of documents that Snowden leaked, assuming they don't have it already?
My opinion too: it's very likely that these documents doesn't contain much that the FSB (which has been at this spying game even before it was renamed from TcheKa to KGB) isn't already aware of through their own information channel.
The reason we can trust when snowden tells that he hasn't handed anything over to Russia (nor China), is that very probably they won't gain much that they don't know already. It's simply not worth going through the hassle and public disapproval of using this controversial source (publicly known) whereas their own intelligence channel (secret) already to a decent enough job.
Chance are, if someone like Snowden (who is very intelligent, very savvy in the way of intelligence handling, keeping secure, etc. and very cautious BUT who is still simply a single former consultant) can get his hands on these, it's very likely that institutions like FSB (who are whole big institutions, with vastly more resources, with budget backed by whole governments, and vast experience in the field accumulated during the whole existence which has spanned a significant chunk of the recent history) have also knowledge of the same informations.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
The Russians know no more than the rest of us - Snowden has made it clear he gave all documents to others, and this is extremely believable.
These two are separated.
The fact that Snowden has already given away the documents and doesn't have them any more, DOES NOT prevent the Russians from already knowing the information contained in the Snowden documents (not because they read the actual Snowden documents, but simply because they already have competent intelligence service with a very long experience dating back from the cold war and even before and vastly more ressource: Russians have probably already gathered similar amount of informations through their own intelligence channels).
In fact, its probably even the opposite. It's very likely that the Russians knew already the same information, and thus, once Snowden has also acquired them, Russians have no interest in trying to get Snowden's file. It's highly unlikely that there anything of interest in those files, thus there's no interest for Russian to go through all the hurdles (getting associated this politically highly controversial source of information) with no gain for them. Better avoid touching this publicly known probletamtic source and keep rellying on their own secret channels.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
For all you know it could be Russians, Chinese, Iranians, Germans, French, Israelis, Swedes, or just about any other country's agents.
There's 2 reasons why some countries might want to avoid getting their hand on Snowden's documents:
1. These documents are known to exist, and are highly pollitically controversial. Although Germany representative would be free to bitch and moan about things published in the news papers about NSA spying them (after all these specific information where published for anyone to see, and are the consequence of news papers, not germany's own services), things will be very different if word got out the Russian or Chinese secret service managed to steal a full copy of the Snowden files. Then it will be th USA bitching about Russia and China using stolen docuements and trying to sanction them in some way (at least degrading diplomatic ties and maybe unfavoring some economic ties).
In short: getting caught with these documents in your possession can end up being bad publicity.
2. Snowden is just a single guy. He is very intelligent. He is very savvy about information handling. He is good at following "security best practice" to the letter. He's good at covering his arse. He is very-very-very cautious. (And thus he managed to pull these leak without getting caught up and left rotting in a prison next to Chelsea Manning's cell). But he is still a simply a former consultant with limited ressource. Some of the nations you mention have been big players with intelligence services having vast ressources (both technical and financial) and having also vast experience spanning a huge chunk of the recent history (Russia's FSB has been at this spy game even before they got renamed... from Tcheka to KGB). When even Snowden whose ressource are more or less limited to his brain can manage to steal this documentation... When even small neutral countries like Switzerland have efficient intelligence gathering programs (remember onyx and the "accidental leaks" of diplomatic faxes about US outsourcing their torture to black sites ?)... What makes you think that snowden has anything in his documents that the big players haven't already learned long ago through their own information channels?
Because of the combination of these 2 elements (Snoden documents are problematic, better stick to your own secret spying which probaly knows even more since long ago), its very likely that the big players like Russia, China, etc. won't bother getting the Snowden files. They already know the same information from their own secret services (FSB, MSS, etc.) and don't want the potential diplomatic backlash.
It's very likely that Snowden is indeed sincere when saying that Russia and China has not gotten access to them.
It's very likely that, if they were indeed trying to get Applebaum's copy of the Snowden files, the intruders weren't working for the big ones.
Possible actors are:
1. much smaller player who don't already know the information inside snowden files, and have less fear of potential diplomatic problems. And who also don't have the ressource to afford a realy invisible and unnoticeable data heist. Had the burglary happened in eastern europe, I would have had pointed fingers to local mafia.
2. big players wanting to get otherthing, like US opperative trying to gather newer evidence about snowden (trying to determine the extent of the snowden files, trying to determine the latest where abouts of recent dissidents like Assange and Snowden, etc.)
3. done to mess with him and harass him, like the last 12 times that Applebaum got detained at the US border.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
ARM machines dont have uefi (yet)
Some do. The whole "Linux vs. Windows 8 and Secure UEFI" debacle is about the fact that, because Windows 8 mandates Secure UEFI, althrough *PC* vendor are required to let their customer around Secure UEFI (allowinf customer to disable it and allowing customer to put other signing keys there), the same requirement don't apply for ARM hardware.
You can install linux on a Secure UEFI Windows 8 x86 desktop.
You are not guaranteed to be able to install Linux on a ARM tablet with Secure UEFI and Windows 8 RT.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
You're asking too much here - I mean, we're not even able to protect our own Bundeskanzlerin, let alone a mere mortal foreign citizen ...
One of the responders makes a good point:
Surely you don't want to expose the locations of your hidden cameras ?
Of course, one could just move the cameras afterwards. But releasing pics does give the intruder an idea of what was installed where for next time.