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Crypto Legend Quisquater Targeted - But NSA May Not Be To Blame

Posted by samzenpus on from the it-wasn't-us-this-time dept.

judgecorp writes "Reports that the NSA and/or Britain's GCHQ deliberately targeted Belgian cryptography professor Jea-Jacques Quisquater may be jumping to conclusions, the professor has said. Investigation of an apparent NSA/GCHQ hack of Belgian ISP Belgacom uncovered evidence that Quisquater's PC had been infected with malware and had data extracted. However the two incidents might be coincidence: similar malware is used by Asian attackers, he said."

6 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Damned if they did, more so if they didn't by 3.5+stripes · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now the NSA has shown its willingness to do such things, and then deny even having the ability, they're going to get the finger of blame pointed at them a lot more, regardless of whether they deserve it, and now in a much more credible way.

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    He tried to kill me with a forklift!
    1. Re: Damned if they did, more so if they didn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you lie often enough I can't believe anything you say anymore. That's the way trust works.

    2. Re:Damned if they did, more so if they didn't by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Problem is, when pointing the finger blindly at the NSA, your chance to be right is surprisingly high...

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      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re: Damned if they did, more so if they didn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Clapper lied to Congress. No ifs, ands or buts about it. That's enough for me. If he'll lie under oath why on earth should we ever expect him to tell the truth?

  2. Re:Either way, they are responsible by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Then you're going to love this story [cnn.com]

    Thanks a lot. It's bad enough that it's below zero outside and I'm still hungover and haven't gotten over the cold that I caught last week, but now I've got Total Surveillance in the WorkplaceTM to worry about.

    And my cat just threw up. I'm going back to bed.

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    You are welcome on my lawn.
  3. Re:TFA doesn't tell much... by fatphil · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And this shows why "cryptography expert" and "security expert" should not be confused.

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    Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863