Russian Government Gets 'Hacked Back', Attacks Possibly Launched By The NSA (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader write: Russian government bodies have been hit by a "professional" cyber attack, according to the country's intelligence service, which said the attack targeted state organizations and defense companies, as well as Russia's "critically important infrastructures". The agency told the BBC that the powerful malware "allowed those responsible to switch on cameras and microphones within the computer, take screenshots and track what was being typed by monitoring keyboard strokes."
ABC News reports that the NSA "is likely 'hacking back' Russia's government-linked cyber-espionage teams "to see once and for all if they're responsible for the massive breach at the Democratic National Committee, according to three former senior intelligence officials... Robert Joyce, chief of the NSA's shadowy Tailored Access Operations, declined to comment on the DNC hack specifically, but said in general that the NSA has technical capabilities and legal authorities that allow the agency to 'hack back' suspected hacking groups, infiltrating their systems to gather intelligence about their operations in the wake of a cyber attack... In some past unrelated cases...NSA hackers have been able to watch from the inside as malicious actors conduct their operations in real time."
ABC News reports that the NSA "is likely 'hacking back' Russia's government-linked cyber-espionage teams "to see once and for all if they're responsible for the massive breach at the Democratic National Committee, according to three former senior intelligence officials... Robert Joyce, chief of the NSA's shadowy Tailored Access Operations, declined to comment on the DNC hack specifically, but said in general that the NSA has technical capabilities and legal authorities that allow the agency to 'hack back' suspected hacking groups, infiltrating their systems to gather intelligence about their operations in the wake of a cyber attack... In some past unrelated cases...NSA hackers have been able to watch from the inside as malicious actors conduct their operations in real time."
THE COLD WAR IS BACK its like a sports game our team vs. theirs what a time to be alive!
This totally makes me forget about the fact that my government directs the same exact actions that it uses to ATTACK Russia toward me and mine for the purposes of our own SECURITY. It makes a lot of sense! The enemy is not my government and my employer that supports it, but it is a foreign entity that has almost no effect on my life whatsoever.
Are you just born yesterday? NSA hacked a lot of countries before this hack. Even allies. Are you really that stupid? USA is a bully for a very long time. USA is only the best at one thing: creating their own enemies.
I doubt NSA would be that dumb..
Wow,... did you miss the entire set of leaks from Edward Snowden? Because the NSA has been doing _exactly that_ to the entire world for over a decade. Sorry man, that ship sailed a long long long time ago. It's not a matter of guessing: it's established fact.
Lol. So, the Obama/Clinton duo got outed for rigging the DNC in Clinton's favor, proving, once again, that American democracy is a farce. Their response? Immediately invoke McCarthyism and, without a shred of evidence, attack Russia!
What a country.
The favoritism is all from the media - notice how quickly attention was diverted from the DNC fixing the nomination process? If this had been the republicans, they'd be all over the nomination fixing like flies on shit.
Subverting the election process is a lot more damaging long-term than a one-time hack by someone in Russia who may or may not be from the government.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
if the NSA would tell Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, et all of the vulnerabilities they knew about so the companies could patch their software? But no, the Kremlin uses the same vulnerable software so if the NSA protects American citizens it makes it harder to hack the Kremlin.
speaking as a finnish dude..
I find it crazy that USA first says that a cyberattack is an act of war and theb proceeds to give state agencies the rights to perform them without congressional oversight.
Russia, sure, they do whatever shit they want but at least they don't pretend it would be acts of war.
American exceptionalism. "It's wrong except when we do it."
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.