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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."

14 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I dobut it was NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  2. Re:I dobut it was NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  3. Re:In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    A bit hard. try impossible to believe. It would be like suggesting the NSA sit in front of computers with open webcams and mics. I work with one defense agency (from another country) and cameras are not permitted in the building, any permanent device with a web cam either has it mechanically disabled or tapped over. I would be stunned if this is not standard practise everywhere, especially agencies in the US and Russia where they take paranoid to whole new levels.

  4. Re:I dobut it was NSA by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not openly and so apparently obviously they haven't,

  5. Tit for Tat by guises · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, woo! Take that! You fuck with our elections?! Well we'll fuck with your elections, Russia...

  6. Re: Tit for Tat by wasteoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ha ha ha! Russian elections! Oh wait, you were serious.

  7. Re:Hmmm by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Funny

    But the trick was getting them to install it by putting out a package called "DNC hack files complete ".

  8. Russia's "critically important infrastructures". by EvilSS · · Score: 4, Funny

    So their vodka distilleries and botnets got hit?

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  9. Re:Favoritism by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

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    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  10. Wouldn't it be nice by Snotnose · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  11. I call BS by mea2214 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My bullshit detector is going full tilt over this entire affair. Somebody is making up stories to feed a gullible press that does little to no fact checking anymore.

  12. Re: I dobut it was NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  13. Re:Favoritism by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Informative
    The DNC was supposed to be impartial. The DNC favored Clinton before any votes were cast. Bernie was a "problem" for them.

    Other emails show DNC staff in damage control over allegations from the Sanders campaign, when a report - corroborated by a Politico - revealed the DNC’s joint fundraising committee with the Clinton campaign was laundering money to the Clinton campaign instead of fundraising for down-ticket Democrats. Regardless of the fundraising tactics, because both major campaigns didn’t agree to use the joint fundraising committee super-PAC with the DNC, the DNC should have recused itself from participating with just the Clinton campaign.

    Follow the money.

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    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  14. Re: I dobut it was NSA by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.