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FBI Investigating Russian Hack Of New York Times Reporters, Others (cnn.com)

Hackers thought to be working for Russian intelligence have carried out a series of cyber breaches targeting reporters at the New York Times and other U.S. news organizations, reports CNN, citing US officials briefed on the matter. From the report: The intrusions, detected in recent months, are under investigation by the FBI and other US security agencies. Investigators so far believe that Russian intelligence is likely behind the attacks and that Russian hackers are targeting news organizations as part of a broader series of hacks that also have focused on Democratic Party organizations, the officials said. "Like most news organizations we are vigilant about guarding against attempts to hack into our systems," said New York Times Co. spokeswoman Eileen Murphy. "There are a variety of approaches we take up to and including working with outside investigators and law enforcement. We won't comment on any specific attempt to gain unauthorized access to The Times." The breaches targeting reporters and news organizations are part of an apparent surge in cyber attacks in the past year against entities beyond US government agencies.

61 comments

  1. How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's the NSA's job!

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    1. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No kidding.. the NSA thew down the gauntlet. Any & all internet spying/hacking/tracking is now a-okay right?

      because terrorist or safety or something.

    2. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2

      All must live in Fear.

      Take your Soma, citizen!

      Questions mean strife.

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    3. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      So...it's NSA's fault when foreign intelligence services conduct espionage against US political parties, media organizations, etc., and actively try to influence the outcomes of US elections, and manipulate the opinions of US citizens?

      You ask as if this is a rhetorical question with the answer no. Which group has been consistently in opposition to proper security of crypto systems? Which group managed to corrupt the IPSEC standard with needless complexity to the level that it never got implemented? Which group has been consistently holding vulnerabilities against American products (CISCO routers!!!?!!??) let alone non US products used by American companies.

      Most of all, which group has been openly and gratuitously using hacking techniques which should have been kept back for war time? At the same time allowing attacks on US and allied interests? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to take the credit for hacking Iranian Nuclear systems when it could easily have been blamed on the Chinese?

      If the NSA had been doing it's job of protecting US systems against foreign attack, of making sure US and Allied commercial systems were safe from Chinese and Russian attacks, and of making sure that that every single vulnerability in widely used systems like Windows was being patched or the producers were being kicked out DoD procurement then there is no chance that the current hacking attacks would have the scale or the danger that the do now.

      Speaking as a Brit, even our shitty intelligence services, the kind which seem to have to spend plenty of their time intimidating journalists doing their jobs and still leave us with a 80% Chinese controlled, 95% Windows dominated abomination of a communications infrastructure and still leave Radicals running around our Mosques corrupting the muslim youth, even these people seem to do a better job than the NSA. When was the last time you heard GCHQ hinting loudly through all their friends about their latest successful virus attack?

      Demand the NSA start to do their job.

    4. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      But if the NSA did it's job, who would employ all the people of Utah?

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    5. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But if the NSA did it's job, who would employ all the people of Utah?

      I dunno. Maybe the NSA? They'd likely have plenty more work to do.

      CAPTCHA: safely (!!)

    6. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know, I know -- in this crowd, the US is the enemy

      It is? Huh.

      As far as I am concerned, people, organizations and countries doing evil and/or stupid things are the enemies, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

      Some of them happen to be represented a bit more often than others, which make them worse, comparably speaking.

      Are there worse adversaries out there than the NSA (just to pick an example of an organization sometimes, but far from always, doing really bad things)? Definitely. Are they as powerful and influential? Not many of them come even close.

      The big problem with the US today is that it's so extremely polarized. If you're not 100% for something, you are immediately portrayed as being 100% against it, and vice versa. It's ridiculous and counter to any form of rational discussion.

      And of course it's spilling over to other countries as well, of which many are always willing to absorb whatever the US is doing, good and bad alike.

      Individuals can be smart. Small groups can be tolerable. Larger groups, they quickly go downhill.

      Meh.

    7. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod me down all you want NSA goons. You know it's true and you all need to do serious penance. All the above accusations are, if not explicitly admitted by the NSA, well documented and well supported.

    8. Re: How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like how slashdot news is now pretty much like the AP, or the NYT

    9. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The FBI enables and then investigates Russian hackers. It's a real Circle of Life!

      Or more cynically, it's perpetual job security for the FBI. "Look out, it's Russian hackers!" cry the FBI. We invited them in by promoting weakened security systems and now they are here! No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

    10. Re:How dare they hack NY Times reporters! by Udom · · Score: 1

      Reds under the bed! Who gains from this story? Can't see why the Russians would waste their time on the NYT, but the NSA, DHS etc would. Blaming the Russians for what they themselves are doing is very much their kind of thing. We'll see if the story morphs in other directions that help with their agenda, like blaming encryption.

  2. Government has no credibility by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The people jumping up and down pointing at Russia are the same people who sat on the exploits in the shadowbroker leaks for at least 3 years rather than working with vendors to allow them to be fixed.

    No, you don't get to secretly build up a trove of exploits for common infrastructure, invade every domestic and foreign computer network without justification, then start screaming about how Russians are using cyberwarfare too.

  3. modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Clinton campaign has claimed the hack as proof that the Russians are trying to aid the election of Donald Trump.

    Or maybe russian hackers understand that US Media outlets actively collaborate and conspire with political campaigns during election seasons to control and direct dissent within the party and defuse potential scandalous or controversial events in an effort to ensure a positive return on their future investment. that to undermine this quiet system of quid pro quo would be a huge step in election transparency and overall freedom of elections in a country that uses elaborate systems of delegate voting, districts, and voter identification to suppress and manipulate the outcome of a potential election.

    maybe, just maybe, Russian hackers are the good guys here.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by daveschroeder · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes, the Russian intelligence services have the best interests of democracy and the United States at heart!

      Note to nimbius: look up the term "useful idiot".

    2. Re: modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe not good guys, but potentially an unfiltered third party source of information. Take it all with a few grains of salt and ask the questions that come to mind.

    3. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only good hacker is a liberal hacker

    4. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by smooth+wombat · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Nimbus is one of those Russian trolls who will state to their dying breath not a single Russian soldier has died invading Ukraine despite the 2,000+ freshly dug graves. Apparently all these newly dead Russian soldiers died while on vacation in Ukraine and after the first few died the remainder were too stupid to get out.

      They will also state the reason Putin has decreed the mothers of these dead Russian soldiers are not allowed to talk about their son's deaths is because it truly is a state secret. Which raises the question: what state secret? If these soldiers didn't die invading Ukraine why can't the mothers talk about their son's deaths? Why is so secret about a soldier dying while on vacation? The U.S. has no problem admitting when its soldiers die on vacation, so why the secrecy in Russia? What doesn't Putin want those mothers to talk about?

      Not only that, but on the subject of hacking journalists, why are those journalists who try to count or investigate the number of dead soldiers threatened or attacked while trying to do their job? Why doesn't Putin want the number of freshly dead soldiers to be revealed? After all, they were only on vacation when they died. What's the big deal about reporting a soldier's death?

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    5. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, they've surely made our electoral system, our media, our intelligence services, and our presidential candidates look completely stupid.

      I'd like to say they're doing a bad thing, but did we really do the job for them?

    6. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by swb · · Score: 2

      Or maybe russian hackers understand that US Media outlets actively collaborate and conspire with political campaigns during election seasons to control and direct dissent within the party and defuse potential scandalous or controversial events in an effort to ensure a positive return on their future investment.

      I'd say that's just too conspiratorial. The Russians probably realize that the Times' editorial bias favors Clinton. The Russians aren't trying to aid Trump or necessarily defeat Clinton. What they probably want is to minimize Clinton's ability to command some kind of "mandate" sized victory and maintain the fractured domestic political structure.

      A non-landslide victory by Clinton will be met with at least as much if not more obstructionism by Republicans and a level of continued division in the public. Distract and divide benefits the Russians because it keeps whoever runs the US from having the political capital to make bold steps.

    7. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's funny. The DNC does illegal stuff, gets caught, then blames the people who outed their illegal activities.

      The press sure as hell doesn't do that any more, or the Washington Post wouldn't be holding clandestine fundraisers that the lawyers would "never" allow, as we learned from the leaked emails.

    8. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by PvtVoid · · Score: 2

      Note to nimbius: look up the term "useful idiot".

      Especially since that term is attributed to Lenin.

    9. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nevermind that the US has set up a NAZI puppet regime in the Ukraine, obviously US intelligence are the good guys there . . .

      Hows about rather than looking at different groups based on being on the right or wrong side of some imaginary line you simply judge them on the effects of their actions. Not too many "good guys" on any side of most conflicts when you look at it that way, but it gives a clearer picture.

    10. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Topwiz · · Score: 0

      When Clinton was a senator, she said "like all ex-KGB agents, Putin has no soul". He is still holding a grudge against her.

    11. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're implying the american electorate can't incidentally benefit from the Russian intelligence services advancing their own interests. Essentially you're guilty of a variation of an ad hominem argument.

      IE: If the American Election system is rigged AND foreign governments benefit from American's having informed voters and fair elections: how is it bad when the voters benefit(even if it was a consequence of actions taken by the supposed "Bad Guys")?

      In any case: I think you're all "useful idiots" in that you still believe in the idea of shared common interests with your fellow man. This game of life is clearly every man for themselves. I know it's true because the "divide-and-conquer" psy-ops campaigns used to gerrymander US elections worked too well.

      This guy knew how it worked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan

    12. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In any case: I think you're all "useful idiots" in that you still believe in the idea of shared common interests with your fellow man. This game of life is clearly every man for themselves.

      Trump 2016

    13. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no evidence that would support HC or DT have US interests at heart, but there is evidence to the contrary

    14. Re: modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Competition is always a good thing. Would you rather a monolithic political infrastructure be completely unchallenged?

    15. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A better question is why is President Obama so hell bent on sucking President Putin's large cock. The USA used to be a check to Russian aggression. I honestly think President Obama is in fact a member of the FSB. In 8 short years he has managed to triple the national debt, all while pulling back on military. How is this possible?

      Will President Obama be elected as a hero of Russia / China / Mexico / Iran. I surely think he deserves this recognition. He has don't more to diminish the power, uggh I mean imperialistic tendencies of the great Satin, the USA, than any of the above nations could have done on their own. At the very least I think he should be name an honorary citizen of Mexico or Iran. 4 billion dollars should at least buy some dual citizenship.

      Yes, the brave Ukrainians, to whom the USA has sworn to protect lie rotting in graves, while the President of the USA gets rich off of foreign campaign donations. I'm not saying the President of the USA is totally impotent. He has done a great job at fucking over his own citizens.

    16. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hate to break this to you, but words mean things and "regime" simply means "[form of] government" or "management".

      And I would argue that the factors you cite, contrary to what you imply, constitute a *very* good reason to take Putin and his agenda *very* seriously indeed.

      --Zontar (posting AC because mod points)

    17. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      Would those Russian intelligence services have the interests of the US more or less than the current crop of entirely corrupt US corporations that run the US government. Taking into account recent behaviours of US multi-national corporations and Russian intelligence services, when it comes to the typical Anonymous citizen, yeah Russian intelligence service cares more about you than US corporations and their corrupt US government. A country falling apart due to excessive corruption with a whole bunch of nukes and insanely greedy war industries is a threat to everyone on the planet (they might not love you but they certainly do not hate you, no matter how much they dislike abusively destructive multi-national corporations), in this case, them striving to make themselves safer makes all the rest of us safer and buys us the time to clean up or break up multi-national corporations.

      The gist of the article is interesting, as it comes off like the New York Times is now a government agency, I wonder which dog is wagging which tail when or do they just take turns, the white house being nothing more than just another corporate media channel, no decision making, just public announcements of the decisions made by others.

      So who wants to steal our democracy more, the writers of the TPP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (the toilet paper protocol for what it does to all member countries constitutions) corporate manifesto or the Russian military. So do I trust them, has very little to do with would I use them when we share joint objectives, hell, I would use the NSA if they serve my purpose or the FBI or the SEC, that is what you are meant to do, so the FSB https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..., falls in exactly the same category (would I oppose them, sure, all of them, if they opposed my underlying principles of freedom, democracy and justice, on any particular issue, that I deemed honourably appropriate).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    18. Re:modus operandi doesnt seem to make any sense. by Layzej · · Score: 1

      There is much to like about the Trump campaign if you are Russian.

      Trump has promised to look into lifting the sanctions that the U.S. has imposed against Russia for its military incursions in Ukraine.

      The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.

      He questioned whether the U.S. would defend its NATO allies in the event of a Russian attack and claimed that the alliance is “obsolete.”

      An isolationist America would pose less of a threat to Russia’s ambitions in Europe and the Middle East.

      On top of this, Putin likely holds a grudge against Clinton for this.

  4. NO. FBI MOLES ARE LYING ABOUT IT THOUGH. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ON FBI SLASHDOT even.

    Who would have thought such a thing?

    If it is being investigated as the title says, how do they know it is a "Russian Hack"?

    They want a "Russian Hack" story out there is why. What would Russia possibly gain from a hack of a Jewish newspaper? Nada. Zero zilch. 0.

    Russia does not give a flying fuck about American news agencies. That is the whole story. If the FBI found iPhones in the New York Times offices could they even hack it you stupid mother fuckers.

    1. Re:NO. FBI MOLES ARE LYING ABOUT IT THOUGH. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol. I only clicked on the headline to ask if FBI Slashdot was here.

    2. Re:NO. FBI MOLES ARE LYING ABOUT IT THOUGH. by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      They could tell it was Russian agents hacking them because they all dressed in 1970s The Americans clothes.

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  5. Let me guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The same FBI clowns who couldn't bring Hilldebeast up on charges will indict Putin and half the computer users in Russia.

    1. Re:Let me guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well, ya gotta have priorities...

      This new trend of blame Russia for everything... it's catchy. I bet Anthem (insurance co) is saying, damn, if only we came up with this Russian hacker excuse for our data breach... "Reuters reports Russian hackers infiltrated Anthem and accessed patient records; Russians apparently interested in the number of dick pill prescriptions in 2015"

  6. Inventive Russion Hackers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Relax everyone! They're just trying to get access to news from outside of their country.

  7. This should be a bigger story by PvtVoid · · Score: 0, Troll

    Russian intelligence agents using hacking to exert influence on a U.S. presidential election should be HUGE news. Maybe now that a news organization is a direct victim, it will be.

    I assume that Putin hasn't bothered to target FOX because it's mostly about newsbabes with big tits in red dresses anyway. And why mess with that?

    1. Re:This should be a bigger story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russian intelligence agents using hacking to exert influence on a U.S. presidential election should be HUGE news

      One of the presidential candidates explicitly invited the Russians to do this. The one whose recently dethroned campaign manager has previously consulted directly for the Russians, likely violating federal law in the process. Is it any wonder the Russians might feel emboldened to conduct these attacks?

    2. Re: This should be a bigger story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      I'm still waiting on a shred of evidence that the Russian government is behind any of these. Claims from Hillary's campaign manager don't count.

    3. Re:This should be a bigger story by swb · · Score: 1, Troll

      Russians hacking the NY Times should be the least effective way to influence an election if the NY Times is neutral in its reporting and not withholding negative information that would harm Clinton's candidacy.

    4. Re:This should be a bigger story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's mostly about newsbabes with big tits in red dresses

      At first I thought you were talking about Larry King, then I remembered the topic was Fox

    5. Re:This should be a bigger story by tomhath · · Score: 2

      NY Times...neutral...those do not go together.

    6. Re: This should be a bigger story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      We can trust Hillary. Hillary never lies. The DNC never lies or tries to fix elections or blame their problems on damn foreigners. The Washington Post never holds clandestine fundraisers for Hillary.

      The Russians don't hack the NY Times, they have always had an admin login account provided by the management. After all, how else would they be the first to toe the Party line?

  8. Title vs Article by Shiptar · · Score: 1

    FBI Investigating Russian Hack Of New York Times Reporters, Others

    FTFA:

    The FBI declined to comment and a spokesperson for The New York Times would not confirm the attacks or the investigation.

    Solid journalism.

  9. "The 80's Called... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... and they want their foreign policy back."
    -Premier Soetoro, 2012

  10. Ok /. editors you want Clinton. by bongey · · Score: 2

    How many more Russian conspiracy stories are going to run from " anonymous government official" ? Just put on your tin hats now. Slashdot fueling the new neo mccarthyism trend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  11. If only. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Funny

    If only we had some sort of national agency that would find weaknesses in security and ensure we were protected. A "national security agency" if you will... oh wait. -_-

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  12. So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's about time the wonderful world of corporate news suffered a little embarassment for the lack of IT security.
    A little too late for the FBI to be effective, especially for military contractors, civilian manufacturer corporations, and government support corporations, since their info has been passed around since the 1990s ( or earlier ).
    Seems like the Feds would not award any contracts to suppliers/developers unless the IT was up to par, but ...

  13. So the FBI is investigating? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    HaHaHaHaHaHa!
    Bet the FBI has been hacked already, as well as the recent NSA...
    The same people who did Snowdens security background check?

  14. McCarthy all over again by Kabukiwookie · · Score: 1

    OMG the RUSSIANS are coming. Are we back in the 50s? The best way to unite a population is to give the a bogeyman, real or imagined. Apparently McCarthyism is so far in the past that nobody seem to recognise it for what it is anymore.

    --
    The mountains of madness have many little plateaus of sanity - Terry Pratchett.
  15. This entire story is a mess... by colin_faber · · Score: 2

    So wild guessing again, likely piggy backing off the erronious statements that the Times itself made regarding the sources of these hacks...

    Hackers thought to be working for Russian intelligence have carried out a series of cyber breaches targeting reporters at The New York Times and other US news organizations, according to US officials briefed on the matter.

    The intrusions, detected in recent months, are under investigation by the FBI and other US security agencies.

    Hm...

    Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said the company had seen "no evidence" that any breaches had occurred.

    "We are constantly monitoring our systems with the latest available intelligence and tools. We have seen no evidence that any of our internal systems, including our systems in the Moscow bureau, have been breached or compromised,"

    So no hack?

    The Times has brought in private sector security investigators who are working with US national security officials to assess the damage and determine how the hackers got in, according to the US officials.

    So they were hacked?

    Attention has grown on the hacks thought to be carried out by Russians since Wikileaks released a trove of emails stolen from the DNC in the weekend before the Democratic Party's convention to nominate Hillary Clinton for president. US intelligence officials say there is strong evidence showing Russian intelligence behind the DNC hack. The Clinton campaign has claimed the hack as proof that the Russians are trying to aid the election of Donald Trump.

    Thought by who? Is there some official statement that the earlier hacks of the DNC and DCCC are the work of the Russians (with proof?). Likely no, more than likely this statement is based off the flawed TrustConnect analysis which assumed Russian intelligence services had something to do with this because the originating IP of the hack was hidden behind Russian VPN.

    And there we have it folks. News! Predictably from CNN they have to of course point out that the Evil DT is the one responsible for all of this, according to a documented liar.

  16. So other governments by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Can get into US think tanks, gov sector, private servers at will. Never detected as they enter, stay in.
    Over time vast amount of data in plain text is collected on internal networks. No decryption is needed, no strange bulk decryption requested detected.
    This bulk information collection in plain text is then networked out of the US servers without notice for some time.
    Well understood, older hacking tools are presented as proof in to the waiting US press at the very start of "secret" investigations to find out who did what.
    Smart enough to get in, stay in, extract bulk data totally undetected. Strange extra network use never noted, but then fail and drop the tools and ip's all over logs and networks to be found without much effort?
    If any nations state actors are that lacking in needed skills they would have never got in.

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    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  17. Simple Russian Motivation by FooGoo · · Score: 1

    I think this is much simpler than the Russians trying to influence US elections or policy. It's about revenge. Everyone knows Hillary was playing god in Libya and a lot of people died, including friend of Putin...Muammar Gaddafi. Who was killed with US assistance and his corpse mutilated and broadcast on TV.

    Russia took the gloves off after that, going after Clinton's support on all fronts. First internationally and now at home. All the leaks from the DNC to Soro's and his constellation of NGOs are all long time Clinton supporters. Taking out Gaddafi changed the rules and everything that follows Ukraine, Syria, etc. is because of it.

    Clinton's desperation is just sad...she knows what coming and she'll be done.

    --
    People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them
  18. New York Post-worthy headline by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    "Hacks Hacked"

    Never forget the New York Times was one of the loudest cheerleaders for the lucrative business plan called the Iraq War (subtitled: ISIS Awakens).

  19. A clearer picture by Layzej · · Score: 0

    Here's the latest evidence that the latest evidence that Russia was behind the DNC hack.