Slashdot Mirror


Russian Spies Hacked the Olympics and Tried To Make it Look Like North Korea Did it, US Officials Say (washingtonpost.com)

Ellen Nakashima, reporting for the Washington Post: Russian military spies hacked several hundred computers used by authorities at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], according to U.S. intelligence. They did so while trying to make it appear as though the intrusion was conducted by North Korea, what is known as a "false-flag" operation, said two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Officials in PyeongChang acknowledged that the Games were hit by a cyberattack during the Feb. 9 Opening Ceremonies but had refused to confirm whether Russia was responsible. That evening there were disruptions to the Internet, broadcast systems and the Olympics website. Many attendees were unable to print their tickets for the ceremony, resulting in empty seats.

33 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So could the NSA

    1. Re:NSA by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      So says the Russian AC

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
  2. Russia didn't hack the Olympics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Russia didn't hack the Olympics. They're banned from these Olympics.

    The Olympic Hackers from Russia were responsible.

    1. Re: Russia didn't hack the Olympics by Brockmire · · Score: 1

      And yet there was still two (so far) Russians caught doping again. Just fucking ban Russia from the next 4 Olympics.

  3. Official White House response: by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    There was no collusion. NO COLLUSION!

    I even believe him this time. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Official White House response: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It seems fairly clear at this point that all the Russian hackers have been hired by the Trump campaign to give him something to tweet about.

  4. No, they did not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    They have nothing to gain from it, and throwing a wrench of this kind is not something they are interested in.

    America however is frequently throwing wrenches, literally invented the false-flag concept and modus operandi, and have been proven time and again to work like this.

    Most likely nothing like this happened, and America is lying as usual, but if a false-flag like this was conducted, it was most likely done my America as well.

    If it comes out of the mouth of American agencies, and is targetted against the Middle East and Asia, then it is by default a lie.

    1. Re:No, they did not by quantaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They have nothing to gain from it, and throwing a wrench of this kind is not something they are interested in.

      I can think of several motives:
      1) The IOC banned Russia from competing as a nation (and banned a bunch of Russian athletes) and Russians are pissed. Don't discount simple animosity.
      2) Making the IOC seem inept hurts their credibility, and the less credibility they have the harder it is for them to justify the continued ban.
      3) Riling the NK crisis back up means that US political focus moves there and away from Russia. The less focus on Russia the easier it is for Trump to avoid/weaken sanctions and harder it is for the GOP to scuttle the investigation.

      America however is frequently throwing wrenches, literally invented the false-flag concept and modus operandi, and have been proven time and again to work like this.

      Most likely nothing like this happened, and America is lying as usual, but if a false-flag like this was conducted, it was most likely done my America as well.

      If it comes out of the mouth of American agencies, and is targeted against the Middle East and Asia, then it is by default a lie.

      Russia has spent the last few years performing false-flag cyber-attacks, it's their M.O. at this point. While US intelligence has pulled fast ones in the past they seem to have been playing it straight when it comes to exposing Russia. The claims they've made based on secret evidence have so far turned out to be legit.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    2. Re:No, they did not by quantaman · · Score: 2

      re " has spent the last few years performing false-flag cyber-attacks"

      Russia is to be so skilled at all things cyber, yet get detected for years? Thats not very good cyber.

      Re "made based on secret evidence have so far turned out to be legit."

      Bear code?

      Ip range?

      Time of day?

      Code litter?

      The Dutch watching them live on their own security cameras.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    3. Re: No, they did not by Type44Q · · Score: 2

      literally invented the false-flag concept

      It doesn't take a genius to figure out that false flags are as old as tribal warfare. Oh, and you're a fucking moron.

    4. Re:No, they did not by easyTree · · Score: 1

      Everything about the US is fiction. Who's today's false flag victim?

    5. Re:No, they did not by flex941 · · Score: 1

      1) The IOC banned Russia from competing as a nation (and banned a bunch of Russian athletes) and Russians are pissed. Don't discount simple animosity.

      Yes, this. One has to remember that we are talking about Russia and Russians.

    6. Re:No, they did not by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      So says the Russian AC again

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
  5. Re:Why? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Informative

    What would be a reason for the Russians to do this?

    If you bothered to even read part of TFA:

    Analysts surmise the disruption was retaliation against the International Olympic Committee for banning the Russian team from the Winter Games due to doping violations. No officials from Russia’s Olympic federation were allowed to attend, and while some athletes were permitted to compete under the designation “Olympic Athletes from Russia,” they were unable to display the Russian flag on their uniforms and, if they won medals, their country’s anthem was not played.

    I'm not buying it.

    Yeah, there are a lot of things that people refuse to believe because it makes them uncomfortable but hey, you keep on believing the Earth is flat and the moon landing was faked.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  6. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Erm, Russia is a nation of people with serious penis envy, if you haven't noticed they've been trying to make themselves look relevant again for the last 10 years. They embarassed themselves by engaging in a state sponsored drug cheating ring to try and make themselves look more glorious than they actually are at the previous Olympics and they got caught thanks to a Russian whistleblower that was complicit in organising the whole thing.

    The real question is why wouldn't they attack the olympics? They invaded Ukraine and annexed a part of it's territory simply because the people there decided they'd had enough of a pro-Russian leader who was funneling billions of state money into his own pocket. If they're willing to start a war over that and break all international political protocol in annexing foreign territory too then you're really surprised they'd attack the Olympics because it called their bluff on their cheating and actually banned them from being officially represented at the games?

    It was always going to provoke a reaction from Russia and it did - this wasn't about provoking war between the Koreas, it was about trying to make the games flop so they could pretend it didn't matter that they'd been banned from it. Laughably they failed, so their small Russian penises are still small.

  7. And so it goes... by beheaderaswp · · Score: 1

    Putin wants military conflict with the US.

    So he screws with the Olympics and maybe President Caligula does something stupid. Poof it's Arch Duke Ferdinand...

    Or maybe Putin was just looking for porn.

    --
    Another consultant who stuck it out.

    "We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
  8. Tasty Olympics by kackle · · Score: 1

    Perhaps they were looking for take-out.

  9. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This was the probable reason for doing the hack. There are no real proofs in these blames but just reasons why they would do it. What was the reason then to blame it to Russians and not having any proofs?

    What would be a reason for the Russians to do this?

    If you bothered to even read part of TFA:

    Analysts surmise the disruption was retaliation against the International Olympic Committee for banning the Russian team from the Winter Games due to doping violations. No officials from Russia’s Olympic federation were allowed to attend, and while some athletes were permitted to compete under the designation “Olympic Athletes from Russia,” they were unable to display the Russian flag on their uniforms and, if they won medals, their country’s anthem was not played.

    I'm not buying it.

    Yeah, there are a lot of things that people refuse to believe because it makes them uncomfortable but hey, you keep on believing the Earth is flat and the moon landing was faked.

  10. Your website dunks under heavy load ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's not your fault -- russians did it. Actually Putin himself, while disguised as Trump. ;-)

    The reliable sources on the condition of anynymity confirm this.

  11. Where to I sign up by DCFusor · · Score: 1, Troll

    For Russian Bot training? They seem to be able to do anything, and are everywhere causing all events! I want to be in the mix! (/s in case someone is that dumb)

    --
    Why guess when you can know? Measure!
  12. Re: i heard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All I see on stupid libturd TV is lesbian $$$gimpics.

  13. Whoever is leaking this should be prosecuted by magzteel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People working for "US Intelligence" shouldn't be leaking such things.

    If the information is correct they are leaking their detection capabilities.
    If the information is incorrect they are revealing their weaknesses.

    I hope they find the leakers and lock them up.

    1. Re:Whoever is leaking this should be prosecuted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The ONLY reason for this "leak" is to cast aspersions on Russia, without requiring ANY actual PROOF.
      While Russia, like the US, MAY be hacking other states' sites, they would be HIGHLY unlikely to do it via NK.
      Mossad or the CIA, on the other hand, would be MOST likely to use a Russian proxy to put "blame" on Russia for almost ANYTHING at the moment.

    2. Re:Whoever is leaking this should be prosecuted by quantaman · · Score: 1

      People working for "US Intelligence" shouldn't be leaking such things.

      If the information is correct they are leaking their detection capabilities.
      If the information is incorrect they are revealing their weaknesses.

      I hope they find the leakers and lock them up.

      Not every leak is done against the wishes of the organization in question.

      An official accusation puts a lot of other groups in an awkward position. How is the IOC supposed to respond to the accusation? South Korea? When Russia denies that they're responsible does the US produce evidence or just ignore the denial? One way they expose capabilities, the other way they lose face. And once you have official accusations flying back and forth you now have yet another conflict that can escalate.

      A leak by a senior official still exposes and embarrasses Russia, but it also causes way less trouble than an official statement.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    3. Re:Whoever is leaking this should be prosecuted by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      Ah, another Russian AC

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
  14. Re:Russian Spies Hacked /. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Are you sure it wasn't North Koreans?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  15. Re:Why? by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    Yeah, there are a lot of things that people refuse to believe because it makes them uncomfortable but hey, you keep on believing the Earth is flat and the moon landing was faked.

    You mean like "analysts surmising" sorry, let's de-PR speak that. What it says is "analysts guessing/inferring/believing without evidence that the disruption was retaliation ... for banning the russians". The article doesn't offer any actual proof of this, and you fell hook, line and sinker for creative wordplay. Using surmise in that sentence in the first place openly states that they have *no* evidence or proof of this at all, they even told you that.

    You probably haven't noticed, but the media has been very selective in exactly what words it's been using the last 3-4mo, and using words that have falling out of popular use in the last 30 years but sound/read as important. Pay attention, they lied to you and you believed them.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  16. Credibility low by barcarolle · · Score: 1

    Anonymous "US officials" and the Washington Post. Now there's a recipe for credibilityNOT.

  17. Bedtime For Bonzo by xxxLCxxx · · Score: 1

    Hurray, it's bedtime for Bonzo again!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  18. Re:Why? by tinkerton · · Score: 1

    Yeah, there are a lot of things that people refuse to believe because it makes them uncomfortable but hey, you keep on believing the Earth is flat and the moon landing was faked.

    I'm sure whatever anonymous claim US officials come up with I could find a rationale to justify it. But I would be a gullible idiot if I did.

  19. Lulz by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    Exactly the joke I was thinking, needs to be modded up!

    That said, I think it is entirely reasonable that Russia did the hack. If only to spit in the eye of the organization that banned them as a nation from competing. I mean so far as I know in the end, all the hacking of "hundreds" of computers ended up doing was shutting down the Wifi for a brief period of time, which is just an annoyance really. Sounds like Russian hacking team practice, pick a target and have some lulzs.

    That said, apart of "national" hacking, this very well could be the work of private hacking group for much the same reason (ban us from the games will you!)... As far as the political intrigue and North Korea goes, they seem to be the world wiping boy so if you're going to try and get someone else blamed, seems like the easiest route.

  20. Re:Why? by dave420 · · Score: 1

    You just decided what the analysts meant. Your argument seems to be one from incredulity. Ouch.

  21. Re:Why? by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    You just decided what the analysts meant. Your argument seems to be one from incredulity. Ouch.

    I took their words at exact value. They're the ones that said they guess, but had no evidence of it, not rocket surgery.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...