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Iranians Compromised a Highly Sensitive CIA Covert Communications System in 2011 by Using Google Search: Report (yahoo.com)

Posted by msmash on from the catastrophic-failure dept.

In 2011, Iran was able to use Google's search functionality to hack into a secret CIA communication network that was being used to contact agents and informants around the world -- a breach that appears to have triggered the exposure and execution of Agency sources in China and Iran, Yahoo News reported Friday.

7 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Obama's CIA was the worst ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    30 Chinese assets executed. Iranians use Google to break into a classified information system. Covertly funded "Friendly rebels" become ISIS.

    Obama was one of the worst presidents ever.

  2. Blame America by mi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Google was used to expose evil.

    If you consider USA evil — more evil than Iran and China — then you are in a wrong place. Learn Chinese and Farsi and fuck off to that part of the world, both physical and virtual...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Blame America by radja · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I consider US spies committing crimes in other countries evil.

      --

      No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
      --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
    2. Re:Blame America by BringsApples · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I feel ya, but when your sig says "In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you" then you have to admit there may be a reason for a slightly different usage of the word 'evil' that you just don't associate with, but is still valid for others to associate with.

      --
      Politics; n. : A religion whereby man is god.
  3. Re:Ooops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Google didn't do anything but index web pages. The CIA controllers who didn't take the extremely simple and well-known measures to prevent indexing are the ones who were evil.

    It's like saying car manufacturers are evil because someone used their product to rob a bank. Only the bank opened up the vault as a drive-through instead of actually securing it in any way.

    TL;DR the CIA and Iran/China used convenient tools on the internet for spycraft. The CIA didn't use it prudently however, and got agents and informants killed due to their carelessness.

  4. Re:Ooops by XXongo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Google didn't even screw up, it worked as intended.

    the compromised communications system tried to work by "security through obscurity"-- it used publicly-visible websites that were indexable and searchable, and didn't realize that once one was compromised, you could look at what was on it, and use well-crafted search terms to find them all.

  5. Re:Long Article, Quick Summary by TimMD909 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They were told there was a problem. They ignored it, and fired the person who told them.

    At least they didn't force him to live out the rest of his days in Russia...