When they need to launch a classified project, they will create a cover story to explain what it is beforehand. "Tomorrow we will be launching the ExoStat-1 satellite which carries a scientific payload to monitor [XYZ]..." People will say, "ok" and go back to sleep. To not have a cover story at the ready will only create more interest and speculation, which is exactly what is happening now.
I'm wondering if it was an attempted terror attack where the launch was intended to head toward the California coastline but something happened on the launch, whether by accident or intent that caused it to launch out to sea.
Every computer system that was ever designed, every software that was written was done to share information, not to secure it. That is until recently. It wasn't until we built all these systems and got them all working that we then went 'aw CRAP, what about security...' The internet was designed by engineers. Software was written by engineers. They both shared the same flaw. Engineers build things. Nearly every engineer I've met operates on the principle of "If it ain't broke, don't take it apart and find out why!"
I am a security auditor - I've audited SCADA networks and have gone head-to-head with the engineers that designed and implemented them. To a person, they nearly all take it personal when I critique the security aspects of the network. Don't get me wrong - the networks are built flawlessly, but they are all glass houses. I call the SCADA networks "Crystal Palace" because nobody should be throwing rocks anywhere near them. Keep them as protected as possible from anyone who wishes to throw rocks... Isolate the heck out of them, then isolate them again.
If you enter into the project with security first and foremost in mind - you are WAY ahead of the game.
I suggest the following: 1) Have a security expert on hand during design and consult with them on installation. It may be expensive, but it is far cheaper than building it and then securing it after the fact (which often means rebuilding it because it is VERY difficult and expensive to change a system that requires 100% uptime).
2) At every step of design and implementation, ask the question "What about security?" - It will be annoying, but you'll be glad you asked.
3) The SCADA network is a glass house - protect it from anyone and anything. If possible, maintain an 'air gap' between the SCADA network and the rest of the world. Engineers that need to access that network from the 'outside world' must VPN into it - then use remote desktop or some similar technology to administer it. By 'outside world', I mean any computer that has internet access, or rather access to the internet - irrespective if it is behind the firewall on your own network.
4) Provide security in layers - never allow the SCADA network to access the internet directly or indirectly, ever.
You'll want to consult with a security expert - one with experience in SCADA networks.
' After all, he points out, '... another service may elbow Twitter aside next year, and "tweet" may fade into oblivion.'
...and we must not use the word DIAL when referring to calling someone, because a push-button touch tone phone may come along and replace the phone dial, and the term "dialing a number" may fade into oblivion.
Okay, so the market dropped 1000 points in 20 minutes... but it recovered 600 points in the 30 minutes immediately following. Most people looked at the market and said BUY BUY BUY! So, how many times has this happened? If it were a fluke, accept it and move on. Just because it happened doesn't mean you have to do something to "make sure this never happens again!" because invariably the cure is worse than the disease. If you slow trading, then orders are only going to stack up, then you'll have a problem of the market not matching reality - but operating with a lag.
If you do have a legitimate reason to sell a stock, say a company comes out with bad news - its stock price could drop for very legitimate reasons.
I don't mind private industry having my information. I do mind the Government having my information. Private industry has no power over me, government does. Facebook and Credit Bureaus can collect my data, but they do not have the power to arrest me, to raise my taxes or enact legislation against me.
What power private industry does have; government can serve as a check valve against any abuses that take place. Latest example to come to mind is when Facebook wants to share my information willy-nilly, congress speaks up.
If Government holds all the data, and all the power - and government decides to go crazy with my data, who can I turn to? Even if you're okay with the present administration having that data, what about the next administration that you happen to disagree with? Once people have data, they tend to use it... then the use becomes abuse.
Had they permitted a plane to fly, and it crashed, the outcry of permitting a plane to fly when we knew about the risks posed by volcanic ash...
But this wasn't even volcanic ash, it was volcanic glass, the effect would be sandblasting the engine while in operation. The safe option was to keep planes on the ground.
Fly or stay grounded - either way, whiners will whine.
Had they permitted a plane to fly, and it crashed, the outcry of permitting a plane to fly when we knew about the risks posed by volcanic ash...
But this wasn't even volcanic ash, it was volcanic glass, the effect would be sandblasting the engine while in operation. The safe option was to keep planes on the ground.
Fly or stay grounded - either way, whiners will whine.
There is a long history here that needs to be taken into consideration... This undermining of our own efforts is nothing new. This has to do with the disparate directives given to different government agencies.
It used to be that the government intelligence agencies had to protect paper documents, "eyes only", and the biggest threat were photocopiers and miniature cameras... not any more.
I wrote about this transformation many years ago. From my post:
HumInt/SigInt: Human Intelligence, CIA Signal Intelligence, NSA
The English have been masters at the spy trade for centuries. In WWII, the United States felt that it should get into the act and turned to the English for guidance.
With their tutelage, the CIA became a formidable tool against the Soviet threat throughout the cold war. We had clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders. Gathering intelligence became a methodical science... then, once the Soviet Union collapsed, the clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders went with it.
The growth of the internet created an atmosphere wherein information and 'intelligence' became a commodity. Then the emergence of an enemy that is not only difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define but who also operates entirely without borders. The polar opposite from what the CIA were trained to do.
Not only has this rule-set reset turned the CIA upside-down, it has rendered it all but useless. The UK isn't doing much better either. The problem is that western society itself is at odds with the rules required to make an effective spy agency. Our open government(s), free access to information, laws against spying on citizens and so forth are what both protect our civil liberties as well as create the environment in which our enemies can plot against us.
The CIA knew about al Qaeda operators operating in the USA prior to 9/11, yet did nothing to notify the FBI. This is because of the opposing nature of each agency. The CIA finds a criminal and wants to string them along to see what intelligence they can uncover by monitoring them. When the FBI finds a criminal, they want to string them up. From the CIA perspective, the FBI sure knows how to screw up an investigation and destroy your intelligence network. (In this case, it was the DoD that took down the honeypot.)
The CIA is now dysfunctional to the point of uselessness. In fact, there isn't a single effective spy agency in the western world. The current battle we're fighting and the enemy we face is one that cannot be defeated by military might, it is a war that MUST be fought using intelligence.
So, the administration turned to the only other agency with experience in gathering and monitoring enemies. It also happens that this agency is experts at SigInt, as opposed to the HumInt. The problem is that the NSA is forbidden by law from spying on American Citizens, UNLESS they are monitoring overseas communications. This exception has always been allowed, no warrant necessary. There is no law that states that I have the constitutional right to conspire with enemies overseas.
No other nation even comes close to the SigInt capabilities of the NSA...
It is imperative that the NSA get on top of this nations information security. A staggering number of government agencies are still not even behind firewalls! There is so much bureaucratic stagnation that nothing meaningful has been done to secure this nations governmental infrastructure.
Finally, they are putting an agency in charge that actually *knows* something about security. I applaud this effort wholeheartedly.
Say that company X issues a check to a Mr. Victor Timothy, who we'll refer to is VicTim, for short. So, all I need to do is take a photo of VicTim's check, and I photo-deposit it into my account, Then VicTim deposits the paper check into his account, it gets rejected for already having been processed, and it is left to him to fight it out with the company and his bank?
LET THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL YOU SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS! whom I have heard saying (repeatedly) - "it is not a critical server, it is only a print server... we can wait to patch it later." From just the article, I have a pretty good guess as to what or how it happened... or how I could replicate such an event with two commands, and little or no evidence left behind.
A disgruntled citizen comes in to use a public access terminal placed there for citizens to look up public records, and PRINT THEM OUT. This public terminal is locked down - sure, it is also on its own private VLAN, lest anyone plug into the network with their own laptop... heck, lets go one further and say they even bound the mac address to the switch port to make sure that any other network device plugged in wouldn't work (unless they spoofed the mac address).
So, our Disgruntled Citizen Hacker (DCH) takes a bootable USB thumb drive/boot CD and inserts it into the computer and reboots it to Backtrack4 or some other utility - or they simply plug into the network using their own laptop...
Once booted from his device, DCH launches an ancient exploit against the print server that "doesn't contain any sensitive data" according to the SYSADMIN "and can be rebuilt within hours if it ever got infected." - except that DCH isn't all about stealing data, he's all about getting revenge against the cop that gave him that speeding ticket - and HE'S GONNA SHOW YOU!
Once his script kiddie exploit has him sitting at the c:\ prompt, he does a "NET VIEW" and sees that the print server is on the domain, and can see the entire network from its secondary interface that connects it to the internal network. This system administrator has even copied the SYSINTERNALS suite of tools to the hard drive (he even added them to the PATH! -OR- he copies the SYSINTERNALS suite from his boot device) and with one command, DCH gets to work. "PSEXEC \\* DEL c:\boot.ini" and hits enter, the command starts cycling through all the computers on the network -but he screwed up... it is taking much too long to connect to each computer - only to screw up the boot.ini file? Naw, thats too easy to recover from.
CTRL+C
-DCH's Adrenaline is now pumping-
PSEXEC -d \\* DEL *.*/F/Q/S
This time, it runs in disconnected mode.
"Ah yes, much faster." DCH says to himself - except he screwed up again, he forgot to put the "C:\" in front of the *.*, so it is (Q)uietly, yet (F)orcefully deleting all the files listed under the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder and (S)ub-folders (including those files marked as read only), instead of the entire C: drive. Major adrenaline sets in - he's not gonna cancel it this time. He's already committed, it's too late now. That and he's lost his nerve and is visibly shaking as he's feeling the rush.
He retrieves his boot device, reboots the computer, and quietly walks away, trying oh-so-hard to not raise any suspicions as he quietly walks back to his car. "Take THAT..Your Honor." he mumbles to himself as he jams the key into his Honda Civic, it fires up with a roar as the ported exhaust reverberates throughout the parking garage. He revs the engine and squeals the tires as he leaves the ramp - radio blaring.
One hour and 800 computers later the print server is taken offline -and promptly rebuilt- exactly according to the disaster recovery plan. Doesn't matter - even if they did forensically analyze it, the only evidence they'll find is a single error (among thousands of errors) in the event log that was caused by the exploit, of itself signifying nothing conclusive. The admins never did set up event log correlation, so once the server was rebuilt, all bet were off. So, our DCH walks away, scot free.
But wait! Did he really?
Check the courthouse cameras. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, sitting down at 4:07pm you'll see the DCH take his seat at the public terminal. He looks around and cannot believe that the stupid IT depar
There is a long history here that needs to be taken into consideration... We are seeing a paradigm shift in our government that is long overdue. It used to be that the government had to protect paper documents, "eyes only", and the biggest threat were photocopiers and miniature cameras... not any more.
I wrote about this transformation many years ago. Is it any wonder why the NSA is being brought up and groomed to help protect the critical information assets that the United States has?
From my post:
HumInt/SigInt: Human Intelligence, CIA Signal Intelligence, NSA
The English have been masters at the spy trade for centuries. In WWII, the United States felt that it should get into the act and turned to the English for guidance.
With their tutelage, the CIA became a formidable tool against the Soviet threat throughout the cold war. We had clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders. Gathering intelligence became a methodical science... then, once the Soviet Union collapsed, the clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders went with it.
The growth of the internet created an atmosphere wherein information and 'intelligence' became a commodity. Then the emergence of an enemy that is not only difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define but who also operates entirely without borders. The polar opposite from what the CIA were trained to do.
Not only has this rule-set reset turned the CIA upside-down, it has rendered it all but useless. The UK isn't doing much better either. The problem is that western society itself is at odds with the rules required to make an effective spy agency. Our open government(s), free access to information, laws against spying on citizens and so forth are what both protect our civil liberties as well as create the environment in which our enemies can plot against us.
The CIA knew about al Qaeda operators operating in the USA prior to 9/11, yet did nothing to notify the FBI. This is because of the opposing nature of each agency. The CIA finds a criminal and wants to string them along to see what intelligence they can uncover by monitoring them. When the FBI finds a criminal, they want to string them up. From the CIA perspective, the FBI sure knows how to screw up an investigation and destroy your intelligence network.
The CIA is now dysfunctional to the point of uselessness. In fact, there isn't a single effective spy agency in the western world. The current battle we're fighting and the enemy we face is one that cannot be defeated by military might, it is a war that MUST be fought using intelligence.
So, the administration turned to the only other agency with experience in gathering and monitoring enemies. It also happens that this agency is experts at SigInt, as opposed to the HumInt. The problem is that the NSA is forbidden by law from spying on American Citizens, UNLESS they are monitoring overseas communications. This exception has always been allowed, no warrant necessary. There is no law that states that I have the constitutional right to conspire with enemies overseas.
No other nation even comes close to the SigInt capabilities of the NSA...
It is imperative that the NSA get on top of this nations information security. A staggering number of government agencies are still not even behind firewalls! There is so much bureaucratic stagnation that nothing meaningful has been done to secure this nations governmental infrastructure.
Finally, they are putting an agency in charge that actually *knows* something about security. I applaud this effort wholeheartedly.
Pay is based on accomplishment and achievements...
No, it is not.
Funny, you say "No it's not" and then proceed to agree with me. If the investment banker accomplished nothing, do you think he'd be highly paid? If you accomplish nothing, you provide value to NOBODY, even if you do really feel good about yourself - you're still worthless! Who cares how much someone sells themselves to their employer, if they do not perform, they're not just worth less, they're worthless!
Let's see; when you give kids a trophy for just showing up to the game, and high school kids make 'A' grades for minimal effort... kids today are conditioned to believe that life is easy, and they are 'super-duper'. This is the post accomplishment era we live in. Their actual test scores are among the lowest of civilized nations, yet their confidence levels are among the highest. What does this tell us? They don't know anything but they FEEL really good about it. This is what we get when the school system focuses on the importance of feeling rather than the importance of achieving. When kids discover that the real world doesn't care how you FEEL, it is rather anxiety inducing. The employer stance has necessarily become one of: I DON'T CARE how you feel, can you do the job or not?" Pay is based upon accomplishment and achievement, not on feelings.
Son, we live in a world that has cellular towers, and those towers have to be maintained by men without fear of heights. Whose gonna do it? You? You, with your Blackberry? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You whine about cell coverage, and you curse data transfer speeds. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That restricting sales of the iPhone, while tragic, probably saves bandwitdh. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves calls from being dropped. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about on conference calls, you want me on that tower, you need me on that tower. We use words like signal strenth, jitter buffer, db loss. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent climbing towers. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who Twitters and surfs under the blanket of the very coverage that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up an antenna, and climb a tower. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to. Did you order the iPhone ban? I did the job I... *Did you order the iPhone ban?* *You're Goddamned right I did!*
Slashdot Mirror
When they need to launch a classified project, they will create a cover story to explain what it is beforehand. "Tomorrow we will be launching the ExoStat-1 satellite which carries a scientific payload to monitor [XYZ]..." People will say, "ok" and go back to sleep. To not have a cover story at the ready will only create more interest and speculation, which is exactly what is happening now.
I'm wondering if it was an attempted terror attack where the launch was intended to head toward the California coastline but something happened on the launch, whether by accident or intent that caused it to launch out to sea.
Every computer system that was ever designed, every software that was written was done to share information, not to secure it. That is until recently. It wasn't until we built all these systems and got them all working that we then went 'aw CRAP, what about security...'
The internet was designed by engineers. Software was written by engineers. They both shared the same flaw. Engineers build things. Nearly every engineer I've met operates on the principle of "If it ain't broke, don't take it apart and find out why!"
I am a security auditor - I've audited SCADA networks and have gone head-to-head with the engineers that designed and implemented them. To a person, they nearly all take it personal when I critique the security aspects of the network. Don't get me wrong - the networks are built flawlessly, but they are all glass houses. I call the SCADA networks "Crystal Palace" because nobody should be throwing rocks anywhere near them. Keep them as protected as possible from anyone who wishes to throw rocks... Isolate the heck out of them, then isolate them again.
If you enter into the project with security first and foremost in mind - you are WAY ahead of the game.
I suggest the following:
1) Have a security expert on hand during design and consult with them on installation. It may be expensive, but it is far cheaper than building it and then securing it after the fact (which often means rebuilding it because it is VERY difficult and expensive to change a system that requires 100% uptime).
2) At every step of design and implementation, ask the question "What about security?" - It will be annoying, but you'll be glad you asked.
3) The SCADA network is a glass house - protect it from anyone and anything. If possible, maintain an 'air gap' between the SCADA network and the rest of the world. Engineers that need to access that network from the 'outside world' must VPN into it - then use remote desktop or some similar technology to administer it. By 'outside world', I mean any computer that has internet access, or rather access to the internet - irrespective if it is behind the firewall on your own network.
4) Provide security in layers - never allow the SCADA network to access the internet directly or indirectly, ever.
You'll want to consult with a security expert - one with experience in SCADA networks.
So they made a Dung Beetle
Okay, so the market dropped 1000 points in 20 minutes... but it recovered 600 points in the 30 minutes immediately following. Most people looked at the market and said BUY BUY BUY!
So, how many times has this happened? If it were a fluke, accept it and move on. Just because it happened doesn't mean you have to do something to "make sure this never happens again!" because invariably the cure is worse than the disease. If you slow trading, then orders are only going to stack up, then you'll have a problem of the market not matching reality - but operating with a lag.
If you do have a legitimate reason to sell a stock, say a company comes out with bad news - its stock price could drop for very legitimate reasons.
Cell phones get singled out because it is a multi-billion dollar industry that has "deep pockets" for tort lawyers to sue out of existence.
I don't mind private industry having my information. I do mind the Government having my information. Private industry has no power over me, government does. Facebook and Credit Bureaus can collect my data, but they do not have the power to arrest me, to raise my taxes or enact legislation against me.
What power private industry does have; government can serve as a check valve against any abuses that take place. Latest example to come to mind is when Facebook wants to share my information willy-nilly, congress speaks up.
If Government holds all the data, and all the power - and government decides to go crazy with my data, who can I turn to? Even if you're okay with the present administration having that data, what about the next administration that you happen to disagree with? Once people have data, they tend to use it... then the use becomes abuse.
And just what the hell do you think glass is made out of?
Had they permitted a plane to fly, and it crashed, the outcry of permitting a plane to fly when we knew about the risks posed by volcanic ash...
But this wasn't even volcanic ash, it was volcanic glass, the effect would be sandblasting the engine while in operation. The safe option was to keep planes on the ground.
Fly or stay grounded - either way, whiners will whine.
Had they permitted a plane to fly, and it crashed, the outcry of permitting a plane to fly when we knew about the risks posed by volcanic ash...
But this wasn't even volcanic ash, it was volcanic glass, the effect would be sandblasting the engine while in operation. The safe option was to keep planes on the ground.
Fly or stay grounded - either way, whiners will whine.
Boobs are magnetic - that explains everything then.
There is a long history here that needs to be taken into consideration... This undermining of our own efforts is nothing new. This has to do with the disparate directives given to different government agencies.
It used to be that the government intelligence agencies had to protect paper documents, "eyes only", and the biggest threat were photocopiers and miniature cameras... not any more.
I wrote about this transformation many years ago.
From my post:
HumInt/SigInt:
Human Intelligence, CIA
Signal Intelligence, NSA
The English have been masters at the spy trade for centuries. In WWII, the United States felt that it should get into the act and turned to the English for guidance.
With their tutelage, the CIA became a formidable tool against the Soviet threat throughout the cold war. We had clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders. Gathering intelligence became a methodical science... then, once the Soviet Union collapsed, the clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders went with it.
The growth of the internet created an atmosphere wherein information and 'intelligence' became a commodity. Then the emergence of an enemy that is not only difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define but who also operates entirely without borders. The polar opposite from what the CIA were trained to do.
Not only has this rule-set reset turned the CIA upside-down, it has rendered it all but useless. The UK isn't doing much better either. The problem is that western society itself is at odds with the rules required to make an effective spy agency. Our open government(s), free access to information, laws against spying on citizens and so forth are what both protect our civil liberties as well as create the environment in which our enemies can plot against us.
The CIA knew about al Qaeda operators operating in the USA prior to 9/11, yet did nothing to notify the FBI. This is because of the opposing nature of each agency. The CIA finds a criminal and wants to string them along to see what intelligence they can uncover by monitoring them. When the FBI finds a criminal, they want to string them up. From the CIA perspective, the FBI sure knows how to screw up an investigation and destroy your intelligence network. (In this case, it was the DoD that took down the honeypot.)
The CIA is now dysfunctional to the point of uselessness. In fact, there isn't a single effective spy agency in the western world. The current battle we're fighting and the enemy we face is one that cannot be defeated by military might, it is a war that MUST be fought using intelligence.
So, the administration turned to the only other agency with experience in gathering and monitoring enemies. It also happens that this agency is experts at SigInt, as opposed to the HumInt. The problem is that the NSA is forbidden by law from spying on American Citizens, UNLESS they are monitoring overseas communications. This exception has always been allowed, no warrant necessary. There is no law that states that I have the constitutional right to conspire with enemies overseas.
No other nation even comes close to the SigInt capabilities of the NSA...
It is imperative that the NSA get on top of this nations information security. A staggering number of government agencies are still not even behind firewalls! There is so much bureaucratic stagnation that nothing meaningful has been done to secure this nations governmental infrastructure.
Finally, they are putting an agency in charge that actually *knows* something about security. I applaud this effort wholeheartedly.
Regards,
Joel Helgeson
Say that company X issues a check to a Mr. Victor Timothy, who we'll refer to is VicTim, for short.
So, all I need to do is take a photo of VicTim's check, and I photo-deposit it into my account, Then VicTim deposits the paper check into his account, it gets rejected for already having been processed, and it is left to him to fight it out with the company and his bank?
My how crime has evolved...
Little Bobby Tables:
http://xkcd.com/327/
I wanted it to be short, easy for management to understand (even non-technical). Definitely worth watching, IMHO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMQ2wdOmMIA
Read this:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1553786&cid=31180686
This technique would delete all the files that are not in use, and upon reboot - the machine would be T.O.A.S.T.
-Joel
LET THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL YOU SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS!
whom I have heard saying (repeatedly) - "it is not a critical server, it is only a print server... we can wait to patch it later."
From just the article, I have a pretty good guess as to what or how it happened... or how I could replicate such an event with two commands, and little or no evidence left behind.
A disgruntled citizen comes in to use a public access terminal placed there for citizens to look up public records, and PRINT THEM OUT. This public terminal is locked down - sure, it is also on its own private VLAN, lest anyone plug into the network with their own laptop... heck, lets go one further and say they even bound the mac address to the switch port to make sure that any other network device plugged in wouldn't work (unless they spoofed the mac address).
So, our Disgruntled Citizen Hacker (DCH) takes a bootable USB thumb drive/boot CD and inserts it into the computer and reboots it to Backtrack4 or some other utility - or they simply plug into the network using their own laptop...
Once booted from his device, DCH launches an ancient exploit against the print server that "doesn't contain any sensitive data" according to the SYSADMIN "and can be rebuilt within hours if it ever got infected." - except that DCH isn't all about stealing data, he's all about getting revenge against the cop that gave him that speeding ticket - and HE'S GONNA SHOW YOU!
Once his script kiddie exploit has him sitting at the c:\ prompt, he does a "NET VIEW" and sees that the print server is on the domain, and can see the entire network from its secondary interface that connects it to the internal network. This system administrator has even copied the SYSINTERNALS suite of tools to the hard drive (he even added them to the PATH! -OR- he copies the SYSINTERNALS suite from his boot device) and with one command, DCH gets to work. "PSEXEC \\* DEL c:\boot.ini" and hits enter, the command starts cycling through all the computers on the network -but he screwed up... it is taking much too long to connect to each computer - only to screw up the boot.ini file? Naw, thats too easy to recover from.
CTRL+C
-DCH's Adrenaline is now pumping-
PSEXEC -d \\* DEL *.* /F /Q /S
This time, it runs in disconnected mode.
"Ah yes, much faster." DCH says to himself - except he screwed up again, he forgot to put the "C:\" in front of the *.*, so it is (Q)uietly, yet (F)orcefully deleting all the files listed under the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder and (S)ub-folders (including those files marked as read only), instead of the entire C: drive. Major adrenaline sets in - he's not gonna cancel it this time. He's already committed, it's too late now. That and he's lost his nerve and is visibly shaking as he's feeling the rush.
He retrieves his boot device, reboots the computer, and quietly walks away, trying oh-so-hard to not raise any suspicions as he quietly walks back to his car. "Take THAT..Your Honor." he mumbles to himself as he jams the key into his Honda Civic, it fires up with a roar as the ported exhaust reverberates throughout the parking garage. He revs the engine and squeals the tires as he leaves the ramp - radio blaring.
One hour and 800 computers later the print server is taken offline -and promptly rebuilt- exactly according to the disaster recovery plan. Doesn't matter - even if they did forensically analyze it, the only evidence they'll find is a single error (among thousands of errors) in the event log that was caused by the exploit, of itself signifying nothing conclusive. The admins never did set up event log correlation, so once the server was rebuilt, all bet were off. So, our DCH walks away, scot free.
But wait! Did he really?
Check the courthouse cameras. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, sitting down at 4:07pm you'll see the DCH take his seat at the public terminal. He looks around and cannot believe that the stupid IT depar
There is a long history here that needs to be taken into consideration... We are seeing a paradigm shift in our government that is long overdue. It used to be that the government had to protect paper documents, "eyes only", and the biggest threat were photocopiers and miniature cameras... not any more.
I wrote about this transformation many years ago. Is it any wonder why the NSA is being brought up and groomed to help protect the critical information assets that the United States has?
From my post:
HumInt/SigInt:
Human Intelligence, CIA
Signal Intelligence, NSA
The English have been masters at the spy trade for centuries. In WWII, the United States felt that it should get into the act and turned to the English for guidance.
With their tutelage, the CIA became a formidable tool against the Soviet threat throughout the cold war. We had clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders. Gathering intelligence became a methodical science... then, once the Soviet Union collapsed, the clearly defined enemies with clearly defined borders went with it.
The growth of the internet created an atmosphere wherein information and 'intelligence' became a commodity. Then the emergence of an enemy that is not only difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define but who also operates entirely without borders. The polar opposite from what the CIA were trained to do.
Not only has this rule-set reset turned the CIA upside-down, it has rendered it all but useless. The UK isn't doing much better either. The problem is that western society itself is at odds with the rules required to make an effective spy agency. Our open government(s), free access to information, laws against spying on citizens and so forth are what both protect our civil liberties as well as create the environment in which our enemies can plot against us.
The CIA knew about al Qaeda operators operating in the USA prior to 9/11, yet did nothing to notify the FBI. This is because of the opposing nature of each agency. The CIA finds a criminal and wants to string them along to see what intelligence they can uncover by monitoring them. When the FBI finds a criminal, they want to string them up. From the CIA perspective, the FBI sure knows how to screw up an investigation and destroy your intelligence network.
The CIA is now dysfunctional to the point of uselessness. In fact, there isn't a single effective spy agency in the western world. The current battle we're fighting and the enemy we face is one that cannot be defeated by military might, it is a war that MUST be fought using intelligence.
So, the administration turned to the only other agency with experience in gathering and monitoring enemies. It also happens that this agency is experts at SigInt, as opposed to the HumInt. The problem is that the NSA is forbidden by law from spying on American Citizens, UNLESS they are monitoring overseas communications. This exception has always been allowed, no warrant necessary. There is no law that states that I have the constitutional right to conspire with enemies overseas.
No other nation even comes close to the SigInt capabilities of the NSA...
It is imperative that the NSA get on top of this nations information security. A staggering number of government agencies are still not even behind firewalls! There is so much bureaucratic stagnation that nothing meaningful has been done to secure this nations governmental infrastructure.
Finally, they are putting an agency in charge that actually *knows* something about security. I applaud this effort wholeheartedly.
Regards,
Joel Helgeson
Supply and demand are irrelevant if you sit on your ass, do nothing, and feel really good about yourself.
Funny, you say "No it's not" and then proceed to agree with me. If the investment banker accomplished nothing, do you think he'd be highly paid? If you accomplish nothing, you provide value to NOBODY, even if you do really feel good about yourself - you're still worthless! Who cares how much someone sells themselves to their employer, if they do not perform, they're not just worth less, they're worthless!
Let's see; when you give kids a trophy for just showing up to the game, and high school kids make 'A' grades for minimal effort... kids today are conditioned to believe that life is easy, and they are 'super-duper'. This is the post accomplishment era we live in. Their actual test scores are among the lowest of civilized nations, yet their confidence levels are among the highest. What does this tell us? They don't know anything but they FEEL really good about it. This is what we get when the school system focuses on the importance of feeling rather than the importance of achieving. When kids discover that the real world doesn't care how you FEEL, it is rather anxiety inducing. The employer stance has necessarily become one of: I DON'T CARE how you feel, can you do the job or not?" Pay is based upon accomplishment and achievement, not on feelings.
Son, we live in a world that has cellular towers, and those towers have to be maintained by men without fear of heights. Whose gonna do it? You? You, with your Blackberry? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You whine about cell coverage, and you curse data transfer speeds. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That restricting sales of the iPhone, while tragic, probably saves bandwitdh. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves calls from being dropped. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about on conference calls, you want me on that tower, you need me on that tower. We use words like signal strenth, jitter buffer, db loss. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent climbing towers. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who Twitters and surfs under the blanket of the very coverage that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up an antenna, and climb a tower. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
Did you order the iPhone ban?
I did the job I...
*Did you order the iPhone ban?*
*You're Goddamned right I did!*
Yeah, and then they could change the name of NASA to Needs Another Seven Astronauts!
Imagine the consequences had she given a Super Poke...