• United States officially accuses the Russian government of attempting to interfere in the election
    37 replies, posted
[url]https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/10/07/joint-statement-department-homeland-security-and-office-director-national[/url] [quote]The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities. Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government. The USIC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess that it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion. This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process. Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so. DHS is providing several services to state and local election officials to assist in their cybersecurity. These services include cyber “hygiene” scans of Internet-facing systems, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats. DHS has convened an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group with experts across all levels of government to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks potentially affecting election infrastructure and the elections process. Secretary Johnson and DHS officials are working directly with the National Association of Secretaries of State to offer assistance, share information, and provide additional resources to state and local officials.[/quote] [url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-government-officially-accuses-russia-of-hacking-campaign-to-influence-elections/2016/10/07/4e0b9654-8cbf-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html[/url] [quote]The Obama administration on Friday officially accused Russia of carrying out a wide-ranging campaign to interfere with the 2016 elections, including by hacking the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political officials. The denunciation, made by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, came as pressure was growing from within the administration and some lawmakers to hold Moscow accountable for a set of actions apparently aimed at sowing discord around the election.[/quote]
And here we go.
However they have NOT officially ruled out the possibility that the hacker was also someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds
hopefully this inspires the return of paper based ballots
Probably more of interest than any hacking scandal that has occurred in relation to the election is the idea that computer security is of paramount importance and incompetent persons who don't invest wisely in security are perhaps unwittingly "allowing" such attacks to happen. Its a good discussion of the rule of law versus the letter of the law. As time goes on I see an ever-decreasing amount of sympathy afforded to people or organisations that have fell victim to hacking. Keeping in mind we are sitting right now at a point where ~1 billion Yahoo accounts have been compromised, arguably due to inept profiteering leadership. As more and more systems become reliant on the internet (although we already can see that most every company & organisation of standing in the world is already fully reliant upon the internet, even if they want to try and claim otherwise) it is perhaps up to those that depend upon the systems to act responsibly and in accordance with the importance of the data they entrust to the internet. I'm sure that every single company, organisation and government has seen wide-ranging benefits when it comes to their bottom line from using the internet that has so far enabled a reduced number of man-hours. Yet there seems to be little regard given when it comes to security. Reduced cost doesn't necessarily equate to reduced responsibility. Just because the files now sit on someone's server rather than in a filing cabinet, it does not mean that there should be an expectation that security of those files is implicit and doesn't come with a cost involved. A very good example of this comes in the form of Valve, which since the HL2 Beta leak scandal has sought to ever-improve security. Can we [I]really[/I] trust governments and organisations that are irresponsible when it comes to information security?
[QUOTE=Svinnik;51167265]hopefully this inspires the return of paper based ballots[/QUOTE] I thought Russia switched back to using typewriters for some intelligence documents so they wouldn't have to worry about cyberleaks Can't be hacked if its not digitized
[media]https://twitter.com/AFP/status/784490378548416512[/media]
[QUOTE=smurfy;51167341][media]https://twitter.com/AFP/status/784490378548416512[/media][/QUOTE] Fight behind the UN building!
I wish at this point the government would just say "clearly this isn't gonna fucking work" and throw this entire election out the window
With situations like this as well as general climate change trends as of late, it seems like we have a rough and bumpy ride ahead of us.
[QUOTE=smurfy;51167341][media]https://twitter.com/AFP/status/784490378548416512[/media][/QUOTE] Jokes on them, our elections can't be messed with, they don't exist!
[QUOTE=smurfy;51167262]However they have NOT officially ruled out the possibility that the hacker was also someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds[/QUOTE] inside job?
Well, that settles that I guess. I don't like what we found in the emails, but that doesn't give them (Russia) the right to do what they did.
[QUOTE=smurfy;51167262]However they have NOT officially ruled out the possibility that the hacker was also someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds[/QUOTE] as long as that bed is in a facility capable of laumching such large attacks
Just as a thought experiment, how would you feel if the US government released documents evidencing political corruption in Russia just before an election? Would that be considered tampering or enlightening the Russia people and helping them make a more informed decision?
[QUOTE=King Tiger;51168319]Just as a thought experiment, how would you feel if the US government released documents evidencing political corruption in Russia just before an election? Would that be considered tampering or enlightening the Russia people and helping them make a more informed decision?[/QUOTE] Things like that depend on the context. Both the real situation and the metaphorical situation you put forth would be examples of strongly probably tampering, but in some different situations, some could argue it was for enlightenment. In the real case of Russia having dirt on the DNC, even though I agree their intentions are to tamper with the election, I don't think that negates or absolves the DNC of their shortcomings, and I do believe that people should focus on that too - if not now, then at a later date.
[QUOTE=King Tiger;51168330]Just as a thought experiment, how would you feel if the US government released documents evidencing political corruption in Russia just before an election? Would that be considered tampering or enlightening the Russia people and helping them make a more informed decision?[/QUOTE] It's obviously, blatantly tampering. Even if it's clear as day that Russian politics are far more corrupt and the elections are far more rigged than ours I wouldn't support our government hacking into their political parties systems.
[QUOTE=Intoxicated Spy;51167423]Fight behind the UN building![/QUOTE] Man, I'd love to see a fight between Kerry and Lavrov. I mean, sure it would be a one-sided affair because Kerry is a ex-soldier while Lavrov... knows how to use pens, I guess. But damn it would be damn hilarious.
Wow, smooth move Barack. I'm sure this will go over well with the whole "Russian Reset" thing he was trying to do.
[QUOTE=Chonch;51168448]Wow, smooth move Barack. I'm sure this will go over well with the whole "Russian Reset" thing he was trying to do.[/QUOTE] This is Putin's fault, not Obama's. America has every right to do this.
[QUOTE=IKTM;51168554]This is Putin's fault, not Obama's. America has every right to do this.[/QUOTE] From what I've gathered from SH is that if America did something bad, it's Americas fault, and if Russia did something bad, it's America's fault :v:
[QUOTE=Raidyr;51168609]From what I've gathered from SH is that if America did something bad, it's Americas fault, and if Russia did something bad, it's America's fault :v:[/QUOTE] p much. One thing you forget is if it's a democrat president, republicans call him/her out. If it's a republican president, democrats call him/her out. If it was Bush accusing them then the left wing on FP would be bitching about it.
Man this is turning out to be one hell of a Friday.
[QUOTE=Chonch;51168448]Wow, smooth move Barack. I'm sure this will go over well with the whole "Russian Reset" thing he was trying to do.[/QUOTE] I dont know dude if I was trying to make peace with a guy and the first thing he does is to drink the last can of 7-up in my fridge I'd be pissed aswell and rightfully so
[QUOTE=Chonch;51168448]Wow, smooth move Barack. I'm sure this will go over well with the whole "Russian Reset" thing he was trying to do.[/QUOTE] The Russian Reset is pretty dumb anyway
[QUOTE=Ghost656;51170577]The Russian Reset is pretty dumb anyway[/QUOTE] Was never going to happen because Putin is too reliant on nationalism and invading countries to retain power with the economy tanking
[QUOTE=King Tiger;51168330]Just as a thought experiment, how would you feel if the US government released documents evidencing political corruption in Russia just before an election? Would that be considered tampering or enlightening the Russia people and helping them make a more informed decision?[/QUOTE] I'd feel same as if cops confiscated 20 grams of my weed but wrote 2 grams on ticket paper.
[QUOTE=smurfy;51167262]However they have NOT officially ruled out the possibility that the hacker was also someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds[/QUOTE] Probably another FP'er to add to the list :rolleyes:
So, hackers released all the filth on 2016 elections, but its Russia who is at fault, not the mentioned people?
[QUOTE=DoktorAkcel;51172239]So, hackers released all the filth on 2016 elections, but its Russia who is at fault, not the mentioned people?[/QUOTE] The issue isn't the information released, it's who did it and why. It'd be one thing if it was like say, Switzerland or a watchdog organization, releasing the info. The Russian government is hardly uncorrupt and assuming they really did do it, it's hard to see them doing it for any reason other than interfering in the elections.
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