Edward Snowden Confirms Cyber Weapon "Stuxnet" Was Created By U.S And Israel To Target Iran's Nuclea - Polidicks

[QUOTE]The former National Security Agency contractor on the [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/06/edward-snowden-debate-traitor-or-hero-the-note/"]run from U.S. authorities halfway around the world[/URL] said that Stuxnet, an unprecedented cyber weapon that[URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/stuxnet-cyber-super-weapon-turned-us/story?id=12767405#.UdxAjzvtWSo"]targeted Iran’s nuclear program[/URL], was the product of a joint American-Israeli secret operation. Before Edward Snowden became a household name, he conducted an interview via encrypted emails with cyber security expert Jacob Appelbaum and was asked about the game-changing computer code, according to the interview [URL="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-whistleblower-edward-snowden-on-global-spying-a-910006.html"]published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel[/URL] Monday. “NSA [U.S. National Security Agency] and Israel co-wrote it,” Snowden said. Snowden said that the NSA regularly works with foreign governments and has a “massive body” called the Foreign Affairs Directorate to deal with international partners. In the interview Snowden did not discuss Stuxnet further and, so far, none of the newspapers Snowden has worked with have published any documents directly relating to the cyber weapon. Discovered in 2010 but [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/cyber-superweapon-stuxnet-even-older-than-thought-researchers/"]possibly in action as early as 2005[/URL], Stuxnet was designed to infiltrate the computer system at an Iranian nuclear facility, physically damage the facility’s infrastructure by throwing off automated systems and cover its tracks so that even if engineers were monitoring those systems, everything would appear normal. At the time of its discovery, cyber security experts put the U.S. and Israel on a short list of nations capable of developing such a sophisticated and expensive cyber weapon. In June 2012, [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/world/middleeast/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"]The New York Times reported[/URL] Stuxnet was part of a cyber offensive program begun under President Bush and accelerated by President Obama which targeted Iran’s nuclear program and said Stuxnet was “developed by the United States and Israel.” No U.S. or Israeli officials have gone on the record to claim responsibility for Stuxnet or [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/stuxnet-returns-duqu-researchers-warn-similar-cyber-attack/story?id=14763854"]its digital successors[/URL]. [/QUOTE] [URL]http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/07/edward-snowden-u-s-israel-co-wrote-cyber-super-weapon-stuxnet/[/URL]

Honestly more surprised that it was Us [I]and[/I] the Israelis. Thought Israel was alone on this one. Interesting (and mortifying) nonetheless.

Here we go.

cyber warfare is so bloody insidious

Holy shit this is Screaming Fist all over again

I recall this already being known. Like, actually being stated at some point that yeah, they did it. Not really that alarming, big damn deal.

Doesn't seem like that was a bad thing. I mean in terms of comparasion. The cyber weapon was used right - even if it was an outright intervention into iran's internal stuff it was done for good and, from what I understood, disabled the systems so no people were killed.

So THIS is why they wanted to gouge his eyes out with a dirty spoon. That and the fact he's pretty much a modern day hero

I thought that was confirmed way before snowden? maybe what I read was a conspiracy theory or something

I think we are past whistleblowing now.

Shocking.

We already knew this. Whats he gonna leak next, Lee Harvey shot JFK?

Snowden is turning into this. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK2uJyznAkU[/media]

[QUOTE=Nestophales;41384173]We already knew this. Whats he gonna leak next, Lee Harvey shot JFK?[/QUOTE] Abe Lincoln was an inside job! :tinfoil:

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;41384219]Abe Lincoln was an inside job! :tinfoil:[/QUOTE] too soon

considering the complexity of stuxnet this is not that surprising. it could not have been coded by 1 person. [editline]9th July 2013[/editline] it hit its "doomsday" so to speak so stuxnet will no longer spread, but the other variants will.

No shit, Sherlock.

[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;41384049]So THIS is why they wanted to gouge his eyes out with a dirty spoon. That and the fact he's pretty much a modern day hero[/QUOTE]He's not a hero. He's a defector, which is not a whistleblower by any means. At this point, it seems likely that he released the PRISM information in the way that he did because he knew people would have this reaction, treat him like a hero. Then, anything he released after that would be seen as great and people would love him for it without really paying attention to what he was actually releasing. Again, whistleblowers have a lot of protections and channels they can go through to reveal these kinds of things. It has happened in the past, when there were even less protections for whistleblowers and when espionage fears were several magnitudes worse than they are these days. He went in to the job with the intention of leaking information without even knowing what there was to leak, he willingly avoided the channels that exist and have been used in the past by whistleblowers to reveal this kind of information, he stole several laptops filled with intelligence information and fled to our biggest intelligence enemies, and he has been revealing things that have nothing to do with public interest or anything but are just straight up damaging to the U.S. as a whole. Snowden is not a hero.

Anyone care to argue that this is still whistleblowing and not simply illegal leaking? I'm really struggling to see how this is something the American people desperately needed to know.

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;41384318]He's not a hero. He's a defector, which is not a whistleblower by any means. At this point, it seems likely that he released the PRISM information in the way that he did because he knew people would have this reaction, treat him like a hero. Then, anything he released after that would be seen as great and people would love him for it without really paying attention to what he was actually releasing.[/QUOTE] To assume this person would go to such great lengths for the express purpose of an arbitrary collective of people to call him a hero is far fetched and makes zero sense. Thus far, he has not gained anything from the leak and is on the run from the most influential and resourceful force on this planet. He's not exactly living the good life. This is a rather poor attempt to discredit him. Please elaborate on the things he leaked that you think should not have been leaked. [QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;41384318]Again, whistleblowers have a lot of protections and channels they can go through to reveal these kinds of things. It has happened in the past, when there were even less protections for whistleblowers and when espionage fears were several magnitudes worse than they are these days. He went in to the job with the intention of leaking information without even knowing what there was to leak, he willingly avoided the channels that exist and have been used in the past by whistleblowers to reveal this kind of information, he stole several laptops filled with intelligence information and fled to our biggest intelligence enemies, and he has been revealing things that have nothing to do with public interest or anything but are just straight up damaging to the U.S. as a whole. Snowden is not a hero.[/QUOTE] So what if he went in to the job with the express purpose of leaking documents? All this serves as is evidence that the guy truly wants transparency. He fled to your biggest intelligence enemies because your government threatened to shit fury on him, so he had no other choice but to escape to a place that is undoubtedly safest. I also believe he decided to go public with photos of him in the media and his name on headlines because this grants him a form of protection, making it much harder to simply make him 'disappear'. It's much harder to kidnap or do any form of wrongdoing to a person that has all the media spotlights on him. The fact that he leaked documents that may have been slightly less about public interest and more about revealing the darker side of the U.S government is fantastic, the more transparent the government is the better it is for everyone. There is absolutely zero reason for citizens to not know about the terrible shit their government is doing, and no hypocritical law made by that very same government is going to change this fact. [QUOTE=catbarf;41384956]Anyone care to argue that this is still whistleblowing and not simply illegal leaking? I'm really struggling to see how this is something the American people desperately needed to know.[/QUOTE] Whistleblowing [i]is[/i] illegal leaking. Furthermore, who are you to decide what the American people should and shouldn't know?

[QUOTE=catbarf;41384956]Anyone care to argue that this is still whistleblowing and not simply illegal leaking? I'm really struggling to see how this is something the American people desperately needed to know.[/QUOTE] actually the american people desperately need to know anything about government operations that they do not know now

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;41384318]He's not a hero. He's a defector, which is not a whistleblower by any means. At this point, it seems likely that he released the PRISM information in the way that he did because he knew people would have this reaction, treat him like a hero. Then, anything he released after that would be seen as great and people would love him for it without really paying attention to what he was actually releasing. Again, whistleblowers have a lot of protections and channels they can go through to reveal these kinds of things. It has happened in the past, when there were even less protections for whistleblowers and when espionage fears were several magnitudes worse than they are these days. He went in to the job with the intention of leaking information without even knowing what there was to leak, he willingly avoided the channels that exist and have been used in the past by whistleblowers to reveal this kind of information, he stole several laptops filled with intelligence information and fled to our biggest intelligence enemies, and he has been revealing things that have nothing to do with public interest or anything but are just straight up damaging to the U.S. as a whole. Snowden is not a hero.[/QUOTE] Said it better then I could have. I hope he's killed or something.

[QUOTE=lolz3;41386567]Said it better then I could have. [B]I hope he's killed or something.[/B][/QUOTE] nice

[QUOTE=lolz3;41386567]Said it better then I could have. I hope he's killed or something.[/QUOTE] well i don't hope he's killed, but yeah he's not some great hero or anything

It's amazing how fast I went from "Yay! Snowden!" to "Fuck off." after seeing this thread.

[QUOTE=killerteacup;41386397]actually the american people desperately need to know anything about government operations that they do not know now[/QUOTE] So everything should be public and government shouldn't have anything kept hidden from people whatsoever? Military deployments, exact details on tracking terrorists, how-to guides on chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons? I can't understand the naivety of some people saying that [i]nothing[/i] should be kept by a government from its people. No country has ever operated or could even feasibly operate in that way.

Apologizing for the kill comment. Okay yes that's too far. However I knew from day 1 he was a traitor and he needs to be caught.

[QUOTE=killerteacup;41386397]actually the american people desperately need to know anything about government operations that they do not know now[/QUOTE] yep, everybody needs to know everything about what the security agency is doing, including domestic terrorists and foreign terrorists with US contacts! we need to make it easier for them to attack us and avoid our attacks!

[QUOTE=gk99;41386694]It's amazing how fast I went from "Yay! Snowden!" to "Fuck off." after seeing this thread.[/QUOTE] Perhaps you are easily impressed? I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Snowden. Maybe he's starting to sound a bit annoying or looking like an attention grabber, but I think he's done a great service to people all over the world by letting it be clear that the U.S. is definitely spying on basically everyone. My only gripe against his course of actions is that he immediately went public that he leaked the info. I would have perhaps tried to stay hidden for a little longer, but then maybe, going public was a strategy in order to try and secure asylum on some place. And about him going through 'official' channels to reveal this info, we all know how well that went with Bradley Manning. [editline]10th July 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;41386928]yep, everybody needs to know everything about what the security agency is doing, including domestic terrorists and foreign terrorists with US contacts! we need to make it easier for them to attack us and avoid our attacks![/QUOTE] This goes back to the point of 'giving up a little freedom to get security'. Though revealing sensitive info such as countries excluded from spying and irrelevant stuff like the US and Israel developing stuxnet was completely unnecessary and even questionable.

Newsflash. Everyone spies on everyone. The world needs to stop being so fucking hypocritical with the "OH! OH! LOOK ONLY USA DOES THIS!!"