White House Hacked In Cyber Attack That Used Spear-Phishing To Crack Unclassified Network - Polidicks

[quote] [img]http://i.huffpost.com/gen/795327/thumbs/r-WHITE-HOUSE-HACKED-large570.jpg[/img] Hackers breached an unclassified computer network used by the White House, but did not appear to have stolen any data, a White House official said Monday. The hackers breached the network by using a technique known as spear phishing, in which they target victims who have access to sensitive computer networks by sending personalized emails that appear to come from trusted sources. Once the victims click on the bogus attachment or link, the hackers can install malicious software on the PCs to spy on users and steal data. A White House official declined to comment on what data resided on the network, but emphasized it did not contain any classified information. "These types of attacks are not infrequent and we have mitigation measures in place," the White House official, who asked not to be identified, told The Huffington Post. "In this instance the attack was identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication whatsoever that any exfiltration of data took place. Moreover, there was never any impact or attempted breach of any classified system." The cyber attack on the White House network occurred last month and breached a network used by the White House Military Office, according to the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the story. The office provides military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support and hospitality services, according to the White House website. It was not the first time that hackers have targeted the White House computer system or its employees. In 2008, Chinese hackers reportedly broke into a White House computer network and obtained emails between government officials. Last year, hackers based in China broke into Google Gmail accounts belonging to employees working in the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal. Spear phishing isn't new, but it is becoming increasingly sophisticated, according to the security firm McAfee. "Simply look at any high-profile attack in the news and you will see that the initial vector of compromise is almost always a spear phishing email," the firm said in a report last year. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama pushed for legislation to make computer networks more secure from cyber attacks. But Congress failed to pass a cybersecurity bill this summer after Republicans opposed the bill, siding with business lobbyists who claimed that any security standards would unfairly saddle businesses with costly regulations. In response, the Obama administration has been circulating an executive order that would bypass Congress to accomplish the president's goals of securing the country from the risk of a computer-based attack. [/quote] [url]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/white-house-hacked-cyber-_n_1928646.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl24%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D213563[/url]

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holy shit look at all those buzzwords

You dumbass.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js02m-7qHyE[/media] reminded me of 0:25

so... someone opened a spam email and got the white house network infected? someones getting fired

Simple yet dangerous.

[QUOTE=JgcxCub;37874546][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js02m-7qHyE[/media] reminded me of 0:25[/QUOTE] welp thanks for making me cry by laughing so hard

It's funny because major nations are trying to break into each other's database every single day but never succeed. And then the fucking white house gets hacked by an email.

[QUOTE=PassTheBong;37874571]welp thanks for making me cry by laughing so hard[/QUOTE] Yes, it had a similar effect on me.

[quote]unclassified[/quote] [quote] spear phishing[/quote] The Chinese are [I]soooooooo[/I] talented. They "broke" into an unclassified network by using the constantly-weakest-link: humans.

All government employees should have at least basic training in how to avoid phishing, dodgy websites. Especially in this day and age.

[QUOTE=Gustafa;37874712]All government employees should have at least basic training in how to avoid phishing, dodgy websites. Especially in this day and age.[/QUOTE] It should be a requirement that they already have common sense installed into their minds.

Actually, a properly done spear-phishing email can be quite hard to detect, especially for a busy government employee. I'm betting this wasn't your average spam email.

If everyone was forced to use digital signatures it would make something like this obscenely hard. But no, that's too hard for "normal users".

I find it funny how the US considers cyber attacks an act of war yet does nothing about them.

[QUOTE=Chernarus;37876051]I find it funny how the US considers cyber attacks an act of war yet does nothing about them.[/QUOTE] I'm sure it would consider a super major cyber attack (crashing stock exchange, fucking with critical infrastructure, and so forth) something worth responding in such a fashion over. But something like this, not so much.

Didn't China steal the plans for F-22 and F-35 awhile back and nothing happened over that either.

"I just won the Nigerian lottery, I'm a millionaire!"

Reminds me of those gullible kids in my old computer applications class that would rave over a rumor that someone "haxx0rd teh wite house."

[QUOTE=Chernarus;37876167]Didn't China steal the plans for F-22 and F-35 awhile back and nothing happened over that either.[/QUOTE] iirc the J-XX (leading to the J-20) program has been around since the early 90's but they probably did copy aspects of the F-22 to cut down on R&D costs, it also bares some resemblance to the Sukhoi T-50, so they probably asked the Russians for some help.

To be fair some of the officials don't like computers that much.

phishing isn't hacking it's [B]social engineering [/B] get your buzzwords right god fucking dammit

[QUOTE=Dysgalt;37876236] so they probably asked the Russians for some help.[/QUOTE] I doubt that a bit. Their aircraft are usually fitted with a Russian engine but the Russians aren't as big on sharing with the Chinese as you think. Especially not after that Chinese bomber started looking rather similar to a specific Russian counterpart.

Russia stopped sharing(no, not even sharing.. just selling equipment) after this happened: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-11[/url]

"Hey, we totally just breached a white house network! We totally cracked their WHGUEST wifi!"

"you won't believe wat picture was taken off u IN THE WHITE HOUSE"