The Ominous Parallels: [RECAP] - "RoGuE HaCkEr" aNd BlAcK Op$

February, 17, 2010 - by Tom Burghardt

The iconic American investigative journalist I.F. Stone once said, "All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed." Stone's credo is all the more relevant today when it comes to the pronouncements of intelligence agencies and their corporate masters, particularly where official enemies are concerned

A widespread computer attack that began July 4 took down several U.S. Government, South Korean and financial web sites, the Associated Press reported.

Multiple media reports claim that the Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Transportation web sites were struck by a distributed denial of service (DDOS) assault that began last Saturday.

According to Computerworld, "a botnet comprised of about 50,000 infected computers has been waging a war against U.S. government Web sites and causing headaches for businesses in the U.S. and South Korea." The magazine reported July 7, "on Saturday and Sunday the attack was consuming 20 to 40 gigabytes of bandwidth per second, about 10 times the rate of a typical DDoS attack, one security expert said after being briefed by the US-CERT on Tuesday. 'It's the biggest I've seen'."

This is particularly embarrassing to the DHS since the agency's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (U.S.-CERT) is responsible for preventing illegal hacking forays on government networks.

Attacks were also reported on the White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, The Washington Post, U.S. Bancorp, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Affected sites in South Korea included those of the presidential Blue House, the Ministry of Defense, the National Assembly, Shinhan Bank, the newspaper Chosun Ilbo. South Korea's top Internet Service Provider, Naver.com crashed on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

===snipped===>Que Bono:Who Benefits?

While we may never know who actually launched the incursions, we just might have a slight inkling of who'll benefit. As Antifascist Calling reported July 6, plans are already afoot to roll-out Einstein 3, a BushF.R.A.U.D.-era surveillance program to screen state computer traffic on private-sector networks.

In partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, communications, defense and security firms such as AT&T, General Dynamics, L3 Communications, MCI, Qwest, Sprint and Verizon stand to make billions from contracts under the government's Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Services (MTIPS) program with its built-in "Einstein domain."

How's that for timing!

NeW DHS-NSA-AT&T "CyBeRsEcUrItY" PaRtnEr$hIp

by Antifascist Calling

Pervasive Surveillance Continuing Under ObamaC.H.A.N.G.E.

Under the rubric of cybersecurity, the ObamaC.H.A.N.G.E. administration is moving forward with a BushFRAUD regime program to screen state computer traffic on private-sector networks, including those connecting people to the Internet, The Washington Post revealed July 3.

That project, code-named "Einstein," may very well be related to the much-larger, ongoing and highly illegal National Security Agency (NSA) communications intercept program known as "Stellar Wind," disclosed in 2005 by The New York Times.

There are several components to Stellar Wind, one of which is a massive data-mining project run by the agency. As USA Today revealed in 2006, the "National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth."

Under the current program, Einstein will be tied directly into giant NSA data bases that contain the trace signatures left behind by cyberattacks; these immense electronic warehouses will be be fed by information streamed to the agency by the nation's telecommunications providers.

AT&T, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the NSA will spearhead the aggressive new initiative to detect malicious attacks launched against government web sites--by continuing to monitor the electronic communications of Americans.

This contradicts President Obama'sC.H.A.N.G.E. pledge announcing his administration's cybersecurity program on May 29. During White House remarks Obama said that the government will not continue Bush-era surveillance practices or include "monitoring private sector networks or Internet traffic."

Called the "flagship system" in the national security state's cyber defense arsenal, The Wall Street Journal reports that Einstein is "designed to protect the U.S. government's computer networks from cyberspies." In addition to cost overruns and mismanagement by outsourced contractors, the system "is being stymied by technical limitations and privacy concerns." According to the Journal, Einstein is being developed in three stages:

Einstein 1: Monitors Internet traffic flowing in and out of federal civilian networks. Detects abnormalities that might be cyber attacks. Is unable to block attacks.

Einstein 2: In addition to looking for abnormalities, detects viruses and other indicators of attacks based on signatures of known incidents, and alerts analysts immediately. Also can't block attacks.

Einstein 3: Under development. Based on technology developed for a National Security Agency program called Tutelage, it detects and deflects security breaches. Its filtering technology can read the content of email and other communications. (Siobhan Gorman, "Troubles Plague Cyberspy Defense," The Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2009)

===snipped===>Einstein: You Don't Have to Be a Genius to Know They're Lying

But what happens next, after the data is processed and catalogued by the agency is little understood. Programs such as Einstein will provide NSA with the ability to read and decipher the content of email messages, any and all messages in real-time.

While DHS claims that "the new program will scrutinize only data going to or from government systems," the Post reports that a debate has been sparked within the agency over "uncertainty about whether private data can be shielded from unauthorized scrutiny, how much of a role NSA should play and whether the agency's involvement in warrantless wiretapping during George W. BushFRAUD's presidency would draw controversy."

===snipped===>"And Ye Shall Know The Truth and The Truth Will Set You Free"

WAKE UP AMERICA.....IT(s) OUR COUNTRY!!!

Love "Light" and Energy

_Don

References:

[Update: 06.13.10 Microsoft Secretly Installs Firefox Extension via Windows Update]:O

[Update: 06.06.10 Samsung Smartphone Shipped With Malware-infected Memory Card] Ya Don't Say:O

[Update: 06.02.10 Windows Live Messenger Hack Tool Is Actually Malware] LOL LOL LOL

[Update: 06.01.10 Researchers Beat Clickjacking Defenses of Top Websites] Ya Don't Say:O

[Update: 06.01.10 Clickjacking Worm Hits Facebook] More DoD R&D Backdoors!

[Update 05.21.10: IBM Hands Out Malware at AusCERT Security Conference] Ya Don't Say:O

[Update 05.13.10: Latest Damage Control 'Declassified"] LOL LOL LOL