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"Einstein" Fooled By "Chinese" Hackers In Massive Government Data Breach

Tyler Durden's picture




 

On Friday, Beijing responded to allegations from Washington that China was responsible for a cyberattack on the US Office of Personnel Management that compromised the personal data of some 4 million government employees. 

The accusations, China’s foreign ministry said, are “irresponsible” and “groundless.” 

The OPM breach is the latest in a string of cyber ‘incidents’ that have coincidentally occurred in the wake of the Pentagon’s new cyber strategy. Here’s a recap:

Since the announcement by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the following cyber ‘events have occurred’: Penn State reports hackers have been stealing data from the university’s DoD-affiliated engineering department for years (blamed on Chinese hacker spies), the IRS says at least 10,000 tax returns have been compromised (blamed on “Russian organized crime syndicates”), and, on Thursday evening, Washington reportswhat may end up being the largest data breach in history (blamed on China). As noted last month, these events represent a remarkable step up the cyber attack accusation ladder compared to Washington’s attempt to blame North Korea for cyber-sabotaging James Franco and Seth Rogen last year.

Whether or not the most recent virtual attack on the US did indeed emanate from China or one of Washington’s other so-called “cyberadversaries” (the list includes Iran, Russia, and North Korea) will likely never be known the public, but rest assured the blame will be placed with a state actor so as to ensure the DoD has some precedent to refer to when, for whatever reason, the Pentagon decides it’s time to deploy an “offensive” cyberattack later on down the road.

Irrespective of where the attack originated, it appears obsolete technology was ultimately to blame, because as Bloomberg reports, “Einstein” wasn’t much help in preventing the intrusion. 

Via Bloomberg:

The hackers who stole personal data on 4 million government employees from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sneaked past a sophisticated counter-hacking system called Einstein 3, a highly-touted, multimillion-dollar and mostly secret technology that’s been years in the making.

 

It’s behind schedule, the result of inter-agency fights over privacy, control and other matters, and only about half of the government was protected when the hackers raided OPM’s databases last December.

 

It’s also, by the government’s own admission, already obsolete..

 

Over the last several months, U.S. officials have said that perimeter-based defenses such as Einstein, even backed by the National Security Agency’s own corps of hackers, can never prevent break-ins.

 

Like banks and technology companies, government agencies must move to a model that assumes hackers will always get in, specialists said. They’ll need to buy cutting-edge technologies that can detect intruders inside networks and eject them quickly, before the data is gone.

Of course that likely won’t be possible, because after all, no self-respecting bureaucracy processes important initiatives expeditiously and no modern US lawmaking body actually legislates.

Given the slow pace of government acquisition, the inter-agency rivalries and budget fights, though, the initiative may take several years or more to implement, leaving the possibility that the new technology will be old by the time it’s installed.

 

Congress has yet to act on the personnel agency’s Feb. 2 request for a $32 million budget increase for fiscal 2016, said Senator Angus King, a Maine independent, in an interview.

 

“Most of the funds,” the agency said, “will be directed towards investments in IT network infrastructure and security.”

 

The latest intrusion points to the need for Congress to pass a cybersecurity bill, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. He stopped short of saying whether the measure would have prevented the OPM breach.

That looks a bit like an attempt on the administration’s part to put the blame on an ineffectual Congress, which would seem to be counterproductive at a time when there is clearly a need for less pettiness and more compromise. Some lawmakers were quick to acknowledge this and moved swiftly to rise above Presidential finger-pointing by ... pointing fingers back at the President.

“It’s too early to determine at this point what precisely would have prevented this particular cyber-intrusion,” Earnest said Friday at a press briefing. “What is beyond argument is that these three pieces of legislation that the president sent to Congress five months ago would significantly improve the cybersecurity of the United States, not just the federal government’s cybersecurity, but even our ability to protect private computer networks”..

 

“Where is the leadership?” said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. “The federal government has just been hit by one of the largest thefts of sensitive data in history, and this White House is trying blame anyone but itself. It’s absolutely disgusting.” 

As you can see, everyone appears to be on the same page here as both the Executive and Legislative branches look set to work together on a comprehensive, bipartisan approach to preventing cyber intrusions. 

Fortunately for the millions of federal employees who are now left to wonder whether or not their personal information is safe on government servers, Defense Secretary Ash Carter may ultimately take matters into his own hands by consulting someone who knows a thing or two about using technology to co-opt personal information:
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter spoke to technology leaders in Palo Alto, California, in April, tossing around ideas for recruiting engineers for temporary missions in government and meeting with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. 
Have no fear America, Facebook will cyber-protect you from belligerent foreign governments.
 

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Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:17 | 6169392 davidalan1
davidalan1's picture

Nice job einstein

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:25 | 6169416 ThirteenthFloor
ThirteenthFloor's picture

The hackers are Langley....wake up folks. It's all smoke and mirrors, call it an "inside job".

China broke only one elite empire rule...."thou shall not make too much money"

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:04 | 6169507 remain calm
remain calm's picture

So what, we can hack them they can hack us. We can destroy them they can destroy us. This is all petty BS, just a bunch of children that never grew up. The story is always the same, they only thing that changes are the bad actors. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:46 | 6169576 Dame Ednas Possum
Dame Ednas Possum's picture

USSR collapse

USSA collapse

When two tribes go to war? Not so much.

Typically their failure is self-inflicted. Large, clumsy government; excessive military spending; stagnated economy; unsustainable welfare state; disaffected population; suppressed freedoms and human rights; nepotism, cronyism and abject corruption.

'History never doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme'. Twain.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:37 | 6169675 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

When the only thing a Government is good for is spying on its own People (guess what Barak Obama...Domestic Survelillance is still ILLEGAL!) then lo and behold of a foreign government doesn't deside to come along and steal what REALLY matters.

This is all the security clearance stuff folks.

You want the truth?

Well...there it is for the taking.
The paranoid unconstitutional police state now turned on its head.

Whoever has this info now has the goods on the entire Federal Edifice.

Talk about "Instant Karma...

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:55 | 6169873 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

What people don't realize is, there is embedded machine code on those circuit boards, and they manufacture most of that stuff in China...  So, the only question is, what are the elite doing with that data?  I'm sure the elite have a nice fat database 2nd to none, no doubt, and I'd be willing to venture they will use it for blackmail/extortion, because that's who they are CRIMINALS!

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:08 | 6169914 espirit
espirit's picture

Buck up.

If you're going to be dumb, you've got to be tough.

Go USSA!

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 01:49 | 6170962 boogerbently
boogerbently's picture

Peak internet dependence.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:37 | 6169832 silverer
silverer's picture

Russia debt to GDP = 16%

USA debt to GDP = 108%

If you are right, now at least you know who goes first.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:52 | 6170017 Clowns on Acid
Clowns on Acid's picture

You left out the part when Banking gets corrupted. Wasn't Glass Steagal supposed to make that more difficult? And who was the mastermind behind its repeal...oh yeh thats right Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, and Sandy Weill. The rest of the players were just playing alomg.   

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 01:51 | 6170965 boogerbently
boogerbently's picture

"Typically their failure is self-inflicted. Large, clumsy government; excessive military spending; stagnated economy; unsustainable welfare state; disaffected population; suppressed freedoms and human rights; nepotism, cronyism and abject corruption."

 

Exactly......

But which are you talking about ?

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:39 | 6169836 silverer
silverer's picture

Langley?  Nah.  It's some teenagers in Hoboken, NJ.  Good enough though, to produce the show.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:28 | 6169422 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

When I was a corporate computer engineer, we would get government contracts and we would go through multiple rewrites of the spec's and the input of multiple bureaucraps which nearly guaranteed that either the end product wouldn't work at all or pretty poorly at best. Government programming contract failures were nearly 70% back in the 80's and I'm willing to bet that it's likely gotten worse.....

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:32 | 6169447 847328_3527
847328_3527's picture

I think he's named after that coffee shop/bagel chain, right?

 

"Einstein Bagels"

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 23:27 | 6170786 A Nanny Moose
A Nanny Moose's picture

Should used WOPR

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:05 | 6169747 THE 4th Quadrant
THE 4th Quadrant's picture

It's like the early days in commercial security. You write the viruses then you sell your Security Software, then you write more viruses, then you charge for the upgrade to prevent the nasty new viruses.

I'm not saying Zuckerberger did it but you have to ask why the fuck is the little facebook joo in the picture now? Do they know he stole the fucking source code to start his little empire? Oh that's right, he's joo so he gets a free pass on that one.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:48 | 6169453 junction
junction's picture

What the feds need is an ace computer analyst.  Unfortunately, Edward Snowden has left the building.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:29 | 6169656 Arnold
Arnold's picture

 

 

The best government money can buy.

My 10 year old niece is pretty sharp operator, and looking for a part time job.

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 05:34 | 6171150 PhoQ
PhoQ's picture

If this is the best government money can buy, maybe they should stop shopping exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:46 | 6169466 Stoploss
Stoploss's picture

It's all Bull Shit...  Another fucking lie from Barry and the retards.

The Chinese no more hacked their system than the daily users of it.

 

Funny how we can go decades with none of this happening, then when Barry the loser gets in office, all of a sudden Russia is hacking, China is hacking, etc. etc.

The only thing the US posses the ability to hack into is their own citizens entire comunication networks...

TERRORISTS are a LIE created by the US to fund the WAR RACKET and not one fucking thing else...

Chinese hacking is a LIE created by the US to fund the WAR RACKET and not one fucking thing else...

Russian hacking is a LIE created by the US to fund the WAR RACKET and not one fucking thing else...

 

THis is what you get when you choose not to vote...  So be proud and send your sons to die for a fucking lie to fund the War Racket... 

 

Feel free to send the bill to George Soros..

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:15 | 6169529 HamFistedIdiot
HamFistedIdiot's picture

The Deep State is eclipsing the Overt State. If you won't create hackable, government-backdoor-access to your product (software, hardware, Intenet platform, etc.) you are OUT (cf. Blackberry).

It's high time to drain the swamp. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:45 | 6169575 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

I tend to agree; I doubt these were official hackers from China. From what I see the Chinese still KowTow to Uncle Sam especially the ones in Taiwan and HK. After all, the majority of them want to come here an dbuy a small comfortable $2 million box in Cali, so they can't offend usa too much.

 

I think it's all bluster and smoke...no substance. And who knows who the real hackers were if it fact it actually happened.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:58 | 6169597 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_(US-CERT_program)

Einstein (also known as the EINSTEIN Program) is an intrusion detection system that monitors the network gateways of government departments and agencies in the United States for unauthorized traffic. The software was developed by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT),[1] which is the operational arm of the National Cyber Security Division[2] (NCSD) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

 

So the IDS system which cost a fortune in taxpayer dollars is essentially worthless, due to the offshoring of jobs, technology and investment to China, so therefore the US taxpayer should fork over more monies for more worthless endeavors?

Once again, it is guillotine time!

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:49 | 6169711 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Israel launched an offensive cyber attack against Iran...and we know this is true because the Governent arrested the guy who "spilled the beans."

Guess what...they get to attack back and just have.

I'd say "go talk to Jeff Bezos" but once a spy always a spy.

It takes a lot of money to secure the data...running to the head of the Information Liberation Movement's Chief of Operations (Facehugger) is as they say in the military "the wrong answer."

Larry Ellison still is the stand out to me when after 9/11 he said plainly "listen dumb Government clowns who I used to work for...the only thing you need to spend money on is a device that says simply I am who I say I am."

AND THAT IS IT.

Instead they have gone on a phishing expedition extraordinaire...exposing as it now turns out "the goods" on the entirely of the American people.

Say hello to War with Russia...

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:16 | 6169933 espirit
espirit's picture

Nothing better than a 'captive' audience.

 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:19 | 6169398 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

You wanna see hacking fun, wait till we are taken to a "cashless" system.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:33 | 6169448 Bam_Man
Bam_Man's picture

Roger that, but I think the current system crashes and burns long before "they" come close to implementing a cashless one.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:48 | 6169474 BlackChicken
BlackChicken's picture

The crash will usher in the panicked demand that Washington do something to help us. Then we will have cashless transactions rammed down our throats.

Problem, reaction, solution; same as it ever was.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:00 | 6169500 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Now why would you want to steal employee records of the USA unless you were trying to figure out who the spies are.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:19 | 6169538 Cautionary Tale
Cautionary Tale's picture

Why bother with an expensive 'hacking' system then? Just look for all the Rothgoldberghoffmanschwartzrosensteins & you'd have your list.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:19 | 6169938 espirit
espirit's picture

Cashless Banking- Algo's skimming sub-pennies at the speed of light.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:13 | 6169620 sgt_doom
sgt_doom's picture

THAT, plus Ali Baba needs more customers (Identify theft).

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:07 | 6169515 VWAndy
VWAndy's picture

If they are talking about a cashless system then you can be sure the system is corrupted to the bone. Basic logic.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:35 | 6169558 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

You just cut the Gordian Knot.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:20 | 6169405 Renewable Life
Renewable Life's picture

Billions wasted as were made into bigger fools by the day...............

PRICELESS (for everyone else but Americans, were quit literally paying for it with our children and grandchildren lives and prosperity)!!!

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:22 | 6169408 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Years and multi-millions of dollars spent for an ObamaCare website that didn't work, now years and multi-millions of dollars spent for "cyber security" that doesn't work.

Situation normal for .gov.

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 05:36 | 6171152 PhoQ
PhoQ's picture

Here at gov.gov, not working is our most important product.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:27 | 6169424 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Rich fuckers are STUPID.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:21 | 6169944 espirit
espirit's picture

Guillotines-R-Us.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:27 | 6169425 Normalcy Bias
Normalcy Bias's picture

KARMA

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:28 | 6169429 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

China Can't believe how much these 4million public takers steal from taxpayers for doing just about nothing.  They are smart. They will just let it continue. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:29 | 6169432 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

"A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. Information is not knowledge."

- Einstein

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited."

- Einstein

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:03 | 6169505 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Applied knowledge is power.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:32 | 6169439 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Thanks, Red China .... maybe we'll find out how much our "Public Servants" are actually paid, benefited, expensed, privileged and compensated .... in real time .... best kept secrets .... even Snowden is in on this cover up .... if he wanted some creds .... he could be helpful ....but, oh no .... the Reds beat him to it !

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:30 | 6169440 Bam_Man
Bam_Man's picture

Does EVERYTHING "they" touch turn to sh*t, or is it just my imagination? 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:30 | 6169441 Normalcy Bias
Normalcy Bias's picture

E = fu2 ?

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:34 | 6169666 Arnold
Arnold's picture

Nice.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:33 | 6169449 laomei
laomei's picture

hey look, things that never happened.  let's blame china without any evidence or investigation because it's awesome for propaganda.  jesus, it's not even fucking close to credible.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:36 | 6169455 Never One Roach
Never One Roach's picture

The evidence is clear: several Red China passports were found near the database.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:47 | 6169578 Handful of Dust
Handful of Dust's picture

" ... pristine condition ...." the rumor has it. Ink still wet.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:35 | 6169454 amanfromMars
amanfromMars's picture

This ACT is APT here, too, methinks. Have a nice day, y'all

amanfromMars 1 Sat 6 Jun 17:14 [1506061714] …. sharing a reality in all probability on 

http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2015/06/06/whats_up_with_wassenaar/

 

Sooner here that you think when now is its time

 

"The market for zero-day vulnerabilities can be a lucrative one; the new language bans the sale of details of unpatched flaws to anyone other than one's own government."

 

And whenever one’s own government is not smart enough enabled to realise they would be wise to purchase that which can be used to disable them/are unable or reluctant to believe that such a vulnerability within myriad zeroday vulnerabilities is possible and being offered to them for purchase with remote third party command and control/vendor power brokerage? Is one then obliged to provide foreign markets in public and private and pirate  sectors elsewhere in service of global wealth redistribution in a stagnant petrified corrupt system? 

 

And why would anyone smart wish to sell anything effective to any right dodgy government system which isn’t in command and control of public and private and pirate enterprise? Such is a stupid crazy action and retrograde step in support of the inequitable and ignorant, methinks.

 

And a government in pursuit of austerity rather than delivery of prosperity is a perverse body and monumental fraud worthy of nothing but scorn and revolution and a right dodgy farce of a force in fear of a reckoning with its inevitable wrecking in an educated awakening of the masses with colossal flows of enlightening information and novel intelligence, the present which the future brings.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:46 | 6169469 booboo
booboo's picture

I hope you youngsters are paying attention, in 10 years you can stop wondering how the fuck america got into two world wars, interned americans in prison camps that looked and talked different and at the same time shipped all the testosterone filled pissed off unemployed youths out of the country to fight the boogy man.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 19:37 | 6169949 espirit
espirit's picture

Sorry - I was FaceBookFucking, can you say again?

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:46 | 6169470 Keynesians say ...
Keynesians say the darndest things's picture

"american exceptionalism"

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:47 | 6169472 suteibu
suteibu's picture

Whoever got it....release the data. 

We need more hackers to allow the people to see what the "most transparent" government in the history of the world is doing behind our backs. 

Hack the TPP.  Hack the Pentagon.  Hack Valerie Jarrett's computer and cell phone (not sure there is much information on Obama's).  Hack Bohner, McConnell, Pelosi, Reid. Hack Goldman.  Hack JP Morgan.  Hack the Fed.

Hack 'em all!!

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:30 | 6169546 HamFistedIdiot
HamFistedIdiot's picture

99% of these hacks and data dumps (including Snowden/Assange) are theater/ limited hangouts with the puppetmasters pulling the strings. Why haven't Russia or China broken the gold manipulation scheme, or release real, damning evidence regarding OKC, 9/11, or school shooting non-events? Why has Assange's releases made Mossad/Israel look good and Iran/Syria bad? It's because powerful interests are benefitting from them and share aligned longterm goals of increased centralized world governance and enslavement.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:54 | 6169483 anachronism
anachronism's picture

The need for Speed and the need for Security are at cross purposes. Frequent changes of codes and routing protocols are hindrances only to amateurs without high speed super computers at their disposal.

Put an end to remote access to core computers and servers. No request for direct access to data held in these comuters and storage devices should be allowed, and no transmission of data from these computers should be sent dirctly to the inquiring source..

Instead, there should be "bucket' computers, which are totally toatlly isolated from storage and internal data processing centers. All requests for information should be directed into these buckests and there they stay until they are individually assessed as to origin of inquiry and legitimacy of such inquiry. Then in a one-way and one-time transaction, the related data should be directed into a separate bucket computer used exclusively for outgoing communications and then sent to the requesting source which had been screened and cleared on a case by case basis. Once the transmission has been made that information is erased from the out-going bucket.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:56 | 6169494 suteibu
suteibu's picture

Then the new bureaucracy created to control the bucket will have too much control over information.  The established bureaucracies will not allow their data to be controlled.

Such a sensible proposal would never be implemented.

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 05:38 | 6171156 PhoQ
PhoQ's picture

But it WOULD create an interesting bucket list for somebody.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:36 | 6169826 THE 4th Quadrant
THE 4th Quadrant's picture

Sir the 'bucket computer used exclusively for outgoing communications' just got hacked and they then got back into the main data area!

God damn it, how did they manage to get in those ip addresses are non-routable!

I dunno sir.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 17:18 | 6170069 biggestbrother
biggestbrother's picture

Dead right anachronism. Ditto CLOUD computing. You are a dope if you use it.  Firstly you we will all end up paying more if we pay by use, secondly all your stuff belongs to them and is more easily hackable. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 17:18 | 6170070 biggestbrother
biggestbrother's picture

Dead right anachronism. Ditto CLOUD computing. You are a dope if you use it.  Firstly you we will all end up paying more if we pay by use, secondly all your stuff belongs to them and is more easily hackable. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 12:54 | 6169488 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

"Teachers told me that I'm not very good at math.  I will show them that I can still be famous for a 6th grade linear equation (E=hv)*, and even more famous for an 8th grade equation with a squared term in it (E=mc2).

* Got a Nobel Prize for this.

Imagine if John Nash and his wife were Offed because he was indeed on the cusp of sweeping aside Einstein's theory (which is unable to deal with gravity at the quantum level).

Now that would be worth killing for by TPTB.  Both to protect Einstein's legacy and to keep Russia, China, India or the EU from benefiting from it in novel technology development. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:01 | 6169502 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

One hardly knows where to begin, but Corn Flakes with your breakfast gin would be a fine start.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:31 | 6169548 bonin006
bonin006's picture

Pupdog1 deserves more credit than he's getting, even though he forgot a few details over the 50 years since the advice was given:

Oh, I’m on the Drinking Man’s Diet,
It came from a book I was loaned.
It’s really terrific and quite scientific
And I’m half stoned.

For breakfast some cornflakes and vodka,
But cornflakes have carbohydrate;
So I don’t eat those fattening cornflakes,
I eat the vodka straight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJ02VB5Evk

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 18:48 | 6170267 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Not more than two fingers of 'flakes per quart, otherwise it clogs up your straw.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:18 | 6169534 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

In fact, it's more likely that instead of Offing them, they used this is a Cover/Ruse to whisk them away to safety, to complete the work in absolute secrecy.  This would be completely 'normal' for our intelligence agencies.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:30 | 6169964 espirit
espirit's picture

Not a bad ruse, Kirk.

Chinks have owned us since the Los Alamos 'trades'.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:02 | 6169498 Cycle
Cycle's picture

Snowden pointed out the Constitution was hacked, especially  the Fourth Amendment. All the rest of this hacking brouhaha is banal, trivial, and historically inconsequential.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:13 | 6169526 wonderfulme
wonderfulme's picture

Fact is, it's nigh to impossible to properly establish a source of the attack due to the very nature of the internets based solely on the investigation of the traffic. I'm not just speaking about open Chinese proxies and such. I'm talking multi-layered attack chains that might as well end up in New Zealand for all I care. A careful operation would either leave the investigating bodies clueless or mislead.

 

You simply can't base a conclusion of any kind of plausibility and/or veracity based on IT forensics.

 

This has to be correlated with other sources of more conventional intelligence.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:29 | 6169545 jimfcarroll
jimfcarroll's picture

Does anyone besides me wonder why there even ARE 4 million federal employees? Nevermind that their information was stolen - I'd prefer their jobs be stolen.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:33 | 6169969 espirit
espirit's picture

Dude, the BIS has to have some numbers to crunch.

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 03:20 | 6171033 StychoKiller
StychoKiller's picture

There are WAY more than 4 million Govt drones.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:46 | 6169577 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

Well, if the people's information and data is subject to spying by the government, then it makes sense that the government's information and data should be subject to spying by everyone else.

No changes should be made.

If the government and its people are doing nothing wring then they should not be afraid of spying because they have nothing to hide.

Good for Goose, Food for Gander.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:49 | 6169582 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

OK, wtf is "Einstein 3"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_(US-CERT_program)

OK it's a home-grown, government-written system, originally just a tracker and then evolved to a blocker, and it's been around for years.  Good to hear, actually, though what are the odds that it works?  The whole cyber-security thing strikes me as a bad joke.  I ought to join the fight, on one side or the other, maybe both.  WTF does "Einstein" have to do with computer security, I don't think Einstein ever had an iPhone much less programmed any routers.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:31 | 6169659 SMC
SMC's picture

Perhaps it is an inside joke... Einstein might have thought about it for a few minutes and then opened up the systems to expose the cronyism, corruption, and death dealing of the US Neo-Nazi's and their banksters to the world.

 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:35 | 6169977 espirit
espirit's picture

All aligns to Nash's contradictory 'Theory of Relativity'.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 13:55 | 6169591 homiegot
homiegot's picture

Facebook? Cyber-security? Really?

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:21 | 6169639 SMC
SMC's picture

To think these clowns believe they can start and win WW III... it would be funny to observe a fictional world where the Obummer launches a first strike at whomever not knowing the guidance systems were hacked resulting in the obliteration of DC and other Federal cesspools.  ROFL!

 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:40 | 6169681 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

Maybe if the government didn't want to collect and store so much information, the hackers wouldn't work so hard to get at it???

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 14:46 | 6169701 22winmag
22winmag's picture

The more money involved, the more a product or project usually sucks.

 

Exhibit A.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:01 | 6169744 ThisIsBob
ThisIsBob's picture

Hackers, schmackers.  I'm unimpressed.

Let's see Obama's school records, big guys.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:57 | 6169881 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

I'm sure they're impressive.  After all his birth certificate says he was born in a log cabin he built with his own bare hands.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:19 | 6169942 Stormtrooper
Stormtrooper's picture

And his Kenyan records say that he was, well, Kenyan as was required by the Kenyan government to attend Kenyan schools. Of course, he was proud to be Kenyan and re-affirmed his Kenyan citizenship by renewing his passport at the age of 18.

After Obama hangs for high treason, what mechanism do we have to unwind 8 years of an illegal presidency?

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 16:40 | 6169988 espirit
espirit's picture

Doode - He's the Com-mander in Cheef.

Show some respeck.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:58 | 6169884 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Your health records are next.  Making all health care records electronic and putting them on internet connected systems is moronic in the extreme.  EVERYONE's health records are going to be stolen at some point in the future and put on the web.  Thanks Obamacare.

At least everyone will know what STDs everyone else has ever had.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 17:15 | 6170064 biggestbrother
biggestbrother's picture

REST assured Tyler, They already have ALL the private details of any moron who uses facebook, free of charge. 

 

And if they dont Zuckerberg will be happy to hand it over in return for some more victims in China. 

 

When FB started some of us said...the perfect Orwellian tool.  And sure enough it is. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 17:15 | 6170065 biggestbrother
biggestbrother's picture

REST assured Tyler, They already have ALL the private details of any moron who uses facebook, free of charge. 

 

And if they dont Zuckerberg will be happy to hand it over in return for some more victims in China. 

 

When FB started some of us said...the perfect Orwellian tool.  And sure enough it is. 

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 18:00 | 6170170 Herdee
Herdee's picture

To hell with Switzerland.Wake up,China is the new financial-global leader.Want to be 100% untouchable from U.S. law enforcement?Operate out of China...

http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2015/06/05/italy-accuses-chinese...

Even the Italian Mafia should figure that out.

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 05:42 | 6171158 PhoQ
PhoQ's picture

The bitch is trying to get your invested money back from those super honest Chinese business barons.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 19:37 | 6170366 Bazza McKenzie
Bazza McKenzie's picture

I suspect the US and western countries are more exposed to economic and strategic harm from electronic intrusion than are China and Russia.

To be at risk, your core systems, whether informational or operational (e.g. power plants), have to be exposed through mechanisms that the unauthorised can penetrate.  Wholesale connection to the internet provides that.

In the west, short term economic benefits and convenience have driven such connections.  If Russia and China have been more strategic in their thinking about security, or simply slower to connect, then the US and the west have a major assymetric strategic exposure of their own making.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 20:36 | 6170506 Farmer Joe in B...
Farmer Joe in Brooklyn's picture

Did I miss something..?

I'm seeing nothing in the comments about facts confirming it was China? Has it been confirmed or is this another NK / Sony hack? 

I was just with a statist friend who was certain China has been behind recent cyber attacks. My first (cynical) thought was "who has something to gain here?".

Well..? 

Besides, no matter how much spying they do on us is just a mere fraction of the spying we do on them and EVERY country in this world worth more than three donkeys and a toothless whore.

Sat, 06/06/2015 - 22:46 | 6170727 biggestbrother
biggestbrother's picture

there will be a ramping up in the reporting (not the actual number that is appalling and going on for years) of CHinese cyber attacks. Cos the US aint gonna do nothin about the South China Sea.  Sabres startling to rattle. 

Sun, 06/07/2015 - 01:45 | 6170958 Aussiekiwi
Aussiekiwi's picture

'Of course that likely won’t be possible, because after all, no self-respecting bureaucracy processes important initiatives expeditiously and no modern US lawmaking body actually legislates.'

Incredible, can't protect your data but they can legislate your privacy away to 'protect you' in a flash.

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