The fingerprint-analysis software used by the FBI and more than 18,000 other US law enforcement agencies contains code created by a Russian firm with close ties to the Kremlin, according to documents and two whistleblowers. The allegations raise concerns that Russian hackers could gain backdoor access to sensitive biometric information on millions of Americans, or even compromise wider national security and law enforcement computer systems.
The Russian code was inserted into the fingerprint-analysis software by a French company, said the two whistleblowers, who are former employees of that company. The firm — then a subsidiary of the massive Paris-based conglomerate Safran — deliberately concealed from the FBI the fact that it had purchased the Russian code in a secret deal, they said.
In recent years, Russian hackers have gained access to everything from the Democratic National Committee’s email servers to the systems of nuclear power companies to the unclassified computers of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to US authorities.
This September, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all federal agencies to stop using products made by the Moscow-based company Kaspersky Lab, including its popular antivirus software, and media outlets reported that Russian hackers had exploited it to steal sensitive information on US intelligence programs. The department later clarified that the order didn’t apply to “Kaspersky code embedded in the products of other companies.” The company’s founder, Eugene V. Kaspersky, has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the hack.
The Russian company whose code ended up in the FBI’s fingerprint-analysis software has Kremlin connections that should raise similar national security concerns, said the whistleblowers, both French nationals who worked in Russia. The Russian company, Papillon AO, boasts in its own publications about its close cooperation with various Russian ministries as well as the Federal Security Service — the intelligence agency known as the FSB that is a successor of the Soviet-era KGB and has been implicated in other hacks of US targets.
Is there any part of our government, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies that have NOT been infiltrated by the Russians?
Not that it makes that much difference anymore, since all the Russians have to do to learn what American spies have uncovered is to show up at the White House and get a briefing from their number one asset.
Unflippinbelievable!!!!
ReplyDeleteFF?
Deletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/st-petersburg-supermarket-explosion-bomb-russia-blast-shopping-mall-attempted-murder-a8130546.html
Pardon my "stupidity," but who the hell buys Moscow-based antivirus software? Shouldn't government agencies, of all people, know better?
ReplyDeleteThe dent in my forehead is now crater-like.
Interesting,we had to compare the pros and cons of antivirus software in one of my cybersecurity classes back in the 90s,i wrote the major con for kaspersky was it was russian and who can trust the russians!
DeleteMany of my colleagues laughed and many of them were using it on their personal computers because of the time change,got updates sooner.
Unfortunately, i guess i get the last laugh!
Even a busted clock is right twice a day!
DeleteUnless it's digital!
The extent to which Russia's tentacles have infiltrated our government in truly alarming, even more so knowing that the rat bastard in the White House couldn't care less and is doing nothing to stop it. In this case, I do take some solace in knowing that sometime in the not-too-distant future, this POS's fingerprints will wind up on file here along with those of his fellow tRaitoRs.
ReplyDeleteObama Warns Social Media Risks Splintering Society
ReplyDeletehttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-warns-social-media-risks-splintering-society_us_5a43a9e8e4b0b0e5a7a406b2?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/barack-obama-prince-harry-interview_uk_5a435753e4b06d1621b5f15b?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05s395q
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/christian-gop-lawmaker-is-asked-how-he-can-possibly-support-trump-and-he-says-its-obamas-fault/
Delete"“After eight years of the Obama administration,” Walker said. “Things like the former president saying ‘God bless Planned Parenthood.’ Those kinds of things riled up the evangelical base.”
The quote Walker recited from President Barack Obama was from a speech to Planned Parenthood where he closed, as presidents often do, by saying “God bless you. God bless the United States of America.”"
And there you have it, 8:33 AM, so many will believe anything told them (hello, Fox News and RW radio), when all they have to do is research it a minute or two online.
Delete""I think he's running a criminal enterprise out of the White House and I think that's what Bob Mueller's on the track of,"
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/trump-running-criminal-enterprise-says-former-dnc-chair/
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/here-comes-an-orange-meltdown-internet-cheers-as-obama-beats-trump-for-most-admired-man-in-america-title/
;-)
we shall have a tweet of fake. it's all fake! fake news! fake poll! everyone loves. no, trump, we don't.
Delete"WOW, @foxandfrlends “Dossier is bogus. Clinton Campaign, DNC funded Dossier. FBI CANNOT (after all of this time) VERIFY CLAIMS IN DOSSIER OF RUSSIA/TRUMP COLLUSION. FBI TAINTED.” And they used this Crooked Hillary pile of garbage as the basis for going after the Trump Campaign!"<tiydjt
ReplyDelete"the tweets could violate witness-protection laws. “Normally, someone being investigated for obstruction of justice who intimidates and threatens three key witnesses against him (here Comey, McCabe and Baker) risks additional witness tampering charges,” Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who was an ethics official in Barack Obama’s administration, wrote on Twitter. Richard Painter, who served as an ethics official in George W. Bush’s administration, agreed writing that Trump’s use of Twitter “to intimidate a witness” makes “Mr. Mueller’s job easier.”"
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/12/trump-continues-attack-on-fbi-calls-dossier-a-crooked-hillary-pile-of-garbage.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-kgb-papers-how-putin-learned-his-spycraft-part-1?ref=home
ReplyDelete'This is the first of a three-part series' 1
'The first installment directly relevant to the question of how Putin’s minions played members of the Trump campaign, looks specifically at the use of third parties to target individuals and organizations.'
" as long as Rosenstein stays in place, Mueller will likely be able to follow that money trail wherever it leads."
I have been smelling rogue employees at these agencies for years. I can tell by the junk mail, hacks, actions, and much more over the last few years. We have been infiltrated by traitors that want to harm americans and turn this country communist. Traitors must be identified. And they are in every area of our life today. ID them and take the necessary steps. Call them out. Expose them. Turn them in. It is obvious certain law enforcement have rogue employees hiding under the constitutional sheriffs of America, or the fraternal order of police And the FBI and more are not immune from the infected bad actors. Although I believe there are more good guys then bad rogue actors. So America is now close to last in medical, science, technology, infrastructure, security, education. The cost of ignorance is astronomical. It would be cheaper to fund public education for all as it was before republican ignorance. Register Democrat today and send a message to republicans.
ReplyDeletewe are no longer a superpower thanks to the republicans. theirs is a party of me first.
Delete60 tweet tweet$:
ReplyDeletehttps://thinkprogress.org/trumps-worst-tweets-706ab04ab3b8/
Donald Trump is a dangerously weak president
ReplyDeleteThe media is crediting him with a tax overhaul victory. But he still holds remarkably little clout in Washington.
Donald Trump is a weak president.
He remains a weak president after the passage of tax reform, despite what some in the media are describing as a presidential “victory.”
Granted, all presidents, including Trump, are powerful in an absolute sense; a person who can launch military strikes is not without clout. And President Trump is often assertive toward his enemies — or his allies — and talks tough about immigration and NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. But these things do not add up to a powerful presidency.
Political scientists generally measure a president’s power according to his ability to influence public policy outcomes compared to past presidents or contemporary actors, like Congress. A strong president sets the legislative agenda, passes policies reflecting his preferences, and secures bureaucratic action on his governing priorities. A weak president has difficulty achieving these things, as competing political actors impede his goals and jockey to assert their own influence.
...The determination that Trump is a weak president, struggling to assert power — and indeed on the brink of a failed presidency — ought to be cold comfort to Democrats and liberals, because weak presidents can be dangerous leaders. While more vulnerable to electoral defeat, they may also be tempted to take risks — including foreign policy risks — to increase their stature. And that could lead to disaster.
https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/12/4/16733450/donald-trump-weak-president-neustadt
‘We have tapped into something’: Impeachment drive builds digital army to take on Trump
ReplyDeleteTom Steyer's trove of data is fueling speculation about how the Democratic activist might use his new political power.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/27/trump-impeachment-digital-army-steyer-316702
https://www.needtoimpeach.com/
Why are we outsourcing any of this? Why are we buying software from any supplier outside of the U.S.? Especially for anything sensitive or security related.
ReplyDeleteWell, we better get our own domestic coders on the ball re-writing or deleting whatever code is necessary for our own security.
This is just insanely, crazy stupid.
I work in IT, mlaiuppa, for city goverement in my 28th year. BEYOND stupid.
DeleteBut IT can be outsourced to "save money" amiright?!
Deletehttps://www.rawstory.com/2017/12/these-russians-are-either-guilty-of-teason-over-us-election-hacking-or-pawns-in-putin-power-game-or-both/
ReplyDelete"“He definitely wants his population to realize that he’s important on the world stage, that he’s powerful, and that he can control what happens in the United States,”"
"How Much Does Putin worth?
DeleteThat'd put Putin within striking distance of Bill Gates, who according to Bloomberg is the world's richest man with an estimated net worth of
$84 BILLION. One less credible critic says Putin's real worth could be as high as $200 BILLION.
Jan 23, 2017"
http://fortune.com/2017/07/29/vladimir-putin-russia-jeff-bezos-bill-gates-worlds-richest-man/
http://www.pbs.org/video/putins-revenge-part-two-wpsiq2/
ReplyDeleteWhen are the russians planning on taking down our power grid that still hasn't been upgraded since the blackout of half the country under GW.
ReplyDeletewithout technology it wouldn't be possible. it was easier in the old days to keeps secrets.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the US Govt should turn to Apple for some fingerprint or even better, eye scans that aren't hackable.
ReplyDeleteRemember the San Bernardino shooter and how Apple basically told the cops that "sorry, there's no backdoor into our system".
Why is our Govt always so far behind in technology?
Oh they like to try and TWEEK with lots of databases. Ask Dubai
ReplyDeleteToo bad they caught Russia. ;)