Friday, March 16, 2018

Russian hackers breach power grids, water processing plants, and air transportation facilities all over the United States.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:  

Russian hackers are conducting a broad assault on the U.S. electric grid, water processing plants, air transportation facilities and other targets in rolling attacks on some of the country’s most sensitive infrastructure, U.S. government officials said Thursday. 

The announcement was the first official confirmation that Russian hackers have taken aim at facilities on which hundreds of millions of Americans depend for basic services. Bloomberg News reported in July that Russian hackers had breached more than a dozen power plants in seven states, an aggressive campaign that has since expanded to dozens of states, according to a person familiar with the investigation. 

"Since at least March 2016, Russian government cyber actors" have targeted "government entities and multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors," including those of energy, nuclear, water and aviation, according to an alert issued Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Critical manufacturing sectors and commercial facilities also have been targeted by the ongoing "multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors." 

Cyber-attacks are "literally happening hundreds of thousands of times a day," Energy Secretary Rick Perry told lawmakers during a hearing Thursday. "The warfare that goes on in the cyberspace is real, it’s serious, and we must lead the world."

In other reporting it was made clear that the Russians had gained control over some of these facilities, and could turn off power to millions of Americans or interfere in air travel at will.

This means that the Russians can render us helpless with a literal flip of the switch.

No phone, no internet, no lights, no nothing.

And while all this was going on the Trump Administration did NOTHING to protect us.

But hey they finally moved on those old sanctions to punish the Russians for interfering in the 2916 elections.

Courtesy of CNN:

The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia, including individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, in a sweeping new effort to punish Moscow for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election. 

In enacting the sanctions, the administration is finally meeting a congressional mandate to impose measures punishing Moscow for its cyber intrusion. The delay had led to questions over President Donald Trump's willingness to punish Moscow. The new measures, however delayed, amount to the most stringent punishment yet by Trump for Russia's election interference.

This is the very definition of "A day late, and a dollar short." 

By doing nothing for over a year the administration empowered the Russians to keep right on hacking into our systems and now they have gained control over our communications, air travel, and security. 

I have felt we were fucked before, but this is a whole new level of fucked.

34 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:04 AM

    ForWARned:

    1974 – “Conned” into Running for Governor
    'Episode 10: Jay Hammond - Part 2'


    https://www.360north.org/alaska-statehood-pioneers/

    https://www.amazon.com/Who-Owns-America-Walter-Hickel/dp/013958322X

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is plain and simple. Trump is providing cover and giving payback for Russian help in the election.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:06 AM

    https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/16/europe/russia-global-reach-intl/index.html

    Propaganda
    Military power
    Arms sales
    Countering US influence
    Energy supply
    Middle East diplomacy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:08 AM

    And since all these entities are private industry that means computers are way out of date and using old computer codes and programs because they have to “maximize profits for their stockholders “.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:39 AM

      " the Press is the ONLY private institution, the ONLY private business, specifically called out in the Constitution and given enumerated rights.
      That was for a very specific reason.
      Because in a FREE society, the PRESS is THE watchdog of liberty."<Jim is wRIGHT

      Delete
  5. Anonymous9:44 AM

    They could literally turn the USA (and surrounding countries) into what Christians describe as "The Tribulation". (Living after "The Rapture" in a post-apocalypse world.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous9:52 AM

    BREAKING: Something Is Happening

    https://wonkette.com/631312/breaking-something-is-happening

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17 AM

      Yeah, it's Friday, T.Rump always leaves a yuge frustration tantrum dump before boardign AF1.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous9:54 AM

    https://www.politicususa.com/2018/03/16/russia-to-expel-uk-diplomats-as-crisis-over-nerve-toxin-attack-deepens.html

    T-his tOO IRAN>

    https://www.politicususa.com/2018/03/16/exclusive-britain-france-germany-propose-new-sanctions-on-iran-document.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:56 AM

    James Comey ‘Going to Come Out Hot’ on Book Tour Blitz to ‘Correct Lies’

    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/james-comey-reportedly-planning-a-book-tour-media-blitz-to-correct-lies/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:59 AM

    Fox News: The President Shouldn’t Talk to Dictators (If It’s Obama)

    Fox News HATED the idea of Obama talking to foreign dictators. Guess how they feel about Trump doing it???

    https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/974450928714747906

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:00 AM

    If there was ever a cause for impeachment and firing squad this would be it. Never have we the people witness such a attack against us within our borders. trump must be escorted out of our building right now along with everyone that he has appointed, assigned or nominated. He is a disgrace. Bring back President Obama to hold down the fort, get order and hold new election now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:33 PM

      Agree.
      Uncharted territory. Requires a new map.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:07 AM

    Acting as a trash receptacle for leaks, slanders, and innuendo from the Right's radical fringe isn't "breaking news," Sean.

    HANNITY is entertainment journalism that—at its best—aspires to advocacy journalism. On its worst days, it's libelous, cruel, and grotesquely unpatriotic.

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/974701863823081473

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:07 AM

    Spoiler: there *is* no "red line" other than in Rosenstein's letter authorizing Mueller as Special Counsel—and discussing Trump's whims like they were actual lines in the sand is *making* news rather than reporting it.

    Defendants *don't* get to decide how they're investigated.

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/974655389890379777

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:10 AM

    Top election forecaster moves nine House races toward Dems

    http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/378775-cook-political-report-moves-9-house-races-toward-dems

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/03/15/the-blue-wave-in-2018-needs-to-be-amplified-into-a-category-5

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VfmPepBKsNA/UNI1usy5wFI/AAAAAAAADMU/70fCHtO9mEE/s1600/Blue_Sea_Wave_HD_Wallpaper_.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  14. Saw this on Maddow last night. I knew this was coming eventually. It was only a matter of time. Everything is hackable and the Kremlin is the first to hit jackpot is no surprise.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:13 AM

    REmember, the State Department hadn't alloted or spent the millions (billions?) it was given to combat cyber crime.) and now Tillerson is gone, no one in charge and Pompeo's confirmation hearing likely to be testy if not iffy. Hmmmm. ANd McMaster likely out at NSA Seems like T.Rump has just set up a perfect storm of a time for Russion hacking to proliferate.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:18 AM

    This would be the same man—Trump—who said under oath in 2013 that he wouldn't be able to pick Felix Sater out of a lineup.

    That was a felony—perjury.

    And it was intended to cover up Trump's Russia ties, and it was a crime committed after Trump had decided to run for president.

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/974651841958031360

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:20 AM

    Gina Haspel oversaw interrogation tactics so brutal that CIA personnel at one black site openly wept and requested transfers after torture sessions. Details here:

    https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/gina-haspel-black-site-torture-cia/555539/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:21 AM

    White House disregarded Republican investigators’ requests. The GOP has been reluctant to fight back.

    The White House has refused to comply with all three investigations by the Republican-controlled House into the questionable behavior of President Donald Trump’s top aides, including Cabinet secretaries and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. And Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are being criticized for accepting no for an answer rather than subpoena the documents.

    The investigations involve three of the biggest controversies at the White House since Trump took office — aides using private email for government business, spending taxpayer money on costly private airplane travel and holding interim security clearances for long periods of time while handling the nation’s secrets.

    Now, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee wants to go further. Rep. Elijah Cummings, sent a pair of letters to chairman Trey Gowdy this week urging him to issue subpoenas for documents about private emails and travel. He sent a similar one last week pushing for a subpoena for records on security clearances. The committee’s majority must approve subpoenas.

    “During his tenure as Oversight Committee Chairman, Rep. Gowdy has sought information from the White House in three separate investigations, but the White House has defied the committee’s requests every time — with absolutely no repercussions,” Cummings told McClatchy. “It is now clear that the White House will not respond to this committee unless it is compelled to do so. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to wall off the Trump administration from real oversight.”

    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article205270699.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous10:24 AM

    BREAKING NEWS: The Trump administration today announced that Russia has successfully launched a cyberattack on our nuclear power grid, has compromised the grid, and can shut it down at will. This is on top of what Russia did to our election. We are under attack by a hostile power

    https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/974458716866203648

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:42 PM

      Well open wide bitches!

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:25 AM

    The key point: the decision to fire an FBI official with this seniority and this many years of service normally would take many months, so if Sessions makes this call (despite his recusal) this week it is clearly to sully McCabe as a witness against Trump at a future impeachment.

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/974456725347717121

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:47 AM

    The last 5yrs our cell phones were used to track us and invade privacy. Our internet was hacked and used to invade privacy. Our infrastructure has been in decline since DICK cheney and bush were in office along with mental healthcare. 911 happened under their watch. Republicans are to blame for all that is wrong today. They must pay dearly by throwing the facts at them everyday for what their party has done to this country. They sold us out for the last 60yrs. And this is the final crime. Their hateful agenda and karma is coming for them. All of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have no on to blame about that except ourselves. We willingly give our our personal information and leave ourselves vulnerable to hacking. We not only open our selves up to Facebook, Twitter, Google and all sorts of other entities, but we willingly share information in the internet where anyone can see it. We have allowed companies to track us, gather data and sell it, all in the name of profit, marketing, capitalism.

      Our mental healthcare system was undermined and destroyed by Ronald Reagan. Karl Rove is the one that masterminded the slow deterioration of our infrastructure, public schools and laid the groundwork to destroying Social Security, Medicare and any other regulations and safeguards we had in place. It wasn't just Republicans. Democrats were stupid or greedy enough to go along with them on plenty of their "master plan." Just look at the "Patriot Act" and how many times it's been renewed. The failure to renew the ban on assault weapons. The expiration of CHIP. The latest is more erosions of Dodd-Frank. So we can be vulnerable to another fiscal disaster. The Republicans may have been the chief force that brought us to the present but they didn't do it alone. They had plenty of help.

      Don't forget the media's complicity in making Trump a credible candidate and helping him to get elected. If they had done their jobs from the start, he never would have been on the ballot.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:34 PM

      If you expect me to feel sorry for you, don't because I won't.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:13 PM

      YES, mlaiuppa, Hear Hear!

      Delete
  22. Does anyone remember those two navy ships that had accidents last year? I told my Mother at the time I'll bet their guidance systems were hacked and we're just not being told.

    I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out that is exactly what happened. Imagine being able to take over our Navy ships and even our submarines? Sink a few, run them into each other, other ships or ground them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:36 PM

      Nope...didn't they find that they were partying too much and fucked up?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous2:53 PM

    "Brad Woodhouse, treasurer for the American Legal Democracy Fund, said he received confirmation from the FEC that it had launched a preliminary investigation into the group’s complaint.

    While not confirming the probe, an FEC official said such investigations are launched after FEC lawyers determine that there is at least the potential that campaign finance laws were broken.

    Woodhouse, a longtime Democratic Party activist, said the FEC inquiry is a significant step in getting to the bottom of a very complicated series of relationships between the NRA, the Trump campaign and Russian entities."

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/16/nra-russia-election-donations-fec-investigation-468661

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous4:34 PM

    https://thinkprogress.org/knives-out-rod-rosenstein-a64f6af36fb3/

    "Hugh Hewitt, a conservative pundit with close ties to the administration, also used the New York Times report as a way to attack Rosenstein and suggest Trump should fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions."

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous5:42 PM

    Redrum Again:
    "Mr Glushkov was found dead at his home in New Malden on 12 March.
    A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Glushkov, who was 68, died from "compression to the neck"."Mr Glushkov is the former deputy director of Russian state airline Aeroflot."

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43433552

    ReplyDelete

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