Who Is Spying On The U.S. Media?

CBS News Confirms Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Hacked -- CBS

CBS News announced Friday that correspondent Sharyl Attkisson's computer was hacked by "an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions," confirming Attkisson's previous revelation of the hacking.

CBS News spokeswoman Sonya McNair said that a cybersecurity firm hired by CBS News "has determined through forensic analysis" that "Attkisson's computer was accessed by an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions in late 2012."

"Evidence suggests this party performed all access remotely using Attkisson's accounts. While no malicious code was found, forensic analysis revealed an intruder had executed commands that appeared to involve search and exfiltration of data. This party also used sophisticated methods to remove all possible indications of unauthorized activity, and alter system times to cause further confusion. CBS News is taking steps to identify the responsible party and their method of access."

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More News On CBS Reporter Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Being Hacked

CBS News says someone tampered with reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer -- Washington Post/AP
CBS News says reporter's computer was hacked -- Reuters
CBS probe finds computer of lead Benghazi reporter was hacked -- FOX News
CBS: Sharyl Attkisson computer hacked -- Politico
CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer intrusion a ‘sophisticated’ plot -- Washington Times
CBS News: Someone was pulling data from Sharyl Attkisson’s computer; Update: CBS report added -- Hot Air
Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Was Hacked but CBS Doesn't Know Who Did It -- Atlantic Wire
Sharyl Attkisson’s computer: What could have prompted breaches? -- Erik Wemple, Washington Post

My Comment: Considering what has been happening in the past week .... this is a very disturbing story.

Who Is Spying On The U.S. Media?

CBS News Confirms Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Hacked -- CBS

CBS News announced Friday that correspondent Sharyl Attkisson's computer was hacked by "an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions," confirming Attkisson's previous revelation of the hacking.

CBS News spokeswoman Sonya McNair said that a cybersecurity firm hired by CBS News "has determined through forensic analysis" that "Attkisson's computer was accessed by an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions in late 2012."

"Evidence suggests this party performed all access remotely using Attkisson's accounts. While no malicious code was found, forensic analysis revealed an intruder had executed commands that appeared to involve search and exfiltration of data. This party also used sophisticated methods to remove all possible indications of unauthorized activity, and alter system times to cause further confusion. CBS News is taking steps to identify the responsible party and their method of access."

Read more ....

More News On CBS Reporter Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Being Hacked

CBS News says someone tampered with reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer -- Washington Post/AP
CBS News says reporter's computer was hacked -- Reuters
CBS probe finds computer of lead Benghazi reporter was hacked -- FOX News
CBS: Sharyl Attkisson computer hacked -- Politico
CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer intrusion a ‘sophisticated’ plot -- Washington Times
CBS News: Someone was pulling data from Sharyl Attkisson’s computer; Update: CBS report added -- Hot Air
Sharyl Attkisson's Computer Was Hacked but CBS Doesn't Know Who Did It -- Atlantic Wire
Sharyl Attkisson’s computer: What could have prompted breaches? -- Erik Wemple, Washington Post

Has Google Uncovered An Iranian Spy Campaign?

Google Detects Iran Phishing Attacks Ahead Of Election -- BBC

Google says it has detected and stopped thousands of phishing attacks targeting email accounts of Iranian users ahead of the 14 June presidential election.

In an online statement, the firm said it had noticed a "significant jump" in the region's overall volume of phishing activity in the last three weeks.

The timing and targets suggested the attacks were "politically motivated".

Friday's poll is the first since 2009 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a controversial second term.

The election had triggered angry protests, with voters accusing Mr Ahmadinejad's camp of rigging the results in his favour.

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More News on Google Uncovering An Iranian Spy Campaign

Google says it blocked hackers on eve of Iran election -- CBC/AP
Iranian Gmail users targeted in pre-election hacking campaign: Google -- Reuters
Google warns of password-stealing campaign in Iran -- AFP
Google Says It Has Uncovered Iranian Spy Campaign -- New York Times
Iranian Gmail users targeted on eve of election, Google says -- NBC
Google Warns of Increased Hacking Attempts in Iran -- Voice of America
Internet Trouble Brewing in Iran Before Presidential Election -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Google detects tens of thousands of 'politically motivated' phishing attacks ahead of Iranian elections -- The Independent
Google finds Iranians hacked on election eve -- Al Jazeera
Thousands of Iranian Gmail Users Targeted in Attempted Hacks Before Election -- Threat Level/Wired

A Glimpse At NSA Hacking Capabilities

How The U.S. Government Hacks The World -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Obscured by trees and grassy berms, the campus of the National Security Agency sits 15 miles north of Washington’s traffic-clogged Beltway, its 6 million square feet of blast-resistant buildings punctuated by clusters of satellite dishes. Created in 1952 to intercept radio and other electronic transmissions—known as signals intelligence—the NSA now focuses much of its espionage resources on stealing what spies euphemistically call “electronic data at rest.” These are the secrets that lay inside the computer networks and hard drives of terrorists, rogue nations, and even nominally friendly governments. When President Obama receives his daily intelligence briefing, most of the information comes from government cyberspies, says Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence under President George W. Bush. “It’s at least 75 percent, and going up,” he says.

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My Comment: China/Iran/North Korea/Israel/Russia .... all of these countries probably have very good cyber warfare capabilities .... but I suspect that the real 800 lb gorilla in the room is the U.S..

Update: The best line in this Bloomberg report is the last one .... The bottom line: Using automated hacking tools, NSA cyberspies pilfer 2 petabytes of data every hour from computers worldwide.

'World's Sexiest Computer Hacker'

Google

'World's Sexiest Computer Hacker' To Be Sentenced This Spring -- Business Insider

Kristina Svechinskaya, dubbed the "world's sexiest computer hacker" after a daring internet heist in New York, has had her sentencing postponed until April, reports Russian Legal Information Agency.

Svechinskaya and 37 others allegedly used dummy bank accounts, fake passports and a Zeus Trojan to pilfer $3 million from U.S. banks and another $9 million British banks. Svechinskaya's role was as a "money mule."

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My Comment: I doubt that she is going to serve 40 years. But she did help steal a lot of money .... and she is going to serve some hard time.

Chinese State TV Reveals Their Cyberwar Capabilities

A presenter introduces a TV report appearing to contradict assertions China doesn't engage in cyberattacks. CCTV footage on China Network Television

Chinese State TV Alludes to U.S. Website Attacks -- Wall Street Journal

BEIJING — Chinese state television has broadcast footage of what two experts on the Chinese military say appears to be a military institute demonstrating software designed to attack websites in the U.S.



Although it could be a decade old or a mock-up, the 10-second segment—part of a longer report on cybersecurity—appears to be a rare example of an official source contradicting China'a repeated assertions that it doesn't engage in cyberattacks, according to Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins of the China SignPost analytical service, which specializes in military matters.



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More News On China's Cyberwar Capabilities

China broadcasts footage of cyber attack on state television -- The Telegraph

Chinese TV programme shows apparent cyber-attack on US website -- The Guardian

Chinese state TV shows military cyber hacking clip -- Reuters

Slip-Up in Chinese Military TV Show Reveals More Than Intended -- Epoch Times

China Brazenly Brags About Internet Attacks on U.S. in Leaked Video -- Daily Tech

China Hacking Video Shows Glimpse of Falun Gong Attack Tool -- PC World

Pentagon's China Assessment Contains Few Cyber Surprises -- NextGov

Chinese Military Documentary Reveals Alleged Attack Software -- Information Week

Chinese documentary shows military university attacking U.S. targets -- ZDNet

Did China Tip Cyber War Hand? -- The Diplomat

Chinese Government Denies Hacking Into Google

Google Says Hackers in China Stole Gmail Passwords -- New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — Google said Wednesday that hundreds of users of Gmail, its e-mail service, had been the targets of clandestine attacks apparently originating in China that were aimed at stealing their passwords and monitoring their e-mail.

In a blog post, the company said the victims included senior government officials in the United States, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists.

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More News On Chinese Hackers Attacking Google

US probes Google's serious China hacking allegation -- Reuters
US investigating Google claim of China hacking -- Seattle PI/AP
US Investigating Google Claim of China Hacking -- ABC News/AP
Clinton: Google's China Hacking Claims 'Very Serious' -- Voice of America
Google hacking allegations very serious: Clinton -- AFP
FBI investigates Gmail hack -- Politico

China denies Gmail hacking accusations -- The Guardian
China Denies Gmail Hack, Claims It's a 'Victim' Too -- Techland
Chinese Government Denies Hacking Google Accounts -- Wall Street Journal
China rejects Google allegation of massive hacking breach as ‘fabrication’ -- Washington Post
China Denies Accessing High Profile Gmail Accounts -- NPR
China claims no involvement in Gmail hacking -- ZDNet

Why were Gmail users targeted in China hack? -- The Guardian

My Comment: Considering on who was being targeted (senior government officials in the United States, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists), the hand of the Chinese government is clearly involved.

How Stuxnet Has Given Hackers A Blueprint For Sophisticated New Malware

Epic Fail Malicious programs could blow up factories and sabotage power grids Jamie Sneddon

What Could Possibly Go Wrong: Industrial Cyber-Sabotage -- Popular Science

Stuxnet gives hackers a blueprint for sophisticated new malware.

Computers already do so much of our work that it seems natural to let them take care of our sabotage, too. This might have been the line of thinking that led to Stuxnet, the first known malware worm designed to disrupt industrial processes.

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My Comment: I suspect that this is just the start of something bigger .... hence we are now having governments proposing the need for Cyberwar protocals.