I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We're Being Hacked.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Ryan Goodman
@rgoodlaw
“The magnitude of this ongoing attack is hard to overstate.”

“The logical conclusion is that we must act as if the Russian government has control of all the networks it has penetrated.”

By @TomBossert

Opinion | I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We’re Being Hacked.
The magnitude of this national security hack is hard to overstate.
nytimes.com

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/opinion/fireeye-solarwinds-russia-hack.html

At the worst possible time, when the United States is at its most vulnerable — during a presidential transition and a devastating public health crisis — the networks of the federal government and much of corporate America are compromised by a foreign nation. We need to understand the scale and significance of what is happening.

Last week, the cybersecurity firm FireEye said it had been hacked and that its clients, which include the United States government, had been placed at risk. This week, we learned that SolarWinds, a publicly traded company that provides software to tens of thousands of government and corporate customers, was also hacked.

The attackers gained access to SolarWinds software before updates of that software were made available to its customers. Unsuspecting customers then downloaded a corrupted version of the software, which included a hidden back door that gave hackers access to the victim’s network.

This is what is called a supply-chain attack, meaning the pathway into the target networks relies on access to a supplier. Supply-chain attacks require significant resources and sometimes years to execute. They are almost always the product of a nation-state. Evidence in the SolarWinds attack points to the Russian intelligence agency known as the S.V.R., whose tradecraft is among the most advanced in the world.

According to SolarWinds S.E.C. filings, the malware was on the software from March to June. The number of organizations that downloaded the corrupted update could be as many as 18,000, which includes most federal government unclassified networks and more than 425 Fortune 500 companies.

*snip*

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Has orange MF45 even issued a statement about this cyber attack?

[Nevilledog]

2. Nope.

[Eyeball_Kid]

4. Trumpy-Boy has no qualms about whatever Putin does.

Putin invades the US Government data bases? That's fine by Trumpy.

Putin compromises ALL OF THE GOVERNMENT'S COMPUTER SYSTEMS? That's fine by Trumpy.

Putin sticks a baseball bat up Trumpy's bum? That's fine by Trumpy.

Everything Putin does is fine by Trumpy.

[Cha]

9. Are you kidding? he's too busy spewing

"I Won.. 75 million votes!!!!.."

[niyad]

25. 74.2.

[Escurumbele]

11. This is his ticket to asylum in Russia, why would he say anything?

All the people he fired and all the enablers he put in place are aiding in this treasonous actions.

[rickyhall]

17. He's distracting us while the Russians attack.

He's a fucking traitor but the media refuses to call him that.

[questionseverything]

33. Exactly

[Hugin]

36. Pumpkin Spice Pol Pot is more worked up about a sports team changing it's name.

This is a fact.

[Blue Owl]

3. When will tRump be exposed and arrested for being a Russian operative?

[questionseverything]

6. And the senator enablers arrested

They have covered for him over and over

[JudyM]

22. Some know more substantively/operationally than we currently know they know. (Trigger warning)

[Botany]

37. "I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We're Being Hacked."

Didn’t Trump just fire the head of cyber security for America? Did Trump leave America open to Russian hacking on purpose so as to help pay back the 100s of millions of $s he owes them?

300,000 + Americans are now dead because of Trump and now this?

[Mme. Defarge]

5. Will it be safe to file our taxes?

[Karadeniz]

7. I remember hearing years ago that Russia was shifting govt communications from computer to

Old fashioned typewriters, just because of things like this. But, I think I also remember that IBM selectrics... Maybe in the US embassy in Moscow... Were bugged.

[Cha]

8. Rt TY.. Amazing they didn't do

it before the election.. or did they?

[herding cats]

18. It's been going on for 6-9 months.

They have had access, how much is unknown, to all these systems that long.

This is bad, Cha. Truly, deeply bad. When I first read the Reuters breaking news I knew this one was going to be big, even with the little they knew then.

[Cha]

20. When reading about it I

kept thinking.. I hope Biden has the best anti-cyber attacks Team Ready To GO.

But why wouldn't they?

[herding cats]

24. There's so much damage already done here.

Biden, and any of their mitigation efforts will be up against a wall from the beginning. The damage is done and now we're playing catch-up.

This is a true disaster. Brought to us, of course, during this incompetent presidency.

[Cha]

42. Biden's statement on it..

Link to tweet

[herding cats]

45. Thank you! It's so good to have responsible adults about to be in charge again!

I know I'm going to be sleeping much better after 1/20/21.

[Cha]

46. I know! It could have gone

the other way & these last four years would only get exponentially WORSE!

We're Lucky!

[onecaliberal]

10. Meanwhile, Ron fucking johnson holds conspiracy hearings about a non issue.

It’s so scary right now.

[niyad]

26. Don't forget his little trip to Moscow on 4 July a couple of years ago.

[onecaliberal]

28. He's desperately trying to keep things from coming out because he, Lindsey and dump are up to their

Eyeballs in a criminals conspiracy to disrupt the 2020 election.

[OMGWTF]

43. Don't forget Moscow Mitch

The Dallas Morning News ran a story three years ago about how some of the Rs are beholding to the Russian oligarchs -- https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/gop-campaigns-took-7-35-million-from-oligarch-linked-to-russia/

[onecaliberal]

47. They still get re-elected. It's mind boggling

[soothsayer]

29. Well he's a Russian asset as well as an ass hat

[JoeOtterbein]

12. K n R ! Thanks for posting!...

...scary stuff!

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Twitter reply:

Link to tweet

[Lonestarblue]

14. Did Trump/Kushner give Russia info to help them do this?

I doubt Trump is even capable of understanding the notion of cybersecurity, but Kushner is enough a weasel to understand and provide information—for a price. How did Russians know which supplier to target first to gain access to the whole system? Because no investigation was ever done, we still do not know whether Trump and his whole family are Russian assets who were able to keep their business alive only with Russian money.

[Rebl2]

19. Of course they

Did or someone in the administration did. Stephen Miller? Bill Barr? Someone did

[keithbvadu2]

15. White House eliminates top cyber adviser post

Republican meme… “Russia is our friend.”
--------------
Bolton pushing to eliminate White House cyber job

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142056288

White House eliminates top cyber adviser post

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100210618531

[judesedit]

16. Dump and his spawn have been using unsecured means of communicating

since he was installed. Probably to make it easier for those who own them to gain access. Has secret meetings with Pooty that no one can attend...excuse me. They have no loyalty to America at all. Bunch of traitors and murderers. And his wussy GOP vote against strengthening cybersecurity. There can only be one reason for that imo. I only hope it all comes out and the guilty are prosecuted and punished.

[spanone]

21. Is trump selling our secrets?

Bet he's selling pardons too.

[OMGWTF]

44. I can't shake the feeling Putin is giving Trump credit for murdering so many Americans.

E.g., Donald, for every 10,000 of your people you murder, I will knock off $100,000 from your loan.

[PatrickforO]

23. Causus belli?

We must NEVER, EVER forget this.

Trump and the Republicans are guilty of treason.

Russia has repeatedly committed acts of war against the United States of America.

Let's hold on, grit our teeth, and get ready to get behind our new president. President Biden.

[hay rick]

27. Very disturbing.

[coti]

30. An asymmetric response- by which I mean

a few cruise missiles aimed at the buildings with their hackers and computer technology in them- would be appropriate here.

These assholes have targeted HOSPITALS. That's terrorism.

[JohnnyRingo]

31. Every half hour President Biden will get a phone call.

"The warranty on your car is about to expire. This is your fourth and final notice...."

Just kidding. This is pretty serious considering who's still in the WH.

[BigmanPigman]

32. I think it was Senator Blumenthal

who was on MSNBC tonight discussing this issue. He said that the Dems need to investigate and punish Russia and tRump. There are two investigations needed...one for tRump and how he mishandled Covid resulting in thousands of deaths (like the 9/11 Commission) and an investigation about how secure we are with tech and our security and hold Putin accountable.

[questionseverything]

34. Way more than two investigations

Stealing kids and torturing them cannot go unpunished

[BigmanPigman]

35. Hell yes!

There will be countless investigations but we really need to get the Senate to see any real answers and justice. They were discussing the two issues I mentioned tonight.

[questionseverything]

38. Would be a full time job keeping the list

I think several senators will be charged

But 🤫

[BigmanPigman]

39. I want them to find out why the GOP reps in

both the Senate and the House jumped onto team tRump so quickly and completely. I suspect Putin hacked their emails as well as the Dems and they are being blackmailed by tRump and/or Putin. I don't know if there are enough investigators in any dept. To handle all the crime tRump and pals have committed and are continuing to commit.

[questionseverything]

40. Black mail or just graft payments or a combo

[BobTheSubgenius]

41. It is impossible to overstate how dire this could be.

Does anyone know just what this Russian agency is doing with the data, and the overall aim? I would guess not. This could be a blow so crippling as to make us long for the simple, more Halcyon days of this past late winter and spring, when the worst thing facing us was Covid 19 and all the unknowns were still piling up, not being addressed.

It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Russia, seeing the game is up, leaks are being filled, and the insanely rich stream of data is drying up, that they execute a doomsday attack on their way out the door. Something akin to a low level format of all the networks they control.

Security 'experts' (no one is looking very expert to me, ATM) would be fighting a fire that fully engulfs their building with a bucket with a big hole in it and their hands tied together. It could be akin to Armageddon without a shot being fired.