Russia Accused Of Hacking Hundreds Of Western, Asian Companies

[okaawhatever]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. cybersecurity firm says it has gathered evidence that the Russian government spied on hundreds of American, European and Asian companies, the first time Moscow has been linked to cyber attacks for alleged economic - rather than political - gains.

According to the firm, CrowdStrike, the victims of the previously unreported cyber espionage campaign include energy and technology firms, some of which have lost valuable intellectual property.

SNIP

"These attacks appear to have been motivated by the Russian government's interest in helping its industry maintain competitiveness in key areas of national importance," Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of CrowdStrike, told Reuters on Tuesday evening.

SNIP

He said that CrowdStrike has been following the activities of this Russian group, which it dubbed "Energetic Bear," for two years. The firm believes the Russian government is behind the campaign because of technical indicators, as well as analysis of the targets chosen and the data stolen. "We are very confident about this," Alperovitch said. Victims include European energy companies, defense contractors, technology companies and government agencies, according to the CrowdStrike report

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/russia-accused-of-hacking_n_4641652.html

[Cali_Democrat]

1. Snowden's condemnation will be forthcoming.

Surely he doesn't mind criticizing his current hosts for espionage.

It's about principles.

[George II]

4. I doubt he'll condemn them - I wouldn't be surprised if he taught them how to do it!

[TwilightGardener]

5. USA bad, all other countries good...lather, rinse, repeat.

[rtracey]

6. Why

Do we even know if he is not the cause if it? Will he condemn it?

[okaawhatever]

2. What worries me most, from later in the article:

He told Reuters that the data his firm has obtained about Energetic Bear suggests that authorities in Moscow have decided to start using cyber espionage to promote Russia's national economic interests.

"They are copying the Chinese play book," he said. "Cyber espionage is very lucrative for economic benefit to a nation."



We've all heard the wars of the future will be fought in cyberspace. I think this is phase 1.

[KoKo]

3. Only Hundreds? Sheesh...they are Slackers! We do it on Millions all across the World!

[dipsydoodle]

7. Yes they appear to be rank amateurs compared with the NSA.

.

[okaawhatever]

9. No, we hack for safety purposes, not to make money for businesses. There is a huge difference.

China is the worst and only major power that was prolific in stealing business technology and patent protected info. Russia has always spied on us for political and security reasons. This is just for money making. Big friggn' difference.

[JDPriestly]

11. And you have proof?

You don't think we spy for money-making?

I don't have any proof that we do, but it would not surprise me at all.

[okaawhatever]

12. Oh please. That statement is too stupid for words. Yes, I can prove that every single member of

the government has never spied for business purposes. I have that kind of clearance and access to computers. Do you have proof that the US has used cyberespionage to help businesses make more money?

[JDPriestly]

13. No. But all I have is your word saying you have that kind of clearance and access to computers.

I have to take your word for it. There is no real civilian, unbiased oversight on our surveillance system.

There are countries that have very advanced manufacturing and other technology. Having access to their electronic media would be a huge temptation for private contractors working on behalf of our government if not our government itself.

[Maedhros]

15. okaawhatever, it helps if you know something about a subject

before you jump into a thread and post nonsense.

The NSA is, indeed, neck-deep in industrial espionage:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/09/nsa-spying-brazil-oil-petrobras
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikolas-kozloff/nsa-spying-on-petrobras-f_b_3965148.html
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/10/nsa-busted-conducting-industrial-espionage-in-france-mexico-brazil-and-other-countries.html

As for the whole "safety purposes" poppycock, how on Earth is spying on the German Chancellor making us "safe?"

http://rt.com/news/obama-nsa-spying-merkel-808/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cover-story-how-nsa-spied-on-merkel-cell-phone-from-berlin-embassy-a-930205.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/angela-merkel-nsa-spying-allies-not-on

Research before you post! You may in the future avoid such embarrassment.

[Nihil]

17. Thank you.

Timely, accurate & succinct (yet still polite) rebuttal to yet another pro-NSA poster.

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. Eurasia has always been our enemy; we have always been at war with Eurasia

[JDPriestly]

10. Not surprising! We need international oversight and cooperation to stop the surveillance.

Last edited Wed Jan 22, 2014, 03:25 PM - Edit history (1)

I was wondering this morning before I read this whether our government's hackers can tell when a foreign country hacks individuals or businesses in our country or elsewhere in the world. If we are getting the electronic transmissions from all over the world, it would seem to me that we could observe patterns that would tell us whether they are or not.

[Maedhros]

14. What's the big deal?

The NSA does the same thing, and we're told repeatedly that it's nothing to get worked up about.

[calguy]

16. And I thought.........

"we"were the only ones engaging in espionage. Silly Me

[Maedhros]

18. The problem is not that the United States is involved in espionage.

It's that the espionage:

1. Is "justified" by the "war on terror", and those "justifications" are kept secret
2. Yet is directed at U.S. citizens who are not suspects, allied heads-of-state and foreign commercial/industrial organizations, none of which present a "terrorist threat"
3. And the data gathered is handed to domestic law enforcement agencies without proper warrants and using methods to specifically avoid discovery by defense counsel
4. And when the government deigns to explain the program, they outright lie to us.

Do try to keep up.