One expert said, "Trump hasn't wanted to say anything bad to Russia, which only encourages them to act irresponsibly across a wide range of activities."
Halfway through his first year in the White House, Donald Trump had a private chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which the Republican announced plans to partner with Russia on an "impenetrable Cyber Security unit."
Evidently, the American president believed that forging some kind of cyber-security partnership with the country that had just launched an attack on U.S. elections would somehow serve our interests.
This was, of course, completely bonkers, and Trump quietly backed away from his apparent plan. Nevertheless, this came to mind overnight, following evidence of Russian hackers breaching U.S. government agencies. NBC News reported overnight on the intrusion, which appeared to be "part of a Russian intelligence campaign aimed at multiple U.S. agencies and companies, including the cybersecurity company FireEye, officials said Sunday."
A Commerce Department spokesman confirmed a breach, saying it occurred at an unidentified bureau.... The White House National Security Council also confirmed that it was looking into another potential intrusion at the Treasury Department after Reuters reported that foreign government-backed hackers accessed internal government emails.
Not surprisingly, there are several key elements of this new story that are not yet clear, including what the hackers may have obtained and for what purpose.
But Chris Painter, State Department cyber coordinator in the Obama administration, spoke to the Washington Post yesterday, and noted that even if the intrusion was part of a routine espionage campaign, the scope of the effort is broad enough to warrant consequences. "We just don't have to sit still for it and say 'good job,'" told the newspaper.
"Sanctions might be one answer, especially if done in concert with allies who were similarly affected, he said. "The problem is there's not even been condemnation from the top. President Trump hasn't wanted to say anything bad to Russia, which only encourages them to act irresponsibly across a wide range of activities." At the very least, he said, "you'd want to make clear to Putin that this is unacceptable — the scope is unacceptable."
As of now, there's been no public condemnation from the White House of this significant hack, naturally leading to questions about Trump's latest weakness toward his benefactors in Moscow.
Update: The list is growing: "The Department of Homeland Security is the third federal agency to have fallen victim to a major cyberespionage campaign by the Russian government, joining the Treasury and Commerce departments as targets that have been compromised, officials said Monday."
Perhaps the outgoing president's recent decision to fire Christopher Krebs, the nation's top cybersecurity official, wasn't a good idea?
Trump doesn't seem the least bit surprised or concerned that Putin and his boys have been harvesting valuable intell from our defense agencies for months, since March of 2020.
Not a word from Trump who appears to approve of anything Russia and Putin do to damage the USA. A Bounty on our troops in Afghanistan...NOTHING BUT CRICKETS FROM TRUMP AND HIS GOP SUPPORTERS!
If ever someone was acting "guilty", this commander in chief, with his silence appears to act like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
I have a hard time believing that a Russian hack of this magnitude was pulled off without help from someone inside our own government.
There will be a thorough investigation and our intell branch will find out who is responsible. The public may not find out exactly what happened but those who were derelict will be found out.
With Pence planning on dipping out (leaving the country) right after he resides over congress for the election confirmation, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump ends up going to Russia to live. I think Pence is bailing to keep from having to pardon Trump OR to avoid prosecution himself.
With Pence planning on dipping out (leaving the country) right after he resides over congress for the election confirmation, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump ends up going to Russia to live. I think Pence is bailing to keep from having to pardon Trump OR to avoid prosecution himself.
Some discussion going on about Pence's agenda after Jan. 6...link to a story below...
If Pence does exit Washington after Jan 6, going overseas makes sense. He might be trying to avoid any future involvement into whatever crazy crap Trump might start.
It would be a great opportunity for Pence to begin cutting the apron strings that have tied him to Trump for the last 4 years. Might be an attempt to kick off his future political campaign, too.
Just putting distance between himself and Trump might be reason enough to exit the country for a while.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
COVID aside, Trump's relationship with Russia has absolutely been the one thing about his administration that INFURIATES me to levels unseen with any other president in my lifetime.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I wouldn't be surprised if Trump ends up going to Russia to live.
Trumps love of Russia has been obvious to me since the Russian involvement in the 2016 election became known.
My suspicion of Trump and his administration grew once Trump invited the Russians to Oval office May 10, 2017. There was little doubt in my mind that Trump was acting on behalf of Putin and Russia.
Trump likely brought suspension within our own security forces as he was tip-toeing on the edge of TREASON with his actions favoring Russia and Putin.
While the public views our CIA and FBI as the USA's ultimate security units that protect against espionage and spy related cases, there might be other security units that are "unknown" to the public that oversee and protect the United States against situations, that might include cyber-attacks and Russian related situation.
I'm hopeful that those responsible for our country's highest security, have a "game plan" for any security situation that could possibly come up. I have little doubt that some within our government are way ahead of the most thoughtful "regular folks".
What is reported to the media and in print, is only what our security services allows the public to know.
The Utah senator compares the situation to a president keeping quiet about a White House flyover by Russian bombers.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Thursday it was extraordinary that President Donald Trump hasn’t said a single word about the cyberattack on U.S. agencies believed to be orchestrated by the Kremlin. Nor has Trump apparently complained to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a tweet posted on Thursday, Romney called White House inaction and silence inexcusable:
“In this setting, not to have the White House aggressively speaking out and protesting and taking punitive action is really quite extraordinary,” Romney also told Olivier Knox on SiriusXM.
The extensive cyberattack hit the U.S. Treasury, Commerce Department, State Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the American stockpile of nuclear weapons. The nation’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the sophisticated attack raises grave concerns about U.S. safety. And officials said it could take months before the full extent of the attack was known.
Romney said the operation exposes the nation’s cyberwarfare readiness as extraordinarily weak, and that Russia thinks “so little of our ability to fight back from a cyber standpoint that they do this with impunity. So our national security is extraordinarily vulnerable,” he added.
When White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany was asked Tuesday about the massive hack, she said the White House was “taking a hard look into this,” CNBC reported.
In contrast, President-elect Joe Biden put nations that would attack the U.S. on notice and said his administration would make cybersecurity a top priority.
“Our adversaries should know that, as president, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber assaults on our nation,” Biden added.
So the headline was correct but someone may "interpret it wrong"?
And that would be the fault of who again? I'm not going to "shut it". I've never taken orders from you and I'm not going to start now. The headline is 100% correct and you're just having your typical meltdown.
We know who the "simple one" is and it's not me.
You were smart enough to stay out of here for a while. I see common sense has escaped you once again.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Pence may go on a 1 week vacation after fulfilling his duty. Oh, the horrors. Get a grip. Your boy won, yet I see nothing from you about biden and how he'll do anything....just more attacks. Typical of you, really.
Perhaps one reason he hasnt said anything is that they seem to know so little about this attack. I keep reading articles and its like they are clueless about the extent of it.
when has Trump ever let a lack of knowledge stop him from saying literally anything?
stop it.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
He was probably advised to keep his mouth shut until they figure it out. Dealing with other countries is different than dealing with lameos in congress and in the media.
He was probably advised to keep his mouth shut until they figure it out. Dealing with other countries is different than dealing with lameos in congress and in the media.
Pompeo: Russians are 'pretty clearly' behind hack of US government
By Bradford Betz | Fox News RUSSIA Published 46 mins ago link
President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the breach
Fox news was a bit behind other news sources reporting on this subject..but now maybe you can believe IT WAS THE RUSSIANS who were responsible for the cyber attack on the United States.
So the headline was correct but someone may "interpret it wrong"?
And that would be the fault of who again? I'm not going to "shut it". I've never taken orders from you and I'm not going to start now. The headline is 100% correct and you're just having your typical meltdown.
We know who the "simple one" is and it's not me.
You were smart enough to stay out of here for a while. I see common sense has escaped you once again.
the headline was click bait... it's meant to read as if Pence is moving out of the US... a more accurate headline would have been Pence taking 1 week vacation after inauguration... honestly it's a none story...
back on topic... Trump needs to say something about these attacks... if this was China he'd be lambasting them multiple times a day... this is an attack on our country... our leadership should not be silent..
He was probably advised to keep his mouth shut until they figure it out. Dealing with other countries is different than dealing with lameos in congress and in the media.
Pompeo: Russians are 'pretty clearly' behind hack of US government
By Bradford Betz | Fox News RUSSIA Published 46 mins ago link
President Donald Trump has not publicly commented on the breach
Fox news was a bit behind other news sources reporting on this subject..but now maybe you can believe IT WAS THE RUSSIANS who were responsible for the cyber attack on the United States.
Haven't you heard ?????
Fox News is now on the Fake News list.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
So the headline was correct but someone may "interpret it wrong"?
And that would be the fault of who again? I'm not going to "shut it". I've never taken orders from you and I'm not going to start now. The headline is 100% correct and you're just having your typical meltdown.
We know who the "simple one" is and it's not me.
You were smart enough to stay out of here for a while. I see common sense has escaped you once again.
After fulfilling his duties? His duties continue until Jan 20.. Then after that, he's got a duty to remain loyal to the USA.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
back on topic... Trump needs to say something about these attacks... if this was China he'd be lambasting them multiple times a day... this is an attack on our country... our leadership should not be silent..
There is nothing to prevent Trump from lying about the source of this cyber attack and claim that "CHINA" was responsible, not Russia.
Pompeo might be using this opportunity to play some politics by showing some leadership, speaking out while Trump remains silent.
Was Pompeo speaking out of turn?...or...will Trump use Pompeo's statement as the official response from his administration?...thus there is no need for Trump to say anything since Pompeo already commented.
I doubt that Trump will do anything to upset his Russian handler,Vladimir Putin.
I'm far more inclined to suspect China than Russia for this one, and the extent of this hack is borderline unimaginable.
The software infected and used to compromise these facilities is made by SolarWinds, who is owned by Microsoft. Their software is implicitly trusted everywhere. EVERYBODY uses their utilities, and by EVERYBODY, I mean that this has really worrisome impact for everyone in the Fortune 5000 and beyond; large and small - globally. They are, by far, the most popular freeware utilities available to make daily tasks in network administration of Windows networks simpler, in the world. There isn't a shop I've worked in since 2000 that hasn't had the full suite of these utilities in every LAN admin's toolbox. Hell, several of the utilities in there are likely part of every domain logon script. There is potentially NOBODY unaffected by this. I have 30+ VMs that I manage at work that I have to begin to scrutinize - and I don't even know how to begin.
This is one of those where the full extent of the damage may not be fully known for a long, long, long time.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
The only reason I lean towards Russia is that attack is very similar in many ways to previous Russian attacks. Which would mean China first would have to infiltrate, hack and research previous Russian attacks and use the same fingerprint that Russia had been using. While that may not be impossible, it's a pretty tall bar to set to reach the conclusion that it was China. It seems Pompeo and many in the cybersecurity world tend to agree with that conclusion.
And while I'm certainly not an expert on cybersecurity by any stretch of the imagination, your conclusion on the far reaching implications of this attack and the probable extent of it seems to be the same conclusion most of the people I trust on the issue have come to as well.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
" China first would have to infiltrate, hack and research previous Russian attacks and use the same fingerprint that Russia had been using"
Elaborate - what fingerprint, specifically, are you referring to? I get that some reporter used those words and you're now repeating them...
The only thing anyone had to do was compromise the Solarwinds software on the Solarwinds site. That software then gets brought into facilities by trusted people with domain admin credentials... wham, full network compromised immediately.
Also, when it comes to computers, if one person can do it, a dozen can spoof it. Anyone capable of carrying off this vector would have little to no trouble making it look like it came from anything and anyone they wanted; especially with the ability to use VPN's in so many different countries to disguise where something is coming from.
I lean toward China because it is no secret whatsoever that their goal is to overtake the US - and thus the world - by 2027. They are VERY actively working toward creating a world where we are an economic vassal to them (and there are those that are all too willing to enable them). Lastly, if Russia, I would far more suspect the Russian mob than the Russian government, and I don't think this is something their mob would do.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
