Category Archives: vladimir putin

Trump calls Putin’s plan for investigating 2016 DNC breach an ‘incredible offer’

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In a stunning exchange Monday during a press conference between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former KGB agent offered to host American law enforcement officials who are currently investigating foreign meddling in U.S. elections. The proposal comes after the Department of Justice last week indicted 12 active Russian military intelligence officers for allegedly hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) before selectively leaking stolen material through a collage of websites during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump appeared to approve of the idea, calling it “an incredible offer” for members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team to travel to Russia as part of their broad investigation into Russian interference in the elections. “[Putin] offered to have the people working on this case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people,” Trump said. Putin also said he would expect “reciprocity,” with Russian investigators allowed to […]

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Russian hackers struck Clinton server hours after Trump called for emails

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On the same day that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump encouraged Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails, a group of Russian military intelligence officers began launching cyberattacks aimed at computer severs used in her personal office, based on an indictment filed by the Department of Justice. The timing, which was first made apparent through a series of criminal charges disclosed Friday against 12 Russian nationals, reveals the complex and apparently reactionary nature of the now infamous foreign hacking operation. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said at a press conference on July 27, 2016. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” “On or about July 27, 2016, the conspirators attempted after-hours to spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton’s personal office,” the […]

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Senators call for DOJ investigation of Fancy Bear’s ‘CyberCaliphate’ ruse

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A bipartisan pair of senators is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the alleged harassment of U.S. military families by Russian government hackers posing as Islamic State sympathizers. “We urge you to investigate this potential false flag operation and to hold any perpetrators accountable,” Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote in a July 9 letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The senators’ call for inquiry builds on evidence that Russian military hackers have masqueraded as Islamic State extremists to harass U.S. military family members. A group calling itself the CyberCaliphate sent death threats to the wives of U.S. military personnel in 2015. However, activity from the CyberCaliphate coincided with attempts by the Russian hacking group, known as APT28 or Fancy Bear, to breach the women’s email accounts, the Associated Press reported in May. The same Russian hacking group is accused of meddling in the 2016 presidential […]

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Western allies consider offensive cyber warfare agreement as Russia launches plan for ‘independent internet’

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Several Western nations are considering an offensive-minded cyberwarfare initiative meant to fundamentally change the way the countries react to attacks from adversary nations, Reuters reports. The accord would guide the deployment of offensive cyberweapons. The agreement, being hammered out by the Denmark, Germany, Norway, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States, may be solidified by 2019. While all the nations involved are members of NATO, a NATO spokesperson speaking to CyberScoop was careful to point out that this is definitively not a NATO-backed initiative. NATO itself recently announced it will establish new command centers to incorporate the cyber domain into operational planning. The alliance has seen an increasing number of attacks against members and institutions and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently said cyber-operations are a potential response any kind of attack against member countries. Irina Novakova, a NATO official, detailed for CyberScoop the alliance’s increasing focus on cyberattacks including the decision that a severe cyberattack could […]

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Former NSA official: A joint U.S.-Russia cyber unit isn’t (totally) absurd

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A former deputy director at the National Security Agency said that the idea of a joint U.S.-Russian cyber security unit is not as ridiculous as it sounds, as long as the U.S. side isn’t gullible enough to believe everything the Russians say. “I don’t think it’s absurd, but if you expect the Russians are going to deal with that transparently, and then we’ll get answers that you can take at face value, I think that’s naive,” former NSA Deputy Director Chris Inglis said in an interview. Inglis, who left the NSA in 2014, said it might be worth entertaining the idea of a joint unit just “to see how far they’re willing to go.” “What are you willing to put on the table, Russia? If you don’t ask, you’re not going to get,” Inglis said. “But we should hedge our bets. We should have very low expectations about what you […]

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Former NSA official: A joint U.S.-Russia cyber unit isn’t (totally) absurd

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A former deputy director at the National Security Agency said that the idea of a joint U.S.-Russian cyber security unit is not as ridiculous as it sounds, as long as the U.S. side isn’t gullible enough to believe everything the Russians say. “I don’t think it’s absurd, but if you expect the Russians are going to deal with that transparently, and then we’ll get answers that you can take at face value, I think that’s naive,” former NSA Deputy Director Chris Inglis said in an interview. Inglis, who left the NSA in 2014, said it might be worth entertaining the idea of a joint unit just “to see how far they’re willing to go.” “What are you willing to put on the table, Russia? If you don’t ask, you’re not going to get,” Inglis said. “But we should hedge our bets. We should have very low expectations about what you […]

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Homeland security adviser explains what Trump meant by ‘impenetrable cyber security unit’

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The “impenetrable cybersecurity unit” that President Donald Trump talked about forming with Russia won’t happen, but U.S. officials will open a dialogue with their Kremlin counterparts about “rules of the road” in cyberspace, White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said Friday. It’s the first time a senior Trump administration cybersecurity official has addressed the issue since the president’s notorious tweet earlier this month. Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017 The tweet, saying Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had “discussed forming an impenetrable Cybersecurity unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded,” set off a firestorm of derision and criticism from experts. Trump eventually seemed to retreat from the idea, but Bossert’s comments Friday made clear there will be an effort to open a […]

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Russia and U.S. to create ‘working group’ to discuss election hacking

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Russia and the United States will create a bilateral working group to discuss the issue of election hacking, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks held between the two nations’ presidents in Hamburg, Germany, during the G20 meetings. Earlier during G20 events, President Donald Trump declined to say he believed Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. elections despite conclusions drawn by several U.S. intelligence agencies including the NSA, CIA and FBI. On Friday, Lavrov said Trump accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that Russia did not meddle in U.S. elections. Immediately afterwards, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump and Putin agreed to work toward an agreement on non-interference in the politics of foreign nations. Trump and Putin see no value in “religitating the past,” Tillerson said, and will instead focus on the future of the U.S.-Russia relationship. That puts into doubt the idea that this working group will look at the […]

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News in brief: US requires social media handles; Putin points to ‘patriotic’ hackers; Snapchat Spectacles arrive

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Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news Continue reading News in brief: US requires social media handles; Putin points to ‘patriotic’ hackers; Snapchat Spectacles arrive→

Putin: Hackers Are Like Artists, Who Wake Up In A Good Mood & Start Painting

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Just control your laughter, while reading this article. I insist.

Talking to international media at the St Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of statement surrounding alleged Russia’s involvement in h… Continue reading Putin: Hackers Are Like Artists, Who Wake Up In A Good Mood & Start Painting→