The 11 o'clock News -It's later than you THINK

The FBI's TOR-tured Defense Is Bad Intelligence

--- Richie Scallia

Big thinkers like General Hayden predict the next 9-11 terrorist attack will be a cyber-attack on US.  Imagine if the CIA and FBI knew how the terrorists could attack our cyber-vulnerabilities, just like they knew AQ was in town and planning something big, and did nothing to stop it.  Can't imagine it?  Well, zero-hour is approaching and the FBI is doing nothing to prevent a  “zero-day” software vulnerability that allows adversaries to bypass or reduce security restrictions.

Zero-day software hacks systems which use that software. The FBI used it to hack into the Tor network. The Tor Browser runs on the same fundamental codebase as Firefox … which is used by hundreds of millions of people who are less safe because that zero-day has not been reported and patched.

The FBI’s activity subsequent to their Tor hack has been ruled an illegal search by a federal judge.   The FBI doesn't care - it refuses to say how it did it - ENSURING millions of Firefox users are unsafe. 

Why would the FBI do this?  KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and FAILURE IS REWARDED WITH BIGGER BUDGETS.  

The FBi kept the CiA in the dark about what it knew about the terrorists planning 9-11 and the CiA kept the FBi in the dark.  How did that turn out, boys ????

 Anybody with power, and zero-days are power, is naturally disinclined to give it up for some sort of abstract marginal benefit spread across millions of other people, even if that benefit is cumulatively massive. It’s hard to see how a star-chamber FISA-like review board can effectively advocate for stripping government agencies of that power — even if that would make the public more safe. Expect more of the same; and expect criminals to use exploits that the US government could have closed long ago.

Our  "intelligence" people are infamous for using TOR-tured defense to not share intelligence. But there is method to their madness: they can wait for another big terrorist attack and go to Congress and demand more resources. Hey, it worked for 9-11.  Yeah, some buildings fell down, a real nightmare for US,  but the FBI and CIA got a bigger budget, and that's a wet dream for bureaucrats. 

Saudi Arabia Threatens to Destroy US on 9-11...Again

For a bunch of rich pricks, them Saudi royal camel fuckers are really stupid.  The Saudi royals - as  opposed to the not-so-rich Saudis they oppress- say they will cripple the US economically if it goes ahead with a bill to blame Saudi officials for financing AQ, and therefore, the 9-11 attacks.

NYT:  Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Obama administration has lobbied Congress to block the bill’s passage, according to administration officials and congressional aides from both parties, and the Saudi threats have been the subject of intense discussions in recent weeks between lawmakers and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon. The officials have warned senators of diplomatic and economic fallout from the legislation.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the kingdom’s message personally last month during a trip to Washington, telling lawmakers that Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts.

The administration aka the Wall Street War Party, which argues that the legislation would put Americans at legal risk overseas, has been lobbying so intently against the bill that some lawmakers and families of Sept. 11 victims are infuriated. If the Saudis are depending  upon Obama, then they are as stupid as they are rich.

Not aware of the optics, these Saudi camel fuckers just don't understand US.  They forget we destroy countries that don't threaten US.   Imagine what the US will do to one that does.

Donald Trump may be our next president. Do you really want to find out how crazy we really are?

FBI Makes Deal With the Devil in Biting Apple

The FBI has a bad history of making deals with criminals - even the MAFIA - when it suits them.  Since the Garden of Eden when the devil tempted Eve to take a bite of the apple, it's been assumed you could expect a  bad  result in making a deal with the devil.  One would think the FBI would learn its lesson,  given the Whitey Bulger fiasco.  And yet we learn the FBI is dealing with hackers to bite Apple in the exploitation of a security flaw of its Iphone.  The FBI cracked a San Bernardino terrorist's phone with the help of professional hackers who discovered and brought to the bureau at least one previously unknown software flaw, according to people familiar with the matter. And it wasn't cheap: Director James Comey today gave some hints on how much the agency paid to access the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, suggesting a sum upwards of $1.3 million.  According to Reuters, Comey said the FBI paid an amount exceeding what he will make in the next seven years and four months as director of the FBI. 

The new information was then used to create a piece of hardware that helped the FBI to crack the iPhone's four-digit personal identification number without triggering a security feature that would have erased all the data, the individuals said.

The people who helped the U.S. government come from the sometimes shadowy world of hackers and security researchers who profit from finding flaws in companies' software or systems.

Apple remains in dark on how FBI hacked iPhone without help

Security and privacy experts have been calling on the government to disclose the vulnerability data to Apple so that the firm can patch it. 

Who is the FBI -  the US government - protecting?  Not you. 

If the government shares data on the flaws with Apple, "they're going to fix it and then we're back where we started from," FBI Diretor Comey said in a discussion at a privacy conference last week. Nonetheless, he said Monday in Miami, "we're considering whether to make that disclosure or not."

The White House has established a process in which federal officials weigh whether to disclose any security vulnerabilities they find. It could be weeks before the FBI's case is reviewed, officials said.

"When we discover these vulnerabilities, there's a very strong bias towards disclosure," White House cybersecurity coordinator Michael Daniel said in an interview in October 2014, speaking generally and not about the Apple case. "That's for a good reason. If you had to pick the economy and the government that is most dependent on a digital infrastructure, that would be the United States."

But, he added, "we do have an intelligence and national security mission that we have to carry out. That is a factor that we weigh in making our decisions."

The decision-makers, which include senior officials from the Justice Department, FBI, National Security Agency, CIA, State Department and Department of Homeland Security, consider how widely used the software in question is. They also look at the utility of the flaw that has been discovered. Can it be used to track members of a terrorist group, to prevent a cyberattack, to identify a nuclear weapons proliferator? Is there another way to obtain the information?

In the case of the phone used by the San Bernardino terrorist, "you could make the justification on both national security and on law enforcement grounds because of the potential use by terrorists and other national security concerns," said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.

So the bad guys know how to hack your Iphone and your government won't protect you.  Says it's FORBIDDEN  KNOWLEDGE.

The Devil you say. 

 

Hillary Clinton Early Victim of the Zika Virus ?

 

Zika virus was first discovered in 1947, the same year Hillary Clinton was born.  What has attracted a lot of attention is the apparent association of two serious complications that affect individuals on opposite ends of the life cycle — small brain development in fetuses exposed to the virus (called microcephaly) and neurological problems causing severe muscle weakness, especially in older males.   Then the Zika virus  explains it all:  Hillary's pinhead decisions to invade Iraq, Libya and Syria, and Bill Clinton's Zombie performance on the Hillary campaign. 

Obama's Lazy Fair Play Rules For the Ruling Class

For an oppressed minority,  Obama sure identifies with the ruling class when it comes to fair play.  He goes after the lower-level "help" when there is a violation of security but he gets lazy and  lets the ruling class go Scott-free.  Since he entered the White House in 2009, his government has waged a war against whistleblowers and official leakers. On his watch, there have been eight prosecutions under the 1917 Espionage Act – more than double those under all previous presidents combined.

And yet other apparent leaks have gone entirely unpunished or have been treated, as in the case of General David Petraeus, as misdemeanors. As Abbe Lowell, lawyer for one of the Espionage Act eight, Stephen Kim, has argued in a letter to the Department of Justice, low-level officials who lack the political connections to fight back have had the book thrown at them, while high-level figures have been allowed to leak with “virtual impunity”.

Now it's getting Hillarious

While President Obama acknowledged Hillary Clinton had shown a degree of "carelessness" in managing her emails while heading the State Department, what's the big deal, right, folks?

"I continue to believe that she has not jeopardized America's national security," the president told Fox News Sunday in an interview. But, he added, "what I've also said is that -- and she has acknowledged -- that there's a carelessness, in terms of managing e-mails, that she has owned, and she recognizes."

"But I also think it is important to keep this in perspective,” Obama said. “This is somebody who has served her country for four years as secretary of state, and did an outstanding job."

Yeah, who needs the FBI anyway.  Obama has ruled.

What's that?  Top Secret stuff? 

The use of a private email server by the former secretary of state is currently under investigation by the FBI. Earlier this year, the State Department said it had found 22 emails on Clinton's home server that had to be upgraded to "Top Secret," the highest level of classification. Those top secret documents were withheld from being publicly released along with the rest of her emails.

But like the Mafia, crimes don't matter if you are a member of the crime family.  Like the Mafia, Clinton and Obama kill people for a living.  Got to give Obama his due, in that Hillary has done an OUTSTANDING job.

 

FBI INSIDER THREAT No. 1 - Hillary Clinton

The federal government is famous for wasting our taxes on useless training programs, such as the $500 million the PENTAGONE spent on training moderate Syrian fighters who were sent to fight ISIS.   Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that only 60 so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels were currently being trained by the U.S. in the $500 million program that had been  slated to put 3,000 fighters into the field against ISIS by the end of this year.  Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he regretted disclosing that the number was so low but "I wanted to tell the truth. The number 60, as you all recognize, is not an impressive number. The number is much smaller than we hoped for at this point."  

Then there is the FBI's "Insider Threat" program that proposes federal workers turn in their co-workers.  Most intelligent people recognize the program as another laughable waste of time and money.  Apparently, the State Department isn't taking the FBI's program very seriously as Hillary Clinton's lax security is the biggest INSIDER THREAT .

Detecting an INSIDER THREAT - Hillary Clinton

"Some behaviors may be a clue that an employee is spying and/or methodically stealing from the organization:

Without need or authorization, takes proprietary or other material home via documents, thumb drives, computer disks, or e-mail. Inappropriately seeks or obtains proprietary or classified information on subjects not related to their work duties.

Interest in matters outside the scope of their duties, particularly those of interest to foreign entities or business competitors.

Unnecessarily copies material, especially if it is proprietary or classified.

Remotely accesses the computer network while on vacation, sick leave, or at other odd times.

Disregards company computer policies on installing personal software or hardware, accessing restricted websites, conducting unauthorized searches, or downloading confidential information.

Works odd hours without authorization; notable enthusiasm for overtime work, weekend work, or unusual schedules when clandestine activities could be more easily conducted.

Unreported foreign contacts (particularly with foreign government officials or intelligence officials) or unreported overseas travel.

Short trips to foreign countries for unexplained or strange reasons. Unexplained affluence; buys things that they cannot afford on their household income.

Engages in suspicious personal contacts, such as with competitors, business partners or other unauthorized individuals.

Overwhelmed by life crises or career disappointments.

Shows unusual interest in the personal lives of co-workers; asks inappropriate questions regarding finances or relationships.

Concern that they are being investigated; leave straps to detect searches of their work area or home; searches for listening devices or cameras.

Remind employees that reporting security concerns is vital to protecting your company’s intellectual property, its reputation, its financial well-being, and its future. They are protecting their own jobs. Remind them that if they see something, to say something.  Hello, Diplomatic Security????

Being aware of potential issues, exercising good judgment, and conducting discrete inquiries will help you ascertain if there is a spy in your midst. However, if you believe one of your employees is a spy or is stealing company trade secrets, do not alert the person to the fact that he/she is under suspicion, but seek assistance from trained counterintelligence experts–such as the FBI. (Don't call DS.) The FBI has the tools and experience to identify and mitigate such threats. If asked to investigate, the FBI will minimize the disruption to your business, and safeguard your privacy and your data. Where necessary, the FBI will seek protective orders to preserve trade secrets and business confidentiality. The FBI is committed to maintaining the confidentiality and competitive position of US companies. The FBI will also provide security and counterintelligence training or awareness seminars for you and your employees upon request.

Many people experience or exhibit some or all of the above to varying degrees; however, most people will not cross the line and commit a crime.  Hillarious.  

If the FBI can't make an example of Hillary-in-chief, then the FBI should stop wasting the federal worker's time and the taxpayer's money.

The FBI is The Donald Trump of Law Enforcement Agencies

Donald Trump's ideas about keeping US safe border on lunacy, such as his latest idea that the world would be better off if everyone had nuclear weapons.  The FBI is giving The Donald a run for his money.  There is something rotten at the core of the FBI by its refusal to share with Apple its ability to crack the security of the Apple Iphone which endanger US all:  

FBI: You should do it, it’s just one phone

Apple: No it isn’t

FBI: We got in

Apple: You should say how, it’s just one phone

FBI: No it isn’t

The chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, Joseph Lorenzo Hall, said keeping details secret about a flaw affecting millions of iPhone users “is exactly opposite the disclosure practices of the security research community. The FBI and Apple have a common goal here: to keep people safe and secure. This is the FBI prioritizing an investigation over the interests of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

 FBI - The Donald Trump of Law Enforcement Agencies  --  Both are Insular and Arrogant

Like the Donald the FBI has a long history of being insular, being arrogant. They really think they have nothing to learn from local police, which is a mistake because a lot of local police departments have made significant progress. Police departments are really much more in the public eye because they patrol, they’re out there in the streets, and people see them in patrol cars. And so they’ve been subject to public criticism and have been forced to respond to those criticisms much more than the FBI has. The FBI is this remote federal agency.

No Accountability

The Bureau is buffered from accountability to the voting public.  In a city, the dynamic of electoral politics is such that the mayor catches hell from voters who then holds his police chief accountable. The FBI is not subject to the same immediate electoral dynamic.

Like The Donald, the FBI is in need of a thorough audit.  The FBI would find they’re not up to speed with the best municipal police departments. They think they’re the best, and they’re not. 

How has the FBI maintained its untouchable reputation for so long?

Like The Donald,  the FBI sort of went off track by reading their own press clippings and lost the ability to be self-critical.

Like The Donald, once you get past the glossy publicity, the truth about its performance is something less than the image.