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

[BigmanPigman]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/opinion/fireeye-solarwinds-russia-hack.html#click=https://t.co/W79gqx8hfM
"The magnitude of this national security breach is hard to overstate."

The Russians have had access to a considerable number of important and sensitive networks for six to nine months. The Russian S.V.R. will surely have used its access to further exploit and gain administrative control over the networks it considered priority targets. For those targets, the hackers will have long ago moved past their entry point, covered their tracks and gained what experts call “persistent access,” meaning the ability to infiltrate and control networks in a way that is hard to detect or remove.

While the Russians did not have the time to gain complete control over every network they hacked, they most certainly did gain it over hundreds of them. It will take years to know for certain which networks the Russians control and which ones they just occupy. It also is impractical. In 2017, the federal government was ordered to remove from its networks software from a Russian company, Kaspersky Lab, that was deemed too risky. It took over a year to get it off the networks. Even if we double that pace with SolarWinds software, and even if it wasn’t already too late, the situation would remain dire for a long time.

The remediation effort alone will be staggering. It will require the segregated replacement of entire enclaves of computers, network hardware and servers across vast federal and corporate networks. Somehow, the nation’s sensitive networks have to remain operational despite unknown levels of Russian access and control. A “do over” is mandatory and entire new networks need to be built — and isolated from compromised networks.

Cyber threat hunters that are stealthier than the Russians must be unleashed on these networks to look for the hidden, persistent access controls. These information security professionals actively search for, isolate and remove advanced, malicious code that evades automated safeguards. This will be difficult work as the Russians will be watching every move on the inside. The National Defense Authorization Act, which each year provides the Defense Department and other agencies the authority to perform its work, is caught up in partisan wrangling. Among other important provisions, the act would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to perform network hunting in federal networks. If it wasn’t already, it is now a must-sign piece of legislation, and it will not be the last congressional action needed before this is resolved.

[Irish_Dem]

1. I wonder if Trump just handed it all over to Putin.

Hard to believe it took the US six months to figure out we were being hacked.
Either Russia is smarter than we are, or Trump just handed it over.

[2naSalit]

3. I don't wonder about that at all...

Seems pretty clear he facilitated it.

[Rebl2]

7. Exactly

Who knows how much he and his idiots have handed over to putin.

[intrepidity]

2. Hugely, massively important story with horrific implications

I can't even wrap my brain around it.

Here's the money quote:

"... the hackers will have long ago moved past their entry point, covered their tracks and gained what experts call “persistent access,” meaning the ability to infiltrate and control networks in a way that is hard to detect or remove."

[dutch777]

4. Not the first major breach. I am more worried about Iran's access into the power grid in early 2019

That breach also was discovered months late. Like the Federal government, numerous programs could have been accessed. I live in the Pacific Northwest where much of our power comes from hydroelectric dams. I have been told there are like 140 different computer software programs that work to run the dam system, manage the high voltage distribution grid and ultimately get power to your light switch. Now some are the payroll system and other non-critical programs. But the majority really manage the power works and if compromised, the lights can go out. And if the wired infrastructure is damaged due to intentional overloads, rather than just hitting the "off" button, time to restore normal operations could be lengthy to replace gear and wiring. The initial review of that hack showed nothing apparent other than the access and rooting around in the code. But they now have the code, may have installed back doors that were not detected and may have other pathways in. In short, we are vulnerable on many fronts and as a congressman said yesterday, at what point do we view these as acts of war. Of course, I also worked with NSA many years ago and I am pretty sure we have dedicated teams doing the same kind of hacking into others as they are doing to us. It's a scary world.

[Backseat Driver]

5. What [THEY (who(?)] learned THEN: Shades of: the PROMIS scandal

Now imagine checking out (Juneish '85- November '86&quot your brand new county IT Manager desk's file drawer and finding a neat blue-backed document...
Oh never mind...


https://www.wired.com/1993/01/inslaw/

"In March 1982, Inslaw won a $9.6 million contract from the Justice Department to install the public domain version of PROMIS in 20 US Attorney's offices as a pilot program."

[llashram]

6. with he and his political party

seditiously traitorous, I don't put anything past the Republican Fascist Party,