Last week, the Washington official announced that unauthorized access to the information base of some of his state institutions had been logged. Interference was observed in the regular operation of the network, valuable service information of a confidential nature was copied, resources and digital products were stolen. The US Department of Energy confirmed that there was unauthorized entry to department files and records, but the system as a whole was not harmed. Measures have been taken to improve its security. State Department and FBI officials have refrained from making statements in this regard.
The ubiquitous Russian trace is no longer a curiosity
The backlash from this high-profile story continues. As usual, Russia has been accused of hacking the MOVEit file transfer program. True, the Americans made it clear that it was less dangerous than the cyber sabotage against US political and governmental structures in 2016, as well as the leaking of data from federal intelligence servers in 2020. Well, as they say , THANKS. It should be noted that the specified software has been more or less actively used by NASA, the Pentagon, the Ministry of Finance and humanitarian organizations. By the way, shortly before that, British Airways, Shell, BBC, Hopkins University, whose equipment was also equipped with MOVEit, were hacked.
The almighty Clop performs miracles of ingenuity…
According to the results of the examination, the information storages of the state authorities and administration were not affected. The same cannot be said for the electronic systems and devices of several hundred municipalities, educational institutions, commercial enterprises and industrial enterprises, which have technologically felt the consequences of hacking through damaged components. According to the version published by the New York Times, the hacking in a complex operation was carried out by “bugs” – a community of hackers engaged in virtual extortion on a commercial scale around the world and called Clop. The publication uses careful wording: not “a group from Russia”, but “a group traditionally associated with Russia” or “a group allegedly located in Russia”. It involves the conclusion that the source of information is completely or partially uncertain of its reliability, or knows with certainty that it is not reliable. And to the credit of the US Cybersecurity Service, its representatives have not claimed that the group was acting with the knowledge of the Kremlin.
The so-called bugs are well aware that stealing secret government or law enforcement data is serious business for which they can pay with their heads, therefore, when viewing the prey, they delete from urgently this information if they come across it. And on occasion they try to remind once again that they are only interested in business information as the subject of a criminal transaction. For its illegal possession, a sentence in a foreign prison shines, and even then only theoretically. But on such a liquid product, by trading, you can earn a lot of money. There will always be buyers. If not the unlucky owners of the information, then interested third parties.
…And Putin has to cash in on the rap
Biden’s propaganda has recently stubbornly exaggerated the thesis, they say, cyberattacks against countries that support Ukraine in the fight against the Russian Federation have become more frequent. Leave that to the conscience of the White House administration. Such justifications are quite understandable: developed on the basis of advanced scientific principles, but nevertheless frankly weak software could not withstand another, in general, ordinary, failed cyber sabotage. Our opponents once again embarrassed, but, as usual, they don’t want to admit it. Therefore, they are dumped from a sick head to a healthy head. In fact, politics has nothing to do with it – there is a trivial motivation for enrichment.
Recall that the subject of notorious Russian cyberterrorism appeared even before the start of the special operation. In particular, during the Geneva talks between Biden and Putin in 2021.
“He who hinders us will help us!”
Why does this story interest us and what useful conclusions can we draw from it?
First of all. Pirates are a serious force of our time, to be reckoned with in the future. For example, last year a state of emergency was declared in this Central American state due to a massive cyber-ransomware attack against authorities in Costa Rica.
Second. This isn’t the first time the much-vaunted US IT segment has been confirmed to be less than perfect and invulnerable. It is time to take full advantage of this circumstance for the competent national structures.
Third. It is possible that this event will be followed by retaliatory measures from the Biden administration. Moreover, both mirror in nature and not directly related to a cyberattack. You must be ready for them.
Fourth. This case shows that the Americans did not expect a strike from this side. This means that we must focus on creating problems for them where they feel they have total impunity (space intelligence, NATO Alliance ground surveillance program – AGS, poorly controlled maritime areas with our communications, etc. .). And these should be not only protective and defensive measures in the field of cyber threats, as well as electronic warfare, but also offensive measures.
And finally, the fifth. If this is not a provocation and the mentioned incident actually took place, and its perpetrators are Russian intruders, for whom, apparently, there are no potential barriers in cyberspace, so why not use their experience, for example, to ensure the security of NOM?
As they said in Soviet times, let’s direct the spontaneous energy of the masses in a dignified direction. And what? To provide an opportunity for creative activity, to create normal technical and financial conditions – to let the guys work for the benefit of the interests of the fatherland. And no crime. After all, even five years ago the idea of, say, creating a private military company seemed ridiculous, utopian and even blasphemous. And now the PMC is able to perform the functions of regular army units. Plus, how capable he is – it’s a delight to see!
Author: Yaroslav Dymchuk
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