Cyber attacks on the USA (catch all)

[Backwards Observer]

UPDATE1-US commander cannot pin down satellite anomaly

The command responsible for U.S. military space operations lacks enough data to determine who interfered with two U.S. government satellites, anomalies behind perhaps the most explosive charge in a report on China sent to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

"What I have seen is inconclusive," General Robert Kehler, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said in a teleconference from Omaha, Nebraska, home to the military outfit that conducts U.S. space and cyberspace operations.

[...]

China's military is a prime suspect, the bipartisan, 12-member commission made clear, though it added that the events in question had not actually been traced to China.

US Commander cannot pin down satellite anomaly - Reuters - Nov 16, 2011.

How does the excerpt in bold translate to the geek.com headline of "Chinese hackers took control of NASA satellite for 11 minutes"? Are they saying that the USAF General in charge of US Strategic Command is engaging in 'political correctness', incompetent, or worse, lying? Or is geek.com part of the re-activated Grill Flame program?

I did enjoy this comment on the geek.com article, however:

You have obviously never been to china...they will eat each other before they become a "super power"

[davidbfpo]

Not my field, but I think some clues and understanding is found here:http://www.schneier.com/blog/archive....html#comments

[carl]

Are they saying that the USAF General in charge of US Strategic Command is engaging in 'political correctness', incompetent, or worse, lying?

After watching other Generals and high ranking State and Defense Dept. people pretend that what is isn't for the past decade in various parts of the world, I think it very plausible that the USAF General in question is doing all three at the same time.

[Backwards Observer]

After watching other Generals and high ranking State and Defense Dept. people pretend that what is isn't for the past decade in various parts of the world, I think it very plausible that the USAF General in question is doing all three at the same time.

Dang, and I thought I was cynical.

[carl]

When you think about it, you would expect politically correct, incompetent and dishonest to all run together.

[Backwards Observer]

When you think about it, you would expect politically correct, incompetent and dishonest to all run together.

Yeah, but in China it's the other way round. (applause)


quote

John Kenneth Galbraith - Wikipedia

[Backwards Observer]

Chinese hackers infiltrate Department of Homeland Security and FBI, pay off official mouthpieces:

No evidence of cyberattack at water pump, DHS says

Federal investigators have found no evidence that a cyberattack was behind a water pump failure this month in Illinois, the government announced Tuesday.

After a "detailed analysis," the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI "have found no evidence of a cyber intrusion," DHS spokesman Chris Ortman said.

Officials confirmed last week that they were looking into the possibility of a cyberattack at a public water district in Illinois, after a blog disclosed the possibility.

"There is no evidence to support claims made in initial reports -- which were based on raw, unconfirmed data and subsequently leaked to the media -- that any credentials were stolen, or that the vendor was involved in any malicious activity that led to a pump failure at the water plant," Ortman said Tuesday. " In addition, DHS and FBI have concluded that there was no malicious traffic from Russia or any foreign entities, as previously reported."

No evidence of cyberattack at water pump, DHS says - CNN - Nov 23, 2011.

[AdamG]

Within a week of the report’s release, DHS bluntly contradicted the memo, saying that it could find no evidence that a hack occurred. In truth, the water pump simply burned out, as pumps are wont to do, and a government-funded intelligence center incorrectly linked the failure to an internet connection from a Russian IP address months earlier.

Now, in an exclusive interview with Threat Level, the contractor behind that Russian IP address says a single phone call could have prevented the string of errors that led to the dramatic false alarm.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...ystery-solved/