Monday, March 30, 2009

Chinese Cyber War

From The Times of London here:

A spy network believed to have been controlled from China has hacked into classified documents on government and private computers in 103 countries, according to internet researchers. The spy system, dubbed GhostNet, is alleged to have compromised 1,295 machines at Nato and foreign ministries, embassies, banks and news organisations across the world, as well as computers used by the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles.

The work of Information Warfare Monitor (IWM) investigators focused initially on allegations of Chinese cyber-espionage against the Tibetan exile community, but led to a much wider network of compromised machines. IWM said that, while China appeared to be the main source of the network, it had not been able conclusively to identify the hackers. The IWM is composed of researchers from an Ottawa-based think-tank, SecDev Group, and the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto.

They found that the foreign ministries of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan had been spied on remotely, and the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan hacked.


and this:

The IWM report said: “GhostNet represents a network of compromised computers in high-value political, economic and media locations in numerous countries worldwide. These organisations are almost certainly oblivious to the compromised situation in which they find themselves. The computers of diplomats, military attachés, private assistants, secretaries to prime ministers, journalists and others are under the concealed control of unknown assailant(s).

“In Dharamsala [the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile] and elsewhere, we have witnessed machines being profiled and sensitive documents being removed. Almost certainly, documents are being removed without the targets’ knowledge, key-strokes logged, web cameras are being silently triggered and audio inputs surreptitiously activated.”

Chinese hackers are thought to have targeted Western networks repeatedly. Computers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Whitehall departments were attacked from China in 2007. In the same year, Jonathan Evans, the MI5 Director-General, alerted 300 British businesses that they were under Chinese cyber-attack.


and this scary paragraph:

British intelligence chiefs have warned recently that China may have gained the capability effectively to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities. Equipment installed by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in BT’s new communications network could be used to halt critical services such as power, food and water supplies, they said.


Of course, the Chinese take offense at being accused and try to deflect the blame back towards the accuser (a very old interrogation technique, guys!):

The Chinese Embassy in London said that there was no evidence to back up the claim that the Chinese Government was behind GhostNet and alleged that the report had been “commissioned by the Tibetan government in exile”.

Liu Weimin, a spokesman, said: “I will not be surprised if this report is just another case of their recent media and propaganda campaign. In China, it is against the law to hack into the computers of others, and we are victims of such cyber-attack. It is a global challenge that requires global cooperation. China is an active participant in such cooperation in the world.”


What is the proper assessment of these Chinese actions? Are they just performing normal intelligence gathering and probing for weak spots? Are they preparing to aid some entity in a manner which benefits their ultimate goals? Is a cyber cold war underway? What it is not, is an episode from "24".

Sunday, March 29, 2009

We Were Soldiers Once...

I hope you use the link on the right side of this page to check out Joe Galloway's column in the McClatchy news organization. If you didn't catch this one, well, I'm posting it here. (As always, support your local newspapers: Take a subscription!)
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By Joe Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers

FORT BENNING, Ga. — It was a great day for the infantry and for the U.S. Army, and it was one for the history books, as well.

On a bright, sunny spring day in Georgia, Fort Benning and the National Infantry Museum dedicated a new parade ground, and the first of what will be thousands of basic training companies broke it in by marching in review for their graduation.

Before the 125 newest soldiers in the Army set boots on that field, though, it was consecrated in a ceremony that saw veterans and descendants of veterans of eight of America's wars spread soil collected from their battlefields on the new parade ground.

Douglas Hamilton, a fifth generation descendant of Alexander Hamilton, sprinkled soil gathered from the decisive battlefield of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War.

Former Sen. Dirk Kempthorne, a great-grandson of Pvt. Charles Kempthorne of the Union Army's 3rd Wisconsin Infantry, and Henry B. Pease Jr., a descendant of Henry Lewis Benning, the Confederate commander at the Burnside Bridge, spread soil from the blood-soaked Civil War battlefield of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, as Gen. Benning probably called it.

Soil from World War I battlefields in France was spread on the parade ground by George York, son of the legendary Sgt. Alvin York, and Samuel Parker Moss, grandson of Samuel Parker of the 28th Infantry. Both York and Parker earned the Medal of Honor during World War I.

World War II was represented by soil collected from the beaches at Normandy and those of Corregidor and Guadalcanal in the Pacific. Theodore Roosevelt IV, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who earned the Medal of Honor on D-Day at Normandy, and by Kirk Davis, son of Charles Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal, spread soil from those battlefields.

Two legendary warriors from the Korean War — Col. Ola Lee Mize, who held Outpost Harry against overwhelming odds and earned a Medal of Honor, and Gen. Sun Yup Paik, who at age 30 commanded both a division and a corps in the South Korean Army — sprinkled soil from their war's battlefields.

Then it was time to honor the infantrymen who fought in Vietnam, and two legendary old soldiers marched onto the field wearing their black cavalry Stetsons. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Hal Moore and Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Basil Plumley carried jars bearing soil collected at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley and on other Vietnam battlefields.

In the stands, a dozen or more Ia Drang veterans and other 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) veterans, most wearing the same black hats, stood at attention as Moore, 87, and Plumley, 89, carried out their mission and then saluted them.

Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill, the senior enlisted adviser to Gen. David Petraeus at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, spread soil collected from battlefields in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Desert Storm and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Actor Sam Elliott, who portrayed Sgt. Maj. Plumley in the movie "We Were Soldiers," narrated the ceremony. (Full disclosure: The movie is based on a book that Gen. Moore and I wrote.)

The program began and ended with some spectacular flying demonstrations using helicopters of the Vietnam War era, and Fort Benning once more heard distant echoes of the blades of Hueys, OH-6s and Cobra gunships.

This week's ceremony marked a partial opening of the new $100 million National Infantry Museum that adjoins the parade ground. The grand opening of the entire facility is scheduled for June 19. Fort Benning's hometown, Columbus, Georgia, provided more than 200 acres of land at the gates of the fort for construction of the Infantry Museum, and Columbus citizens, foundations and companies donated almost half the money needed to build it.

The Infantry Museum Foundation is busy rounding up the last $10 million to complete work on the displays that will fill the museum's galleries on America's wars and the infantry battles that distinguished them.

The new soldiers graduating from basic training with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry marched past the stands, which were filled not only with their proud parents and siblings, but also with the assembled VIPs and such legendary infantrymen as Gen. (ret.) David Grange and Gen. (ret.) Ed Burba and Col. (ret.) Ralph Puckett.

In the infantry and in the Army, there are good days and bad days, and a few great days. This was one of the great days.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Cyber-War (continued)

Regular readers of this blog (Which I suspect includes members of various national intelligence services. Welcome, guys!) know that I write frequently about the dangers of the current and ongoing "cyberwar" being conducted by various governmental and non-governmental entities, such as China and Al Qeada, respectively.

Therefore, I am not shocked by this MSNBC story headline:

TORONTO - A cyber spy network based mainly in China has tapped into classified documents from government and private organizations in 103 countries, including the computers of Tibetan exiles, Canadian researchers said Saturday.

The work of the Information Warfare Monitor initially focused on allegations of Chinese cyber espionage against the Tibetan community in exile, and eventually led to a much wider network of compromised machines, the Internet-based research group said.

"We uncovered real-time evidence of malware that had penetrated Tibetan computer systems, extracting sensitive documents from the private office of the Dalai Lama," investigator Greg Walton said.


and this:

In an online abstract for "The Snooping Dragon: Social Malware Surveillance of the Tibetan Movement," Shishir Nagaraja and Ross Anderson write that while malware attacks are not new, these attacks should be noted for their ability to collect "actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed."

They say prevention against such attacks will be difficult since traditional defense against social malware in government agencies involves expensive and intrusive measures that range from mandatory access controls to tedious operational security procedures.


When you combine China's active cyber warfare efforts with the recent determinations by our government of Chinese military buildups here and here and the Secretary of Defense's Annual Report to Congress :Military Power of the People’s Republic of China here, one is forced to conclude that the Chinese government is in the midst of a long-term and well thought out campaign to construct a modern military force that includes air, naval, space and cyber capabilities with long range and international capabilities.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

GarryOwen!



(Giving credit where credit is due: Here)

Just because I can!

Monday, March 23, 2009

AIG-RIP

Like a Mafia capo who just joined the federal witness protection program AIG is in the process of undergoing cosmetic surgery and disappearing from view.

This almost universally known t.v. scene-setter is no more.





As you can see in this story, AIG wants to undergo a metamorphosis into AIU Holdings Ltd. and disappear from the news.

I took this picture of the AIG/AIU building in Manhattan today and you can see that they have already stripped the American International logo from the awning.


Saturday, March 14, 2009

Cramer vs. Stewart

First round knockout by Stewart. No doubt about it. Watch Wall Street shill Jim Cramer take it on the chin here.

Come to think of it, wouldn't Jon Stewart make a terrific senator?

Another Conversation with a Friend

Friend's e-mail-a vicious little piece filled with lies:

There was a Pied Piper who said We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it!

*And the people said, Change is good!

Then he said, We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,

*And the people said, “Sock it to them!”

and redistribute their wealth.

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

And then he said, Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody

*And Joe the plumber said, “Are you kidding me?”

And Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.

*And one lone reporter asked, “Isn't that Marxist policy?”

And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then someone asked, “With no foreign relations experience, how will you deal with radical terrorists?”

And the Pied Piper said, Simple. I?ll sit down and talk with them and show them how nice we really are and they?ll forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!

Then the Pied Piper said, I'll give 95% of you lower taxes.

*And one, lone voice said, “But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes!”

So the Pied Piper said, Then I'll give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!

*And the people said, “Show me the money!”

Then the Pied Piper said, I'll tax your Capital Gains when you sell your homes!

*And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed.

And he said, I'll mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage.

*And the people said, “Gimme some of that!”

Then he said, I'll penalize employers who ship jobs overseas.

*And the people said, “Where's my rebate check?”

Then the Pied Piper actually said, I'll bankrupt the coal industry and electricity rates will skyrocket!

*And the people said, “Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates.”

So the Pied Piper said, Not to worry. If your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we'll bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over! Then he said, illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing

*And the people said, “Ole`! Bravo!” And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers. Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy slowed even further. Then the Pied Piper said, I am the Messiah and I'm here to save you! We'll just print more money so everyone will have enough! But our foreign trading partners said, "Wait a minute. Your dollar isn't worth what it was. You'll have to pay more."
*And the people said, “Wait a minute. That's not fair!”

And the world said, "Neither are these other, idiotic programs you've embraced. You've become a Socialist state and a second-rate power. Now you'll play by our rules!"

*And the people said, “What have we done?”

But it was too late.
If you think this is a fairy tale, open your eyes and ears. Its happening RIGHT NOW!

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TRM RESPONSE:


Well, let's look at reality. The Chinese OWN around ONE TRILLION DOLLARS worth of our debt, debt that was rung up during the BUSH PRESIDENCY. They could start dumping these notes and really screw us. The fact is, they own us. They have us by the short hairs and they are telling us what to do. And all this happened during the last eight years.

China Article

So stop living in your little fantasy and see that the Republicans are NOT your friends. You don't have millions of dollars. They have screwed you and destroyed our economy. Check the record. When Carter left office for Reagan , Carter turned over a surplus. 12 years later Bush 1 turned over a deficit to Clinton. Eight years later, Clinton turned over such a surplus to Bush 2 that the Treasury was considering no longer selling certain debt instruments BECAUSE WE DIDN'T NEED THE MONEY. Then Bush and the Republicans, who controlled the presidency and BOTH houses of congress got us into this mess by too many acts of greed and stupidity. The gutted the SEC and made it a useless agency, no longer able to properly supervise the markets. too many phony securities were created that no one understood.

So pull your head out of your ass and see the light.

Love,

TRM

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Why I Hate "24"

Once it was a fun show,and it brought us a hero when we sorely were in need of one, but "24" has, as they say "jumped the shark." In no specific order, here is a list of why "24" is unwatchable:

1. Cell phones always work. Never a dropped call. Never a garbled transmission. Never, "Can you hear me now?" Never out of power.

2. Jack Bauer is released from a Chinese prison, obviously a victim of torture, unshaved, ragged. After a commercial break he is fit as a fiddle and rarin' to go. Damn, the man doesn't even get a debrief, or even a meal and a drink.

3. Come to think of it, Bauer never needs to eat, or drink, or sleep, or take a piss.

4. His teammates are always in contact and ready.

5. All computer equipment works first time, every time. No need to call India and speak with "Fred" for technical support. Come to think of it, maybe this show is really a long-running advertisement for HP and Dell and Microsoft (no Macs ever seen!)?

6. A nuclear weapon explodes in Los Angeles. Ho hum. Life goes on. Traffic moves on freeways. All stores are open. People stop at Starbucks for their lattes (well, it IS L.A.!)

7. Tony was brought back from the dead.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

GOLLLLY! What a Surprise! Gates Says Obama More Analytical Than Bush

Did you catch this on Meet the Press this morning. MTP Host David Gregory asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about the differences between President Obama and "W":





Follow this link to read the story on MSNBC.COM

Thanks, Bill Gallo

I've been a fan of New York Daily News sports cartoonist Bill Gallo for nearly 50 years. One of the first things I look for in the New York Daily News is his cartoon, which is always on point and a true work of the newspaper cartoonists' art. ( Here is where I insert my usual supplication that my readers support their local newspapers by taking a subscription. Do it today!)

On Sundays, Gallo writes a column that usually is about sports but today he delves into the world of politics. I would like to share it with you in part and I ask that you follow this link to read it in its entirety.

President Obama said something in his speech to Congress the other night that should've gotten the attention of every American who served in uniform beginning with WWII.

I know that one paragraph grabbed me when he delivered it because I lived it.

Just a little into his speech, the President said: "In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle class in history."

Hearing that I jumped up from my couch and said to my wife, "WOW! That's where we are now!" Do we now have a depression (or what else can we call it?) and aren't we presently engaging in a war? Damned if that isn't the awful truth?

The GI Bill of Rights was a godsend for all who returned home after WWII and was said to be one of the most important pieces of legislation that Congress ever passed.


BILL GALLO, THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR GREAT WORK OVER THE YEARS. IT HAS BEEN GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Cyber War

Those music file sharing site may be used for more hostile purposes. Check out this story on how the plans for the President's helicopter, Marine One, wound up in the hands of Iranians.

NBC News and msnbc.com
updated 8:55 p.m. ET, Sat., Feb. 28, 2009

A company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks has discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama's helicopter, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported Saturday.

Employees of Tiversa, a Cranberry Township, Pa.-based security company that specializes in peer-to-peer technology, reportedly found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.

Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, told WPXI-TV: "We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One, which is the president's helicopter."


I continue to point out the dangers of our reliance on cyberspace. Improperly secured government offices and careless individuals open the door to cyber attacks from those who intend to do us harm. The pleasures and advantages of what "W" called "The Internets" also make us vulnerable in ways that we can not imagine. To quote one of the lead characters of a famous t.v. show of years past, "Let's be careful out there."