I need an answer to this question..

[WillReadmore]

Instead, the FBI outsourced the computer forensics analysis to IT security company CrowdStrike which first pointed the finger at Moscow in May.

“CrowdStrike is pretty good. There’s no reason to believe that anything that they have concluded is not accurate,” one intelligence official told BuzzFeed, insisting that the company was “confident” Russia was behind the hacks.

“Beginning at the time the intrusion was discovered by the DNC, the DNC cooperated fully with the FBI and its investigation, providing access to all of the information uncovered by CrowdStrike — without any limits,” Walker added.

‘What is going on?’ Trump wonders why FBI never requested access to the DNC’s ‘hacked servers’

There is a lot in the report we are not privy to.

FBI/Intelligence outsources a lot because, quite frankly, private companies have far better and more up to date tools and technology. All federal agencies do now. Not sure why it should suddenly be an issue. Didn't Crowdstrike also work with the Sony servers when they got hacked by NK? Why didn't anyone demand more evidence? Why didn't anyone question why the FBI didn't examine Sony directly?

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Once again, that is NOT an excuse for failing to investigate.

Why isn't congress acting on this?

We KNOW for SURE that a foreign power attacked us, attempting to cause our democratic process to fail.

Yet, I don't see any move forward on this, even though (as you point out) there are significant parts we don't know everything about. Plus, we don't have any response oriented to preventing this.

WHY? Why no congressional attention? We gave congressional attention to far more minor stuff for YEARS.

 

[Coyote]

If you think you have to use ad hom or some other BS to make your point, than go to some other board - PLEASE!

You speak as someone who has not yet been banned/penalized.
Am I correct?
Soon, I am going to receive a warning from a Mod not to discuss Mod actions.
Why?
When an accused person is convicted, are we, the public/citizens not allowed to view the evidence?
My bad.
I forgot about Gitmo.
Of course we're not allowed.

Kaykan, let's get back on topic, ok?

 

[WillReadmore]

If you think you have to use ad hom or some other BS to make your point, than go to some other board - PLEASE!

You speak as someone who has not yet been banned/penalized.
Am I correct?
Soon, I am going to receive a warning from a Mod not to discuss Mod actions.
Why?
When an accused person is convicted, are we, the public/citizens not allowed to view the evidence?
My bad.
I forgot about Gitmo.
Of course we're not allowed.

Read my posts. I've been as aggressive as anyone else. I totally ignore whether who I reply to is a mod. The only thing I try to keep in check is ad hom garbage, which I do not use unless someone has been using it against me personally for a significant number of times.

This isn't hard. The mods don't have enough time to bother going after you if you're just keeping your replies clean.

 

[flacaltenn]

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

 

[Kaykan]

Kaykan, let's get back on topic, ok?

And there it.
The veiled threat.
I'm gone. Carrying my knife.

 

[Coyote]

Kaykan, let's get back on topic, ok?

And there it.
The veiled threat.
I'm gone. Carrying my knife.

No, it's just a gentle reminder (and, I didn't even use red ink to scare anyone) but the thread is going to go off track and I'd rather see your input on the topic...

 

[Coyote]

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

 

[flacaltenn]

As Coyote already said... the government can't always recruit the best and the brightest.... so why is it a bad thing to use the best and the brightest if they work for a private firm?

Because there is a thin line between normal espionage and spying and cyber espionage and spying. And people without clearances and DEDICATED to looking at methods from Nation adversaries are REQUIRED to recognize these and develop countermeasures. Commercial firms have no interest in "keeping tabs" on other nation's Intel groups. And shouldn't be hired when it's highly suspected the crime is a state actor.

These guys I'm sure had to get security clearances... It's not different than contractors who are working for the government in war zones like Afghanistan training soldiers there. This just cyber warfare instead... You're overreacting about that. These guys knew what they were doing g and that's the most important part.

If you were gonna play Cold War with Russia over this -- would you take it INSIDE the Intel agencies BEFORE you start talking tough to Putin? Or is it still Amateur Hour with this Administration?

You're not taking this seriously. MASSIVE Federal infrastructure for Cyber Security and NONE of it was awakened for this "so-called" crisis. That really smells of deception and playing YOU against ME to distract from the other important stuff this nation faces right now.

It's INCONCEIVABLE that this brand new cyber outfit is the ONLY folks cited as having actually studied the evidence for the DNC hack. So I ask now --- WHICH Fed Intel agency examined the evidence in the case of Podesta's phone?

Fine question.

But, there are many more. For example, how did the fake news dis-information campaign work so well, and what do we need to do to stop THAT?

Why is the incoming administration calling for an investigation of how NBC learned what's going on, while NOT calling for a full investigation of how our democratic process was attacked by a foreign power, and what we have to do about that?

On the fake news -- start a new thread. Although I believe enticing folks to become veracity judges and truth meters is the OPPOSITE of what is needed here.

On the NBC thing. If they were so far ahead -- Fire Clapper as the DNI and put them in charge of coordinating the Nations' massive Intel Agencies.

I just gotta amplify what I said about the Intel Agencies being the sole bastion of technical competence in the Fed govt. When I saw the NSA being turned loose to spy on Americans, it sent me into shivers. If the public had any freaking idea what their awesome capabilities were, they would all DEMAND that the massive new Spy Palace in Utah that taxpayers built for them, the size of medium American city, be stopped. The NSA GOT the gigue in the first place post 9-11 because the FBI resisted tossing out their rotary phones, rolodexes, teletypes and ink prints. And was NOT at that time capable of what NSA could do in Foreign Intel.

I have to side with Snowden's decision to WARN folks what a mistake it is to turn that capability on the American public.. Maybe not his methods. We should have kept the edict to prevent ANY of those agencies from doing routine domestic surveillance BECAUSE they are an awesome force.

No doubt ALL OF THAT got idled during THIS scandal for some unknown and stinky reasons..

 

[flacaltenn]

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

What do mean the DNC is no different than Sony? What are the headlines? That this was an attack on our election. That is was attempts to instill doubt about candidates. What could be MORE IMPORTANT to our existence?

 

[flacaltenn]

FBI/Intelligence outsources a lot because, quite frankly, private companies have far better and more up to date tools and technology. All federal agencies do now. Not sure why it should suddenly be an issue. Didn't Crowdstrike also work with the Sony servers when they got hacked by NK? Why didn't anyone demand more evidence? Why didn't anyone question why the FBI didn't examine Sony directly?

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Once again, that is NOT an excuse for failing to investigate.

Why isn't congress acting on this?

We KNOW for SURE that a foreign power attacked us, attempting to cause our democratic process to fail.

Yet, I don't see any move forward on this, even though (as you point out) there are significant parts we don't know everything about. Plus, we don't have any response oriented to preventing this.

WHY? Why no congressional attention? We gave congressional attention to far more minor stuff for YEARS.

Point of this thread is -- we do not "know for sure". Because the crime scenes were never investigated with any kind of interest or as a priority. I'm asking you who did the forensics on Podesta's phone? You have any idea of the answer? NONE of the opinions coming from Fed Agencies seem to be based on THEIR 1st hand analysis of the evidence. Do you understand what "know for sure" means if these agencies never actually laid hands or eyes on the evidence.?

 

[Lakhota]

Oh you KNOW the choice of an outside contractor was NEGOTIATED with the DNC right? Wasn't because their guys couldn't do it. The "optics" of announcing that 3 Intel groups were probing the DNC server just isn't Election cycle good news. It is ENTIRELY smelly. Glad someone else recognizes that.

But the Sony hack was BLACKMAIL against a US corporation by a state actor (allegedly) And highly unpredecented and entirely WHACKY. Just like the Mini Me in charge of the NK asylum. And by the nature of the threat and WHO was threatening -- certainly rose to those levels.

Unless it wasn't Kim Jong Il.... And it was Paramount Pictures !!!

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

Thank you! I totally agree! Like the RNC, the DNC is also a private entity. No wonder the DNC didn't want Republican hacks like Comey and his cronies crawling all over their servers.

 

[flacaltenn]

I'm not saying Crowdstrike COULDN'T do it, I am just wondering if they just might have an agenda and therefore skew the results. I don't know. That's why I asked "what could go wrong"

I am just skeptical of Democrats honestly investigating something like this, in this particular case. Maybe this comes from the lefts Legislative, and many Executive, branch members claiming outrageous things in support of their narrative.

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

Thank you! I totally agree! Like the RNC, the DNC is also a private entity.

Then this WASN'T about trying to change the outcome of an election? Those new sanctions and bullying of Russia are just to protect a "private entity" ??

 

[Kaykan]

Kaykan, let's get back on topic, ok?

And there it.
The veiled threat.
I'm gone. Carrying my knife.

No, it's just a gentle reminder (and, I didn't even use red ink to scare anyone) but the thread is going to go off track and I'd rather see your input on the topic...

For me, the topic is that a Mod thinks that it's OK for him/her to start/participate in a thread, but has the power, which is denied to anyone else, to ban/penalise a poster, and that poster has no recourse.
So I don't want to engage with a Mod.
In my last life, I was a teacher, and I had power. But I had accountability too. Mods have power, but no accountability.
Knife/gun.
I'll pass.

 

[WillReadmore]

Instead, the FBI outsourced the computer forensics analysis to IT security company CrowdStrike which first pointed the finger at Moscow in May.

“CrowdStrike is pretty good. There’s no reason to believe that anything that they have concluded is not accurate,” one intelligence official told BuzzFeed, insisting that the company was “confident” Russia was behind the hacks.

“Beginning at the time the intrusion was discovered by the DNC, the DNC cooperated fully with the FBI and its investigation, providing access to all of the information uncovered by CrowdStrike — without any limits,” Walker added.

‘What is going on?’ Trump wonders why FBI never requested access to the DNC’s ‘hacked servers’

There is a lot in the report we are not privy to.

I don't know what you're talking about.

There is a publicly available report from our intel agencies on the internet right now. You can read it if you want. It states unequivocally that Russia attacked our democratic process in more than one way.

FBI/Intelligence outsources a lot because, quite frankly, private companies have far better and more up to date tools and technology. All federal agencies do now. Not sure why it should suddenly be an issue. Didn't Crowdstrike also work with the Sony servers when they got hacked by NK? Why didn't anyone demand more evidence? Why didn't anyone question why the FBI didn't examine Sony directly?

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

You are TOTALLY deranged!

Don't investigate because the foreign attack was on a "left leaning organization"????

Are you F'ing SERIOUS???

Beyond that, the attack was NOT limited to that. The Russians set up a fake news assault to dis-inform the American public and to thus attempt to defeat our democracy.

The issue isn't whether it affected the election.

The issue is that Russia ATTACKED US!

And, ignoring that is unbelievable anti-Americanism.

It's exactly what Putin wants - and YOU back that!?!?!

And exactly what portion of the massive Federal Cyber Hacking structure was alarmed into ACTING on this? That's why it smells. Because the answer is NONE of them took a direct line of responsibility for INVESTIGATING the evidence.

How you gonna convince me that this Admin took the attacks seriously if NONE of the massive apparatus was activated??? That's your next job..

As Coyote already said... the government can't always recruit the best and the brightest.... so why is it a bad thing to use the best and the brightest if they work for a private firm?

Because there is a thin line between normal espionage and spying and cyber espionage and spying. And people without clearances and DEDICATED to looking at methods from Nation adversaries are REQUIRED to recognize these and develop countermeasures. Commercial firms have no interest in "keeping tabs" on other nation's Intel groups. And shouldn't be hired when it's highly suspected the crime is a state actor.

These guys I'm sure had to get security clearances... It's not different than contractors who are working for the government in war zones like Afghanistan training soldiers there. This just cyber warfare instead... You're overreacting about that. These guys knew what they were doing g and that's the most important part.

If you were gonna play Cold War with Russia over this -- would you take it INSIDE the Intel agencies BEFORE you start talking tough to Putin? Or is it still Amateur Hour with this Administration?

You're not taking this seriously. MASSIVE Federal infrastructure for Cyber Security and NONE of it was awakened for this "so-called" crisis. That really smells of deception and playing YOU against ME to distract from the other important stuff this nation faces right now.

It's INCONCEIVABLE that this brand new cyber outfit is the ONLY folks cited as having actually studied the evidence for the DNC hack. So I ask now --- WHICH Fed Intel agency examined the evidence in the case of Podesta's phone?

Fine question.

But, there are many more. For example, how did the fake news dis-information campaign work so well, and what do we need to do to stop THAT?

Why is the incoming administration calling for an investigation of how NBC learned what's going on, while NOT calling for a full investigation of how our democratic process was attacked by a foreign power, and what we have to do about that?

On the fake news -- start a new thread. Although I believe enticing folks to become veracity judges and truth meters is the OPPOSITE of what is needed here.

On the NBC thing. If they were so far ahead -- Fire Clapper as the DNI and put them in charge of coordinating the Nations' massive Intel Agencies.

I just gotta amplify what I said about the Intel Agencies being the sole bastion of technical competence in the Fed govt. When I saw the NSA being turned loose to spy on Americans, it sent me into shivers. If the public had any freaking idea what their awesome capabilities were, they would all DEMAND that the massive new Spy Palace in Utah that taxpayers built for them, the size of medium American city, be stopped. The NSA GOT the gigue in the first place post 9-11 because the FBI resisted tossing out their rotary phones, rolodexes, teletypes and ink prints. And was NOT at that time capable of what NSA could do in Foreign Intel.

I have to side with Snowden's decision to WARN folks what a mistake it is to turn that capability on the American public.. Maybe not his methods. We should have kept the edict to prevent ANY of those agencies from doing routine domestic surveillance BECAUSE they are an awesome force.

No doubt ALL OF THAT got idled during THIS scandal for some unknown and stinky reasons..

No, the disinformation campaign is part of the Russian assault on our democratic process as determined by our intel agencies.

And, I brought up the NBC thing to point out that Trump is concerned about leaks to NBC, but NOT about Russia's attack on our democratic process.

That is unbelievably anti-American.

I'm not going to respond to the rest, because I don't believe we know enough yet. We need further investigation and we need to have a better idea of how we should respond to cyber attacks by foreign countries, how to protect our election process, how to detect fake news, etc.

We have work to do, and I just don't see interest in doing that work.

And, that's bad news for America and GOOD news for Russia, China, Iran and all the rest that could want to change America's decision making.

 

[WillReadmore]

Biggest proof is the DNC sandbagged the FBI and instead hired their OWN investigators. Wasn't because the FBI didn't want to do it or couldn't do it.. See the Reuters piece above.

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

Thank you! I totally agree! Like the RNC, the DNC is also a private entity.

Then this WASN'T about trying to change the outcome of an election? Those new sanctions and bullying of Russia are just to protect a "private entity" ??

???
We have NO method for changing the outcome of this election. The intel agencies haven't even looked into whether the election outcome was determined by foreign intervention - that was outside the scope of what they looked at.

And, you will notice that I have not ONCE suggested that is something they should do or should have done, or that congress should do that. This is ALL you being paranoid.

This is a consistent feature of our election process. It is why Gore cut off the recount - which was a totally legitimate direction, but not consistent with the way we choose our president. We don't leave our presidential selection in a state of flux for long at all.

It's January, for crying out loud. Get over it.

 

[flacaltenn]

It's not proof of anything. Who can they comfortably TRUST? Look at what Comey was doing.

Hey.. National Security TRUMPS their d'rothers. The alarm bells were going off and NO AGENCY responded. Comey is OK in my book. Even with his indictment which was not an indictment. Because he was signaling that Clinton and crew should have been disciplined INTERNALLY by the State Dept. Which is exactly what I was telling folks for months prior. BEFORE the press asked the question of how these things are usually handled.

You also have BillyJeff accosting the Atty Gen on the tarmac ONE DAY before his wife's deposition. Which I will NEVER believe was sheer coincidence. This is what I'm angry about here. That POLITICS is destroying the cred of our trusted agencies. And it HAS to stop...

When the FBI says the footdragging at the DNC hindered their investigation -- that's a simple ass observation that does not take much "analysis". And when a CrowdStrike competitor makes it clear that CrowdStrike was not OBLIGATED to share results with ANY outside party without DNC approval -- it shows you how flimsy all this "evidence" really is.

DNC is not any different than Sony etc - it's not a federal or governmental entity. I'm not sure how much power we want to give the FBI in being able to force political parties to comply ESPECIALLY in the midst of a really contentious election. I think using Crowdstrike is perfectly acceptable. We outsource national security issues, we outsource intelligence - I'm not seeing this as a huge issue.

Thank you! I totally agree! Like the RNC, the DNC is also a private entity.

Then this WASN'T about trying to change the outcome of an election? Those new sanctions and bullying of Russia are just to protect a "private entity" ??

???
We have NO method for changing the outcome of this election. The intel agencies haven't even looked into whether the election outcome was determined by foreign intervention - that was outside the scope of what they looked at.

And, you will notice that I have not ONCE suggested that is something they should do or should have done, or that congress should do that. This is ALL you being paranoid.

This is a consistent feature of our election process. It is why Gore cut off the recount - which was a totally legitimate direction, but not consistent with the way we choose our president. We don't leave our presidential selection in a state of flux for long at all.

It's January, for crying out loud. Get over it.

I'm not the one that needs to "get over it" And if you look at the politics forum for the past 4 weeks, it's been nothing but accusations of ATTEMPTING to influence an election. Not that it succeeded. Except in the minds of die hard mindless minions of Dem fanatics like Lahkota.

And the headlines and the ACTIONS of this PRESIDENT say that it was an ATTEMPT to influence an election.
Geebus -- It's like whack-a-mole around here sometimes.

 

[flacaltenn]

Nawwww... There's no POSSIBLE reason why CrowdStrike was selected by the DNC to do the forensics.

A chart of lobbyists' White House visits reveals its close ties with Google

 

[Coyote]

Nawwww... There's no POSSIBLE reason why CrowdStrike was selected by the DNC to do the forensics.

A chart of lobbyists' White House visits reveals its close ties with Google

Are you saying CrowdStrike is crooked or disreputable? Come on.

 

[Lakhota]

Nawwww... There's no POSSIBLE reason why CrowdStrike was selected by the DNC to do the forensics.

A chart of lobbyists' White House visits reveals its close ties with Google

Please stop whining. The DNC is a private entity that has every right to handle this matter as it sees fit. All the bases have been covered in the Intelligence Report.

What did the report say?
The report said Russia's actions included hacking into the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and individual Democrats including Mrs Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

It said Russia had also used state-funded propaganda and paid "trolls" to make nasty comments on social media platforms:

"Moscow's influence campaign followed a Russian messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operations — such as cyber activity — with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or 'trolls'."

The report said the Russian effort was both political and personal.

"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump."

The report said Mr Putin likely wanted to discredit Mrs Clinton because he blames her for inciting mass protests against his regime in 2011 and 2012, and resents her for disparaging comments she has made about him.

It found that when it appeared Mrs Clinton might well win the election, Mr Putin turned his focus to undermining her presidency:

"Moscow's approach evolved over the course of the campaign based on Russia's understanding of the electoral prospects of the two main candidates. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency."

It said the Russian effort was the "boldest yet" intended to effect a US election.

"Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow's longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations."

The report said Republican affiliates had also been targeted but not to the same extent:

"Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign."

There was no suggestion that Russia affected actual vote counting or tampered with ballot machines, the report said:

"DHS [Department of Homeland Security] assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying ... We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election."

The report also warned of future cyber attacks:

"We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes."

What does the US intelligence report into election hacking say?

 

[WillReadmore]

Instead, the FBI outsourced the computer forensics analysis to IT security company CrowdStrike which first pointed the finger at Moscow in May.

“CrowdStrike is pretty good. There’s no reason to believe that anything that they have concluded is not accurate,” one intelligence official told BuzzFeed, insisting that the company was “confident” Russia was behind the hacks.

“Beginning at the time the intrusion was discovered by the DNC, the DNC cooperated fully with the FBI and its investigation, providing access to all of the information uncovered by CrowdStrike — without any limits,” Walker added.

‘What is going on?’ Trump wonders why FBI never requested access to the DNC’s ‘hacked servers’

There is a lot in the report we are not privy to.

I don't know what you're talking about.

There is a publicly available report from our intel agencies on the internet right now. You can read it if you want. It states unequivocally that Russia attacked our democratic process in more than one way.

FBI/Intelligence outsources a lot because, quite frankly, private companies have far better and more up to date tools and technology. All federal agencies do now. Not sure why it should suddenly be an issue. Didn't Crowdstrike also work with the Sony servers when they got hacked by NK? Why didn't anyone demand more evidence? Why didn't anyone question why the FBI didn't examine Sony directly?

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

You are TOTALLY deranged!

Don't investigate because the foreign attack was on a "left leaning organization"????

Are you F'ing SERIOUS???

Beyond that, the attack was NOT limited to that. The Russians set up a fake news assault to dis-inform the American public and to thus attempt to defeat our democracy.

The issue isn't whether it affected the election.

The issue is that Russia ATTACKED US!

And, ignoring that is unbelievable anti-Americanism.

It's exactly what Putin wants - and YOU back that!?!?!

And exactly what portion of the massive Federal Cyber Hacking structure was alarmed into ACTING on this? That's why it smells. Because the answer is NONE of them took a direct line of responsibility for INVESTIGATING the evidence.

How you gonna convince me that this Admin took the attacks seriously if NONE of the massive apparatus was activated??? That's your next job..

Instead, the FBI outsourced the computer forensics analysis to IT security company CrowdStrike which first pointed the finger at Moscow in May.

“CrowdStrike is pretty good. There’s no reason to believe that anything that they have concluded is not accurate,” one intelligence official told BuzzFeed, insisting that the company was “confident” Russia was behind the hacks.

“Beginning at the time the intrusion was discovered by the DNC, the DNC cooperated fully with the FBI and its investigation, providing access to all of the information uncovered by CrowdStrike — without any limits,” Walker added.

‘What is going on?’ Trump wonders why FBI never requested access to the DNC’s ‘hacked servers’

There is a lot in the report we are not privy to.

FBI/Intelligence outsources a lot because, quite frankly, private companies have far better and more up to date tools and technology. All federal agencies do now. Not sure why it should suddenly be an issue. Didn't Crowdstrike also work with the Sony servers when they got hacked by NK? Why didn't anyone demand more evidence? Why didn't anyone question why the FBI didn't examine Sony directly?

ANYTIME the source is suspected to be foreign intelligence services, it should be handled by the MASSIVE, and EXISTING dozen agencies for Counter Cyber. We're adding NEW groups every year. More and more people and labs and capabilities. And PRIVATE contractors should ONLY be used if they have the clearances and access to handle espionage level intrusions. Sorry Sony -- but we need access to your server. We'll send you a cleaned copy. You have no choice. It's now a matter of National Security.

I'm fuming because I've waiting to see what the government reaction was to all these clues that were known PUBLICLY for months, maybe a year. And NO ONE can tell how all these multi-$BILL agencies were mobilized and USED to obtain and REAL evidence. It appears that everything known about the DNC hack came from a Google funded group. So FIRE all these resources you think are totally inferior and unable and unaware.

I agree with you, and your questions.

First-off, Sony was NOT a matter of national security, so CrowdStrike is welcome to investigate. I have no issues with them doing that.

However, the hack of the DNC has national repercussions. In my opinion, it was not wise to have them investigate what happened at the DNC. A left leaning organization, owned by leftist billionaires, investigating for a losing Democrat candidate, by a Liberal administration, on servers not taken into evidence, leads the results to be questioned for accuracy. All in all, what could go sideways with all of that?

I also concur with your position that since the government doesn't have enough faith in their own cyber security experts to do a top notch job, they need to shit can the entire lot and go strictly with private companies.

When the DNI says "We assess...", assessments can be wrong. (Example: I assess rightwinger is a nutjob, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.) When he didn't say "We know..." or "We can prove...", it leaves the results wide open for debate.

At this moment, the whole thing isn't passing the smell test.

You are TOTALLY deranged!

Don't investigate because the foreign attack was on a "left leaning organization"????

Are you F'ing SERIOUS???

Beyond that, the attack was NOT limited to that. The Russians set up a fake news assault to dis-inform the American public and to thus attempt to defeat our democracy.

The issue isn't whether it affected the election.

The issue is that Russia ATTACKED US!

And, ignoring that is unbelievable anti-Americanism.

It's exactly what Putin wants - and YOU back that!?!?!

And exactly what portion of the massive Federal Cyber Hacking structure was alarmed into ACTING on this? That's why it smells. Because the answer is NONE of them took a direct line of responsibility for INVESTIGATING the evidence.

How you gonna convince me that this Admin took the attacks seriously if NONE of the massive apparatus was activated??? That's your next job..

YES!!!

You're bringing up stuff that needs to be investigated - stuff where we need solutions both to prevent it from happening again and to determining a reasonable approach to nations that decide to attack us in this way.

Let's do it!