
Data hacked from U.S. government dates back to 1985 - dsmithatx
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/06/us-cybersecurity-usa-idUSKBN0OL1V320150606
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gtrubetskoy
I really do not understand how the origin country of the attack can be so
quickly identified, and that based on that it gets attributed to the
government of said country. The source IP of attack usually tells you
absolutely nothing about the origin, it's typically a hacked server or a
desktop which can be in China or in France just the same.

I also heard on the news the so called "security experts" claim that certain
"patterns" in the attack allow them to attribute it to a specific group of
hackers. Anyone who's dealt with security for real knows that there are no
patters (just like there really are no hacker groups).

In 99.9% of these cases the best you can do is identify and close the hole
they used and any others they've left behind, assess the damages and notify
the affected people. You will never find who did it, from where and why.

~~~
nerdy
It could boil down to having other intelligence fingering China, but the US
doesn't want to expose and consequently draw attention to the source of the
information.

If the US doesn't have some 99.9999% assurance it was China and they made a
statement like that with egg still on their face from the breach, it's pretty
sad. I don't rule it out, but the US _probably_ has more common sense than
that. From a technical perspective, it sure was a fast "investigation".

~~~
shit_parade2
Because the US government has proven so trust worthy in recent memory with all
the secret laws, torture, and murder of innocents.

What an endless parade of jingoists to ever defend the exceptional American
empire.

~~~
gred
Username checks out.

~~~
cmdrfred
BURN

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fweespeech
Does anyone find it hilariously convenient the timing that as soon as
something expired ... this announcement goes to all the papers within a few
days while they basically pass a nearly identical thing?

~~~
nerdy
I'm not clear how the Patriot Act (if that's the "something" you mention) has
anything to do with a state-sponsored advanced persistent threat. Can you
explain?

~~~
fweespeech
> The federal personnel office learned of the data breach after it began to
> toughen its cybersecurity defense system. When it discovered malicious
> activity, authorities used a detection system called EINSTEIN to unearth the
> information breach in April, the Department of Homeland Security said.

[http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/04/politics/federal-agency-
hacked...](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/04/politics/federal-agency-hacked-
personnel-management/)

They waited until Thursday to reveal it. The timing is more than coincidence.
Lol.

~~~
nerdy
So why not release it Monday/Tuesday? Thursday is sneakier?

~~~
toomuchtodo
They knew in April, they waited until right after Section 215 of the Patriot
Act expired June 1st. Section 215 is the piece of legislation the NSA used as
justification for its carte blanche collection of data in the US.

~~~
nerdy
What I'm trying to say is that I don't think it furthers their goal.

It isn't like some terrorist act occurred which would've been uncovered with
Section 215 still active. This happened on their watch _and_ under the so-
called protection of the Patriot Act. To me, it seems like just another
example of the Patriot Act _not_ protecting people.

~~~
toomuchtodo
You're right on both counts, but keep in mind how few people are going to
understand that.

The media is going to report it as "rabble rabble rabble Chinese hackers
because patriot act expired".

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fweespeech
The sad part is this:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/us/chinese-hackers-may-
be-...](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/us/chinese-hackers-may-be-behind-
anthem-premera-attacks.html?_r=0)

> WASHINGTON — The inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management,
> which keeps the records and security clearance information for millions of
> current and retired federal employees, issued a report in November that
> essentially described the agency’s computer security system as a Chinese
> hacker’s dream.

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wooster
For those wondering how bad a data breach of OPM is, this is what a typical
OPM clearance form looks like:

[https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf](https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf)

~~~
simoncion
That's an SF-86. You fill that out for clearances as low as Secret. The bar
for a Secret is roughly "Are you blackmailable? No? Here's your clearance.".
You can ship Secret material through the USPS if you ship it as registered
mail. There's no need to hand-carry it.

There are many, many things that are classified as Secret that are either
overclassified, are classified as such to cover someone's ass or prevent
embarrassment. Secret material _can_ be sensitive stuff, but should never be
serious spy shit. If it is, someone _seriously_ fucked up their classification
guide.

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fru2013
Too bad it wasn't encrypted.

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ams6110
There are no secrets. We can't put the genie back in the bottle. We need to
change our approach. We need to figure out a way to establish identity that
doesn't rely on information anyone else has, such as names, dates, government-
issued numbers, fingerprints, DNA, etc.

