Theory emerges in Sony hacking suggesting Russian hackers: Linguists identified foreign phrasing in about 2,000 words from hacker emails and posts that may have been penned by a Russian native speaker. | Ukraine army swaps hundreds of captives with rebel forces | Ukraine suspends trains and buses to Crimea - Reuters UK | After Scrutiny, C.I.A. Mandate Is Untouched | Media Watchdog Condemns Raid On RFE/RL's Baku Office | North Korea slams U.S. over Internet shutdown, calls Obama a ‘monkey’ | Joe Biden: Our hearts ache for Rafael Ramos's family - video | Police turn backs on de Blasio at funeral of NYPD officer Rafael Ramos | Florida Police Officer Charles Kondek, Killed On Duty, Remembered at Funeral | Russia's Revised Military Doctrine Sees Major Threats from NATO, US | Russia Offers Sympathy To North Korea Amid Sony Hack
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What if it wasn’t North Korea after all?
In the controversy over the Sony hacking, government officials have accused the sequestered communist country of hacking Sony, but security analysts argue Russian hackers may be the culprit.
Writing samples from hackers claiming responsibility for leaking finance reports and emails by Sony employees suggest the native language was Russian, according to Taia Global, a cyber security consulting group.
“Our preliminary results show that Sony's attackers were most likely Russian, possibly but not likely Korean and definitely not Mandarin Chinese or German,” the Seattle-based company wrote in a Christmas Eve blog post.
Linguists analyzed about 1,600 words in strangely worded emails and posts by the “Guardians of Peace,” but the findings are not enough to conclude North Korea spawned the cyber attacks that started Nov. 24.
The emails are surprisingly plentiful, Taia Global president Jeffrey Carr, said.
“Normally hackers don’t leave so many texts,” Carr told the Daily News in a brief phone call.
Phrases such as “our agents find themselves act in necessary places” and “is called by the greed of Sony” were compared to four major languages to detect the writer’s native language.
The majority of the phrasing could have been translated word for word from Russian, Shlomo Argamon, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, learned.
“The author(s) were writing in English, knew English words, but were not proficient. They did not make their meaning clear,” Argamon told the Daily News.
Argamon is also a scientist at Taia Global, but has been researching text for the past eight years to detect the author’s native language and age.
His study concludes it's not impossible that the messages were written by a native Korean speaker, but it's unlikely.
Argamon’s study shows 15 out of 20 phrasings translated to English in the emails matched the Russian language. Nine matched Korean, but Mandarin and German is ruled out completely.
The analysis is the same method used to show imprisoned UK killer Jamie Starbuck faked emails to his murdered wife’s family on her behalf for two years.
Though the findings do not completely rule North Korea out, it questions the US government's recent vow to avenge cyber attacks perpetrated within the country over Sony’s release of "The Interview".
Other theories detailed by the New York Times this week suggest any hacker could be responsible as long as they had an internet connection and basic hacking skills.
Malware programmed using a Korean language setting may have been a red herring as well.
Or simply, it was an inside job by a disgruntled Sony employee with sizeable knowledge on the company’s servers and passwords, the Times added.
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 New York Daily News |
Theory emerges in Sony hacking suggesting Russian hackers
New York Daily News What if it wasn't North Korea after all? In the controversy over the Sony hacking, government officials have accused the sequestered communist country of hacking Sony, but security analysts argue Russian hackers may be the culprit. Writing samples from ... and more » |
Security firm says Sony hack might have been an inside jobby The European Union Times
Despite claims by the FBI that North Korea was behind the massive hack against Sony, several cybersecurity experts have come forward to raise questions about the allegation, with some suggesting that insiders at the company could be to blame.
One such expert, Kurt Stammberger from the Norse cybersecuirty firm, told CBS News that his team believes a woman identified only as “Lena” was heavily involved in the hack, not North Korea.
“We are very confident that this was not an attack master-minded by North Korea and that insiders were key to the implementation of one of the most devastating attacks in history,” he told the news outlet.
“Sony was not just hacked, this is a company that was essentially nuked from the inside,” Stammberger added.
Little is known about Lena, but Norse believes the woman is somehow linked with the hacking group behind the attack, known as the ‘Guardians of Peace.’ The firm also suspects the woman was a former employee of Sony who worked there for 10 years before leaving in May 2014.
According to Stammberger, Lena’s position in the company would have given her the access and knowledge needed to identify the servers that hackers ultimately stole troves of data from.
Stammberger didn’t completely rule out North Korea’s role in the cyber attack, but he told CBS that evidence pointing to the country could actually be a case of misdirection.
“There are certainly North Korean fingerprints on this but when we run all those leads to ground they turn out to be decoys or red herrings,” he said.
Last week, the FBI officially pinned the hack on North Korea, saying the breach involved lines of code, methods, and encryption algorithms previously developed by the country.
“Technical analysis of the data deletion malware used in this attack revealed links to other malware that the FBI knows North Korea actors previously developed,” the FBI said in its statement. “The FBI also observed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in this attack and other malicious cyber activity the US government has previously linked directly to North Korea.”
“Separately, the tools used in the SPE attack have similarities to a cyberattack in March of last year against South Korean banks and media outlets, which was carried out by North Korea.”
Still, some remain unconvinced. Cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier wrote that the code used by the hackers seems “to point in all directions at once.” Looking at the evidence cited by the FBI, Schneier said it’s the kind that is “easy to fake, and it’s even easier to interpret it incorrectly.” He also cast doubt on the “insider threat” theory, arguing that such an individual wouldn’t need the hacking tools used to breach Sony’s servers.
Schneier noted that the FBI has not revealed all the reasons for its claim, though, and acknowledged that classified evidence could clearly point the finger at North Korea. Unless that evidence is known, it’s hard to say with any certainty.
Other possibilities include the idea that North Korea “co-opted” the initial attack after an embarrassing glut of information was made public, using that as an opportunity to strike Sony, as it was reeling and facing pressure to cancel ‘The Interview’ movie.
While Sony did cancel the premiere and release of ‘The Interview’ – a comedy which tells the story of a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, it has since relented in the face of public criticism, which included harsh words from President Barack Obama. The movie is now available on streaming services and will be in theaters in limited release on Christmas Day.
Regarding the film’s release, a North Korean envoy to the United Nations said the country will condemn the decision but will not have any “physical reaction.” He added that the movie is an “unpardonable mockery of our sovereignty and dignity of our supreme leader.”
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Pyongyang accuses US of responsibility for recent outages amid row over cyber attack on film studio Sony Pictures
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - From financial crisis in Russia to cyber warfare with North Korea, 2014 has generated new flashpoints right into its final days, setting 2015 up to be just as turbulent.
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Vice-president Joe Biden speaks to the tens of thousands of police and other mourners at the funeral of police officer Rafael Ramos on Saturday in New York. Ramos was one of two police officers ambushed by a gunman who said he was avenging the killing of unarmed black men by police. Ramos's partner Wenjian Liu was also killed in the attack Continue reading...
Police turn backs on de Blasio at funeral of NYPD officer Rafael Ramos by Amanda Holpuch in New York
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USA harbors plans to decapitate Russia within minutesby The European Union Times
The West has declared a cold war on Russia. The ultimate goal of the United States of America is to destroy Russia. The Americans already consider plans about the neutralization of the nuclear potential of Russia. Plan A is to strike a blow that would behead Russia. Plan B is to destroy the launcher. President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Konstantin Sivkov, shared his views about the developing standoff between Russia and the West in an interview with Pravda.Ru.
“American politicians have committed a variety of crimes. Will anyone be held accountable for those crimes? What about the international law, the UN and other organizations? Are they doing anything?”
“Indeed, one can enumerate their crimes for long. In Iraq, about 1 million 200 thousand people have been killed. The American elite will answer for all that when Nuremberg-2 trial takes place. Hitler’s elite answered for all atrocities and crimes only after Hitler’s war machine was destroyed and the Nuremberg trial was held.
“The American elite will not be held accountable for anything until their military machine is destroyed. Needless to say that external forces can not contribute to the defeat of the American elite. Ferguson showed only a little bit of tension. In fact, the American society is very conflicted from the inside. There are extensive layers of conflict. Layers of conflict are very extensive. There are ethnic, cultural, property, territorial differences and even ideological signs. In the United States, there are many internal contradictions.
“Today, these contradictions get lost in overconsumption, but the time of overconsumption comes to an end. There are already people in America, who line up and fight for free food coupons. The American society will decay some day, and that will be the day, when the question of responsibility of the American elite is going to arise.”
“In addition to carrots of consumption, they use sticks in America at a much greater extent. The penal system in the United States is very strong.”
“This is true. Hitler’s state machine was the same. Nevertheless, there were people in Nazi Germany, who were fighting against all that. They try to give an acceptable level to the majority of population. Yet, they do not have enough brains to ensure decent maintenance to veterans of their own armed forces. In the United States of America, scandals related to retired military men, who do not receive social benefits, are frequent.
American society will decay some day
American society will decay some day
“Suffice it to recall the recent scandal about the soldier, who, allegedly shot Osama Bin Laden. Well, that’s not even the point. Pay attention to the last speech from the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Gerasimov. His speech was nothing but a de facto recognition of the fact that the West had declared cold war on Russia. I want to remind you that in 1949, it was not the USSR, but the West that started the cold war. It was not the Soviet Union, but the West that was building the Iron Curtain. The United States created NATO in 1949, and the Warsaw Pact saw the light only in 1955, six years later. We had to take some measures in response. Today, the story is the same.”
“There are many reports saying that the United States has been seriously preparing for war against Russia, that they plan to use thousands of cruise missiles.”
“This is an absolutely realizable thing. Against Yugoslavia and Iraq, the United States used more than a thousand missiles. Yet, one has to deploy all these missiles somewhere first. It is impossible to launch them all at once – such an attack will have to be conducted for quite a long time. Therefore, if they launch a missile at Russia, Russia will respond with a retaliatory nuclear strike. Therefore, thousands of missiles can be good only if they succeed in neutralizing Russia’s nuclear potential.
“It can be possible to neutralize Russia’s nuclear potential in two ways. The first one is an attack that would behead Russia. The idea is to destroy command centers, from which orders are made. The second way is to destroy the launcher that launches missiles. They can use both ways too. Note that during the recent years, the Americans have been criticizing Russia for its alleged violations of the treaty on medium-range missiles. By signing this treaty, we, in fact, made all of Europe unreachable for our medium-range missiles. Now, Russia can strike nuclear blows on Europe only with the help of air forces. Yet, there are powerful air defense systems in Europe that are difficult to overcome.
“We went for it, because the Americans developed Pershing-II missiles. A distinctive feature of this missile is a flat trajectory of flight and a very high precision contact – about five-ten meters. Such a ballistic missile overcomes the distance of 2.5-3 thousand kilometers within 5-8 minutes. Thus, the Americans created conditions for a beheading strike. They obtained an opportunity to strike Moscow and other Russian cities from the territory of Turkey and many other places.
Americans take efforts to destroy Russia in mere minutes
Americans take efforts to destroy Russia in mere minutes
“In order to protect our country from this decapitating strike, we took up the treaty on intermediate-range missiles. Today, the Americans scream and shout that we allegedly violate the treaty. All this, of course, is being done to find a reason to pull out from the treaty and launch the deployment of such missiles. In addition, the Americans have the so-called breakout potential. After the START-1 Treaty that Gorbachev concluded, nuclear weapons were cut from about ten to nearly four thousand warheads for each side. Russia destroyed 6,000 warheads. Moreover, the weapons-grade uranium and plutonium obtained from the disassembly of those warheads was handed over to the United States for a symbolic amount.”
“You mean it was sold for a penny?”
“Sold for a penny, yes. Today, the Americans use it for their nuclear power plants. They also supply it to Ukraine. The Americans have not dismantled their 6,000 nuclear warheads – they still store them there in America. Those warheads, at any time, can be mounted on the second stages of Minutemen missiles that have not been dismantled either. The Americans dismantled only the third stage of those missiles. With its second stage, a Minuteman can fly for about 5,000 kilometers. They can deplay such missiles in Europe. So today, Russia has found itself in a very difficult situation.
“The Soviet Union had a clear ideology when it entered the Cold War. The Soviet ideology was recognized globally. The USSR also had the consolidated classless society. The USSR was led by unconditional patriots, who won the war. The Soviet Union had the economy the potential of which was equal to 30-50 percent of the US economy. The USSR had a well-developed industry that did not depend on the West. The Soviet industry could develop independently.
“In the USSR, there were full-fledged scientific schools that were as advanced as American scientific schools. Most importantly, the USSR had a great strategic backyard in the form of socialist countries, where Soviet troops were stationed. That was how the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. Today’s situation, if compared to the beginning of the previous Cold War, is like heaven and earth.
“Today, we are in a situation, when, unfortunately, theory begins to turn into practice. Today’s Russia does not have anything of that. The economic potential of today’s Russia makes only ten percent of the American economic potential. To crown it all, we are tied to the West thanks to the destruction of our fundamental and applied science.”
“Do you think that the situation is that catastrophic?”
“We are entering the war being in a catastrophic situation. Extraordinary measures should be taken. If these measures are not taken, our country will be defeated very quickly. The only thing that holds back the West today is our nuclear capability. Nevertheless, this nuclear potential can be neutralized. A modern war against Russia will be carried out the way it had been done in Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Iraq …”
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Voice of America |
Russia's Revised Military Doctrine Sees Major Threats from NATO, US
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Russia says the movie that has sparked the Sony hacking dispute was so scandalous that North Korea's anger was "quite understandable."
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Queen's Christmas Message Speaks to Reconciliationby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth used her annual Christmas Day broadcast on Thursday to advocate reconciliation, especially in Scotland where an unsuccessful independence referendum earlier this year polarised public opinion. Channeling the spirit of a brief World War One Christmas truce between British and German soldiers 100 years ago, the 88-year-old monarch held the historic moment out as an example of how irreconcilable differences can sometimes be bridged. "Of course, reconciliation takes different forms. In Scotland after the referendum many felt great disappointment,while others felt great relief; and bridging these differences will take time," she said. Scots voted by a margin of 55-45 to reject independence from the United Kingdom in a September referendum after a sometimes bitter two-year campaign which divided friends and families. Alex Salmond, the former leader of the defeated pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) suggested before the vote that his party would accept the result, however close, and not resurrect the matter for years. But the SNP has since staged an unexpected recovery and, under its new leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has made clear it will work towards a second referendum. The divisions that opened up during the referendum campaign remain raw. "Sometimes it seems that reconciliation stands little chance in the face of war and discord," said the queen. "But, as the Christmas truce a century ago reminds us, peace and goodwill have lasting power in the hearts of men and women.
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Sergei Lavrov says West using Kiev's Nato bid to fuel confrontation between Russia and Ukraine
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In much of the world, and many Islamic societies especially, Christians are oppressed. The rights of humans should always come before the proclaimed rights of God
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath can be seen in hindsight as the greatest catastrophe to strike the ancient Christian communities of the Middle East since the Mongol invasions. In some ways it was worse. The Mongol invasions had as a side effect the postponement for about 50 years of the collapse of the Crusader kingdoms. The invasion of Iraq contributed nothing to the safety of any Christian community anywhere.
The hideous convulsions that followed have been dreadful for everyone in the region, but nobody has suffered more than the Christians, persecuted alike in Sunni and Shia states. In the nations that are not at war, they are tolerated but oppressed; in the Gulf, most Christians are servants, abominably treated. Their religion must be practised in secret, with converts threatened with death. In Iran, a missionary or a pastor is hanged from time to time as an exercise in public morality.
Continue reading... RT |
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US Political Shift Could Affect Iran Talksby webdesk@voanews.com (Pamela Dockins)
Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to resolve Iran’s nuclear crisis are continuing into 2015 after Iran and six world powers failed to agree by a November deadline. U.S. domestic politics, however, could complicate efforts to reach a deal in the new year. While Secretary of State John Kerry sounded an optimistic note in his first official meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in September of 2013, Tehran's top diplomat questioned whether the ideas could be put into action. “Now we have to see whether we can match our positive words with deeds so that we can move forward,” Zarif said at the time. Since then, the two diplomats have met numerous times as negotiators for Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany work toward a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear enrichment activity. Iran says its nuclear goals are peaceful. Some Western powers fear Iran wants to make nuclear weapons. An agreement would give Iran relief from crippling sanctions. After a series of meetings between January and June, though, negotiators extended talks to November 24, only to follow with another extension. “These talks are not going to get easier just because we extend them. They have been tough. And they are going to stay tough,” said Kerry. Zarif indicates there is a key stumbling block. “The major obstacle was that there is a compounded mistrust, mutual,” he recently said. While negotiators now hope to reach a deal by July, their efforts may be complicated by a sea-change in the political make-up of the U.S. Congress. The new Republican-controlled Senate may be less inclined to lift sanctions immediately if there is a nuclear agreement, says analyst Robert Einhorn of the Washington-based Brookings Institution. “The Obama administration believes that, with the new Congress that will be seated in January, it can’t go to them right away and ask for a vote to lift sanctions," he said. "They believe that the case will be much stronger later on, if and when the IAEA [nuclear watchdog] reaches a conclusion that Iran is in compliance.” He also said lawmakers may become frustrated if negotiations drag on. “Members of Congress are anxious to impose additional sanctions," he said. "That could have a disruptive effect.” Kerry says while negotiators still have “significant points of disagreement,” they do believe that a comprehensive deal that addresses concern about Iran’s nuclear program is still possible.
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Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/tsarnaev-boston-court-arrival/2573842.html.
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From: Голос Америки
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Джохар Царнаев в суде by Голос Америки
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Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/tsarnaev-court-room-sketches/2573854.html.
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From: Голос Америки
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| Time: 00:59 | More in News & Politics |
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