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from the people-who-should-know-better dept.
Who the hell still uses AOL? Apparently, CIA boss John Brenner. The New York Post had several phone conversations with an individual who claimed that he gained access to Brenner's email and phone accounts, downloaded a number of classified documents and posted them on Twitter. The hacker identified himself as a high school student, and part of a group called "Crackaz With Attitude".
The FBI and other federal agencies are now investigating the hacker, with one source saying criminal charges are possible, law enforcement sources said.
"I think they'll want to make an example out of him to deter people from doing this in the future," said a source who described the situation as "just wild" and "crazy."
"I can't believe he did this to the head of the CIA,'' the source added. "[The] problem with these older-generation guys is that they don't know anything about cybersecurity, and as you can see, it can be problematic."
Government officials say that the FBI and Secret Service are investigating the matter, but deny that any classified materials were compromised.
The cracker remains at large, for now. He also talked to Wired, providing some detailed information on how he pulled it off.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Thexalon on Tuesday October 20 2015, @04:28PM
What, you're saying they're making the argument "Our director was a moron who had his email pwned by a reasonably smart kid, so clearly we are the best use for more funding"? I'm voting Hanlon's Razor on this - never attribute to malice what can be easily explained by stupidity.
It's doubly stupid when you think about how the NSA actually gets what they want (more funding, more power, and no questions asked): "Senator, we need that international internet traffic monitoring in place to make sure we catch people who might have visited Thailand to engage the services of underage prostitutes last month. To use a completely random example, of course."
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by ticho on Wednesday October 21 2015, @02:34PM
Why not? The director gets an official slap on the wrist, followed by an unofficial bonus by playing his part well. He is up there in years and will likely retire soon anyway, so what does he care? In the meantime, an invented "hacker" gives out "interview" for Wired, and the general public remains scared, having a new bogeyman-of-the-week.