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posted by janrinok on Saturday October 03 2015, @09:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the association-by-omission dept.

The employee records from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were not included in the data cache from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hack, according to government officials. However, that doesn't mean the CIA has been unaffected by the breach. The Washington Post reports that according to unnamed current and former US officials, the CIA pulled "a number of officers" from the US Embassy in Beijing as a precautionary measure following the breach—precisely because their names would not appear in State Department personnel files believed to have been obtained by Chinese intelligence operatives.

The question of how to respond to the OPM breach was raised yet again during testimony by intelligence and defense officials on September 29 before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The hearing on "United States Cybersecurity policy and threats" delved into the distinction being made by the Obama administration between electronic economic espionage and the hacking of government agencies and why the breach at the OPM was not considered an attack warranting a proportionate response from the US. No US official has gone on the record to attribute the OPM breach to China.


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The Biden administration on Tuesday warned the nation's governors that drinking water and wastewater utilities in their states are facing "disabling cyberattacks" by hostile foreign nations that are targeting mission-critical plant operations.

"Disabling cyberattacks are striking water and wastewater systems throughout the United States," Jake Sullivan, assistant to the president for National Security Affairs, and Michael S. Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote in a letter. "These attacks have the potential to disrupt the critical lifeline of clean and safe drinking water, as well as impose significant costs on affected communities."

[...] The letter extended an invitation for secretaries of each state's governor to attend a meeting to discuss better securing the water sector's critical infrastructure. It also announced that the EPA is forming a Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force to identify vulnerabilities in water systems. The virtual meeting will take place on Thursday.

"EPA and NSC take these threats very seriously and will continue to partner with state environmental, health, and homeland security leaders to address the pervasive and challenging risk of cyberattacks on water systems," Regan said in a separate statement.

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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by AnonTechie on Saturday October 03 2015, @09:43AM

    by AnonTechie (2275) on Saturday October 03 2015, @09:43AM (#244799) Journal

    Even before the advent of worldwide Internet, the Russians seemingly had great success in identifying CIA agents. How to explain the KGB’s amazing success identifying CIA agents in the field ? [salon.com]

    --
    Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
  • (Score: 2) by Gravis on Saturday October 03 2015, @10:44AM

    by Gravis (4596) on Saturday October 03 2015, @10:44AM (#244803)

    if everyone stopped all this spying/hacking bullshit. seriously, we can't be civil, everyone has to be jingoistic jackasses?

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @10:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @10:56AM (#244806)

    The USA started all this cracking BS against other countries, set the precedent that it was acceptable, and now the Washington Post wants us to feel sorry for the USA because it's finally their turn to be the victim. Well boo-hoo.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 03 2015, @02:00PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 03 2015, @02:00PM (#244839) Journal

      Most of our grandparents had sayings to cover that. "Sleep with dogs, wake up with fleas." "Wrestle a pig, you're going to get filthy." "Play hacker games, the other side is going to get all your data."

      Alright, I made that last one up. So sue me.

      --
      “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @02:36PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @02:36PM (#244844)

      Exactly. When you run roughshed over other countries they will eventually fight back. Poor baby USasians.

      • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @03:04PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @03:04PM (#244854)

        China didn't do it to retaliate, they did it for the exact same reason the NSA did it - because they could.

        The only lesson here is that on the internet the worst defense is a good offense. The NSA should be 1000x more concerned with defense but they have a conflict of interest because our vulnerabilities are the same vulnerabilities everybody else has, so protecting us means reducing the NSA's offensive capabilities...

      • (Score: 1, Redundant) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 03 2015, @03:11PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 03 2015, @03:11PM (#244857) Journal

        Might Asians resent you calling us USasians?

        --
        “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @11:05PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @11:05PM (#244970)

      Spying in any form started long before the USA was even an idea. Who "started it" is lost to history. Technology only changes the "how", not the "what."

    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday October 05 2015, @03:50PM

      by Freeman (732) on Monday October 05 2015, @03:50PM (#245676) Journal

      If you think that hacking / cracking wouldn't be a part of spying on your enemies ( or even supposed friends), you are crazy. Seriously, since when was spying Not a part of what a country does? Yes, as an American I can feel sorry, that our agents are doing a sucky job. Thanks.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @11:29AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 03 2015, @11:29AM (#244819)

    Perhaps they should fine tune their priorities?