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How a Russian cyberwar in Ukraine could ripple out globally:
The knock-on effects for the rest of the world might not be limited to intentional reprisals by Russian operatives. Unlike old-fashioned war, cyberwar is not confined by borders and can more easily spiral out of control.
Ukraine has been on the receiving end of aggressive Russian cyber operations for the last decade and has suffered invasion and military intervention from Moscow since 2014. In 2015 and 2016, Russian hackers attacked Ukraine's power grid and turned out the lights in the capital city of Kyiv— unparalleled acts that haven't been carried out anywhere else before or since.
The 2017 NotPetya cyberattack, once again ordered by Moscow, was directed initially at Ukrainian private companies before it spilled over and destroyed systems around the world.
NotPetya masqueraded as ransomware, but in fact it was a purely destructive and highly viral piece of code. The destructive malware seen in Ukraine last week, now known as WhisperGate, also pretended to be ransomware while aiming to destroy key data that renders machines inoperable. Experts say WhisperGate is "reminiscent" of NotPetya, down to the technical processes that achieve destruction, but that there are notable differences. For one, WhisperGate is less sophisticated and is not designed to spread rapidly in the same way. Russia has denied involvement, and no definitive link points to Moscow.
NotPetya incapacitated shipping ports and left several giant multinational corporations and government agencies unable to function. Almost anyone who did business with Ukraine was affected because the Russians secretly poisoned software used by everyone who pays taxes or does business in the country.
The White House said the attack caused more than $10 billion in global damage and deemed it "the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history."
There can be no 'winners' - but are we even ready to defend ourselves against a cyberwar?
Previously:
(2019-02-18) Cyber Insurance claims NotPetya was an act of war
(2017-07-11) Original Petya Master Decryption Key Released
(Score: 5, Interesting) by canopic jug on Saturday January 22 2022, @11:11AM (26 children)
Too few, that is to say none, of these article point out the role that M$ shoddy products and unethical and partially illegal, cult-like business practices have in facilitating successful attacks. Sure there are bugs in all operating systems, just as there are bugs in all software. However it is a matter of scope and severity. The M$ products are many orders of magnitude easier to exploit, due to both bad design and poor quality work. Notice how these have begun to conflate "attack" with successful exploitation.
Moving to GNU/Linux or FreeBSD on the desktop won't solve all the world's security problems but it would reduce them so much that the move, even if it would appear to cost up front, will quickly save money and effort. The figure I recall reading is that if dropping Windows bought even two years of comparative peace and quiet on the exploit front, then the migration would have more than paid for itself. The US cost of Windows ransomware in 2020 [welivesecurity.com] was over $20 billion USD. That was for just 2020, a single year, before things got worse, and does not count the cost to the rest of the world, which is obviously much higher. Set aside $1 billion for planning and implementing 12-month migration nationally and save over $19 billion. Then consider how much advancement using $1 billion per year thereafter could buy in FOSS through grants and stipends to recognized developers and their teams.
The key to getting out of the malware and ransomware trap is to acknowledge two points: firstly, that there are few people that are knowledgeable and skilled with computers, among an ocean of frauds, charlatans, and poseurs, and secondly that the presence of M$ products anywhere is not a technical problem but a personnel problem. It can only be fixed by changing the employed work force and bringing in different people and finding jobs elsewhere, or perhaps jail time, for those that brought M$ in and enabled this mess.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @11:33AM (24 children)
Neither does the article seem to consider that Ukies may not be competent to keep their infrastructure in operation. I know Ukies. My god-daughters are half Ukie. Thankfully, they are half Polish, so one side of her family has some brains.
So, you take a bunch of Ukies, give them some half-assed operating system filled with security holes, stand back, and watch them melt down. Fun and games, right?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:57PM (7 children)
I think that's a fair assumption to ignore. Keep in mind that most parts of the world are just as incompetent, but they don't have repetitive, destructive cyber attacks.
And if the Ukraine really is getting repeatedly beat on by state-level actors (which if we're honest, sure looks like what's going on), merely having competence isn't going to be enough.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:27PM (6 children)
Yeah, but you don't know which state, since every lead up to war is packed with lies
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:52PM
Russia is softening them up in preparation for invasion. Nobody else has an interest in spending the resources required to maintain attacks at this level.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:42PM (4 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:14AM (3 children)
The reason is clear: to deny Russia access to Black Sea ports by forcing them out of Crimea. This is just a continuing play of the US domination of the globe, encirclemant and suppression of adversaries.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:38AM
Is there anyone other than Russia that would have a problem with that? My bet is that if Russia had been a nice adversary in the first place - at least to the Ukraine, they'd be invited to Sevastopol. No need for these power games.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Sunday January 23 2022, @03:36AM
Russia has a huge navy port at Novorossiysk. Crimea is actually poorly suited for a Naval Base.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday January 24 2022, @06:11AM
This is an odd statement, he's speaking like a Russian troll but is displaying an American's lack of knowledge of geography. A.... Russian/American?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:00PM (3 children)
considering what your ilk had to say about polak people for much of the last century, a bit surprised god daughters only cop half your flak.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:12PM (2 children)
considering what your ilk had to say about polak people for much of the last century
What is my ilk, exactly? You're setting yourself up for a huge "WHOOOOSH" here.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:03PM (1 child)
We know you are of Polish descent much to our chagrin.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:06PM
Madam Curie is rolling in her grave.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Michael on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:18PM (2 children)
Pfft. Should it happen that someone prefers any story leap to shallow bigotry based on a few emotionally loaded cherry-pickings, they might find that compulsion better fed by reading about it from a source which aims substantially below the target audience MITreview does.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:04PM (1 child)
The word "bigotry" is a dog-whistle for "I'm a fucking Jew and I don't want Goys noticing and discussing things." As a real-life example, I noticed during a neighborhood discussion that somebody pointed out that only certain neighborhoods have extra recycling trash bins, and all of those neighborhoods happened to have a conspicuous Jewish presence even though they weren't all wealthy. When somebody asked why only certain neighborhoods get extra recycle bins, of course the Jews swing into action not identifying themselves directly while accusing people of "wanting to start a class war when we all need healing" and "Bigotry" even though Jewishness or other ethnicities were not mentioned. The notion of a class war scares Jews shitless (gee, I wonder why?), which is why they go out of their way to push race-wars and other divisive concepts.
MIT, like the Ivy league, are also pedo-Jews colluding with China to enrich themselves while subverting America. And what's up with that Crowdstrike link in the summary? Aren't Crowdstrike a bunch of lying Jews who are a paid propaganda outfit for "Bipartisan" Jewish interests?
Oh, and we're not gonna forget about this whole lockdown/vaccination thing, either -- especially when a whole generation of children will be functional retards because of the Jewish plans for control and profit. Heads will roll (figuratively, of course) and many of those heads will be wearing Kippas.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:08PM
> which is why they go out of their way to push race-wars and other divisive concepts.
And you're doing, what, exactly?
(Score: 1, Troll) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:13PM
Eh, all the jailbroken John Deeres come from the Ukraine. I also learned how find and edit on the assembly level to bypass retarded lock ins from some Ukrainians. They know how to rip stuff off over there. I have no doubt there isn't a single paid windows licenses in the entire country. The whole ransomware thing is probably some Ukrainian trying to extort money from the company he works for. Or maybe its the guy who made the crack that the company ripped off to bypass the windows licenses.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:16PM (7 children)
Count on Runaway to post yet another racist troll.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:29PM (6 children)
Oh. What 'race' is 'Ukrainian', pray tell.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:48PM (4 children)
Why do you hate your god-daughters?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @05:04PM (3 children)
When humans can no longer mock themselves, and laugh at themselves, they are no longer human. Slovaks can still laugh at themselves. That makes us god-like, because God surely laughs at all of us.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:25PM (1 child)
Wrong. God blesses America.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday January 24 2022, @06:33AM
Does America really want Azathoth's blessing though?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mcgrew on Saturday January 22 2022, @11:09PM
Music and laughter are the two things that only humans do, although there are some who are sure their dog has a sense of humor. Music has been proven scientifically (bird "song" is speech; volume and pitch are part of the languages). Most higher animals have brain patterns allowing some parts of music, but not all. I wish I had a link to the article. Maybe it was NOVA, I don't remember.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @05:07PM
Q.E.D.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:27PM
Jews put backdoors in fucking everything. And modern Linux is so pozzed by Jews, as is the hardware running it, that the only difference between Linux and Windows is that Windows Just Works and runs all the killer apps. Linux, thanks to deliberate weakening by Jews, is in the same place it was 15 years ago -- distro fragmentation, broken-ass package managers, a few different boring window managers that all suck, booting to blinking cursors, shitty multimonitor support, etc. etc.
I mean, Linux trannies want to start rewriting the kernel in Rust. Even a fucking coffee boy could see what a batshit stupid idea that is. Unsafe! Unsafe! Unsafe! Linked_List().explode.contract().Binge.Purge().fuck().Your().Mama().Faggot()
When Jews are putting vulnerabilities in every fucking thing from your phones, to your Siemens PLC's, routers, TV's, fucking toasters and refrigerators; the OS debate becomes that of usability. Makes me wonder if they coded Folding @ home to develop the spike proteins they would later use in a Goyim mass-eradication campaign.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Saturday January 22 2022, @11:32AM
Who's Petya? Dubya's Russian counterpart
Also...
Okay... at this point, it starts becoming a national tradition rather than a hot-off-the-press piece of news.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:33PM (12 children)
>NotPetya cyberattack, once again ordered by Moscow
>Russia has denied involvement, and no definitive link points to Moscow.
Ok, so no evidence it was Russian, Russia denying it, and Ukraine saying it wasn't Russia. So, what proof does Joe Brandon's White House have that it was Russian? I understand his son is on the board of burisma and acts as his proxy extorting bribes out of ukraine, but how exactly does that give him insight into ransomware attacks? Is he just angry there is competition?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:44PM (9 children)
It's all theater for the plebs. The assumption is that any of us with the skills and knowledge to find issue will be too heavily invested in the success of the US empire to speak up, regardless of the regime in power. After all, it's not like *your* kids will be the ones dying for Joe's oil.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:59PM (8 children)
I just find it funny that Joseph bough Russian attack helicopters and rifles and gave them to Ukraine. So they're claiming Russia is sophisticated enough to make a fake ransomware (in ukraine, the country known for being the source of most ransomware), But i guess those Reds just don't know how to put a kill switch in their attack helicopters.
Why didn't they just give them US helicopters? Maybe the taliban got them all.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:34PM (7 children)
Sorry, this is pretty silly. Of course, Russia is sophisticated enough to do that. As to the kill switch, how do you keep a similarly sophisticated player like the US from removing said kill switch - assuming the Russians put it in in the first place?
Maybe because the Ukraine already has a lot [combataircraft.com] of Russian helicopters? Does it make sense to you to give something that the Ukraine couldn't maintain on their own?
(Score: 2) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:50PM (4 children)
Nobody sells weapons that can be used against themselves. Like how those F-35s cannot lockon to a F-22, or those TT-33 clones that can't seem to hit the side of a barn. I repeat, there is no way russia will sell the united states weapons that will ever hurt russia. There is always something baked it.
>Does it make sense to you to give something that the Ukraine couldn't maintain on their own?
Yes. That is how the United States makes money, and controls the majority of the world.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:22PM (2 children)
Like sending them M-16 ammo for AK-47s? You send them weapons they know how to use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @06:10PM (1 child)
A rifle is a rifle. Some are more reliable than others, but it's all simple "point and click", you know.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:32PM
If the ammo fits use it.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:15AM
To the contrary, everyone who sells weapons does. You might have to be a bit clever to do it, but that's one of the problems with weapons.
Funny how reality isn't conforming to your narrative. So if the US isn't making money from these helicopters, then how did Ukraine end up with them?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:54PM (1 child)
Sense and Runaway are mutually exclusive.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday January 24 2022, @06:35AM
We're discussing the Ukraine here, not France.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:52PM
Shut up, Ivan.
Next, you'll claim that the hundred thousand russian soldiers stationed along the Ukraine border are there just for "training exercices".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @08:40PM
If we told you, we'd have to kill you.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:50PM
Is disconnecting Russia from the Internet for a limited period of time a possible thing to do?
Routing table entries are obvious, but an actual physical disconnect would be more interesting.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:15PM (8 children)
Funny that the US borders should remain open, but we're willing to fight to the death to protect Ukrainian borders. Why do Democrats hate America so much?
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @03:58PM
Runaway took part in a failed coop. Now he has to steal more chickens.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Username on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:02PM (3 children)
I guess because nobody in the United States put Hunter on their board. The Brandons just don't have allegiance to this land.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:03PM (2 children)
[Beau] Biden joined the military in 2003 and attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia[18] as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard. He attained the rank of major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps as part of the 261st Signal Brigade in Smyrna, Delaware.[19][20]
Biden's unit was activated to deploy to Iraq on October 3, 2008, and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, for pre-deployment training,[21] the day after his father participated in the 2008 presidential campaign's only vice presidential debate. His father was on the record as saying, "I don't want him going. But I tell you what, I don't want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years, and so how we leave makes a big difference."[22]
Biden traveled to Washington, D.C., from Iraq in January 2009 for the presidential inauguration and his father's swearing-in as vice president,[23] then returned to Iraq.[24] Biden received a visit at Camp Victory from his father on July 4, 2009.[25]
Biden returned from Iraq in September 2009 after completing his yearlong stint on active duty.[26] Biden had announced during his deployment that he would continue to actively serve as Delaware's Attorney General by working in conjunction with his office's senior staff in Delaware,[27] although a member of his unit related Biden saying he had turned over most of his attorney general work to his deputy so as to focus on his duties in Iraq.[28]
For his service in Iraq, Biden was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.[29] After Biden's death, Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno delivered the eulogy at his funeral and presented a posthumous Legion of Merit for his service in the Delaware National Guard, stating "Beau Biden possessed the traits I have witnessed in only the greatest leaders."[30] He was also posthumously presented with the Delaware Conspicuous Service Cross, which is "awarded for heroism, meritorious service and outstanding achievement".[31]
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @08:43PM (1 child)
I forget, when did Junior, Eric and Ivanka serve in the military?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:21AM
What do you mean? They have made a lot of sacrifices, worked very, very hard. Created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:25PM (1 child)
Why does Runaway post in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:33PM
Russians are willing to do the jobs that Ukrainians won't do?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:34PM
Wars only happen after the leadership has forgotten how costly and tragic wars really are. Just takes one generation to forget the horror of war or less than a year if you have senile leaders.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @04:04PM (1 child)
Hello comrades. If you are from Ukraine please read this interesting article on how they could launch cyberwar: http://www.gru.ru/UkraineVeryInteresting.html. [www.gru.ru] Graphics are best viewed in 3D but you might need to turn off antivirus to see them this way, unless you use Kaspersky which has required whitelists built-in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @08:47PM
Thank You Comrade Runaway.