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Would somebody more knowledgeable care to explain how they managed this ?
The "unprecedented" cyber-attack on French television channel TV5Monde represents a major "step up" in the Internet warfare being waged by highly specialised jihadist hackers, experts said Thursday.
Since January's three-day Islamist attacks in Paris that killed 17 people, hackers have launched hundreds of assaults on French websites, from denial of service attacks that snarl up web traffic to full-scale hacks.
But taking over a television channel and blocking programming—as happened to TV5Monde—is another matter entirely, experts believe, an "unprecedented" attack, according to the station's boss Yves Bigot.
http://phys.org/news/2015-04-french-tv-hack-cyberjihadism.html
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:01AM
Who watches French tv anyways? Some "jihaddists" - a pathetic lot.
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:16PM
"Reality TV" is hyper-anti-muslim. I though you should be VERY aware of this fact.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:02AM
(1) Great new cyber-word. Hacking for political lulz is now jihad! Are we going to send them to cybergitmo?
(2) The tv station has got lots of incentive to play it up, maybe we don't take them at their word
(3) There is evidence that the tv station's opsec was merde. They've published at least two username/password combos in the background of interviews in just the last day. And they were very weak passwords too. [arstechnica.com]
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:07AM
(1) Great new cyber-word. Hacking for political lulz is now jihad! Are we going to send them to cybergitmo?
perhaps you should look up first understand what a jihad is.
1: a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
also, cyberjihad is not a new term, it dates back to at least a decade. see https://books.google.com/books?id=yf83KZZbeQIC [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @08:30AM
> perhaps you should look up first understand what a jihad is.
Thanks, I'll get right on that!
> also, cyberjihad is not a new term, it dates back to at least a decade.
Hhhm, I wonder why you had that reference at hand...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 11 2015, @11:11AM
Hhhm, I wonder why you had that reference at hand...
When I googled for references to "cyberjihad" from before 2010, the first one on the list was the above. But I'm sure it's his assignment to cover SN and make sure we all known that cyberjihad is at least ten years old.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @12:39AM
Yeah, that's exactly what I meant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @05:47AM
If the guy claiming it isn't a new word had to google it in order prove it wasn't new then that negates his argument. There are hundreds of thousands of not-new words that nobody uses but you can still find mention of with google.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday April 12 2015, @03:28PM
If the guy claiming it isn't a new word had to google it in order prove it wasn't new then that negates his argument.
Unless of course, Google delivers the proof, then the argument isn't negated. I recall reading the same argument over "climate change". Google solved that one too.
Now whether the use of "cyberjihad" from 2006 or whenever actually demonstrates the original poster's claim, that's a different issue.
(Score: 5, Informative) by captain normal on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:24AM
Saw this on El Reg yesterday (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/09/isis_french_tv_channel_disturbed_hebdo/). The hackers cut TV5 Monde's ability to transmit live. In order to understand this, realize that television studio facilities are usually many miles from the transmission site. The signal from the studio is then sent (now Days) by fiber optic and/or microwave to the transmitter. This transmission is usually carried by the local TelCo. The transmission involves several switches and server connections. The TelCo's facilities are about as secure as your Grandma's stash in her mattress (unless she had a shotgun and a couple of big dogs like my Gramdma).
Doesn't take much of a script-kiddie to hack the phone company. Of course it is harder than back when Woz was hacking into the toll lines...but not that much harder.
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @05:27AM
You just walk into a shop and take stuff.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RobotMonster on Saturday April 11 2015, @07:00AM
It's also not that hard if you can acquire the passwords.
Ars Technica reported that TV5 Monde exposed its own passwords when it broadcast an interview about the hacking incident. [arstechnica.com]
This post-hack leak didn't help the hackers unless they had a time machine, but the interviews revealed that in addition to the passwords being stuck up on paper next to monitors (easily seen in the background of the interview), the passwords themselves were terrible. One of their major passwords was "azerty12345" which is the French keyboard equivalent of "qwerty12345". Their YouTube password, if it had been English, would have been "ThePasswordForYouTube".
Any number of people would have had access to these passwords, and they'd all be listed on the French edition of the common-stupid-password-list.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @07:09AM
They're French. Maybe they just surrendered their passwords?
(Score: 1) by basicbasicbasic on Saturday April 11 2015, @05:55PM
Jesus, I honestly thought this xenophobic bullshit slur would go away after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Guess not.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:09PM
And what was your expectation for when the childish US-bashing in every story here was going to go away?
And what is the relevance to the Charlie Hebdo attacks? You are now not allowed to even mention the French in anything but reverent tones? The attacks on a well-known satirical site now provides cover to a whole fucking country? Geez. My PC checklist gets longer and longer all the time.
(Score: 1) by basicbasicbasic on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:58PM
I thought things might change simply because the attacks showed the French people in a sympathetic light on the US news, showed them as vulnerable human beings. I thought that might have finally blown away some of the old bigotry.
Not being an asshole does not mean you can only mention the French in "reverent tones", it simply means not being an asshole. You don't have to swing all the way from blind hatred to blind adoration.
Are you suggesting that Americans are bashing the French because of anti-US sentiment? That they then feel the need to bash someone else to even it out? Otherwise I don't see how this is relevant. I don't have to point out every incidence of xenophobia to point out one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @12:43AM
> And what was your expectation for when the childish US-bashing in every story here was going to go away?
Tu quoque much?
The stupid thing about it is that its false. France is basically tied with the UK for the 2nd largest military-industrial complex in the world.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:17PM
> thought this xenophobic bullshit slur would go away
How can it be a phobia when there's nothing to fear from a people whose language has no word for "victory"?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:45AM
lazy Cybertrolling nigga jihad
(Score: 5, Insightful) by aristarchus on Saturday April 11 2015, @07:13AM
Excuse me for some serious reflection on the topic at hand. The total hysteria about "westerners" being "radicalized" and going off to "jihad" with the puppets of the Saudi Royal family just makes me laugh. The US FBI has apprehended a potential threat, who turns out to be severely challenged mentally. Seriously? This is the best the FBI can come up with? I guess it is better than the Sears Tower in Florida conspiracy. But then there is the real point.
Do the idiots in charge of national security (you know, the ones that thought Edward Snowden would be a good spook!) actually think that if any of us watch a few videos and slanted news reports, we will suddenly go all jihad on their asses? I tend to think it would take a bit more than that, like said intel agencies spying on me and thinking I am the enemy for no good reason. The enemy of those who think I am their enemy is my friend? So. yeah, totally cool with cutting heads off and "marrying" at least four misguided teenage girls, all for the establishment of a Caliphate. (BTW, last one was Turkey, and they sucked so bad that Kemal Ataturk, probably related to the Kardashians, overthrew them and established a real government.)
So just think, if the Cyberjihadis just can get their message out to all of us, we will see how decadent western society is, and decide that the medieval Wahabist interpretation of Islam is the way to go. See what happens when you let oil determine your religion? Time to overthrow the House of Saud. Bring it down. Parlementary Democracy, even if it is dominated by Yeminis.
And what is up with the French? Are they acutally that weak-minded? Or, god forbid, did they just colonize one too many Muslim countries? Viva Algiers!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @08:34AM
> Do the idiots in charge of national security
Why Doesn’t the Intelligence Community Care Whether Its Surveillance Programs Work? [defenseone.com]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 11 2015, @10:58AM
So the summary is.. All threats are to be handled by huge costly programs which will go ahead without any evaluation of what would be efficient nor if it is efficient. There will be a lot of side effects and systematic entanglements.
The point of those programs must to be to enrich some people.
(Score: 2) by Jiro on Saturday April 11 2015, @02:09PM
The percentage of Muslims in France is much larger than in the US (although the absolute numbers aren't that different) and that affects how likely they are to become radicalized. You're probably right that the FBI is making up the threat in the USA, but France is not the USA.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VortexCortex on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:24PM
xcuse me for some serious reflection on the topic at hand. The total hysteria about "westerners" being "radicalized" and going off to "jihad" with the puppets of the Saudi Royal family just makes me laugh. The US FBI has apprehended a potential threat, who turns out to be severely challenged mentally. Seriously? This is the best the FBI can come up with?
Yes. Because they have to create terrorist events via scaremongering in order to manufacture consent for their actions.
Do the idiots in charge of national security (you know, the ones that thought Edward Snowden would be a good spook!) actually think that if any of us watch a few videos and slanted news reports, we will suddenly go all jihad on their asses?
No, but this is the narrative they need in order to arrest anyone they want for any reason they want and claim them to be (cyber)terrorists.
I tend to think it would take a bit more than that, like said intel agencies spying on me and thinking I am the enemy for no good reason.
They've done that to me, and far worse, including what can only be described as torture, and it didn't make me want to attack them. It just gave me valuable counter intelligence of their capabilities and weaknesses, and more evidence for my insurance files -- which may come in handy some day if the corruption of the legal system is ever reduced enough for me to haul their traitorous asses to court, as some innocent citizens of the past have done after being targeted for abuse under MKULTRA.
The enemy of those who think I am their enemy is my friend?
No, I'm more of a patriot than any dumbass in the government agencies working against me; I've found this is true for most American citizens. Those abusing the powers we granted them are destroying our nation, its security, and its values; This causes me to stand even more firmly against this, not to participate in the destruction.
So. yeah, totally cool with cutting heads off and "marrying" at least four misguided teenage girls, all for the establishment of a Caliphate. (BTW, last one was Turkey, and they sucked so bad that Kemal Ataturk, probably related to the Kardashians, overthrew them and established a real government.)
It would be silly to take geopolitical events at face value having mentioned agencies who specialize in covert destabilization operations in the same breath. Few targeted by the surveillance state are anti-government extremists, but rather they are those who stand to disrupt the false narratives and expose corruption -- And in that respect, you've already taken the first step by realizing that National Security doesn't seem to be concerned with the security of a nation's people. Those charged with preserving National Security are not inept, it's just that the term means something very different than what you've been led to believe.
So just think, if the Cyberjihadis just can get their message out to all of us, we will see how decadent western society is, and decide that the medieval Wahabist interpretation of Islam is the way to go.
No, but for example, if you look at the "ISIS" beheading videos you might notice little details like lack of blood pressure in freshly severed arteries, knives cutting through neck bones like butter, or dismembered heads being too large for the bodies they're photoshopped atop, etc. Then you might begin to resent the propagandists who are manufacturing a reason to arm anti-Assad "freedom fighters" while manufacturing consent for military action through portrayals of attacks on citizens of your country. You might even begin to distrust the mainstream media lies, and seek to spread your discoveries which refute the propaganda. In your search to explain the state of things you may even discover that the Smith Mundt act was modified in 2013 specifically to allow blatantly false propaganda to be used against US citizens. It might occurr to you that state control of media has been going on for quite a while. [youtube.com] If enough people did fact checking and research of the "terrorist threat" beyond the narrative served via mainstream media it could be very bad for "National Security" (which means: Maintaining a nation's status quo even against the will of its citizens). They might begin to diminish the ability to manipulate the people through propaganda, and thus become a threat to National Security.
See what happens when you let oil determine your religion?
s/religion/foreign policy/
And what is up with the French? Are they acutally that weak-minded? Or, god forbid, did they just colonize one too many Muslim countries? Viva Algiers!
They are targeted by propaganda and false flag operations as well. History has shown that governments will readily sacrifice a few innocent citizens (especially troublesome ones that mock propaganda) in order to manufacture consent for power grabs, policy change, or war. In fact, this is what leads to most revolutions, including the American Revolution.
If you want a better understanding of what is happening in the world around you then talk to some foreigners from targeted countries for context (some are aware of some disparity between your news and their reality), and read a few books on 4th generation warfare. [wikipedia.org] The latter explains the mechanisms being used against the world's citizens. Knowledge is power, so be wary of those who seek knowledge while denying the same to you.
Perhaps now you may see why even Games have come under propagandistic attack...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @09:33AM
One thing that I can't quite fathom is why they chose to 'expose their abilities' using a second- or third-rate TV station.
Wouldn't it have been a lot more effective for them to be able to control the news (you know, they way these clowns claim "The idiot" controls the news)... If it were me, every time an article is published on the barbarities committed by the IS, I would modify the content to be less barbaric, more in favour of me and add content that also lists how many civilians and kids were killed in today's latest drone strike with 'smart ordnance'. I'd be adding all sorts of crazy things in there to sway the public opinion. As long as you're subtle, you'd have a lot more time to 'play' than by doing what they did. Plus, as long as you /do/ remain subtle, almost no-one would know which articles were changed in which way. They'd have to go through *everything*...
All in all, this smells like a false flag to me... It looks like France is beating the drum to start contributing forces to the battle against IS as well and they just need a couple more tricks to get the public on board. (Even though the French SFs are already on the ground)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @12:01PM
One thing that I can't quite fathom is why they chose to 'expose their abilities' using a second- or third-rate TV station.
Perhaps this is the highest ranking media target they could hack? Larger (and more noteworthy targets) may have had better security. Or they've still got a hard-on for France because of the Charlie Hebdo attack and the attack in that deli? Most terrorist get butt-hurt, and seem to take it personally, when someone fights back.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by janrinok on Saturday April 11 2015, @01:39PM
TV5Monde is reasonably popular here in France - not the biggest station by a long way, but not a small outfit either. Why was France targeted? Well, you only have to go back a few months to the murder of Charlie Hebdo's staff - which was meant to intimidate France but actually had the opposite effect. Have we forgotten the 'Je suis Charlie' posters, the huge demonstrations by the French against being silenced by initimidation? Have we forgotten about the 2 sieges that took place which both ended badly for the terrorists, and unfortunately for some French civilians also. And while it is popular to mock the French and call them cowards, many seem to forget that they have had troops in Bosnia, the Gulf Wars, Libya, Afghanistan, Mali and elsewhere, either standing alone or alongside other western nations. They are also prepared to go it alone in the fight against fundamentalist terrorism. IS and other Muslim fundamentalist groups don't need any more reasons to dislike the French.
I also don't think that the French public - and currently I am living amongst them - need any lessons as to why they should stand against terrorism. So I don't believe this is a false flag operation - I think it is what it appears to be.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday April 11 2015, @09:44AM
France TV5Monde passwords seen on cyber-attack TV report [bbc.co.uk]
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 11 2015, @11:05AM
Most corporations have really crappy security. So this TV station got taken for ride which make them scream and curse. And some time later it will be like it used to be because they simple won't learn and implement system security.
If there's any intelligent life out there. This should be taken as a hint to at least learn and implement security. Otherwise just be okay with your system being p0wned from time to time.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:19PM
Human Machine Interface / Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition is a common type of industrial control system. It is often used to control TV networks, not just manufacturing plants.
The people who design that stuff in my actual experience are brilliant industrial engineers but very poor software engineers. There is commonly very little, if any in the way of security.
The people who actually install the packages may not know anything at all about computers, or not a whole lot more than my aged mother. That's why the product I used to work on didn't run on Linux - in the exact words of the company's founder, "The reason we don't run on Linux, is that on Linux, know one knows how to copy a file".
Consider that Stuxnet and Flame attacked a Siemens HMI/SCADA system.
It's not like the Iranians don't know how to write computer programs.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]