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United States Politics

Russian Spies Hacked the Olympics and Tried To Make it Look Like North Korea Did it, US Officials Say (washingtonpost.com) 71

Ellen Nakashima, reporting for the Washington Post: Russian military spies hacked several hundred computers used by authorities at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], according to U.S. intelligence. They did so while trying to make it appear as though the intrusion was conducted by North Korea, what is known as a "false-flag" operation, said two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Officials in PyeongChang acknowledged that the Games were hit by a cyberattack during the Feb. 9 Opening Ceremonies but had refused to confirm whether Russia was responsible. That evening there were disruptions to the Internet, broadcast systems and the Olympics website. Many attendees were unable to print their tickets for the ceremony, resulting in empty seats.
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Russian Spies Hacked the Olympics and Tried To Make it Look Like North Korea Did it, US Officials Say

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  • by Anonymous Coward

    So could the NSA

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Russia didn't hack the Olympics. They're banned from these Olympics.

    The Olympic Hackers from Russia were responsible.

    • And yet there was still two (so far) Russians caught doping again. Just fucking ban Russia from the next 4 Olympics.
    • Exactly the joke I was thinking, needs to be modded up!

      That said, I think it is entirely reasonable that Russia did the hack. If only to spit in the eye of the organization that banned them as a nation from competing. I mean so far as I know in the end, all the hacking of "hundreds" of computers ended up doing was shutting down the Wifi for a brief period of time, which is just an annoyance really. Sounds like Russian hacking team practice, pick a target and have some lulzs.

      That said, apart of "national" ha

  • by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Sunday February 25, 2018 @10:36AM (#56184695)

    There was no collusion. NO COLLUSION!

    I even believe him this time. ;)

    • by Anonymous Coward
      It seems fairly clear at this point that all the Russian hackers have been hired by the Trump campaign to give him something to tweet about.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    They have nothing to gain from it, and throwing a wrench of this kind is not something they are interested in.

    America however is frequently throwing wrenches, literally invented the false-flag concept and modus operandi, and have been proven time and again to work like this.

    Most likely nothing like this happened, and America is lying as usual, but if a false-flag like this was conducted, it was most likely done my America as well.

    If it comes out of the mouth of American agencies, and is targetted against th

    • by quantaman ( 517394 ) on Sunday February 25, 2018 @04:25PM (#56185047)

      They have nothing to gain from it, and throwing a wrench of this kind is not something they are interested in.

      I can think of several motives:
      1) The IOC banned Russia from competing as a nation (and banned a bunch of Russian athletes) and Russians are pissed. Don't discount simple animosity.
      2) Making the IOC seem inept hurts their credibility, and the less credibility they have the harder it is for them to justify the continued ban.
      3) Riling the NK crisis back up means that US political focus moves there and away from Russia. The less focus on Russia the easier it is for Trump to avoid/weaken sanctions and harder it is for the GOP to scuttle the investigation.

      America however is frequently throwing wrenches, literally invented the false-flag concept and modus operandi, and have been proven time and again to work like this.

      Most likely nothing like this happened, and America is lying as usual, but if a false-flag like this was conducted, it was most likely done my America as well.

      If it comes out of the mouth of American agencies, and is targeted against the Middle East and Asia, then it is by default a lie.

      Russia has spent the last few years performing false-flag cyber-attacks, it's their M.O. at this point. While US intelligence has pulled fast ones in the past they seem to have been playing it straight when it comes to exposing Russia. The claims they've made based on secret evidence have so far turned out to be legit.

      • by AHuxley ( 892839 )
        re " has spent the last few years performing false-flag cyber-attacks"
        Russia is to be so skilled at all things cyber, yet get detected for years? Thats not very good cyber.
        Re "made based on secret evidence have so far turned out to be legit."
        Bear code?
        Ip range?
        Time of day?
        Code litter?
        People talking to the US media is not "evidence".
        Back to talking points about the "GRU" again? The GRU is not the KGB, FSB. The GRU often mentioned in the US media is the foreign military intelligence agency.
        A
      • by flex941 ( 521675 )

        1) The IOC banned Russia from competing as a nation (and banned a bunch of Russian athletes) and Russians are pissed. Don't discount simple animosity.

        Yes, this. One has to remember that we are talking about Russia and Russians.

    • literally invented the false-flag concept

      It doesn't take a genius to figure out that false flags are as old as tribal warfare. Oh, and you're a fucking moron.

    • by dcw3 ( 649211 )

      So says the Russian AC again

  • Putin wants military conflict with the US.

    So he screws with the Olympics and maybe President Caligula does something stupid. Poof it's Arch Duke Ferdinand...

    Or maybe Putin was just looking for porn.

  • Perhaps they were looking for take-out [vanityfair.com].
  • by Anonymous Coward

    It's not your fault -- russians did it. Actually Putin himself, while disguised as Trump. ;-)

    The reliable sources on the condition of anynymity confirm this.

    • Actually Putin himself, while disguised as Trump...

      Not likely. Even on Hallowe'en, people in charge don't dress up as the guy who cleans their toilet.

  • For Russian Bot training? They seem to be able to do anything, and are everywhere causing all events! I want to be in the mix! (/s in case someone is that dumb)
  • by magzteel ( 5013587 ) on Sunday February 25, 2018 @04:59PM (#56185209)

    People working for "US Intelligence" shouldn't be leaking such things.

    If the information is correct they are leaking their detection capabilities.
    If the information is incorrect they are revealing their weaknesses.

    I hope they find the leakers and lock them up.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      The ONLY reason for this "leak" is to cast aspersions on Russia, without requiring ANY actual PROOF.
      While Russia, like the US, MAY be hacking other states' sites, they would be HIGHLY unlikely to do it via NK.
      Mossad or the CIA, on the other hand, would be MOST likely to use a Russian proxy to put "blame" on Russia for almost ANYTHING at the moment.

    • People working for "US Intelligence" shouldn't be leaking such things.

      If the information is correct they are leaking their detection capabilities.
      If the information is incorrect they are revealing their weaknesses.

      I hope they find the leakers and lock them up.

      Not every leak is done against the wishes of the organization in question.

      An official accusation puts a lot of other groups in an awkward position. How is the IOC supposed to respond to the accusation? South Korea? When Russia denies that they're responsible does the US produce evidence or just ignore the denial? One way they expose capabilities, the other way they lose face. And once you have official accusations flying back and forth you now have yet another conflict that can escalate.

      A leak by a senior o

  • Anonymous "US officials" and the Washington Post. Now there's a recipe for credibilityNOT.
  • Hurray, it's bedtime for Bonzo again!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

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