world

Britain says Russian military intelligence behind host of global cyberattacks

22 Comments
By Guy Faulconbridge

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

22 Comments
Login to comment

Britain accused Russian military intelligence on Thursday of directing a host of cyberattacks aimed at undermining Western democracies by sowing confusion in everything from sport to transport and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

This is absolutely true - the Russians are doing everything across the entire spectrum to sow confusion and division in Western democracies - and they're succeeding.  Everyone needs to wake up and realize that what you may be reading that is so consistent with your beliefs was probably put there by a Russian troll.  This is especially true for those with a conservative bent, as conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory has been put out that the right has fallen for hook, line and sinker.  It doesn't help when you have an entire news empire (Faux News) that parrots and amplifies this Russian propaganda. 

The Cold War ended in 1989, Cold War 2.0 started in 2000 with Putin's speech in Germany where he ridiculed the West.  It was upped in 2012 when there were riots in Russia and Putin blamed the West.  Since 2012, it's been a full-on war in cyber space. 

Realize who your enemy is, how they are attacking you, and how to defend yourself with knowledge.  Don't let Putin win.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Realize who your enemy is, how they are attacking you, and how to defend yourself with knowledge. Don't let Putin win.

And as you indicate - one of the most effective ways of getting that attack done is via the internet via the numerous troll factories.

People shouldn't be naive enough to think it couldn't possibly happen to their threads and comments section.

The higher level hacks are the ones that the governments need to be wary of - now, more than ever.

It's only going to increase, unfortunately.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The GRU traces its history back to the times of Ivan the Terrible, though it was founded as the Registration Directorate in 1918 after the Bolshevik Revolution. Vladimir Lenin insisted on its independence from other secret services.

With the exception of a couple brief interludes, Russia's been one continuous police state from tsarist, to Stalinist, to Putinist. Given how popular Stalin and Putin are in Russia, that must be what a majority of Russians want.

It has agents across the globe and answers directly to the chief of the general staff and the Russian defense minister. 

I doubt the majority of people outside Russia want Russian-style totalitarianism. Nor any other style, for that matter.

Empires and empire-wannabes: leave sovereign states alone.

What's most worrying to me about Russia is for it to thrive it needs the world to buy more of its gas, oil and coal, resulting in more hydrocarbons burnt, increasing the likelihood of worsening climate change.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

True. Three large banks and several NHS trusts were hacked in the last week.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Quit blaming others for your ills you little kids, the problems you suffer are of your own making.

The cyber-attacks have been well-document and verified. I'm not sure how Russia meddling with the EU, the UK, France and elsewhere is the fault of those who's countries have suffered.

And I'd hardly call Russia's long list of assassinating its critics (and innocent bystanders) "convenient".

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Given how popular Stalin and Putin are in Russia, that must be what a majority of Russians want.

Hard to say, when dissenters, protesters and critics are jailed or poisoned.

Even online, those who can identify the toxicity of regimes like Putin's or Trump's are threatened with being crushed.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@lincolnman

Cold War 2.0 started in 2000 with Putin's speech in Germany where he ridiculed the West

How dared he do that!! Ridicule the West is a major crime, right?

Five or six years ago there were a lot of noise about Chinese hackers who undermine the West, then there were North Korean hackers, now it's Russians. The West developed the ultimate bogeyman who can be blamed for everything - rank stupidity of its politicians, inability to solve pressing social problems, neglect of serious economic challenges, imperial overstretch due to a string of criminal aggressions against other countries. Hitler blamed the Jews for all Germany's problems, Western "leaders" blame the Russians for everything they are unable to fix.

The more I read these discoveries of the British intelligence the more I have a feeling that I watch another installment of "Johnny English" with Rowen Atkinson.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

The more I read these discoveries of the British intelligence the more I have a feeling that I watch another installment of "Johnny English" with Rowen Atkinson.

Hilarious! As if you read anything apart from Putin controlled propaganda. Johnny English would still do a better job than the incompetents in Russia's sordid little games; Poisoning people's tea with Russian made polonium? Video game screenshots as 'evidence' that the US is helping IS? Sending GRU assassins to obscure English towns with Russian nerve agents? Tweeting and then quickly deleting boasts after downing passenger jets? Such brilliant spycraft!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Hilarious! As if you read anything apart from Putin controlled propaganda

Hilarious is a good word to describe the recent British report by anyone in his right mind and not under influence of drugs or Western propaganda. What are not hilarious are the Western big sordid games around the world. Fanning the civil war in Yugoslavia and robbing it of one of its provinces, Kosovo? Brazen lie to the world about "Saddam's WMD"? Killing hundreds of thousands of people in criminal wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya? Staging coups in foreign countries? Covering up crimes like shooting down of a passenger jet by the Ukrainian regime forces? Staging hoaxes like the recent Skripal affair? Maintaining illegal torture centers around the world? Such brilliant spycraft! And after that you are complaining about screenshots?

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

This whole article is a conspiracy theory.

There's always a red under the bed isn't there.

How dared he do that!! Ridicule the West is a major crime, right?

Five or six years ago there were a lot of noise about Chinese hackers who undermine the West, then there were North Korean hackers, now it's Russians. The West developed the ultimate bogeyman who can be blamed for everything - rank stupidity of its politicians, inability to solve pressing social problems, neglect of serious economic challenges, imperial overstretch due to a string of criminal aggressions against other countries. Hitler blamed the Jews for all Germany's problems, Western "leaders" blame the Russians for everything they are unable to fix.

More evidence of Putin's army hard at work - remember, they're doing their best to undermine the west.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@asakaze

It's not looking too good for your innocent Salisbury Tourists now though is it! You need to retreat and take up another defensive position on this one I think.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/09/20/skripal-suspects-confirmed-gru-operatives-prior-european-operations-disclosed/

The Russian murders & lies are quite easy to reveal given a bit of time and effort. Outside of your Putin-fed bubble you underestimate the integrity of others. But I'm sure if you turn on your usual state-controlled drip TV Putin will tell you it wasn't us, it was them, everyone is out to get us etc.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@lincolnman

More evidence of Putin's army hard at work - remember, they're doing their best to undermine the west

The usual trick, again: call everybody who do not buy the Western propaganda fodder a Putin's agent. Poor substitute for logical arguments. Actually, with such primitive tactics the western propagandists very successfully undermine themselves.

@ClippetyClop

Bellingcat? That is hilarious!! The murky organization led by guy who never served in the armed forces or intelligence services and who is famous for his "investigation" of MH-17 when he photoshoped the Russian Buk launcher screenshots he found on Facebook? MI-5 outsourced the dirty work to this guy.

you underestimate the integrity of others

And the war criminal Blair and Gestapo Gina, present CIA chief, are the best shining examples of this integrity.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

The usual trick, again: call everybody who do not buy the Western propaganda fodder a Putin's agent. Poor substitute for logical arguments. Actually, with such primitive tactics the western propagandists very successfully undermine themselves.

Putin gives you 1 star out of 5 - the "western propaganda" line is a clear tell and has been used on RT too many times...

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Putin gives you 1 star out of 5 - the "western propaganda" line is a clear tell and has been used on RT too many times...

And he will give you 5 stars out of 5 for your promo efforts for RT. A couple of years ago I even did not know about RT, but you guys mention it so often I became interested.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Bellingcat? That is hilarious!!

Not so hilarious for you and Putler I'm afraid, as that award-winning independent civilian investigative site seems to have access to non-public databases that revealed your tourists to be GRU soldiers. But I note that you weren't bothered about the actual evidence itself. Expect more to come.

MI-5 outsourced the dirty work to this guy.

You have evidence? They gave the job to a 'guy who never served in the armed forces or intelligence services'?

who is famous for his "investigation" of MH-17 when he photoshoped the Russian Buk launcher screenshots he found on Facebook?

Now who's complaining about screenshots? I'd like to see that though, link please. All I can find is photoshopped pictures that Russia used. They even put the Malaysia Airlines logo in the wrong place. The JIT team agreed with Bellingcat's well sourced conclusions and the amateur Russian attempts to shift the blame to the Ukranians was completely destroyed.

And the war criminal Blair

Here's the difference champ; we all know what Blair did, we investigated and we saw the evidence. Any chance of that happening in Russia?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Now who's complaining about screenshots?

Nah, you started it, I just return the favor.

They gave the job to a 'guy who never served in the armed forces or intelligence services'?

Exactly. A guy originally with no military or intelligence background, who spent years just playing videogames, miraculously and in no time began to demonstrate the deepest knowledge of aviation, missiles and spycraft and magical ability to penetrate non-public databases (or at least you claim it). How gullible one should be to believe that? This guy is just a mouthpiece of the British intelligence. Very convenient for MI-6, always possible to deny everything, "he is just a private citizen".

All I can find is photoshopped pictures that Russia used. They even put the Malaysia Airlines logo in the wrong place

Link please.

Expect more to come

I have no doubts about that. Only one question: why you do not make it officially? I'm sure there are official routes for the cases like Skripal's, why not using it? Why all the noise in media and through sewage pipes like Bellingcat? Officially present the evidence to the Russians, officially demand cooperation (Russians are offering it), go to the court.

Here's the difference champ; we all know what Blair did, we investigated and we saw the evidence

Here is, champ, the best example of Western duplicity: you know Blair is criminal, you have the evidence, but you do nothing. Instead of throwing Blair behind bars for dozens of thousands of murdered people you allow him to enjoy high life with fat paychecks. And after that you keep moralizing others?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

you know Blair is criminal, you have the evidence, but you do nothing. Instead of throwing Blair behind bars for dozens of thousands of murdered people you allow him to enjoy high life with fat paychecks. And after that you keep moralizing others?

I agree, his actions should have had consequences for him. You can read the conclusions of the very public Chilcott report anywhere. A lot of us Brits believe he should have been jailed, but it's hard to prove the difference between his idiocy and his miscalculation. But back to the real action....

Officially present the evidence to the Russians, officially demand cooperation (Russians are offering it), go to the court.

Russians don't deport their citizens for trial. Evidence has been offered. Be honest with yourself, do you really believe those two men were in Salisbury for tourism? If I'm honest, I initially doubted the speed at which the UK government decided that Skripal was done by the Russians. But the subsequent case has been overwhelming, and that comical interview was, well, comical. You know in your heart that these men are GRU. Didn't you watch it and ask yourself questions? The first one should be, "motives".

This guy is just a mouthpiece of the British intelligence. Very convenient for MI-6, always possible to deny everything, "he is just a private citizen".

You talk conspiracy, but you have no evidence. His journalism is open source based, meaning he uses sources that we all can use. His team just spends more time examining it that most and is very thorough. And I'm afraid that his journalism and thoroughness is very well respected outside of the Kremlin.

Seeing as you don't trust Bellingcat, I'll try another link from the top of Google. There are lots of them below that that you could try also.

https://mashable.com/2015/05/31/russia-fake-mh17-report/#OjIIiz3x4gq3

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Russian spies have been one of the best in the world for decades - it's not beyond the realm of believability that they pull this off

Also, the Netherlands intelligence agency - the same agency that spied on the Russian hacking group Cozy Bear:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-russia-cybercrime/dutch-intelligence-agency-spied-on-russian-hacking-group-media-idUSKBN1FE34W

The Dutch agency has just said they just fended off a Russian cyber operation targeting OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) in the Hague:

https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2018/10/04/netherlands-defence-intelligence-and-security-service-disrupts-russian-cyber-operation-targeting-opcw

These are serious allegations - the Dutch and the Brits woudn't come out with these unless they have solid information

Like the US spies, the Kremlin of course denies everything. But the most baffling thing about the Kremlin reactions about all these is they never do anything to investigate the Russian hacking groups. Kremlin always say they have nothing to do with these hacking groups - OK fine if they say so, but then why not go after these Russian groups that's giving them a bad name? Instead, nothing is ever done about them, so at worst it's complicit by silence

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And it's not just Russia either; China was also just caught red-handed - this time via hardware, a very tiny chip inserted in server motherboards manufactured in Chinese factories:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies

"The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies"

Ready for information about what may be one of the largest corporate espionage programs from a nation-state? The Chinese government managed to gain access to the servers of more than 30 U.S. companies, including Apple

Bloomberg reports that U.S-based server motherboard specialist Supermicro was compromised in China where government-affiliated groups are alleged to have infiltrated its supply chain to attach tiny chips, some merely the size of a pencil tip, to motherboards which ended up in servers deployed in the U.S.

Nested on the servers’ motherboards, the testers found a tiny microchip, not much bigger than a grain of rice, that wasn’t part of the boards’ original design. Amazon reported the discovery to U.S. authorities, sending a shudder through the intelligence community. Elemental’s servers could be found in Department of Defense data centers, the CIA’s drone operations, and the onboard networks of Navy warships. And Elemental was just one of hundreds of Supermicro customers.

Once aware of the program, the U.S. government spied on the spies behind the chips but, according to Bloomberg, no consumer data is known to have been stolen through the attacks. Even still, this episode represents one of the most striking espionage programs from the Chinese government to date.

Look how tiny that chip is! And it's on hundreds of thousands of server boards supplied by Supermicro! No wonder they're wary of Huawei and ZTE telecommunications equipment

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A lot of us Brits believe he should have been jailed, but it's hard to prove the difference between his idiocy and his miscalculation

I'm sure there are a lot of decent Britons who are really dismayed by Blair's actions. The problem is not the general public, the problem is the U.K. government that did nothing and still allows Blair to enjoy the spoils of his crime. After that the U.K. and the U.S. (with its Bush also out of jail) have absolutely no moral high ground to lecture others on international law, justice, rule of law and other principles they so thoroughly trampled.

Evidence has been offered

Not through the official channels. Where are the original medical records of the Skripal posoning? So far mostly noise in media and through Bellingcat. Affairs between states are settled through official channels, not by journalists and very questionable "civilian investigators".

You know in your heart that these men are GRU

LOL!!! Seriously, do you really believe these two guys are from the GRU? Do they look like highly trained military officers from special forces, equivalent of SAS? Who before going for a hit stage a party with a prostitute? And you believe that Russian killers come for a secret hit with Russian passports? For me they look like small time traders, may be not very legal.

His journalism is open source based, meaning he uses sources that we all can use

You contradict yourself. From your previous post: "seems to have access to non-public databases".

Didn't you watch it and ask yourself questions? The first one should be, "motives"

Here I agree with you completely. Good question: motives. What the point (for the Russians) of killing a wortless traitor they could have killed years ago when he was in jail?

Seeing as you don't trust Bellingcat

No, I don't. In 2014, several months after the MH-17 tragedy, Russian ministry of defence held a press conference on the subject, with very detailed maps, timeline and other technical details. I saw it on Youtube, it was with English translation. It was very much more persuasive then all the Bellingcat machinations.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

And he will give you 5 stars out of 5 for your promo efforts for RT. A couple of years ago I even did not know about RT, but you guys mention it so often I became interested.

You'll notice this post above, and in others, that this poster tries to be provocative to entice you to reply - that's a clear tell that they're only here for the rubles....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites