Don’t assume!

As we say down here... assumption is the mother of al f**k ups...

 

Assume, make an ass of u and me...

 

Good news!

 

There is a simple way to avoid being hacked... unplug from the internet.
Why can't companies figure that one out?

Actually the company I worked for had several closed networks which contained all of the highly classified data. There was no WiFi or anything capable of transmitting or receiving data on the closed system. It was stand alone. Hell, even the ductwork in secure areas was under lock. The biggest threat was from an employee and they knew more about me than I knew about me. Something as simple as a DUI could threaten your clearance(s).

Ron

 

Inside jobs are always the worst.

I thought it was "Inside jobs are always the best (way to crack a system)".

 

I've always prefered inside jobs. Outside is usually too hot, too cold, or too wet.

 

Inside jobs are always the worst.

That's what we were taught, over and over again. They included data from major compromises. Most of the worst cases of spying were from within. Robert Philip Hanssen is likely among the worst. There is no easy way to place a dollar cost amount on the damage done. I was just reading how China's Navy is growing and something China really wants badly is a deep water Navy. To make it happen they need nuclear propulsion systems and like so many parts of technology it is easier to steal than place years of development into, also much more economical. Once a system is compromised it is useless and needs to be developed all over again. While I no longer pay much attention I figure the espionage game is still alive and well.

How A New Team Of Feds Hacked The Hackers And Got Colonial Pipeline's Ransom Back and while about only half was recovered it's a good start at going after the ransomware game.

Ron

 

That's what we were taught, over and over again. They included data from major compromises. Most of the worst cases of spying were from within. Robert Philip Hanssen is likely among the worst. There is no easy way to place a dollar cost amount on the damage done. I was just reading how China's Navy is growing and something China really wants badly is a deep water Navy. To make it happen they need nuclear propulsion systems and like so many parts of technology it is easier to steal than place years of development into, also much more economical. Once a system is compromised it is useless and needs to be developed all over again. While I no longer pay much attention I figure the espionage game is still alive and well.

How A New Team Of Feds Hacked The Hackers And Got Colonial Pipeline's Ransom Back and while about only half was recovered it's a good start at going after the ransomware game.

Ron

"Inside jobs are always the worst. "

Look at the this POS. A insider that most likely got good people killed.
John Anthony Walker

and his helper POS.
Jerry Whitworth
Whitworth ended up receiving the harshest punishment of the spy quartet, being fined $410,000 and sentenced to 365 years imprisonment.[7]

 

I remember Walker and his son. Saw a full length film on that garbage. They should have been executed.

Ron

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jbs-paid-11-million-to-resolve-ransomware-attack-11623280781

JBS USA Holdings Inc. paid an $11 million ransom to cybercriminals who last week temporarily knocked out plants that process roughly one-fifth of the nation’s meat supply, the company’s chief executive said.

The ransom payment, in bitcoin, was made to shield JBS meat plants from further disruption and to limit the potential impact on restaurants, grocery stores and farmers that rely on JBS, said Andre Nogueira, chief executive of Brazilian meat company JBS SA’s U.S. division.

“It was very painful to pay the criminals, but we did the right thing for our customers,” Mr. Nogueira said Wednesday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He added that the payment was made after the majority of JBS plants were up and running again.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jbs-paid-11-million-to-resolve-ransomware-attack-11623280781

Just going to get more of it. Should be illegal to pay the ransom, just puts everyone else at greater risk.

 

Why is it that the NSA can locate a single mad cow on the planet but can't stop this stuff. Why do I get endless spam and scam phone calls originating in the middle east and it can't be stopped? Yet in the US we have an ever expanding and bloated government. I wonder about that?

Ron

 

Should be illegal to pay the ransom

I thought it was actually under the Federal US Code, or to pay bribes even in foreign countries. Apparently, it isn't illegal to pay ransom but is to receive ransom or pay bribes.
Federal Legislation Considers Banning Ransom Payments to Hackers | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP - JDSupra

Although it is frowned upon by the FBI Ransomware — FBI

 

Why is it that the NSA can locate a single mad cow on the planet but can't stop this stuff. Why do I get endless spam and scam phone calls originating in the middle east and it can't be stopped? Yet in the US we have an ever expanding and bloated government. I wonder about that?

Ron

Good rant.

The NSA is a military ORG with very limited authority to operate domestically, this is a good thing IMO. If you want troops to target spam call centers in the middle east with missiles, then yes, it can be stopped by NSA.

 

I thought it was actually under the Federal US Code, or to pay bribes even in foreign countries. Apparently, it isn't illegal to pay ransom but is to receive ransom or pay bribes.
Federal Legislation Considers Banning Ransom Payments to Hackers | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP - JDSupra

Although it is frowned upon by the FBI Ransomware — FBI

It's still legal in the US to pay foreign 'bribes' if the people getting paid, are going to do, something they normally should do. We had records of payment so we could get reimbursed for official business 'bribes'.

https://www.ganintegrity.com/compliance-glossary/facilitation-payments/

The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) provides a narrow exception for facilitation payments. The exception applies only to payments made to foreign officials with the purpose to ‘facilitate or expedite routine governmental action’. The difference focuses on the purpose of the payment rather than on its value. Facilitation payments that are not properly documented may violate the FCPA’s accounting provisions.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/a-primer-on-facilitation-payments-5758744/

One of the more confusing areas of the FCPA is in that of facilitation payments. Facilitation payments are small bribes but make no mistake about it, they are bribes. For that reason, many companies feel they are inconsistent with a company culture of doing business ethically and in compliance with laws prohibiting corruption and bribery. Further, the 2020 FCPA Resource Guide, 2nd edition specifies, “while the payment may qualify as an exception to the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions, it may violate other laws, both in Foreign Country and elsewhere. In addition, if the payment is not accurately recorded, it could violate the FCPA’s books and records provision.” Additionally, the 2012 FCPA Resource Guide states, “Whether a payment falls within the exception is not dependent on the size of the payment, though size can be telling, as a large payment is more suggestive of corrupt intent to influence a non-routine governmental action. But, like the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions more generally, the facilitating payments exception focuses on the purpose of the payment rather than its value.”

 

You all do realize that post #57 was in humor. Right?

Ron

 

You all do realize that post #57 was in humor. Right?

Ron

It's too late. The missiles are already in flight.

 

Now that was good, very good.

Ron

 

Now that was good, very good.

Ron

After action video report on the spam and scam site attacks. The cover story was a weapons storage facilities attack but we know the real truth.

 

https://therecord.media/treasury-sa...n-in-btc-transactions-to-ransomware-payments/

The financial crimes investigation unit of the US Treasury Department, also known as FinCEN, said today it identified approximately $5.2 billion in outgoing Bitcoin transactions potentially tied to ransomware payments.

FinCEN officials said the figure was compiled by analyzing 2,184 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by US financial institutions over the last decade, between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2021.

While the initial SAR reports highlighted $1.56 billion in suspicious activity, a subsequent FinCEN investigation of the Top 10 most common ransomware variants exposed additional transactions, amounting to around $5.2 billion just from these groups alone.