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Are you implying that the Russian government isn't competent at computer network exploitation as your beloved American NSA is? Are you one of those "American e

Are you implying that the Russian government isn't competent at computer network exploitation as your beloved American NSA is? Are you one of those "American exceptionalists" I keep hearing about?

_yosefk 10y ago
I thought he implied that blaming Russia for leaking data was in his opinion irrelevant when the leaked data implied that someone at home did something nasty. I did not feel that he disrespected the ability of the KGB alumni running Russia to do the kinds of things which they were originally trained and paid to do.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  I read it as that too. However, it's not irrelevant, it's orthogonal. If someone at home did something nasty, they should be held accountable. That said, Russia engaging in the act of hacking and leaking the data is a major problem in its own right. I agree that we shouldn't let that excuse the actions of Americans, at the same time.
adventured 10y ago
I don't think the parent was implying anything negative about the Russian Government's abilities. It is however the case that the Russian Government is in fact not as competent or substantial in scope as the NSA at what they do. The NSA is easily the leader at network exploitation globally. It's not remotely a close competition and Russia knows it, which is why Putin railed so heavily against the Internet after the Snowden leaks. The NSA has a true global intelligence scouring capability that Russia could only dream of. Russia has a small fraction of the systems of data vacuuming in place across the globe that the NSA can make use of without any effort (courtesy of countless major nations that feed the NSA, including the other four eyes). In terms of sheer skill, I'd like to see the argument that the best of the NSA are beneath that of the best of any other nation. Based on what Snowden revealed, the NSA was at least ten years out in front of Russia and China in what they were doing.

Are you implying that the Russian government isn't competent at computer network exploitation as your beloved American NSA is? Are you one of those "American exceptionalists" I keep hearing about?

_yosefk 10y ago

I thought he implied that blaming Russia for leaking data was in his opinion irrelevant when the leaked data implied that someone at home did something nasty. I did not feel that he disrespected the ability of the KGB alumni running Russia to do the kinds of things which they were originally trained and paid to do.

the_watcher 10y ago
I read it as that too. However, it's not irrelevant, it's orthogonal. If someone at home did something nasty, they should be held accountable. That said, Russia engaging in the act of hacking and leaking the data is a major problem in its own right. I agree that we shouldn't let that excuse the actions of Americans, at the same time.

adventured 10y ago

I don't think the parent was implying anything negative about the Russian Government's abilities. It is however the case that the Russian Government is in fact not as competent or substantial in scope as the NSA at what they do. The NSA is easily the leader at network exploitation globally. It's not remotely a close competition and Russia knows it, which is why Putin railed so heavily against the Internet after the Snowden leaks. The NSA has a true global intelligence scouring capability that Russia could only dream of. Russia has a small fraction of the systems of data vacuuming in place across the globe that the NSA can make use of without any effort (courtesy of countless major nations that feed the NSA, including the other four eyes). In terms of sheer skill, I'd like to see the argument that the best of the NSA are beneath that of the best of any other nation. Based on what Snowden revealed, the NSA was at least ten years out in front of Russia and China in what they were doing.