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Russian Hacker, Wanted by F.B.I., Is Arrested in Prague, Czechs Say

132 points by r721 10y ago

dmix 10y ago
2012 hack on a "west coast company" ... anyone know which hack this might be? Linkedin maybe? This stirred up controversy in the US gov where they might have invested resources in pursuing the attacker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_LinkedIn_hack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_LinkedIn_hack Yahoo's discovery of the big intrusion recently was from 2012 but that might have been too recent? Also Dropbox was hacked in 2012.
- r721 10y ago
  That paragraph was just added, wasn't there a hour ago. UPD "Suspect believed to be tied to massive LinkedIn hack arrested in Prague, sources say; U.S. officials hope to extradite him to U.S." https://twitter.com/ABC/status/788754540656898049 https://twitter.com/ABC/status/788754540656898049 “Following the 2012 breach of LinkedIn member information, we have remained actively involved with the FBI’s case to pursue those responsible,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told Motherboard in an email. “We are thankful for the hardwork and dedication of the FBI in its efforts to locate and capture the parties believed to be responsible for this criminal activity.” http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hacker-allegedly-responsible-for-massive-2012-linkedin-breach-arrested http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hacker-allegedly-responsibl...
- r721 10y ago
  >The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that Nikulin, accessed computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, each of which has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The indictment further alleges that the defendant accessed the computers without authorization and that he obtained information from the computers. According to the indictment, the defendant also caused damage to computers belonging to a LinkedIn employee and to Formspring by transmitting a program, information, code, or command. Nikulin also is alleged to have used the credentials of LinkedIn and Formspring employees in connection with the computer intrusions. Further, Nikulin is alleged to have engaged in a conspiracy with unnamed co-conspirators to traffic stolen Formspring user credentials. In all, Nikulin is charged with three counts of computer intrusion; two counts of intentional transmission of information, code, or command causing damage to a protected computer; two counts of aggravated identity theft; one count of trafficking in unauthorized access devices; and one count of conspiracy. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/yevgeniy-nikulin-indicted-hacking-linkedin-dropbox-and-formspring https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/yevgeniy-nikulin-indicted-hac...
  - dmix 10y ago
    Oh interesting. So it was more than one. Thanks for the link.
hendzen 10y ago
If I was Snowden I would be very worried. If the US gets a hold of this guy I could see Putin offering Snowden up as a trade to get him back.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- guelo 10y ago
  Doubt it, Snowden has much more propaganda value making Russia look like the good guys protecting the world from evil USA.
CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
No word on who was arrested or who their victims were. All we have to confirm the story is political posturing from two global superpowers over an arrest in a third country. This sounds like the opening act of a cold war era political struggle. War by proxy, etc. Can we please not repeat that chapter in history? Or, if we're going to do so, at least not use hackers as the pawns in this sick game? I'd appreciate at least that much.
- throwawayReply 10y ago
  Opening act? I think we're well past act 1 scene 1, there's a literal proxy war happening right now in Syria.
- dkopi 10y ago
  Which part do you consider an opening act of a cold war? Launching a cyber attack in a foreign country - or arresting someone who launched a cyber attack?
  - CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
    All of the above, really. I meant act in a literary sense, not as in "one specified unit of verb".
  - elsewhen 10y ago
    to be truly accurate, it is _allegedly_ launching a cyber attack.
  - dllthomas 10y ago
    I read it as "opening act of a political struggle", where the struggle is of "cold war era" style.
- empath75 10y ago
  Probably that hacker shouldn't have worked for Russian intelligence while living in a NATO country. I'd expect the same for an NSA hacker working out of Turkmenistan or something.
tptacek 10y ago
Czech Republic a member of European Union: Check! Czech Republic a NATO Ally: Check! Computer Crime Illegal In Czech Republic by Czech Law: Check! Computer Crime Illegal In European Union: Check! Bilateral Extradition Treaty Present Between US and Czech Republic: Check! European Union Recognizes Validity Of Bilateral Extradition Treaties With The US: Check! I am not clear on the basis of Russia's expectation that they're going to get their hacker back soon.
- CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
  > I am not clear on the basis of Russia's expectation that they're going to get their hacker back soon. That expectation probably has nothing to do with the law or legal means.
- usaphp 10y ago
  Where do you get those check marks from? There is not a single word in the article that has a proof of what he did. Imagine if Russia captured US citizen in Argentina saying he is American hacker who they think hacked Russian servers, I can imagine the outrage of the US and its European puppets. Also nytimes is incredibly biased against Russia, I would not trust a single word it says.
  - tptacek 10y ago
    Did you see a check mark convicting him of hacking? I do not. First you arrest. Then, you arraign. Then, you spend months building a case and allowing the defense to build theirs. Then you try the case. Then you convict. Would you like me to add a final line: "Dude is convicted of hacking in US: NO CHECK!"? I can, if you think that clears anything up.
    - sschueller 10y ago
      Isn't there also a hearing before extradition to determine probable cause? If the US can't provide proof he won't be extradited.
gjolund 10y ago
Guccifer2.0?
- divbyzer0 10y ago
  Unlikely to be him, he tweeted last night. The person referred to in the article was arrested a few days ago.
  - bduerst 10y ago
    They're not sure if Guccifer 2.0 is one person or a hacking group. Many independent security firms have said it's associated with two Russian intelligence agencies.
    - divbyzer0 10y ago
      Good point. I'm just not sure Russia would perform potentially delicate operations from an EU and NATO member state. Also, not sure if all of this recent hacking is in fact leaking by persons within affected organisations. In the case of the DNC hack, I think it quite plausible to be a disgruntled employee.
      - tptacek 10y ago
        We don't know that he performed operations from the Czech Republic, or if he was just apprehended there on vacation.
at-fates-hands 10y ago
This sounds a lot like a thinly veiled attempt to dump a story about a state sponsored hacker being arrested and possibly extradited back to the US. All we've heard for weeks now is how a group of state sponsored Russian hackers were feeding DNC documents to Wikileaks. The lack of details and the Russian response just sounds fishy to me.
- eveningcoffee 10y ago
  the Russian response History has taught us that it is very hard to pull the truth out of Russian response. You have to observe what they are doing and not what they are saying. So this by itself does not conclude anything. Also not the opposite, or nothing about the other state level actors.
  - trendia 10y ago
    Although, you should do the same for any State, including the American gov't. You have to observer what the US does and not what they say.
    - linkregister 10y ago
      U.S. government officials frequently leak information more readily than Russian officials. I get the impression that Russian officials practice much better security with their public statements. U.S. PR efforts strike me as ham-fisted and in reaction to current events. Checkers vs chess is the metaphor I'm trying to express. An observer can glean more information from a U.S. government press statement than a Russian one.
usaphp 10y ago
I can imagine this going like this: 1. They extradite this guy to USA 2. Accuse him of hacking and offering him a plea and full protection if he says that Putin was the one who sponsored these attacks 3. Guy says whatever they want him to say 4. USA has now "solid" evidence that Putin hacked them
- endisukaj 10y ago
  That seems highly unlikely.
  - tdkl 10y ago
    Quite the opposite. False-flag shit is US specialty and the history shows it.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - pyre 10y ago
    It doesn't even have to be malicious. The US could offer him a plea deal for information that they think that he has, and he just tells them what they want to hear. It's entirely possible that the US authorities are so convinced that it was Russian-sponsored that they will eat it up (because they don't want to consider the possibility that it wasn't Russian-sponsored). It's not like such things haven't happened before.
- tptacek 10y ago
  People can imagine all sorts of things, but the US already has solid evidence that Russia is behind a number of US hacks. Not only that, but the US has already said Russia is behind those attacks; it would actually harm their argument if they built a giant PR campaign around this dude, because it would call into question the previous attribution. I can imagine this going like this: 1. They extradite this guy to the USA. 2. They indict him for hacking, try him, and find him guilty. 3. He serves 4.3 years in federal prison. 4. He is released, returns to Russia, and we never hear about him again.
yread 10y ago
> The Russian Embassy in Prague, however, called for the man to be released. > “We insist that the detained Russian citizen should be transferred to Russia,” Released or transferred to Russia? And why is the speculation from Janda there - he is no security expert? Where do the suggestions there is a link to DNC hack come from? He could easily be just running a botnet, blackmailing or a thousand other things... Really RT-level article here
- walshemj 10y ago
  Driving around in a luxury cars sounds more like a regular criminal than some one working for the FSB etc.
  - trhway 10y ago
    >Driving around in a luxury cars sounds more like a regular criminal than some one working for the FSB etc. you probably doesn't know much about FSB and Russia in general. just for fun, FSB academy "graduation ceremony" this year : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzZROaFk6Y&list=PLot6UgSr1sjYWWed4oBiOGPdkOGCIKjeC&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzZROaFk6Y&list=PLot6UgSr1s...
    - walshemj 10y ago
      Shit opsec then ;-)
r721 10y ago
Police video here: http://www.rferl.org/a/czech-police-detain-russian-hacker-suspect-fbi/28062592.html http://www.rferl.org/a/czech-police-detain-russian-hacker-su...
- r721 10y ago
  His instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.tak.soidet/ https://www.instagram.com/i.tak.soidet/ (43.7K subscribers) via http://www.currenttime.tv/a/russian-hackers-instagram/28064294.html http://www.currenttime.tv/a/russian-hackers-instagram/280642... (in Russian)
usaphp 10y ago
You comparing Stalin to Hitler? Are people mad these days?
- hanklazard 10y ago
  Both were dictators who killed millions. Seems like a reasonable comparison.
  - ommunist 10y ago
    Add Sir Winston Churchill to the list. He is personally responsible for death of millions of Bengali people.
    - ddorian43 10y ago
      We don't count them.
    - quonn 10y ago
      Still, nobody would compare Churchill (or Bush; see above) to Hitler or Stalin. This is because Hitler was not just responsible for the people killed in WWII. Hitler and Stalin also killed people because they wanted to get rid of personal enemies and because they actually wanted to do some form of ethnic cleansing.
      - codedokode 10y ago
        Do you have any facts about Stalin doing "ethnic cleansing"? I thought he put people into Gulags no matter what ethnicity they were.
        ommunist 10y ago
        The US _today_ has the highest incarceration rate per 1000 people in the world. It uses slave labor in private prisons _today_. Why are you so keen on digging the Soviet past. Because it is safer to bark on a dead lion?
ommunist 10y ago
Read to the end "It appears that the man arrested in Prague is not related to the hackers Mr. Clapper described." Bravo. This should be the title.
- linkregister 10y ago
  That is some incredible burying of the lede. Well spotted!
epoxyhockey 10y ago
The arrest happened 2 weeks ago, but is being reported just now? Interesting timing..
jMyles 10y ago
> David Schön, a police spokesman, said on Wednesday that the arrest of the man, whose name has not been released, was not announced immediately “for tactical reasons.” That's two high-profile "info criminals" in a row given the secret arrest treatment. I can't say I'm a fan.
- tptacek 10y ago
  The kinds of "secret arrests" you're referring to are routine in organized crime cases. I don't know what the procedure is in the Czech Republican, but the info-criminals "secretly arrested" in the US had immediate access to their attorneys; the arrests just weren't announced to the public. There are so far as I know no secret indictments, and "secrecy" does not allow law enforcement to ignore Habeas in the US.
missbit 10y ago
Is hacking really a crime? If your computer was secure, then the hacker could not hack. So.. who's fault is it?
- detaro 10y ago
  If your house were secure, the burglar couldn't have gotten in and stolen your stuff. or stabbed you. So... who's fault is it? (There is a whole other can of worms regarding what counts as "hacking" and what doesn't, but without knowing what the "hacker" actually did we can't really discuss it in this case)
- tptacek 10y ago
  The hacker's.
- mark_edward 10y ago
  If it was a legitimate hack, a woman's computer has a way of shutting that down.
transfire 10y ago
Never mind that the material this (allegedly) hacker exposed indicates rampant collusion and fraud that undermine the U.S. election system. Nope, that doesn't matter. The important thing is to stop the dissemination of the truth.
zde 10y ago
I'm Czech and am pretty sure I have never said that. <g>
rbanffy 10y ago
Wether he ends up extradited or not is largely irrelevant. The US sent the message Russian hackers who are suspects of engaging in cyber warfare better not leave Russia. Russia is trying to counter it and assert its dominance in the region and the Czech Republic is in the uncomfortable middle.
moon_of_moon 10y ago
Dobry den. Don't forget to remove your binary from target.
codedokode 10y ago
Isn't it wrong? A person that is not an US citizen, that has never been to US, will be extradited to USA and will probably be convicted to a 10 or 20 years in prison unless he can afford a lawyer that costs several hundreds dollars per hour (because you have to pay for a "fair" trial in USA) for doing the same things NSA does every day. Since when US courts have jurisdiction over other countries? Obviously this person's rights for a fair trial are violated. If he is a Russian citizen, shouldn't he be judged in Russia? Or should we apply the same rules to American citizens? For example, everyone working is NSA or its contractors can probably be prosecuted for taking part in a conspiracy to break into computer systems and intercepting private communications. Should muslim countries arrest any US tourist that have earlier posted pictures with Allah in Facebook and extradite them to Iran for fair trial by Sharia law? And what about people who develop software to bypass Great Chinese Firewall? Should they be extradited to China? US wanted to get Julian Assange, should not China get its enemies too?
- plugger 10y ago
  By your logic prosecuting international computer crime wouldn't be possible. How do you expect that to work out in practice? Also, he was arrested in the Czech Republic, not Russia. The Czech Republic has an extradition treaty with the US that existed long before the Internet did. This isn't rocket appliances, it's how our world's nation state system works. Sure, he probably shouldn't get 20 years and should receive competent legal representation. But to allow anyone to hack computer systems in the US because that person is not a US citizen and not in the US is borderline laughable.
  - codedokode 10y ago
    The current system is asymmetric. If US can extradite people from other countries for something they do on the Internet, why Russia, China or Iran cannot? US is showing a bad example here. Once some governments get more power they will want to do this too. This is actually a display of power by US. Maybe there should be some international agreements on how to deal with such cross-border crimes but they should be discussed and agreed upon by many countries. And I don't like this anyway. I would rather prefer having american or russian systems disconnected from other countries than extraditing people into a foreign country to judge them by foreign laws.

132 points by r721 10y ago

dmix 10y ago

2012 hack on a "west coast company" ... anyone know which hack this might be? Linkedin maybe? This stirred up controversy in the US gov where they might have invested resources in pursuing the attacker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_LinkedIn_hack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_LinkedIn_hack Yahoo's discovery of the big intrusion recently was from 2012 but that might have been too recent? Also Dropbox was hacked in 2012.

r721 10y ago
That paragraph was just added, wasn't there a hour ago. UPD "Suspect believed to be tied to massive LinkedIn hack arrested in Prague, sources say; U.S. officials hope to extradite him to U.S." https://twitter.com/ABC/status/788754540656898049 https://twitter.com/ABC/status/788754540656898049 “Following the 2012 breach of LinkedIn member information, we have remained actively involved with the FBI’s case to pursue those responsible,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told Motherboard in an email. “We are thankful for the hardwork and dedication of the FBI in its efforts to locate and capture the parties believed to be responsible for this criminal activity.” http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hacker-allegedly-responsible-for-massive-2012-linkedin-breach-arrested http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hacker-allegedly-responsibl...
r721 10y ago
>The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that Nikulin, accessed computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, each of which has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The indictment further alleges that the defendant accessed the computers without authorization and that he obtained information from the computers. According to the indictment, the defendant also caused damage to computers belonging to a LinkedIn employee and to Formspring by transmitting a program, information, code, or command. Nikulin also is alleged to have used the credentials of LinkedIn and Formspring employees in connection with the computer intrusions. Further, Nikulin is alleged to have engaged in a conspiracy with unnamed co-conspirators to traffic stolen Formspring user credentials. In all, Nikulin is charged with three counts of computer intrusion; two counts of intentional transmission of information, code, or command causing damage to a protected computer; two counts of aggravated identity theft; one count of trafficking in unauthorized access devices; and one count of conspiracy. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/yevgeniy-nikulin-indicted-hacking-linkedin-dropbox-and-formspring https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/yevgeniy-nikulin-indicted-hac...
- dmix 10y ago
  Oh interesting. So it was more than one. Thanks for the link.

hendzen 10y ago

If I was Snowden I would be very worried. If the US gets a hold of this guy I could see Putin offering Snowden up as a trade to get him back.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
guelo 10y ago
Doubt it, Snowden has much more propaganda value making Russia look like the good guys protecting the world from evil USA.

CiPHPerCoder 10y ago

No word on who was arrested or who their victims were. All we have to confirm the story is political posturing from two global superpowers over an arrest in a third country. This sounds like the opening act of a cold war era political struggle. War by proxy, etc. Can we please not repeat that chapter in history? Or, if we're going to do so, at least not use hackers as the pawns in this sick game? I'd appreciate at least that much.

throwawayReply 10y ago
Opening act? I think we're well past act 1 scene 1, there's a literal proxy war happening right now in Syria.
dkopi 10y ago
Which part do you consider an opening act of a cold war? Launching a cyber attack in a foreign country - or arresting someone who launched a cyber attack?
- CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
  All of the above, really. I meant act in a literary sense, not as in "one specified unit of verb".
- elsewhen 10y ago
  to be truly accurate, it is _allegedly_ launching a cyber attack.
- dllthomas 10y ago
  I read it as "opening act of a political struggle", where the struggle is of "cold war era" style.
empath75 10y ago
Probably that hacker shouldn't have worked for Russian intelligence while living in a NATO country. I'd expect the same for an NSA hacker working out of Turkmenistan or something.

tptacek 10y ago

Czech Republic a member of European Union: Check! Czech Republic a NATO Ally: Check! Computer Crime Illegal In Czech Republic by Czech Law: Check! Computer Crime Illegal In European Union: Check! Bilateral Extradition Treaty Present Between US and Czech Republic: Check! European Union Recognizes Validity Of Bilateral Extradition Treaties With The US: Check! I am not clear on the basis of Russia's expectation that they're going to get their hacker back soon.

CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
> I am not clear on the basis of Russia's expectation that they're going to get their hacker back soon. That expectation probably has nothing to do with the law or legal means.
usaphp 10y ago
Where do you get those check marks from? There is not a single word in the article that has a proof of what he did. Imagine if Russia captured US citizen in Argentina saying he is American hacker who they think hacked Russian servers, I can imagine the outrage of the US and its European puppets. Also nytimes is incredibly biased against Russia, I would not trust a single word it says.
- tptacek 10y ago
  Did you see a check mark convicting him of hacking? I do not. First you arrest. Then, you arraign. Then, you spend months building a case and allowing the defense to build theirs. Then you try the case. Then you convict. Would you like me to add a final line: "Dude is convicted of hacking in US: NO CHECK!"? I can, if you think that clears anything up.
  - sschueller 10y ago
    Isn't there also a hearing before extradition to determine probable cause? If the US can't provide proof he won't be extradited.

gjolund 10y ago

Guccifer2.0?

divbyzer0 10y ago
Unlikely to be him, he tweeted last night. The person referred to in the article was arrested a few days ago.
- bduerst 10y ago
  They're not sure if Guccifer 2.0 is one person or a hacking group. Many independent security firms have said it's associated with two Russian intelligence agencies.
  - divbyzer0 10y ago
    Good point. I'm just not sure Russia would perform potentially delicate operations from an EU and NATO member state. Also, not sure if all of this recent hacking is in fact leaking by persons within affected organisations. In the case of the DNC hack, I think it quite plausible to be a disgruntled employee.
    - tptacek 10y ago
      We don't know that he performed operations from the Czech Republic, or if he was just apprehended there on vacation.

at-fates-hands 10y ago

This sounds a lot like a thinly veiled attempt to dump a story about a state sponsored hacker being arrested and possibly extradited back to the US. All we've heard for weeks now is how a group of state sponsored Russian hackers were feeding DNC documents to Wikileaks. The lack of details and the Russian response just sounds fishy to me.

eveningcoffee 10y ago
the Russian response History has taught us that it is very hard to pull the truth out of Russian response. You have to observe what they are doing and not what they are saying. So this by itself does not conclude anything. Also not the opposite, or nothing about the other state level actors.
- trendia 10y ago
  Although, you should do the same for any State, including the American gov't. You have to observer what the US does and not what they say.
  - linkregister 10y ago
    U.S. government officials frequently leak information more readily than Russian officials. I get the impression that Russian officials practice much better security with their public statements. U.S. PR efforts strike me as ham-fisted and in reaction to current events. Checkers vs chess is the metaphor I'm trying to express. An observer can glean more information from a U.S. government press statement than a Russian one.

usaphp 10y ago

I can imagine this going like this: 1. They extradite this guy to USA 2. Accuse him of hacking and offering him a plea and full protection if he says that Putin was the one who sponsored these attacks 3. Guy says whatever they want him to say 4. USA has now "solid" evidence that Putin hacked them

endisukaj 10y ago
That seems highly unlikely.
- tdkl 10y ago
  Quite the opposite. False-flag shit is US specialty and the history shows it.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- pyre 10y ago
  It doesn't even have to be malicious. The US could offer him a plea deal for information that they think that he has, and he just tells them what they want to hear. It's entirely possible that the US authorities are so convinced that it was Russian-sponsored that they will eat it up (because they don't want to consider the possibility that it wasn't Russian-sponsored). It's not like such things haven't happened before.
tptacek 10y ago
People can imagine all sorts of things, but the US already has solid evidence that Russia is behind a number of US hacks. Not only that, but the US has already said Russia is behind those attacks; it would actually harm their argument if they built a giant PR campaign around this dude, because it would call into question the previous attribution. I can imagine this going like this: 1. They extradite this guy to the USA. 2. They indict him for hacking, try him, and find him guilty. 3. He serves 4.3 years in federal prison. 4. He is released, returns to Russia, and we never hear about him again.

yread 10y ago

> The Russian Embassy in Prague, however, called for the man to be released. > “We insist that the detained Russian citizen should be transferred to Russia,” Released or transferred to Russia? And why is the speculation from Janda there - he is no security expert? Where do the suggestions there is a link to DNC hack come from? He could easily be just running a botnet, blackmailing or a thousand other things... Really RT-level article here

walshemj 10y ago
Driving around in a luxury cars sounds more like a regular criminal than some one working for the FSB etc.
- trhway 10y ago
  >Driving around in a luxury cars sounds more like a regular criminal than some one working for the FSB etc. you probably doesn't know much about FSB and Russia in general. just for fun, FSB academy "graduation ceremony" this year : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzZROaFk6Y&list=PLot6UgSr1sjYWWed4oBiOGPdkOGCIKjeC&index=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzZROaFk6Y&list=PLot6UgSr1s...
  - walshemj 10y ago
    Shit opsec then ;-)

r721 10y ago

Police video here: http://www.rferl.org/a/czech-police-detain-russian-hacker-suspect-fbi/28062592.html http://www.rferl.org/a/czech-police-detain-russian-hacker-su...

r721 10y ago
His instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.tak.soidet/ https://www.instagram.com/i.tak.soidet/ (43.7K subscribers) via http://www.currenttime.tv/a/russian-hackers-instagram/28064294.html http://www.currenttime.tv/a/russian-hackers-instagram/280642... (in Russian)

usaphp 10y ago

You comparing Stalin to Hitler? Are people mad these days?

hanklazard 10y ago
Both were dictators who killed millions. Seems like a reasonable comparison.
- ommunist 10y ago
  Add Sir Winston Churchill to the list. He is personally responsible for death of millions of Bengali people.
  - ddorian43 10y ago
    We don't count them.
  - quonn 10y ago
    Still, nobody would compare Churchill (or Bush; see above) to Hitler or Stalin. This is because Hitler was not just responsible for the people killed in WWII. Hitler and Stalin also killed people because they wanted to get rid of personal enemies and because they actually wanted to do some form of ethnic cleansing.
    - codedokode 10y ago
      Do you have any facts about Stalin doing "ethnic cleansing"? I thought he put people into Gulags no matter what ethnicity they were.
      - ommunist 10y ago
        The US _today_ has the highest incarceration rate per 1000 people in the world. It uses slave labor in private prisons _today_. Why are you so keen on digging the Soviet past. Because it is safer to bark on a dead lion?

ommunist 10y ago

Read to the end "It appears that the man arrested in Prague is not related to the hackers Mr. Clapper described." Bravo. This should be the title.

linkregister 10y ago
That is some incredible burying of the lede. Well spotted!

epoxyhockey 10y ago

The arrest happened 2 weeks ago, but is being reported just now? Interesting timing..

jMyles 10y ago

> David Schön, a police spokesman, said on Wednesday that the arrest of the man, whose name has not been released, was not announced immediately “for tactical reasons.” That's two high-profile "info criminals" in a row given the secret arrest treatment. I can't say I'm a fan.

tptacek 10y ago
The kinds of "secret arrests" you're referring to are routine in organized crime cases. I don't know what the procedure is in the Czech Republican, but the info-criminals "secretly arrested" in the US had immediate access to their attorneys; the arrests just weren't announced to the public. There are so far as I know no secret indictments, and "secrecy" does not allow law enforcement to ignore Habeas in the US.

missbit 10y ago

Is hacking really a crime? If your computer was secure, then the hacker could not hack. So.. who's fault is it?

detaro 10y ago
If your house were secure, the burglar couldn't have gotten in and stolen your stuff. or stabbed you. So... who's fault is it? (There is a whole other can of worms regarding what counts as "hacking" and what doesn't, but without knowing what the "hacker" actually did we can't really discuss it in this case)
tptacek 10y ago
The hacker's.
mark_edward 10y ago
If it was a legitimate hack, a woman's computer has a way of shutting that down.

transfire 10y ago

Never mind that the material this (allegedly) hacker exposed indicates rampant collusion and fraud that undermine the U.S. election system. Nope, that doesn't matter. The important thing is to stop the dissemination of the truth.

zde 10y ago

I'm Czech and am pretty sure I have never said that. <g>

rbanffy 10y ago

Wether he ends up extradited or not is largely irrelevant. The US sent the message Russian hackers who are suspects of engaging in cyber warfare better not leave Russia. Russia is trying to counter it and assert its dominance in the region and the Czech Republic is in the uncomfortable middle.

moon_of_moon 10y ago

Dobry den. Don't forget to remove your binary from target.

codedokode 10y ago

Isn't it wrong? A person that is not an US citizen, that has never been to US, will be extradited to USA and will probably be convicted to a 10 or 20 years in prison unless he can afford a lawyer that costs several hundreds dollars per hour (because you have to pay for a "fair" trial in USA) for doing the same things NSA does every day. Since when US courts have jurisdiction over other countries? Obviously this person's rights for a fair trial are violated. If he is a Russian citizen, shouldn't he be judged in Russia? Or should we apply the same rules to American citizens? For example, everyone working is NSA or its contractors can probably be prosecuted for taking part in a conspiracy to break into computer systems and intercepting private communications. Should muslim countries arrest any US tourist that have earlier posted pictures with Allah in Facebook and extradite them to Iran for fair trial by Sharia law? And what about people who develop software to bypass Great Chinese Firewall? Should they be extradited to China? US wanted to get Julian Assange, should not China get its enemies too?

plugger 10y ago
By your logic prosecuting international computer crime wouldn't be possible. How do you expect that to work out in practice? Also, he was arrested in the Czech Republic, not Russia. The Czech Republic has an extradition treaty with the US that existed long before the Internet did. This isn't rocket appliances, it's how our world's nation state system works. Sure, he probably shouldn't get 20 years and should receive competent legal representation. But to allow anyone to hack computer systems in the US because that person is not a US citizen and not in the US is borderline laughable.
- codedokode 10y ago
  The current system is asymmetric. If US can extradite people from other countries for something they do on the Internet, why Russia, China or Iran cannot? US is showing a bad example here. Once some governments get more power they will want to do this too. This is actually a display of power by US. Maybe there should be some international agreements on how to deal with such cross-border crimes but they should be discussed and agreed upon by many countries. And I don't like this anyway. I would rather prefer having american or russian systems disconnected from other countries than extraditing people into a foreign country to judge them by foreign laws.