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An update on state-sponsored activity
- lolc 8y agoThey can't tell you when their own government goes fishing in their pond so they talk about Iran instead.
- ariwilson 8y agohttps://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?user_requests_report_period=series:requests,accounts;authority:US;time:&lu=user_requests_report_period https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?use...
- rule_follower 8y agoThose are actions with judicial oversight. I believe OP was referring to NSLs and other IC actions.
- Buge 8y agoNSLs are counted here, and ones without non-disclosure obligations have the actual letter published. https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/us-national-security https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/us-national-...
- rule_follower 8y agoShould have specified NSLs that cannot be disclosed but the IC activity is far more significant.
- Buge 8y agoIt appears even NSLs that cannot be disclosed are still counted in the published numbers. IC is Intelligence Community? I would assume google would warn users of phishing attacks by the NSA just as they would warn users of phishing attacks by Iran.
- pstuart 8y agoAt this point I'm actually less worried about the NSA and their friends then the NRA and theirs.
- mindcrime 8y agoAs someone who is - or has been - a member of all of: the NRA, Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, the Second Amendment Foundation, and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, I have to ask "why?" What exactly about NRA members and associates scares you?
- pstuart 8y agoBy "friends" I was referring to reports that the NRA has been a front for the Russian government as an agent of social division. Here I am, breaking HN rules by making a political statement, but if the facts are true (and I believe them to be), it is indeed an issue of relevance to the "hacker community". > What exactly about NRA members and associates scares you? If you think the following link (an NRA commercial) is ok, then you terrify me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGOQFf9VCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGOQFf9VCE
- mindcrime 8y agoBy "friends" I as referring to reports that the NRA has been a front for the Russian government as an agent of social division. Meh. Russian government, American government, whatever. I consider them all the enemy. If you think the following link (an NRA commercial) is ok, then you terrify me: LOL. It's not my favorite ad, but that's mainly because I'm not a Republican and every time I hear "they" in that ad I know they're talking about "the left" or "the democrats" while in my mind "they" should actually be "the government" in general. shrug Of course that Republican leaning bias is probably the main reason I don't support the NRA as actively as I might otherwise. If they would stick to 2A issues and nothing else, I'd be much more in their corner.
- dang 8y agoHN rules don't ask you not to make political statements, but please don't do political flamewars here, and especially not add personal swipes into the mix. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- baza89 8y agoSo Google and Facebook are deleting accounts with political content because it comes from across the pond? Nice going land of the free.
- p49k 8y agoYou forgot the part where that “political content” was disguised as domestic opinion. Reducing the amount of astroturfing on the internet is a good thing.
- drb91 8y agoIs there any evidence it’s working? Seems to mostly piss people off. Anyway, most astroturfing is done by american companies and is more harmful. Will google stop them too? Highly doubtful.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> Is there any evidence it’s working? Yes. > Seems to mostly piss people off. While some of it has other purposes, as well, destabilizing America by exacerbating and radicalizing existing internal political divisions is clearly a central purpose of the effort, so “seems to mostly piss people off” is actually a sign that it is working (especially when you consider the details of who is pissed off and what they direct that anger at.)
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- drb91 8y agoI hope google is not trying to destabilize america, which it sounds like you are arguing is a good thing.
- dragonwriter 8y agoI read “it” in the question as referring to the false-flag propaganda that Google is targeting, not Google's response. That reading does depend on trying to ascertain which of the two sentences in the precedinh comment was being referenced without an explicit indicator, and that certainly could be wrong.
- User23 8y agoHow many Googlers are drawing a second paycheck from a foreign or domestic spy agency? The root of that equation is assuredly greater than 1. How much greater?
- mcny 8y agoNot that I know anything but a thought experiment: How many Googlers have access to production data?
- lostlogin 8y agoIt would be interesting to see how the US government treated any Googlers that had a foreign state paymaster, as foreign influence has been a bit of a controversy for the government too.
- ohiovr 8y agoduck and cover
- eadmund 8y agoOne can delete the 'amp/' suffix on the URL to get a version which works just fine without JavaScript: https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/update-state-sponsored-activity/ https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/update-st...
- kerng 8y agoThe number of channels and accounts identified strikes me as low.
- mistermann 8y ago> Technical data associated with these actors is strongly linked to the official IRIB IP address space. I've always been under the impression that IP addresses aren't always reliable indicators of identity, has this changed?
- vlovich123 8y agoFar more reliable for large organizations/governments, less reliable for ISPs that hand out dynamic IPs.
- mistermann 8y agoI should have been more clear, I'm wondering if it is technically possible to spoof an IP address?
- ChuckMcM 8y agoInteresting that the Russians chose to use Microsoft instead of Google[1]. [1] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/microsoft-shuts-down-phishing-sites-accuses-russia-of-new-election-meddling/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/microsoft-shuts-...
- mindslight 8y ago> three email accounts three. email. accounts. I'm feeling safer already! Truthfully, it's disconcerting that this is being presented with a straight face. Although thinking positively, maybe the larger campaign is a sign that the four standard horsemen - "terrorists", "pedophiles", "drugs", and "money laundering" - are getting tired. It's also interesting how quickly the sabre-rattlers got this to play with the political team that is usually less jingoistic.
- lostlogin 8y agoThere were the three YouTube and three Google+ accounts too, although I’d argue that the Google+ ones come pre-disabled.
- dvh 8y agoDon't be evil -> Do the right thing -> At least we are not dropping bombs on schools in Yemen
- throw2016 8y agoExtraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. This tepid references to we can't disclose anything 'because security' is circular logic. Casting aspersions without evidence is a fundamental abuse of due process and basic standards of jurisprudence. It is a witch hunt. Are we to assume only Russia, China and Iran are running ops and others are innocent sheep? This is like 'villain of the month'. If they truly have the capability bring out all the evidence and identify all patterns of such behavior so people are aware of astroturfing not only by other governments but also their own government and other vested interests. This is a dangerous game of spreading FUD and poisons the well. Without ironclad evidence it demonizes dissent, diversity, alternative opinions and with it informed discussion. And legitimizes censorship.