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Considering the FBI recently foiled a plot by a group who was planning to "take out" parts of the energy grid, it seems likely from my experience that this is a
by ideophobia 6y ago
Considering the FBI recently foiled a plot by a group who was planning to "take out" parts of the energy grid, it seems likely from my experience that this is another set of people executing a similar plan targeting telecoms. I imagine there is a high probability of more incidents like this happening between now and the inauguration, meant to target various infrastructure and "big government" components throughout the country. This attack screams anti-government militia with it's technique, and we will see in the following days online chats emerging with all the planning details that will likely include someone that had some degree of "insider information" about the ATT facility.
- bronco21016 6y agoThe only thing you’re missing in your plot is encrypted messengers that can’t be cracked without sweeping legislation.
- ideophobia 6y agoI saw a bunch of headlines recently that said the FBI had decrypted one of the popular secure messaging apps (telegram or signal maybe?), which, bizarrely enough, fits my narrative perfectly. Though I saw other headlines stating that was incorrect reporting.
- corndoge 6y agoYou probably saw the headlines about Cellebrite claiming to have "signal decryption" capabilities, which they did, provided they had the device in hand and unlocked https://signal.org/blog/cellebrite-and-clickbait/ https://signal.org/blog/cellebrite-and-clickbait/
- anonymouse008 6y agoJust like anyone with a private key and file — this site has tangibly shifted from ‘14 to now.
- pseudo0 6y agoMost people seemed to be having lots of fun roasting Cellebrite for that awful article. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25520481 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25520481
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- suifbwish 6y agoWoah! They can decrypt it when it’s decrypted!! News!
- bronco21016 6y agoThe company claiming to have broken Signal was simply pulling the database of messages off of an unlocked phone. It’s definitely not a hack and the blog post has since been heavily retracted.
- olefoo 6y agoWhat we're seeing is a "stochastic insurgency" where loosely affiliated groups and individuals conceive, plan and execute infrastructure attacks and targeted assassinations. Relatively little operational coordination; but lots of online showing support and post-crime support. I hope all congressional representatives and local government officials are reviewing their safety plans.
- drak0n1c 6y agoStochastic terrorism abound indeed - a couple days ago in WA there was a massive train derailment and fire at a Berkshire Hathaway railway previously targeted by arrested saboteurs. They were anarchists rallying under the cover of Antifa, one such decentralized stochastic phenomenon. https://komonews.com/news/local/oil-train-derailed-near-site-of-earlier-terrorist-attempt-officials-say https://komonews.com/news/local/oil-train-derailed-near-site...
- jamroom 6y agoThe linked article mentions anarchists opposed to the pipeline in British Columbia. I see nothing about Antifa.
- drak0n1c 6y agoThe website where the claim of responsibility was posted was itsgoingdown.org. Many of the posters openly refer to themselves as regional "Antifa". Here is the mission statement: "It’s Going Down is a digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action." https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/pair-charged-interfering-safety-railroad-tracks https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/pair-charged-interferin... https://heavy.com/news/ellen-reiche-samantha-brooks/ https://heavy.com/news/ellen-reiche-samantha-brooks/
- macinjosh 6y agolol at HN downvoting your facts because they don't like them.
- anonymouse008 6y agoDo you have a link for the FBI prevented plot? Edit: thank you (both)
- avs733 6y agohttps://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/531421-white-supremacists-planned-attack-on-us-power https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclu... (note: not the OP)
- ideophobia 6y agohttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-digest-white-supremacists-planned-to-attack-power-grid-fbi-says/2020/12/22/095940f2-41aa-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-digest-whit...
- sneak 6y ago> This attack screams anti-government militia with it's technique What part of the technique indicates "anti-government militia"?
- ideophobia 6y agoPurely my opinion and speculation here, but I'd say the things that stick out to me are the timing and avoidance of random casualties for one. This is a hallmark used by the IRA and the ETA in Spain to inflict damage upon the government without damaging the people, so to speak. The use of an RV also stands out to me, I don't recall many VBIEDs associated with foreign terrorists using that type of vehicle in the US, while I do recall RVs being a common tool in militia groups for movement, travel, storage, etc. Some other things stuck out to me watching videos of the explosion, but it's hard to say anything definitive until more evidence is released.
- sneak 6y agoI don't think the IRA counts as "anti-government" simply because they are anti-that-government. They are also not a "militia" as I understand the term. Why would you follow up "it screams" with "hard to say anything definitive"? Those seem quite contradictory to me.
- cowsandmilk 6y agoWhy do you feel the ira is not a militia? All of its modern forms (there have been splits) are armies of nonprofesssional soldiers.
- ideophobia 6y agoWhat would you consider the IRA to be in lieu of anti-government? I don't think I said the IRA were a militia, I drew a conclusion that this incident, which I speculate as being tied to anti government militia groups in the US, shares similarities with other destructive anti government groups seen in Ireland and Spain. I don't think I said those groups were militia groups specifically, and I don't think the comparison is such a stretch since there are other commenters making the exact same leap to the IRA. My contradictory wording is likely to be a subconscious defense mechanism of sharing my opinion on the internet. I have not claimed any specific knowledge or authority over this event or even in defense of my own speculation here. In full transparency, the only reason I posted was because people were going all in on the "heist" theory, which I find ridiculous.
- tru3_power 6y agoThis sounds extremely similar to Fight Club
- anonymouse008 6y agoNote there was also an interesting event in WA on Dec 22 - local outlets covered: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/train-carrying-crude-oil-derails-near-custer-whatcom-county/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/train-carrying-cru...
- dkn775 6y agoThere was also an explosion at BGE building in Baltimore two days back on 23rd
- octoberfranklin 6y agoTwo women were indicted for placing shunts across the same railroad's tracks in the same county earlier this month: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press-release/file/1341141/download https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press-release/file/1341141... Note particularly the "INDIGENOUS LAND" emblem on page 5 of the indictment. Pretty obviously not the only two people who are part of that group.
- philwelch 6y agoI think it’s premature to speculate about motive, aside from the obvious part about targeting telecoms infra rather than people. For instance, this might also potentially disable security/alarm systems for a heist, or perhaps it was motivated by some 5G conspiracy theory.
- coolgeek 6y agoThe Venn diagram on anti-government militias and 5G conspiracy theorists is pretty close to a circle
- mhh__ 6y agoIn the UK we have some lefties getting in on the fun too - "buy my crystals to fix your 5G allergy" kind of stuff.
- coolgeek 6y ago"lefties" is a much broader category than anti-government militias. Other than that, no argument from me
- mhh__ 6y agoAlthough there is more overlap between the anti-government types and lefties than they would both like to admit, we don't really have a libertarian sect beyond a vague correlation with thatcherism (But even then, outright thatcherism is still a think for the wonks - having any political ideology at all is depressingly rare)
- coolgeek 6y agoHere in the colonies, most of the left regards libertarians as right-wing (and a good chunk of the right considers them to be left-wing). It's illustrative of why simplistic right/left labeling is at best useless. You have to evaluate individuals - and media orgs - at a much more granular level. At minimum, three dimensions - natsec/defense, economics, social.
- pseudo0 6y agoIf anything, this attack reminded me of the Weather Underground bombings in the 70s, which were often prefaced by evacuation warnings and targeted infrastructure rather than people. If I had to take a guess though, I'd go with a genuinely mentally ill person attempting to take out the 5G "mind control rays" or whatever, particularly given the potential presence of human remains found at the scene. I read that story you mentioned about the energy grid plot, but it seems like bizarrely pathetic larping that was stopped before any substantive action was taken [0]. One part of the article I couldn't help but laugh at: > The affidavit says the Ohio teen put Nazi flags in his room, but his mother told him to take them down. [0] - https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/fbi-white-supremacists-plotted-attack-on-us-power-grid/2429789/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/fbi-w...
- ideophobia 6y agoYea when I first saw the coverage my immediate assumption was a crazy anti-5g person. But reading accounts of the events leading up to the explosion made it sound too well executed for that in my mind. Obviously anyone who does this, regardless of motive, is mentally ill in some capacity.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago> Obviously anyone who does this, regardless of motive, is mentally ill in some capacity. I'm not sure why you think that is obvious. Without knowing the motive we have no means of assessing the decision making process of the attacker(s).
- cookiengineer 6y agoI'm not sure if it's only anti government militia. Another possibility could be a heist/digital raid and that this bombing was there to prevent offsite backups of a secure data facility. Nonetheless this seems too coordinated and well executed to be some random hate group, so I agree with you there. Especially with the evacuation messages. Anybody know if e.g. the Nexus group or similar SSAE data centers had some issues?
- Throwaway1771 6y agoMilitias are not (all) hate groups.
- edoceo 6y agoYou're "countering" an assertion that was not made.
- octoberfranklin 6y agoYou're racist.
- WalterGR 6y agoCould you please knock it off? Your comments on this post are designed only to start flamewars. That sort of thing is frowned upon here. Since one of your comments is about what’s acceptable on HN, then either you know better and are doing it anyway, which is in poor taste, or you don’t know better and therefore shouldn’t be lecturing people about what’s acceptable here. Either by way of refresher or introduction, here are the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- octoberfranklin 6y agoRacism is not acceptable on HN. You have some kind of beef with the DOJ indictment I posted here? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25542215 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25542215 I don't think the DOJ was trying to start a flamewar when they filed that brief.
- macinjosh 6y ago> This attack screams anti-government militia with it's technique What makes you think this? Vehicle bombs have been used by Islamic bombers, IRA bombers. Doesn’t seem that unique to me.
- suifbwish 6y agoHe clearly has a nice narrative, stop trying to spoil it for him by popping his balloons
- RealityVoid 6y agoThey usually do not go out of their way to avoid civilian victims. On the contrary.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y agoAs mentioned elsethread, the IRA did in fact often phone in warnings before a bombing.
- lucian1900 6y agoThe IRA was an anti-government militia, specifically against British occupation.
- betwixthewires 6y ago>between now and the inauguration Why the inauguration? >This attack screams anti-government militia What about it screams anything identifiable? Are you sure your biases aren't creeping into your analysis?
- octoberfranklin 6y ago> Are you sure your biases aren't creeping into your analysis? That's allowed on HN, as long as your biases match those of the rest of HN. For example, when somebody criticizes the FCC's fraudulent spectrum auctions and incumbent-preferential policies for poletop attachments, you get to call them a "5G conspiracist". That's allowed on HN.
- ideophobia 6y agoFirst, this isn't an analysis as much as it is pointless speculation on a Y Combinator message board. I already listed some things that stood out to me in another comment. I call out the inauguration because it's literally about to happen? Its the next the largest event in American politics on the calendar. And obviously my assumptions that this is tied to anti government efforts means those involved would likely be stirred up by whatever is currently happening in politics. Everyone's bias creeps into everything they do. Neither of us are immune to that. So calling it out here in such a uselessly rhetorical manner isn't some logical fallacy flag, it's a derailment of the discussion. I'm not even sure what bias you're accusing me of, I guess leftist politics?
- suifbwish 6y agoYou’ve been watching too much Netflix over the holiday.
- leblancfg 6y agoI made that link too - it’s spurious at best though, of course. Ever heard of Metcalf sniper attack, too, taking down a California power station a couple years back? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack Crippling a country’s energy and telecom capabilities could align with the motives of another nation.
- ideophobia 6y agoYep metcalf is why I'm making the leaps here. Also because metcalf is only one of dozens of similar events that occured throughout the US in the past 8-10 years or so, all similarly targeting infrastructure and energy companies, most of which remain unsolved today.
- microtherion 6y ago> This attack screams anti-government militia with it's technique The target and the means (RV stuffed with explosives) would sort of fit the pattern. Broadcasting an advance warning would be rather atypical for US right wing (or islamic, for that matter) terrorists, though, and rigging up a speaker that actually works would stretch the technical abilities of a typical US militia group. The groups who did operate that way (weather people, IRA, RAF, etc) are not presently active in the US (unless some snowbird weather people decided to come out of retirement). If the rumors of this being a suicide bombing pan out, a single disgruntled person with some technical skill probably would have the financial and technical means to carry this out, and a company like AT&T probably enrages thousands of technical people a year for various reasons — power laws would suggest that occasionally one of them might become enraged to the point of terrorism. Or, for wilder speculation, maybe some foreign state level actor has an interest in causing extra chaos? With leadership of various security services in near constant turmoil, and new appointees being installed primarily with partisan domestic objectives, now is as good a time to carry out such an act as any. It's probably best not to jump to conclusions, and be wary of any authorities looking to take this incident as a pretext to expand any of their ample existing powers.
- ksdjhfjkdhfsk 6y ago> 'be wary of any authorities looking to take this incident as a pretext to expand any of their ample existing powers.' That's the entire point of them doing this. What else would they be doing it for? Expect to see, among other things, new laws passed making it easy for RV owners to be searched and harassed, with every RV potentially being seen as a terrorist bomber.
- playingchanges 6y agoOne thing I found interesting was this list of media companies now owned by AT&T. I can imagine a motive scenario based on these names alone. https://bgr.com/2018/06/16/att-time-warner-merger-brands-what-they-own/ https://bgr.com/2018/06/16/att-time-warner-merger-brands-wha...