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> the fake Giuliani/Hunter Biden laptop story What was fake about it? AFAIK no factual claim has been refuted and some have been robustly proved (e.g. the gma

by nullc 6y ago

> the fake Giuliani/Hunter Biden laptop story What was fake about it? AFAIK no factual claim has been refuted and some have been robustly proved (e.g. the gmail sent emails that have been published pass DKIM validation). If you want to say the timing of it was a transparent attempt at political manipulation, I'd fully agree.

Nacdor 6y ago
Good point, I had forgotten that Rob of Errata Security was given an email to verify and it was proven to be legitimate: > So as I blogged before, the emails contained DKIM information, which the original reporters could and should have verified. So I eventually got a copy of the email and run DKIM verification on it. It passed: https://twitter.com/erratarob/status/1322007153415200768 https://twitter.com/erratarob/status/1322007153415200768 I think he's pretty active (and well-respected) on HN.
- chalst 6y ago
  Strange that Rob doesn't mention the possibility that the private key was compromised. What the DKIM signature really proves is the date the message was sent, not who composed the message.
  - edbob 6y ago
    I agree that is a possibility, but he probably didn't mention it because it's so remote. When you have someone's laptop with a bunch of private sexual photos, reams of PII and emails, and you can verify with witnesses and crypto that the emails check out, the rational explanation is "maybe the laptop is real" rather than "maybe Google got hacked six years ago and the extremely valuable private keys were saved for this". That is, I do agree with you and your technical analysis, but don't see the point of nitpicking his Twitter reporting. I think if you're on Twitter, you already know that you're not getting every little detail of a story.
djsumdog 6y ago
Exactly, and weeks after the story broke, it was revealed the FBI was actively investigating Hunter Biden. You can also download all the uncensored photos on many leak websites. The photos are clearly Hunter Biden in many sexually explicit positions (although none of them appear to be underage as was suggested by some). I think there is a prima fascia case against Hunter for his ties to Burisma and his appointment being purely for political clout and a power move; a move that should be investigated for possible direct security risks to the American government and the American people.

by nullc 6y ago

Nacdor 6y ago

Good point, I had forgotten that Rob of Errata Security was given an email to verify and it was proven to be legitimate: > So as I blogged before, the emails contained DKIM information, which the original reporters could and should have verified. So I eventually got a copy of the email and run DKIM verification on it. It passed: https://twitter.com/erratarob/status/1322007153415200768 https://twitter.com/erratarob/status/1322007153415200768 I think he's pretty active (and well-respected) on HN.

chalst 6y ago
Strange that Rob doesn't mention the possibility that the private key was compromised. What the DKIM signature really proves is the date the message was sent, not who composed the message.
- edbob 6y ago
  I agree that is a possibility, but he probably didn't mention it because it's so remote. When you have someone's laptop with a bunch of private sexual photos, reams of PII and emails, and you can verify with witnesses and crypto that the emails check out, the rational explanation is "maybe the laptop is real" rather than "maybe Google got hacked six years ago and the extremely valuable private keys were saved for this". That is, I do agree with you and your technical analysis, but don't see the point of nitpicking his Twitter reporting. I think if you're on Twitter, you already know that you're not getting every little detail of a story.

djsumdog 6y ago

Exactly, and weeks after the story broke, it was revealed the FBI was actively investigating Hunter Biden. You can also download all the uncensored photos on many leak websites. The photos are clearly Hunter Biden in many sexually explicit positions (although none of them appear to be underage as was suggested by some). I think there is a prima fascia case against Hunter for his ties to Burisma and his appointment being purely for political clout and a power move; a move that should be investigated for possible direct security risks to the American government and the American people.