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'In the wake of the attack on his company, Blount said he would like the U.S. government to go after hackers who have found safe haven in Russia. “Ultimately th

'In the wake of the attack on his company, Blount said he would like the U.S. government to go after hackers who have found safe haven in Russia. “Ultimately the government needs to focus on the actors themselves. As a private company, we don’t have a political capability of shutting down the host countries that have these bad actors in them.”' says it all, regardless of nation state

vijayr02 5y ago
Reagan gave green light to sabotage of Soviet oil pipeline (2004) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27402062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27402062 To paraphrase Clausewitz, economic war is war by other means. > "In order to disrupt the Soviet gas supply, its hard currency earnings from the West, and the internal Russian economy, the pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines and valves was programmed to go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds," Reed writes. "The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," he recalls, adding that US satellites picked up the explosion. Reed said that the blast occurred in the summer of 1982. "While there were no physical casualties from the pipeline explosion, there was significant damage to the Soviet economy," he writes. "Its ultimate bankruptcy, not a bloody battle or nuclear exchange, is what brought the Cold War to an end. In time the Soviets came to understand that they had been stealing bogus technology, but now what were they to do? By implication, every cell of the Soviet leviathan might be infected. They had no way of knowing which equipment was sound, which was bogus. All was suspect, which was the intended endgame for the entire operation." Seems familiar to our predicament today, no?
- jcranmer 5y ago
  I feel like I should point out that this claim comes from an autobiographical book that has never been corroborated by any other source. When the claim involves "the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," the lack of other sources is especially suspicious. I personally find the claim that the Soviets were using SCADA control systems in 1982 somewhat suspicious as well.

vijayr02 5y ago

Reagan gave green light to sabotage of Soviet oil pipeline (2004) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27402062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27402062 To paraphrase Clausewitz, economic war is war by other means. > "In order to disrupt the Soviet gas supply, its hard currency earnings from the West, and the internal Russian economy, the pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines and valves was programmed to go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds," Reed writes. "The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," he recalls, adding that US satellites picked up the explosion. Reed said that the blast occurred in the summer of 1982. "While there were no physical casualties from the pipeline explosion, there was significant damage to the Soviet economy," he writes. "Its ultimate bankruptcy, not a bloody battle or nuclear exchange, is what brought the Cold War to an end. In time the Soviets came to understand that they had been stealing bogus technology, but now what were they to do? By implication, every cell of the Soviet leviathan might be infected. They had no way of knowing which equipment was sound, which was bogus. All was suspect, which was the intended endgame for the entire operation." Seems familiar to our predicament today, no?

jcranmer 5y ago
I feel like I should point out that this claim comes from an autobiographical book that has never been corroborated by any other source. When the claim involves "the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," the lack of other sources is especially suspicious. I personally find the claim that the Soviets were using SCADA control systems in 1982 somewhat suspicious as well.