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State Department to pay up to $10M for information on foreign cyberattacks
- werljlekrjert 5y agoHow do I pronounce G R I F T / C O R R U P T I O N Fuck, I'll take a baseball to the Ukraine and get it done on the cheap.
- artursapek 5y agoThey should ask their buddies over at the CIA ;^D
- igorzx31 5y agoThe CIA doesn't monitor cyber, that would be the NSA and US Cyber Command
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- artursapek 5y agoThey don't monitor it, you're right
- DaniloDias 5y agoWow. Wonder what Alan Einstein is advising the leadership on the effectiveness of this approach. You should work hard to minimize all of your taxes if this is how they are going to waste it.
- giantg2 5y agoBut wouldn't the methods needed to obtain that information generally carry a high risk of prosecution for illegal acts? I dont even want to go into specific chat rooms or browse the dark web for fear of being swept up in some overzealous prosecutor's net. Even if your innocent it can cost thousands of dollars and years of your life to prove it.
- nubb 5y agoTotally agree. Some shitty prosecutor will 1000% make some Americans life miserable just to add a conviction to their belt. The risk is probably not worth the reward.
- 3pt14159 5y agoYou'd think that, but no, not really. If you talk to a lawyer first and he registers what you're doing with the police first and you don't actually break the law, you'll be fine. Lots of bounty hunters and private investigators are in the same game. Going to the police saying "I want to earn this $10m reward by finding those horrid blokes and here is why I'm qualified" isn't going to completely blow their mind. But it could get you hacked or worse.
- giantg2 5y agoMost states require bounty hunters and private investigators to have a license. Usually notifyingthe police is something they would do for physical situations. It could get tricky on the internet when dealing with jurisdiction. You would likely have to file something with the local police, state police, and DOJ/FBI/?. Honestly, the level of competence is not stellar. You could still be searched/raided/arrested and inconvenienced for days to years. Just look at how long Crosby was in prison with an all-star level legal team and protective agreement with the DA...
- eloff 5y agoHere's a crazy idea of dubious ethical value: The problem with Russian hackers is the law there doesn't give a damn, so they're untouchable. Why not ignore the law then? Put a price on their heads and use the same Russian criminal elements to take them out. Do that a few times and the problem will magically vanish. Nobody will be willing to work for these gangs. It also makes the Russian courts have to consider whether they'd rather handle this inside the law or deal with consequences of it happening outside the law.
- beermonster 5y ago> The problem with Russian hackers is the law there doesn't give a damn, so they're untouchable. Is it not the case that no Russian criminal offence has taken place? Not that I’m saying that’s great, but that might be the excuse needed to look the other way whilst carnage ensues ?
- runnerup 5y agoThis would normalize extraterritorial direct action on both sides. Yes, Russia assassinates people in the UK with nerve agents. But if the USA follows the suggestion you proposed above, Russia will respond with regular direct action on American soil to target people they're interested in. Plus the USA has enough control over global financial systems and extraditions from third party countries that the US government can make life difficult for individuals if they ever want to travel outside of Russia, spend/store money outside of Russia, or buy things directly from companies that are outside of Russia. USA can do these things without inviting potential assassinations within its borders.
- foolinaround 5y agoI am guessing the US does this as well, but is just not reported?
- nuclearnice1 5y agoGiven the lack of reporting, what information informs the guess?
- devwastaken 5y agoWhy exactly do we have internet lines to enemy countries that were at war with by proxy? We can block their routing with the flick of a switch. The harm done by countries were at war with far outweighs the benefits.
- l33t2328 5y agoWe are by no means at war with Russia.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 5y agoDoes it really outweigh the benefits? It automatically splinters the internet into regional little nets. All those things that are currently possible, because internet exists in its current form cease to work. And what countries are we at war with? Please be specific. This is not a trick question.
- paulpauper 5y agoHow about kidnapping them. Sorta like the bin laden raid. I don't think putin would do much or care.
- asquabventured 5y agoI think that's a really, really bad idea if they're on Russian territory. Would create a precedent for the Russians (and other adversaries) to do the same to US citizens.
- EveYoung 5y agoI agree that it probably would be a bad idea. That said, Russia executes state enemies on foreign territories already. And Vietnam kidnapped an asylum-seeker in Berlin in 2018. Another example, are the recent kidnapping allegations against Iran (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-kidnapping-conspiracy-charges-against-iranian https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-a...).
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- tareqak 5y agoSame story from a different source (the Associated Press): https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-europe-business-government-and-politics-cd21d84b5fd070421f871610b40e91d0 https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-europe-busin...
- jnosCo 5y agoI think this could be a very effective countermeasure. It reduces trust between members of a crew, and between crews themselves. If you're constantly suspicious of Ivan the mail campaign guy ratting you out for a payday, it makes the whole business focus more on opsec and less on offense. Though sole operators can do plenty of damage on their own, they probably are less likely to be state-backed.
- trhway 5y agoDoes it come with Green Card for Ivan? >it makes the whole business focus more on opsec and that is bad?
- lisper 5y agoWith $10M in the bank there are surely many countries that would welcome him with open arms.
- neatze 5y agoYou need only to invest 500K (that passes AML) in US to get a green card.
- anter 5y agoNo longer the case. EB5 requires $1,800,000 that can be reduced to $900,000 if it's in the Targeted Employment Area.
- neatze 5y agoAccording USCIS website, it is still 500K[1]. [1] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/eb-5-immigrant-investor-program https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent...
- trhway 5y agowith known criminal background? That is my point - without State Department waiving such requirement and issuing GC/witness protection the Ivan would be easy reachable for FSB in any other country.
- flowerlad 5y agoThe government should offer a similar reward for information on US corporations who run critical infrastructure, or hoard personal information on US citizens, and don't maintain proper security.
- ixacto 5y agoSo basically all the credit rating agencies and the government itself? Or does the OPM get sovereign immunity? https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-opm-hack-far-worse-you-imagine https://www.lawfareblog.com/why-opm-hack-far-worse-you-imagi...
- cgb223 5y agoA government bug bounty program would be a huge step forward to our defense. Could even encourage would be hackers to go white hat
- flowerlad 5y agoThe payout should come from the company that has the vulnerability, not US taxpayers. So basically there needs to be a law that states that if you run critical infrastructure, or hoard personal information on US citizens then you are required to set aside X dollars to pay white hat hackers who find vulnerabilities.
- mikewarot 5y agoHow would you define "proper" security in a way that is enforceable in court?
- salimmadjd 5y agoFrom the AP version (h/t @tareqak) [0], "identification of anyone engaged in foreign state-sanctioned malicious cyber activity". Key phrase, state-sanctioned. This has less to do with tracking down cybercriminals, and more with creating a case for foreign policy agenda. Remember it was WMD informant "Curveball" testimony to then Secretary of State Powell, that was used as one of the key pretexts to invade Iraq. Essentially if an administration comes with an agenda to start a new war, they put the right people inside the State Department and then those guys just need to comb for anything (validated or not) to find "informants" to make the case for cyber attack. Followed by making the case in media that cyber attack is military attack and it requires military retaliation. This will bypass the entire US intelligence system to validate the source of threat. It just needs one person to claim they were involve in cyber attack against US and it was sponsored by the government of Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, or any other country we want to go after. I highly recommend watching this portion of the town hall with former US Congressman Dennis Kucinich talking about how non disclosure rules prevented the Congress from speaking out against US State Department spreading false information to American public [1]. [0] https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-europe-business-government-and-politics-cd21d84b5fd070421f871610b40e91d0 https://apnews.com/article/technology-joe-biden-europe-busin... [1] https://youtu.be/s-W9b-_K_Xo?t=2433 https://youtu.be/s-W9b-_K_Xo?t=2433
- jonnybgood 5y ago> Essentially if an administration comes with an agenda to start a new war, they put the right people inside the State Department and then those guys just need to comb for anything (validated or not) to find "informants" to make the case for cyber attack. Followed by making the case in media that cyber attack is military attack and it requires military retaliation. This will bypass the entire US intelligence system to validate the source of threat. It just needs one person to claim they were involve in cyber attack against US and it was sponsored by the government of Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, or any other country we want to go after. That’s a very oversimplified odd narrative. Unlike Iraq and mysterious nuclear related material objects, cyber attacks are happening. And it’s quite evident US is lacking in this area. The US doesn’t need “one person” when there are clear signatures and traces that are substantiated not only by the US intelligence system but also by non-government entities.
- Animats 5y ago"Russia’s most aggressive ransomware group disappeared. It’s unclear who made that happen." - NYT.[1] Somehow, the problem seems to have been dealt with. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/us/politics/russia-hacking-ransomware-revil.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/us/politics/russia-hackin...
- exabrial 5y agoOh I got this: A bunch of US IT Firms left the front doors unlocked and got mad when someone walked in and took their stuff. Now that I've root caused it, I prefer next-day ACH if possible. PM for my bank details, thank you!
- wyldfire 5y agoIt might seem like a lot but it is not enough to betray the FSB, even if you defected/emigrated. Clearly they've demonstrated their capability to strike targets in other countries. $10M can't buy enough security or safety and who wants to look over their shoulder for the rest of their lives?
- swader999 5y agoI wonder if the guys with the election pcaps will qualify.