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Brian Krebs: This Administration Is Completely Compromised

170 points by breadwinner 2y ago

breadwinner 2y ago
Before flagging this post to oblivion consider the source: Brian Krebs [1] is highly reputable [2]. This is very newsworthy. [1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs
- 0xy 2y ago
  Didn't he dox his enemies and smear Ubiquiti's reputation by believing a criminal's version of events without verifying anything, resulting in a lawsuit, settlement and retraction?
- TZubiri 2y ago
  By the title, I was concerned, thought maybe musk's doge and the likes were leaking data. But it seems to be about Russia. It's a security researcher posting about politics. He may be out of his element and this would be equivalent to posts from any citizen. Otoh, another possibility is that his insight from the cybersecurity aspect might reflect on a bigger trend. I'm going with the former interpretation (out of his element) cyber is only one aspect of the US-Rus relations and a cybersecurity specialist might overweigh it. There's other concerns, including actual proxy wars going on. We don't know what the priorities are.
  - breadwinner 2y ago
    Here's more reporting on this if you don't like Mr. Krebs: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia...
    - TZubiri 2y ago
      I like Krebs. It's just that he is an expert in cyber security and not national defense or military. My take from reading the more neutral guardian article is that the Americans don't see russia as a threat, probably because they have faith in their public and private cyber defense. And possibly also because they do similar cyber attacks, so they don't hold it against them. It's good to see US Rus relations improving, I don't know what to tell ya.
      - breadwinner 2y ago
        > Americans don't see russia as a threat Seriously? Those Americans should remove their rose colored glasses. Even if you don't see Putin as a threat it is still important to spy on him.
        TZubiri 2y ago
        I'm not american, but I do business with them. If the state says they have an embargo with Iran and Venezuela, I cut ties with those countries and not import stuff or work with people from those countries. If the govmt says Russia is not a threat, then Russia is not a threat as far as I'm concerned. I will always hold the official line (barring extreme circumstances). But I will not compromise trade relations with the US by taking any line different than the incumbent state. Not even if an eminence like krebs does. In the end he is a guy not in the military hierarchy, without official information, posting about national defense matters on social media for foreigners to see. And even if it is backed by similarly biased commenters on a forum ran by a dem aligned state. Who should I trust ad an outsider? It's an easy choice for me. I do try to stay away from your politics, but sometimes you gotta make a call. Do with that as you will. I get that as a citizen you have more freedom to question your govmt, and I have to tread a fine line between not getting into the politics of a foreign country in public and doing it out of nature. But in my defense, you guys sure like getting into the politics of other states. But man, let's hope I'm right, no? like it or not, neither of us have control over the line taken by your militaries. Going on a limb here, but are republicans concerned about Russia atm? If this is a bipartisan matter I'd be more inclined to be weary. Otherwise it might be dems conflating internal political enemies for external nation enemies. Happens around elections, hopefully it stabilizes. I personally would be much more concerned about the 5m visa things if I were you guys. I thought reps were anti inmigration! I guess it's ok when it's extracting the elite and wealthy from other countries. P.s: will probably delet this later. Robots.txt deny
  - n2d4 2y ago
    How is a (reputable) cybercrime journalist out of his element when it comes to how much cybercrime is committed by Russia? That sounds like it's exactly his topic of expertise. Sure, there are other things that are happening in this conflict that may or may not be worse, but he didn't say there wasn't. All he said is that he believes that the cybersecurity stuff is already enough to prove malice. If you believe there are even worse things, then you should be even more worried!
- legitster 2y ago
  It's hard for there to be a less authoritative figure on this stuff than Krebs.
  - TZubiri 2y ago
    Authority doesn't transfer across all domains. Although this is roughly adjacent to his domain, it's also not his domain. Consider wikipedia's take on the subject of self published sources: " Self-published expert sources may be considered reliable when produced by an established subject-matter expert, whose work *in the relevant field* has previously been published by reliable, independent publications." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-p...
    - hyperhopper 2y ago
      This is his domain. His domain is cyberattacks. This is 100% about cyberattacks. Sure some people are playing politics with it, but it is his domain more than the politicians. Of thr people mentioned here, we have one of the world's foremost security experts, and a fox news host making a decision about cyber security. There is no evidence that the fox news host's experience is more relevant to this domain.
      - jalapenos 2y ago
        No it's not, it's about cyber attacks and diplomacy. He has no expertise in diplomacy.
      - TZubiri 2y ago
        I looked the fox news host, he is military. That was just a low shot. I get that cybersecurity is his domain. But this is about national defense and international politics no? He is taking a jab at a different (bigger) topic based on his domain. In my experience when people do this, it doesn't play out, people get overconfident and explore the limits of their competence. But he might be on to something, who knows, time will tell. It's just not statistically likely for me And in Krebs defense, the topics are interrelated, it's not like he just gave his opinion on a completely unrelated manner like covid (remember when everyone had an opinion on that?)
breadwinner 2y ago
Brian further comments: We are so getting cut out of intel sharing agreements by our allies over this. I mean, if they have a brain. Anyone with intel training 101 (that isn't Israel) will conclude that the US cannot be a trusted intel sharing partner anymore. https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/114083681956432034 https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/114083681956432034
tuatoru 2y ago
One example action is not enough evidence to be able to use "completely". More data required.
- Hizonner 2y ago
  "Standing down from all planning" is one action the same way "launching all the nukes" is one action.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
jonahbenton 2y ago
As a non-famous infosec person I am completely freaked out.
legitster 2y ago
It's also worth noting that Cyber Command doesn't just do the high level infosec/botfarm stuff. Their most useful work for common Americans is fighting ransomware groups and coordinated scammers. Many of which originate from Russia! Depending on how this order is implemented, it's not just a political thing, but an opening of the door to actual robbers and thieves.
commandlinefan 2y ago
Whether you agree with his assessment or not - it's clear that the president has too much power for one single person to hold. _Hopefully_ congress will work to change _that_, rather than fight this one person for four years and hope to hand all of this power to somebody they trust better next time.
Timber-6539 2y ago
[flagged]
jalapenos 2y ago
Sounds like a classic Chomsky-esque "I'm an expert in [niche topic] so therefore also on US foreign policy". Somehow, this line of reasoning flies, despite its absurdity. Krebs is an expert in cyber security, not diplomacy. On the latter, he's an armchair quarterback. This isn't some purely technical cyber security matter. It's obviously a "let's minimize poking Russia during trying to negotiate a peace deal" action. So no, he's not an expert "in this".
ConspiracyFact 2y ago
Taking a 10,000-foot view, I wonder why we should be conducting offensive actions against anyone…?
- PeterWhittaker 2y ago
  One reason I can guess: measured response (or more) against adversarial actions. Like when someone blows up something of yours so you hit something of theirs. We know that many state agents - and others - are conducting offensive cyber operations against the US, and it may be that defence is not enough.
- dwaltrip 2y ago
  Indeed, now's a great time to sing kumbaya while Putin does whatever the fuck he wants -- not including invading multiple soverign nations -- and the Kremlin laughs their asses at our stupidity and crumbling institutions.
  - IYasha 2y ago
    I might get a job at Kremlin as I can't stop laughing MAO for some reason. :_D
alsoforgotmypwd 2y ago
Perhaps because it impacts crim groups daddy Putin likes.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

170 points by breadwinner 2y ago

Before flagging this post to oblivion consider the source: Brian Krebs [1] is highly reputable [2]. This is very newsworthy. [1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Krebs

0xy 2y ago
Didn't he dox his enemies and smear Ubiquiti's reputation by believing a criminal's version of events without verifying anything, resulting in a lawsuit, settlement and retraction?
TZubiri 2y ago
By the title, I was concerned, thought maybe musk's doge and the likes were leaking data. But it seems to be about Russia. It's a security researcher posting about politics. He may be out of his element and this would be equivalent to posts from any citizen. Otoh, another possibility is that his insight from the cybersecurity aspect might reflect on a bigger trend. I'm going with the former interpretation (out of his element) cyber is only one aspect of the US-Rus relations and a cybersecurity specialist might overweigh it. There's other concerns, including actual proxy wars going on. We don't know what the priorities are.
- breadwinner 2y ago
  Here's more reporting on this if you don't like Mr. Krebs: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia...
  - TZubiri 2y ago
    I like Krebs. It's just that he is an expert in cyber security and not national defense or military. My take from reading the more neutral guardian article is that the Americans don't see russia as a threat, probably because they have faith in their public and private cyber defense. And possibly also because they do similar cyber attacks, so they don't hold it against them. It's good to see US Rus relations improving, I don't know what to tell ya.
    - breadwinner 2y ago
      > Americans don't see russia as a threat Seriously? Those Americans should remove their rose colored glasses. Even if you don't see Putin as a threat it is still important to spy on him.
      - TZubiri 2y ago
        I'm not american, but I do business with them. If the state says they have an embargo with Iran and Venezuela, I cut ties with those countries and not import stuff or work with people from those countries. If the govmt says Russia is not a threat, then Russia is not a threat as far as I'm concerned. I will always hold the official line (barring extreme circumstances). But I will not compromise trade relations with the US by taking any line different than the incumbent state. Not even if an eminence like krebs does. In the end he is a guy not in the military hierarchy, without official information, posting about national defense matters on social media for foreigners to see. And even if it is backed by similarly biased commenters on a forum ran by a dem aligned state. Who should I trust ad an outsider? It's an easy choice for me. I do try to stay away from your politics, but sometimes you gotta make a call. Do with that as you will. I get that as a citizen you have more freedom to question your govmt, and I have to tread a fine line between not getting into the politics of a foreign country in public and doing it out of nature. But in my defense, you guys sure like getting into the politics of other states. But man, let's hope I'm right, no? like it or not, neither of us have control over the line taken by your militaries. Going on a limb here, but are republicans concerned about Russia atm? If this is a bipartisan matter I'd be more inclined to be weary. Otherwise it might be dems conflating internal political enemies for external nation enemies. Happens around elections, hopefully it stabilizes. I personally would be much more concerned about the 5m visa things if I were you guys. I thought reps were anti inmigration! I guess it's ok when it's extracting the elite and wealthy from other countries. P.s: will probably delet this later. Robots.txt deny
- n2d4 2y ago
  How is a (reputable) cybercrime journalist out of his element when it comes to how much cybercrime is committed by Russia? That sounds like it's exactly his topic of expertise. Sure, there are other things that are happening in this conflict that may or may not be worse, but he didn't say there wasn't. All he said is that he believes that the cybersecurity stuff is already enough to prove malice. If you believe there are even worse things, then you should be even more worried!
legitster 2y ago
It's hard for there to be a less authoritative figure on this stuff than Krebs.
- TZubiri 2y ago
  Authority doesn't transfer across all domains. Although this is roughly adjacent to his domain, it's also not his domain. Consider wikipedia's take on the subject of self published sources: " Self-published expert sources may be considered reliable when produced by an established subject-matter expert, whose work *in the relevant field* has previously been published by reliable, independent publications." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-p...
  - hyperhopper 2y ago
    This is his domain. His domain is cyberattacks. This is 100% about cyberattacks. Sure some people are playing politics with it, but it is his domain more than the politicians. Of thr people mentioned here, we have one of the world's foremost security experts, and a fox news host making a decision about cyber security. There is no evidence that the fox news host's experience is more relevant to this domain.
    - jalapenos 2y ago
      No it's not, it's about cyber attacks and diplomacy. He has no expertise in diplomacy.
    - TZubiri 2y ago
      I looked the fox news host, he is military. That was just a low shot. I get that cybersecurity is his domain. But this is about national defense and international politics no? He is taking a jab at a different (bigger) topic based on his domain. In my experience when people do this, it doesn't play out, people get overconfident and explore the limits of their competence. But he might be on to something, who knows, time will tell. It's just not statistically likely for me And in Krebs defense, the topics are interrelated, it's not like he just gave his opinion on a completely unrelated manner like covid (remember when everyone had an opinion on that?)

breadwinner 2y ago

Brian further comments: We are so getting cut out of intel sharing agreements by our allies over this. I mean, if they have a brain. Anyone with intel training 101 (that isn't Israel) will conclude that the US cannot be a trusted intel sharing partner anymore. https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/114083681956432034 https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/114083681956432034

tuatoru 2y ago

One example action is not enough evidence to be able to use "completely". More data required.

Hizonner 2y ago
"Standing down from all planning" is one action the same way "launching all the nukes" is one action.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

jonahbenton 2y ago

As a non-famous infosec person I am completely freaked out.

legitster 2y ago

It's also worth noting that Cyber Command doesn't just do the high level infosec/botfarm stuff. Their most useful work for common Americans is fighting ransomware groups and coordinated scammers. Many of which originate from Russia! Depending on how this order is implemented, it's not just a political thing, but an opening of the door to actual robbers and thieves.

commandlinefan 2y ago

Whether you agree with his assessment or not - it's clear that the president has too much power for one single person to hold. _Hopefully_ congress will work to change _that_, rather than fight this one person for four years and hope to hand all of this power to somebody they trust better next time.

Timber-6539 2y ago

[flagged]

jalapenos 2y ago

Sounds like a classic Chomsky-esque "I'm an expert in [niche topic] so therefore also on US foreign policy". Somehow, this line of reasoning flies, despite its absurdity. Krebs is an expert in cyber security, not diplomacy. On the latter, he's an armchair quarterback. This isn't some purely technical cyber security matter. It's obviously a "let's minimize poking Russia during trying to negotiate a peace deal" action. So no, he's not an expert "in this".

ConspiracyFact 2y ago

Taking a 10,000-foot view, I wonder why we should be conducting offensive actions against anyone…?

PeterWhittaker 2y ago
One reason I can guess: measured response (or more) against adversarial actions. Like when someone blows up something of yours so you hit something of theirs. We know that many state agents - and others - are conducting offensive cyber operations against the US, and it may be that defence is not enough.
dwaltrip 2y ago
Indeed, now's a great time to sing kumbaya while Putin does whatever the fuck he wants -- not including invading multiple soverign nations -- and the Kremlin laughs their asses at our stupidity and crumbling institutions.
- IYasha 2y ago
  I might get a job at Kremlin as I can't stop laughing MAO for some reason. :_D

alsoforgotmypwd 2y ago

Perhaps because it impacts crim groups daddy Putin likes.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]