12 ms·

NBC Story about Hacking at Sochi is 100% Fraudulent

497 points by julespitt 13y ago

agwa 13y ago
At 2:37 in the video, the "special software" that allegedly showed that the computers had been hacked is a tcpdump revealing nothing but pings and DNS PTR queries.
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  This is like a 60 Minutes report on "hacking" where a guy from Symantec ran Windows Task Manager for a credulous Leslie Stahl and postured about how all that activity could be viruses.
  - sdegutis 13y ago
    Reminds me of VB GUI IP tracking[1] and double keyboarding[2]. [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ
    - josteink 13y ago
      Double keyboarding? That's certainly new to me. Not sure I think HN should be a place to post memes like this all the time, but still: thanks for posting.
      - sp332 13y ago
        The double keyboarding was a joke by the writers of the show. Unfortunately, I think the VB GUI was supposed to be serious.
    - fuzzix 13y ago
      > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ So this is what the pair programming experience is like! I like to imagine the next scene is the two >1000 hacksaws explaining ssh, remote X and basic Cisco admin to the yank-happy cord monster. Ever been on IRC? It's exciting stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rGTXHvPCQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rGTXHvPCQ
      - dzhiurgis 13y ago
        Not to forget classic coding scene from Swordfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmR3wIBJZbk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmR3wIBJZbk
    - notdonspaulding 13y ago
      Reminded me of NextGenHacker101's Tracer-T instructional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmv8quf_xM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmv8quf_xM
    - cgman 13y ago
      I LOL'ED SO HARD! ROFL
- mindslight 13y ago
  To Google. And the DNS traffic is most likely from the ping or tcpdump itself. But actually, one of his closing remarks is unintentionally helpful: "The best way to protect yourself ... if you don't really need a device, don't bring it" [lest it get stolen by US customs as you're returning home].
afreak 13y ago
One of the things that I think is going on here is that there is a bias (and for very good reason) towards Russia and other Eastern European countries due to the number of malicious activity encountered from the likes of malware and security attacks. However, one thing that everyone should keep in mind is that Russians do not "shit where they eat". It is not very common for any Russian group to specifically target people within their own borders as that would bring upon a lot of attention. It is 100% likely that their connections are being monitored and 100% likely that a dossier is being built on reporters and officials visiting the country, but it is 100% for sure that they're not being specifically targeted with malware. If they are, the person initiating the attack is going to find themselves in a lot of heat. Engel's Wikipedia article is quite fluffy on that note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Engel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Engel
- tomphoolery 13y ago
  That's really interesting. I assumed a lot of this "hacker fear" was due to the fact that a lot of these "professional" hackers happen to exist in Russia and Eastern Europe, there have to be a few who are just not that good and do it for fun or internet points. Wouldn't imagine the professionals to be caught up in this mess, as I'm sure they have more lucrative things to work on, but maybe a younger hacker or hacker group might step up and try to fuck around? This is, of course, assuming all of this is being perpetrated by regular civilians, not the Russian government. Seems that a "dossier built on reporters and officials" would be more interesting to a government rather than a hacker group, don't you think? Is the Russian government being accused of/watched for this kind of shit?
  - mkempe 13y ago
    During ethnographic research on security perceptions in business environments, we found that most Americans in the IT domain imagine hackers to be evil foreigners -- usually Russian or Chinese. A similar research program across Europe showed the total absence of such projections in the mind of IT security professionals. It all came back to me as I watched the American media in the last few weeks, bringing a number of negative stories on Sochi and Russia -- much more so than in the European media I monitor.
wildcardww 13y ago
The NBC video definitely started to lose credibility when the security expert proved he couldn't even open a box normally...
- dublinben 13y ago
  That was actually the reporter.
  - wildcardww 13y ago
    Right you are - video credibility restored!
rhizome 13y ago
All in a day's work.
Geee 13y ago
Well, I thought it was very fishy. It looked like propaganda.
- Mikeb85 13y ago
  Pretty much everything we hear about Russia through English-speaking media is propaganda...
  - breser 13y ago
    Here let me help you here. Your comment should read. "Pretty much everything we hear through the media is propaganda." There much better now.
    - Mikeb85 13y ago
      Can't say I disagree... A lot of distraction techniques too.
  - memracom 13y ago
    Yes. That is why we did not hear about the untraditional girl who got to second place in Russia's American Idol type of program. It was the Russian people who liked her voice and voted her up there. Did I mention that she was an American and covered with tatoos? Actually she was born in Uzbekistan but grew up in America. Check out Nargiz Zakirova for more info. And in the same show a native born black American girl who did not even speak Russian, made it into the knockout rounds. Her name is Karmen Moxie.
    - smsm42 13y ago
      As opposed to other winners of Russian singer contests which are regularly given extensive coverage in prime time on CNN. Come on. 99% of US population probably don't know Russia has American Idol-like program, and of those who do, 99% don't care who won it.
      - 13y ago
protomyth 13y ago
Well, its not like they haven't lied before. The whole Chevrolet C/K-Series pickup trucks Dateline story showed what they think of actual journalism. In technology, they had that DEF CON fun from a while back.
pieterhg 13y ago
What does he think he's doing with that MacBook box! @ 1m10s
- hrrsn 13y ago
  I found that very strange. It doesn't even look like the original box.
  - andreyf 13y ago
    Perhaps they bought it in Russia and it has a different kind of packaging than what you get in the US? I'm pretty sure opening the thick cardboard boxes I've seen that way would be quite difficult.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- ChuckMcM 13y ago
  That was very strange. I was thinking, "Really? Has this guy never opened a box before?" What was interesting was I repeated this story and later found this site and others and started looking back at what was said and no feel bad that I was "hacked" by the news guy in believing something that wasn't true. I wonder if their hotel story is just as bogus. I had forgotten briefly that you can never trust your news organizations when you live in an authoritarian state :-(
- zerohm 13y ago
  There's no time to explain! Just open the box!
mlvljr 13y ago
Finally, thanks from Saint-Petersburg :)
jccalhoun 13y ago
I just saw a tech news organization mention this and it just seemed entirely too alarmist to be true. Turns out it was...
darkrabbi 13y ago
It's disheartening that in 2014 the original article wasn't unanimously dismissed as the sensationalist click-bait that it is.
NathanKP 13y ago
The longer version of the report shows more details: http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-web-extra/honeypot-tests-likelihood-of-hackings-in-russia-137595971642 http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-web-extra/honeypot-tes... On the phone they went to a website and ignored warnings in order to download and execute a malicious APK. On the PC they followed a link in a scammy looking phishing email to download and open a malicious Office document. On the Mac they visited a website that had an ad suggesting that they needed an "antivirus program" so they downloaded and installed it. So the devices were hacked not because Sochi is especially dangerous, but because of pure stupidity. Nothing can help you if you deliberately ignore warnings, and deliberately install Trojan horse malware. The exact same thing would have happened in the US.
- Einstalbert 13y ago
  Wow that's a ridiculous spin of them to make...
- mladenkovacevic 13y ago
  But wait we can still stay on the #Sochiproblems bandwagon right?!
  - Smegger 13y ago
    #Secondworld problems
  - adobriyan 13y ago
    Remember when Georgia attacked Southern Osetia night before China Olympics? Our western friends are more delicate this time.
    - ochekurishvili 13y ago
      And Russian reaction was correct right? Ignore boundaries of sovereign state (Georgia), annex its' territories outside of conflict zone (Gori, Georgia) and all in order to "defend their friends". Are you aware that Russia perfectly timed it's Kavkaz 2008 military training near the border of Georgian Region of South Osetia? Just several days earlier before conflict heated up. And what Russia does when conflict begins? Forwards it's Kavkaz 2008 troops towards Georgia as soon as conflict begins. What a coincidence... BTW, name South Ossetia was created (yes created) by USSR which aimed to take control over Caucasus, and Georgia was kind of too unified by that time, that was against Russian plans.
Demiurge 13y ago
You can see huffingtonpost and drugereport post completely opposite, manipulative, news as far as American politics go. However, when it comes to international news, stories on both align perfectly, there is never a story that's off of the USA-party line. Russia bad! Putin bad! Olympics bad! I haven't seen a single positive thing, and I very much doubt there isn't a single positive to report. I read plenty in Russian press, even anti-establishment.
- memracom 13y ago
  It's funny to watch the Olympic coverage in Canada because it has been a steady stream of Russia bashing including lots of innuendo about corruption in building Olympic facilities and how they are not ready in time and how it is dangerous for gays (even though they visited one of the 3 gay clubs in Sochi" Of course all that was the senior journalists who have been bought by the establishment. People like Peter Mandsbridge who simply cannot be trusted. Then the athletes all arrived and a full team of journalists and the mood completely changed. Everyone is gushing about how amazing the place is, how great the food is and the accommodations. Several people have commented on how this or that is better than it was in Vancouver. So now I'm thinking that maybe junior journalists still have some ethics in them and will do some actual investigations of stories.
  - Demiurge 13y ago
    That's interesting, I haven't seen the later comments in US media so far. What I have noticed over time, though, is same kind monotonous, pointed, news buzz builds up for every other geopolitical event. Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. Iran, Iran, Iran. Libya Libya Libya. Syria Syria Syria. It's like an extremely well oiled machine. I really wonder how this works on the inside, with all these regular people journalists, some of which I actually know, who I can't imagine to be part of some conspiracy. I don't think very many people actually consciously realize what's happening, but somehow it is. It is probably the 'establishment', cynical elite, that doesn't care for ethics, but for (geo)politic advantage for the party, or country.
- smsm42 13y ago
  There are many things I am sure they would agree on. Murder is bad. Theft is bad. I haven't read any positive thing in the press about murder or theft. Is it because they are all bought by anti-theft cabal or is it because they actually agree on it being bad? Maybe they just think Putin is bad and the preparation for Olympics was completely messed up. As for positive reports - news usually aren't positive. It always has been so. Nobody reports positive things unless they are exceptionally positive. Fireman saves the lives of ten - news. Drunk driver plows into a tree - news. Drunk man decides not to drive but walk and safely arrives home - not news. A man comes from work, meets his wife and kisses her - not news.
memracom 13y ago
So many of the news stories about Russia recently have been fraudulent. Like the uproar about the child protection law that is called an "anti-gay" law, but nobody has found any evidence of the law being enforced. How many silly laws get passed in the USA that never get enforced? That's what democracy is all about. There is no wise all-knowing king who can rule by proclamation; instead we muddle through with a crowd of flawed human beings who got themselves elected by a bigger crowd of citizens who are at least as flawed as the legislators. And how come the haters of that Russian law, never target any of their venom at the Russian legislators who wrote and passed that law with a large majority? Investigative journalism is dead. Journalists are now bought and paid for by rich patrons. If you want to find a source of reliable news that you can trust, then sorry, you are out of luck. That era has long since passed.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- wavefunction 13y ago
  Selective enforcement of laws on the books is one of the worst corruptions of the modern era. If its never going to be enforced, surely the legislation can be struck from law.
- mistakoala 13y ago
  Journalists are now bought and paid for by rich patrons. That's one way of looking at it. Another way is that activists use it as an instrument of storytelling their agenda. It's even worse when it masquerades as 'quality' journalism, dressed up in broadsheet (or more to the point, Berliner format) and verbiage. I feel that there is just too much of the wrong motivation behind 'journalism'.
- tinbad 13y ago
  Because they are afraid. Also, the majority you are talking about is non existent. It is entrenched in the Russian culture to feel hopeless about legislature because everybody knows (or thinks) that nothing can be done and that the elite will do whatever they wish. You know that Stalin killed tens of millions just because they had a foreign sounding last name, right? If you say that western media is corrupt, than the Russian is absolutely corrupt. I don't believe you though, why would the west 'pick' on Russia? Just because? No, I'm russian and most things are true. Russia is one fucked up place for most people who live there. In most western counties it's luckily the other way around, the majority can live prosperous lives and pursue their dreams and wishes. I'm really tired of people defending Russia, it's people and our politics. I do agree that we get what we deserve. It will take decades or probably centuries before we even get to the level of kindness, sophistication and self respect you have in the west.
powertower 13y ago
Can we please get back to discussing how Russia is abusing the US yogurt company Chobani by not letting its yogurt cups into the country. This is all over the news wire, every outlet is reporting on it, the Obama administration has intervened, and it needs to be on top page of HN like now. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/nyregion/russia-blocking-a-yogurt-shipment-from-reaching-us-olympians.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/nyregion/russia-blocking-a... (*sarcasm) Is there any story about Russia right now that's not actively searching to criticize something?
- microcolonel 13y ago
  The U.S. blocks the spontaneous import of goods which haven't been certified for the U.S. market all the time, yet when russia applies the same criteria, they're somehow differently evil and/or unsporting? Sounds like freedom hating.
  - freedomYogurt 13y ago
    Yeah! We should stop calling it Greek Yogurt, and start calling it FREEDOM YOGURT!
- adamnemecek 13y ago
  "The relationship between the United States and Russia is deeply strained,..." What a wasted opportunity for a "strained yogurt" pun.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    Even more wasted was a 'the relationship has soured'.
primitivesuave 13y ago
Most news stories about technology where a technologically-illiterate reporter relies on a so-called "leading expert" to tell him what to report are 100% fraudulent. They did this for a surprisingly long time with Bitcoin, where the "expert" would inform the reporter about SHA 256 collisions and the reporter would twist that around into a statement like "so you're saying that Bitcoins can be stolen?" Obviously, they can and have been stolen, but not by some lucky bastard finding a SHA256 collision. In the end, it is the general public that ends up with these ridiculous misconceptions, while only a handful of people (e.g. the readers of HN) actually see through these ridiculous stories.
- judk 13y ago
  Next, apply this analysis to the cases where you watch some news about medicine or politics or crime or whatever you are not expert in -- it is likely just as wrong. (Gell-Mann Amnesia)
stevewilhelm 13y ago
The story wasn't 100% fraudulent: "Personal Privacy Note: Travelers should be aware that Russian Federal law permits the monitoring, retention and analysis of all data that traverses Russian communication networks, including internet browsing, e-mail messages, telephone calls, and fax transmissions." [1] "Additionally, cyber criminals may use the games as a lure in spam, phishing or drive-by-download campaigns to gain personally identifiable information or harvest credentials for financial gain. Lastly, those physically attending the games should be cognizant that their communications will likely be monitored." [2] Basically, while at Sochi, you will have very little digital privacy and if you visit Olympic game related websites, they may attempt to (broadly speaking) "hack" your computer. [1] http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/Sochi.html http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/Sochi.h... [2] https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST14-001 https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST14-001
- rhizome 13y ago
  That must be why the TSA just banned all liquids on carry-ons to there. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/06/tsa-bans-carry-on-liquids-on-russia-flights-after-olympics-toothpaste-threat/ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/06/tsa-bans-carry-on...
  - shitlord 13y ago
    What does that have to do with anything in the parent post?
- jwr 13y ago
  I find it amazing that these days these statements could be equally well applied to the U.S.A.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- pflats 13y ago
  I suggest looking closer at Andy Borowitz's other headlines. A few before the shirtless Putin article: GATES SPENDS ENTIRE FIRST DAY BACK IN OFFICE TRYING TO INSTALL WINDOWS 8.1 CHRISTIE ASKS FOR PUBLIC’S PATIENCE WHILE HE COMES UP WITH NEW STORY OBAMA’S CALL TO END TRAGEDIES ANGERS PRO-TRAGEDY WING IN CONGRESS It's satire. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport
- ephemeralgomi 13y ago
  They didn't "translate" it. The piece you're referring to is satire.
GigabyteCoin 13y ago
It's quite obvious that old habits die hard when it comes to North America vs. Russia. We can't seem to manage to utter a single decent word about them via public media. I wasn't even aware that sports competition begins today, until today.
- osipov 13y ago
  Old habits change quickly. Remember the 90s when we were friends? What does not change are geopolitical realities of land vs. sea power.
freshyill 13y ago
The real scandal is the way that jackass opened that MacBook Air. What the hell! Also I'd really like to know exactly how they hacked Mac OS X. Because if he downloaded something and then gave it his administrator password, that doesn't count as being hacked.
- smsm42 13y ago
  If you're an average journalist, it does. That looks exactly like in those hacker movies, after all.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
shangxiao 13y ago
lol all 4 comments on that article are about the way the guy opens the MacBook box...
znowi 13y ago
I yet to see a single positive report on the Sochi Olympics. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might think there's a semi-hidden agenda to discredit the games.
- oddx 13y ago
  And now try to imagine which opportunities it gives to some political forces in Russia to say: "Look, they all against us, they are our enemies".
  - aquadrop 13y ago
    You would be surprised, but unlike USA that was never the case in Russia, as far as i can remember. There's some sentiment among people like "Ah, again they want to show how bad and evil Russia is. Nothing's changed. Annoying".
- tlogan 13y ago
  I had a privilege and luck to travel and visit that part of Russia in late 90s. People are very nice (never refuse vodka if you are offered :)). But it is really poor place. There are open manhole in the middle of road - the big one, my friend would take out battery from the car bring it up with car keys, ... So it is not really "semi-hidden agenda" - it just that Sochi is not Moscow.
  - hedgie13 13y ago
    Late 90s was horrible and difficult time. Russia is not by any means warm, cozy and polished place now, but it changed enormously since 90s.
- smsm42 13y ago
  You mean when you come to the hotel you booked months in advance and they say there's no room for you and then when you finally get one you have the bathroom leaking and the curtains falling down - and then you complain about it, it must be the hidden agenda to discredit? The guys there at Sochi obviously screwed up the hospitality part. If they didn't screw up the games part, as soon as the games open, the tone would change. If they screwed up that too, the tone would stay.
sehugg 13y ago
Leno's quip tonight: "I didn't know they had Target stores over there!"
zacinbusiness 13y ago
Wtf is up with how that guy opens the MBA box?
jackhulsom 13y ago
You never know there, could've actually happened. it's he said she said ..
smsm42 13y ago
I was immediately suspicious when I heard that, and when I watched the clip which actually showed Moscow and not Sochi I just realized it's some baloney of which news is full now and stopped watching. Good to confirm my decision was correct.
downandout 13y ago
It's sad that this investigation was misleading at best, fraudulent at worst. But let's be serious for a moment. Using the local Wifi in Sochi, during the Olympics or or more likely than not at any other time, probably isn't all that safe of a thing to do. MITM, content modification, etc is quite likely to occur at drastically higher rates than in many other parts of the world. Russia is a hotbed of this kind of thing, and the vast influx of relatively wealthy Olympic visitors make a prime target.
jmnicolas 13y ago
This is what happens when there's no consequence when public figures are lying. Politicians and journalists should lose their job / title FOREVER when they are caught lying.
jpswade 13y ago
I don't think you mean Fraudulent. adjective 1. obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception. I think you mean "inaccurate".
commander_ahab 13y ago
Not surprised from NBC, this wouldn't be the first time they were wrong.
frkncngz 13y ago
i think they just removed that hilarious unboxing scene. original here: http://youtu.be/CNfQwrtKxWk?t=1m10s http://youtu.be/CNfQwrtKxWk?t=1m10s
josefresco 13y ago
While I appreciate the debunking effort (the original article smelled fishy and lacked details), the advice at the end is laughable. "don't click on stuff" really? That's your security advice?!
jccalhoun 13y ago
NBC has a comment at the end of CNET's story about it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57618533-83/sochi-hack-report-fraudulent-security-researcher-charges/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57618533-83/sochi-hack-repo... " NBC, for its part, defended its report. 'The claims made on the blog are completely without merit,' according to a representative from NBC News."
curious123 13y ago
Side note: The story is not fraudulent, it is false.
colinbartlett 13y ago
The security researcher posted a followup: http://blog.trendmicro.com/russia-experience-part-2/ http://blog.trendmicro.com/russia-experience-part-2/
Houshalter 13y ago
That's not 100% fraudulent, that's like 80% fraudulent.
fuckpig 13y ago
So does this mean that NBC is fraudulent? We should remember that... around the time of the next election.
Cowicide 13y ago
My GF was watching that Comcast-NBC story and I stopped to look and I was very much perplexed by the end of it. It just screamed of ridiculous FUD and I loudly scoffed at it and walked away from the idiot box incredulous of what I'd just witnessed. I've seen a lot of sensationalized bullshit via the corporate mass media before, but this took the cake. I wondered if it was "just me", but now I'm seeing many others online and offline also noting how ridiculous it was with more than obvious, dishonest fear mongering at play. It got me thinking about how much Comcast must serve others in order to maintain its corrupt, despised, anti-competitive oligopoly. Considering the fact that multiple polls show that Comcast is one of the most despised corporations in America, I don't think it would be too difficult to get many Americans behind breaking up their oligopoly if the issue was pushed. But, the government never pushes it. Comcast owes a great... no, massive debt to the government for its very existence, incredible anti-competitive growth and ability to continue to plunder Americans by becoming an increasingly gargantuan oligopoly and near monopoly (when it comes to higher speed Internet access in many areas). I also don't think anyone who's been paying attention doubts that war profiteers have taken over our government from the outside (via lobbying) and the inside via their own politicians with Washington’s revolving door – legislators and their staff members becoming lobbyists, and vice versa. That said... Russia deserves a lot of criticism to say the least, but the anti-Russian propaganda from the mass media coming from the USA, etc. is getting pretty thick, heavy and over the top. It's almost palpable at this point and it's obviously stressing our relations with Russia. Between that and some interesting issues with the Ukraine I'm starting to think the war profiteers would very much like to push for and ramp up a new, profitable Cold War between Russia and the USA again. The war on terror thing is getting old and harder to justify with limitless money and wars. With the Internet and average citizens utilizing it to spread info to each other, it's becoming increasingly difficult to start deceptive, profitable (open) wars or even just air strikes on places like Syria, for example. I'm not saying any of this is true and I sure hope it's not true, but the propaganda is really getting laid on thick lately and I'm not sure what the end-game is here. Even though many of the criticisms are certainly true against Russia, it seems like it's really getting "poured on" in the last few years and it's increasing tension with Russia on a scale I haven't seen since our last Cold War with them. I know it seems like I'm wearing a tinfoil hat and I'll understand if anyone thinks I'm sounding looney... but, I think the risk is something to watch for even if it is remote. I mean, for all I know this is simply a bunch of geopolitical pushing around that has nothing to do with any long term war profiteer agenda. I sincerely hope that's true. But, if there's something else going on, I hope we've all got our eyes wide open here and make sure we're not being led (yet again) into something that sucks away lives and treasure for the benefit of the very few. It's happened before (see Iraq) and I see no reason why the war profiteers won't keep trying and trying again.
JTenerife 13y ago
This is hilarious. And the winner of the Olympic Gold medal for FUD is ... NBC. But wait ... no need to be afraid: "So what can you do?" "Purchase ... antivirus software ... before you leave the country" LOL I can't wait coming to the US. Then I finally can connect to a US WiFi and go to these famous websites named facebook.com and google.com.
pje 13y ago
> The only thing that can be confirmed by the story is "don't let Richard Engel borrow your phone"

497 points by julespitt 13y ago

agwa 13y ago

At 2:37 in the video, the "special software" that allegedly showed that the computers had been hacked is a tcpdump revealing nothing but pings and DNS PTR queries.

jamesbritt 13y ago
This is like a 60 Minutes report on "hacking" where a guy from Symantec ran Windows Task Manager for a credulous Leslie Stahl and postured about how all that activity could be viruses.
- sdegutis 13y ago
  Reminds me of VB GUI IP tracking[1] and double keyboarding[2]. [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDD03yeLnU [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ
  - josteink 13y ago
    Double keyboarding? That's certainly new to me. Not sure I think HN should be a place to post memes like this all the time, but still: thanks for posting.
    - sp332 13y ago
      The double keyboarding was a joke by the writers of the show. Unfortunately, I think the VB GUI was supposed to be serious.
  - fuzzix 13y ago
    > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ So this is what the pair programming experience is like! I like to imagine the next scene is the two >1000 hacksaws explaining ssh, remote X and basic Cisco admin to the yank-happy cord monster. Ever been on IRC? It's exciting stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rGTXHvPCQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2rGTXHvPCQ
    - dzhiurgis 13y ago
      Not to forget classic coding scene from Swordfish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmR3wIBJZbk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmR3wIBJZbk
  - notdonspaulding 13y ago
    Reminded me of NextGenHacker101's Tracer-T instructional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmv8quf_xM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXmv8quf_xM
  - cgman 13y ago
    I LOL'ED SO HARD! ROFL
mindslight 13y ago
To Google. And the DNS traffic is most likely from the ping or tcpdump itself. But actually, one of his closing remarks is unintentionally helpful: "The best way to protect yourself ... if you don't really need a device, don't bring it" [lest it get stolen by US customs as you're returning home].

afreak 13y ago

One of the things that I think is going on here is that there is a bias (and for very good reason) towards Russia and other Eastern European countries due to the number of malicious activity encountered from the likes of malware and security attacks. However, one thing that everyone should keep in mind is that Russians do not "shit where they eat". It is not very common for any Russian group to specifically target people within their own borders as that would bring upon a lot of attention. It is 100% likely that their connections are being monitored and 100% likely that a dossier is being built on reporters and officials visiting the country, but it is 100% for sure that they're not being specifically targeted with malware. If they are, the person initiating the attack is going to find themselves in a lot of heat. Engel's Wikipedia article is quite fluffy on that note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Engel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Engel

tomphoolery 13y ago
That's really interesting. I assumed a lot of this "hacker fear" was due to the fact that a lot of these "professional" hackers happen to exist in Russia and Eastern Europe, there have to be a few who are just not that good and do it for fun or internet points. Wouldn't imagine the professionals to be caught up in this mess, as I'm sure they have more lucrative things to work on, but maybe a younger hacker or hacker group might step up and try to fuck around? This is, of course, assuming all of this is being perpetrated by regular civilians, not the Russian government. Seems that a "dossier built on reporters and officials" would be more interesting to a government rather than a hacker group, don't you think? Is the Russian government being accused of/watched for this kind of shit?
- mkempe 13y ago
  During ethnographic research on security perceptions in business environments, we found that most Americans in the IT domain imagine hackers to be evil foreigners -- usually Russian or Chinese. A similar research program across Europe showed the total absence of such projections in the mind of IT security professionals. It all came back to me as I watched the American media in the last few weeks, bringing a number of negative stories on Sochi and Russia -- much more so than in the European media I monitor.

wildcardww 13y ago

The NBC video definitely started to lose credibility when the security expert proved he couldn't even open a box normally...

dublinben 13y ago
That was actually the reporter.
- wildcardww 13y ago
  Right you are - video credibility restored!

rhizome 13y ago

All in a day's work.

Geee 13y ago

Well, I thought it was very fishy. It looked like propaganda.

Mikeb85 13y ago
Pretty much everything we hear about Russia through English-speaking media is propaganda...
- breser 13y ago
  Here let me help you here. Your comment should read. "Pretty much everything we hear through the media is propaganda." There much better now.
  - Mikeb85 13y ago
    Can't say I disagree... A lot of distraction techniques too.
- memracom 13y ago
  Yes. That is why we did not hear about the untraditional girl who got to second place in Russia's American Idol type of program. It was the Russian people who liked her voice and voted her up there. Did I mention that she was an American and covered with tatoos? Actually she was born in Uzbekistan but grew up in America. Check out Nargiz Zakirova for more info. And in the same show a native born black American girl who did not even speak Russian, made it into the knockout rounds. Her name is Karmen Moxie.
  - smsm42 13y ago
    As opposed to other winners of Russian singer contests which are regularly given extensive coverage in prime time on CNN. Come on. 99% of US population probably don't know Russia has American Idol-like program, and of those who do, 99% don't care who won it.
    - 13y ago

protomyth 13y ago

Well, its not like they haven't lied before. The whole Chevrolet C/K-Series pickup trucks Dateline story showed what they think of actual journalism. In technology, they had that DEF CON fun from a while back.

pieterhg 13y ago

What does he think he's doing with that MacBook box! @ 1m10s

hrrsn 13y ago
I found that very strange. It doesn't even look like the original box.
- andreyf 13y ago
  Perhaps they bought it in Russia and it has a different kind of packaging than what you get in the US? I'm pretty sure opening the thick cardboard boxes I've seen that way would be quite difficult.
deleted 13y ago
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ChuckMcM 13y ago
That was very strange. I was thinking, "Really? Has this guy never opened a box before?" What was interesting was I repeated this story and later found this site and others and started looking back at what was said and no feel bad that I was "hacked" by the news guy in believing something that wasn't true. I wonder if their hotel story is just as bogus. I had forgotten briefly that you can never trust your news organizations when you live in an authoritarian state :-(
zerohm 13y ago
There's no time to explain! Just open the box!

mlvljr 13y ago

Finally, thanks from Saint-Petersburg :)

jccalhoun 13y ago

I just saw a tech news organization mention this and it just seemed entirely too alarmist to be true. Turns out it was...

darkrabbi 13y ago

It's disheartening that in 2014 the original article wasn't unanimously dismissed as the sensationalist click-bait that it is.

NathanKP 13y ago

The longer version of the report shows more details: http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-web-extra/honeypot-tests-likelihood-of-hackings-in-russia-137595971642 http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-web-extra/honeypot-tes... On the phone they went to a website and ignored warnings in order to download and execute a malicious APK. On the PC they followed a link in a scammy looking phishing email to download and open a malicious Office document. On the Mac they visited a website that had an ad suggesting that they needed an "antivirus program" so they downloaded and installed it. So the devices were hacked not because Sochi is especially dangerous, but because of pure stupidity. Nothing can help you if you deliberately ignore warnings, and deliberately install Trojan horse malware. The exact same thing would have happened in the US.

Einstalbert 13y ago
Wow that's a ridiculous spin of them to make...
mladenkovacevic 13y ago
But wait we can still stay on the #Sochiproblems bandwagon right?!
- Smegger 13y ago
  #Secondworld problems
- adobriyan 13y ago
  Remember when Georgia attacked Southern Osetia night before China Olympics? Our western friends are more delicate this time.
  - ochekurishvili 13y ago
    And Russian reaction was correct right? Ignore boundaries of sovereign state (Georgia), annex its' territories outside of conflict zone (Gori, Georgia) and all in order to "defend their friends". Are you aware that Russia perfectly timed it's Kavkaz 2008 military training near the border of Georgian Region of South Osetia? Just several days earlier before conflict heated up. And what Russia does when conflict begins? Forwards it's Kavkaz 2008 troops towards Georgia as soon as conflict begins. What a coincidence... BTW, name South Ossetia was created (yes created) by USSR which aimed to take control over Caucasus, and Georgia was kind of too unified by that time, that was against Russian plans.

Demiurge 13y ago

You can see huffingtonpost and drugereport post completely opposite, manipulative, news as far as American politics go. However, when it comes to international news, stories on both align perfectly, there is never a story that's off of the USA-party line. Russia bad! Putin bad! Olympics bad! I haven't seen a single positive thing, and I very much doubt there isn't a single positive to report. I read plenty in Russian press, even anti-establishment.

memracom 13y ago
It's funny to watch the Olympic coverage in Canada because it has been a steady stream of Russia bashing including lots of innuendo about corruption in building Olympic facilities and how they are not ready in time and how it is dangerous for gays (even though they visited one of the 3 gay clubs in Sochi" Of course all that was the senior journalists who have been bought by the establishment. People like Peter Mandsbridge who simply cannot be trusted. Then the athletes all arrived and a full team of journalists and the mood completely changed. Everyone is gushing about how amazing the place is, how great the food is and the accommodations. Several people have commented on how this or that is better than it was in Vancouver. So now I'm thinking that maybe junior journalists still have some ethics in them and will do some actual investigations of stories.
- Demiurge 13y ago
  That's interesting, I haven't seen the later comments in US media so far. What I have noticed over time, though, is same kind monotonous, pointed, news buzz builds up for every other geopolitical event. Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. Iran, Iran, Iran. Libya Libya Libya. Syria Syria Syria. It's like an extremely well oiled machine. I really wonder how this works on the inside, with all these regular people journalists, some of which I actually know, who I can't imagine to be part of some conspiracy. I don't think very many people actually consciously realize what's happening, but somehow it is. It is probably the 'establishment', cynical elite, that doesn't care for ethics, but for (geo)politic advantage for the party, or country.
smsm42 13y ago
There are many things I am sure they would agree on. Murder is bad. Theft is bad. I haven't read any positive thing in the press about murder or theft. Is it because they are all bought by anti-theft cabal or is it because they actually agree on it being bad? Maybe they just think Putin is bad and the preparation for Olympics was completely messed up. As for positive reports - news usually aren't positive. It always has been so. Nobody reports positive things unless they are exceptionally positive. Fireman saves the lives of ten - news. Drunk driver plows into a tree - news. Drunk man decides not to drive but walk and safely arrives home - not news. A man comes from work, meets his wife and kisses her - not news.

memracom 13y ago

So many of the news stories about Russia recently have been fraudulent. Like the uproar about the child protection law that is called an "anti-gay" law, but nobody has found any evidence of the law being enforced. How many silly laws get passed in the USA that never get enforced? That's what democracy is all about. There is no wise all-knowing king who can rule by proclamation; instead we muddle through with a crowd of flawed human beings who got themselves elected by a bigger crowd of citizens who are at least as flawed as the legislators. And how come the haters of that Russian law, never target any of their venom at the Russian legislators who wrote and passed that law with a large majority? Investigative journalism is dead. Journalists are now bought and paid for by rich patrons. If you want to find a source of reliable news that you can trust, then sorry, you are out of luck. That era has long since passed.

deleted 13y ago
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wavefunction 13y ago
Selective enforcement of laws on the books is one of the worst corruptions of the modern era. If its never going to be enforced, surely the legislation can be struck from law.
mistakoala 13y ago
Journalists are now bought and paid for by rich patrons. That's one way of looking at it. Another way is that activists use it as an instrument of storytelling their agenda. It's even worse when it masquerades as 'quality' journalism, dressed up in broadsheet (or more to the point, Berliner format) and verbiage. I feel that there is just too much of the wrong motivation behind 'journalism'.
tinbad 13y ago
Because they are afraid. Also, the majority you are talking about is non existent. It is entrenched in the Russian culture to feel hopeless about legislature because everybody knows (or thinks) that nothing can be done and that the elite will do whatever they wish. You know that Stalin killed tens of millions just because they had a foreign sounding last name, right? If you say that western media is corrupt, than the Russian is absolutely corrupt. I don't believe you though, why would the west 'pick' on Russia? Just because? No, I'm russian and most things are true. Russia is one fucked up place for most people who live there. In most western counties it's luckily the other way around, the majority can live prosperous lives and pursue their dreams and wishes. I'm really tired of people defending Russia, it's people and our politics. I do agree that we get what we deserve. It will take decades or probably centuries before we even get to the level of kindness, sophistication and self respect you have in the west.

powertower 13y ago

Can we please get back to discussing how Russia is abusing the US yogurt company Chobani by not letting its yogurt cups into the country. This is all over the news wire, every outlet is reporting on it, the Obama administration has intervened, and it needs to be on top page of HN like now. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/nyregion/russia-blocking-a-yogurt-shipment-from-reaching-us-olympians.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/nyregion/russia-blocking-a... (*sarcasm) Is there any story about Russia right now that's not actively searching to criticize something?

microcolonel 13y ago
The U.S. blocks the spontaneous import of goods which haven't been certified for the U.S. market all the time, yet when russia applies the same criteria, they're somehow differently evil and/or unsporting? Sounds like freedom hating.
- freedomYogurt 13y ago
  Yeah! We should stop calling it Greek Yogurt, and start calling it FREEDOM YOGURT!
adamnemecek 13y ago
"The relationship between the United States and Russia is deeply strained,..." What a wasted opportunity for a "strained yogurt" pun.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  Even more wasted was a 'the relationship has soured'.

primitivesuave 13y ago

Most news stories about technology where a technologically-illiterate reporter relies on a so-called "leading expert" to tell him what to report are 100% fraudulent. They did this for a surprisingly long time with Bitcoin, where the "expert" would inform the reporter about SHA 256 collisions and the reporter would twist that around into a statement like "so you're saying that Bitcoins can be stolen?" Obviously, they can and have been stolen, but not by some lucky bastard finding a SHA256 collision. In the end, it is the general public that ends up with these ridiculous misconceptions, while only a handful of people (e.g. the readers of HN) actually see through these ridiculous stories.

judk 13y ago
Next, apply this analysis to the cases where you watch some news about medicine or politics or crime or whatever you are not expert in -- it is likely just as wrong. (Gell-Mann Amnesia)

stevewilhelm 13y ago

The story wasn't 100% fraudulent: "Personal Privacy Note: Travelers should be aware that Russian Federal law permits the monitoring, retention and analysis of all data that traverses Russian communication networks, including internet browsing, e-mail messages, telephone calls, and fax transmissions." [1] "Additionally, cyber criminals may use the games as a lure in spam, phishing or drive-by-download campaigns to gain personally identifiable information or harvest credentials for financial gain. Lastly, those physically attending the games should be cognizant that their communications will likely be monitored." [2] Basically, while at Sochi, you will have very little digital privacy and if you visit Olympic game related websites, they may attempt to (broadly speaking) "hack" your computer. [1] http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/Sochi.html http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/Sochi.h... [2] https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST14-001 https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST14-001

rhizome 13y ago
That must be why the TSA just banned all liquids on carry-ons to there. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/06/tsa-bans-carry-on-liquids-on-russia-flights-after-olympics-toothpaste-threat/ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/06/tsa-bans-carry-on...
- shitlord 13y ago
  What does that have to do with anything in the parent post?
jwr 13y ago
I find it amazing that these days these statements could be equally well applied to the U.S.A.

deleted 13y ago

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pflats 13y ago
I suggest looking closer at Andy Borowitz's other headlines. A few before the shirtless Putin article: GATES SPENDS ENTIRE FIRST DAY BACK IN OFFICE TRYING TO INSTALL WINDOWS 8.1 CHRISTIE ASKS FOR PUBLIC’S PATIENCE WHILE HE COMES UP WITH NEW STORY OBAMA’S CALL TO END TRAGEDIES ANGERS PRO-TRAGEDY WING IN CONGRESS It's satire. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport
ephemeralgomi 13y ago
They didn't "translate" it. The piece you're referring to is satire.

GigabyteCoin 13y ago

It's quite obvious that old habits die hard when it comes to North America vs. Russia. We can't seem to manage to utter a single decent word about them via public media. I wasn't even aware that sports competition begins today, until today.

osipov 13y ago
Old habits change quickly. Remember the 90s when we were friends? What does not change are geopolitical realities of land vs. sea power.

freshyill 13y ago

The real scandal is the way that jackass opened that MacBook Air. What the hell! Also I'd really like to know exactly how they hacked Mac OS X. Because if he downloaded something and then gave it his administrator password, that doesn't count as being hacked.

smsm42 13y ago
If you're an average journalist, it does. That looks exactly like in those hacker movies, after all.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

shangxiao 13y ago

lol all 4 comments on that article are about the way the guy opens the MacBook box...

znowi 13y ago

I yet to see a single positive report on the Sochi Olympics. If I was a conspiracy theorist, I might think there's a semi-hidden agenda to discredit the games.

oddx 13y ago
And now try to imagine which opportunities it gives to some political forces in Russia to say: "Look, they all against us, they are our enemies".
- aquadrop 13y ago
  You would be surprised, but unlike USA that was never the case in Russia, as far as i can remember. There's some sentiment among people like "Ah, again they want to show how bad and evil Russia is. Nothing's changed. Annoying".
tlogan 13y ago
I had a privilege and luck to travel and visit that part of Russia in late 90s. People are very nice (never refuse vodka if you are offered :)). But it is really poor place. There are open manhole in the middle of road - the big one, my friend would take out battery from the car bring it up with car keys, ... So it is not really "semi-hidden agenda" - it just that Sochi is not Moscow.
- hedgie13 13y ago
  Late 90s was horrible and difficult time. Russia is not by any means warm, cozy and polished place now, but it changed enormously since 90s.
smsm42 13y ago
You mean when you come to the hotel you booked months in advance and they say there's no room for you and then when you finally get one you have the bathroom leaking and the curtains falling down - and then you complain about it, it must be the hidden agenda to discredit? The guys there at Sochi obviously screwed up the hospitality part. If they didn't screw up the games part, as soon as the games open, the tone would change. If they screwed up that too, the tone would stay.

sehugg 13y ago

Leno's quip tonight: "I didn't know they had Target stores over there!"

zacinbusiness 13y ago

Wtf is up with how that guy opens the MBA box?

jackhulsom 13y ago

You never know there, could've actually happened. it's he said she said ..

smsm42 13y ago

I was immediately suspicious when I heard that, and when I watched the clip which actually showed Moscow and not Sochi I just realized it's some baloney of which news is full now and stopped watching. Good to confirm my decision was correct.

downandout 13y ago

It's sad that this investigation was misleading at best, fraudulent at worst. But let's be serious for a moment. Using the local Wifi in Sochi, during the Olympics or or more likely than not at any other time, probably isn't all that safe of a thing to do. MITM, content modification, etc is quite likely to occur at drastically higher rates than in many other parts of the world. Russia is a hotbed of this kind of thing, and the vast influx of relatively wealthy Olympic visitors make a prime target.

jmnicolas 13y ago

This is what happens when there's no consequence when public figures are lying. Politicians and journalists should lose their job / title FOREVER when they are caught lying.

jpswade 13y ago

I don't think you mean Fraudulent. adjective 1. obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception. I think you mean "inaccurate".

commander_ahab 13y ago

Not surprised from NBC, this wouldn't be the first time they were wrong.

frkncngz 13y ago

i think they just removed that hilarious unboxing scene. original here: http://youtu.be/CNfQwrtKxWk?t=1m10s http://youtu.be/CNfQwrtKxWk?t=1m10s

josefresco 13y ago

While I appreciate the debunking effort (the original article smelled fishy and lacked details), the advice at the end is laughable. "don't click on stuff" really? That's your security advice?!

jccalhoun 13y ago

NBC has a comment at the end of CNET's story about it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57618533-83/sochi-hack-report-fraudulent-security-researcher-charges/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57618533-83/sochi-hack-repo... " NBC, for its part, defended its report. 'The claims made on the blog are completely without merit,' according to a representative from NBC News."

curious123 13y ago

Side note: The story is not fraudulent, it is false.

colinbartlett 13y ago

The security researcher posted a followup: http://blog.trendmicro.com/russia-experience-part-2/ http://blog.trendmicro.com/russia-experience-part-2/

Houshalter 13y ago

That's not 100% fraudulent, that's like 80% fraudulent.

fuckpig 13y ago

So does this mean that NBC is fraudulent? We should remember that... around the time of the next election.

Cowicide 13y ago

My GF was watching that Comcast-NBC story and I stopped to look and I was very much perplexed by the end of it. It just screamed of ridiculous FUD and I loudly scoffed at it and walked away from the idiot box incredulous of what I'd just witnessed. I've seen a lot of sensationalized bullshit via the corporate mass media before, but this took the cake. I wondered if it was "just me", but now I'm seeing many others online and offline also noting how ridiculous it was with more than obvious, dishonest fear mongering at play. It got me thinking about how much Comcast must serve others in order to maintain its corrupt, despised, anti-competitive oligopoly. Considering the fact that multiple polls show that Comcast is one of the most despised corporations in America, I don't think it would be too difficult to get many Americans behind breaking up their oligopoly if the issue was pushed. But, the government never pushes it. Comcast owes a great... no, massive debt to the government for its very existence, incredible anti-competitive growth and ability to continue to plunder Americans by becoming an increasingly gargantuan oligopoly and near monopoly (when it comes to higher speed Internet access in many areas). I also don't think anyone who's been paying attention doubts that war profiteers have taken over our government from the outside (via lobbying) and the inside via their own politicians with Washington’s revolving door – legislators and their staff members becoming lobbyists, and vice versa. That said... Russia deserves a lot of criticism to say the least, but the anti-Russian propaganda from the mass media coming from the USA, etc. is getting pretty thick, heavy and over the top. It's almost palpable at this point and it's obviously stressing our relations with Russia. Between that and some interesting issues with the Ukraine I'm starting to think the war profiteers would very much like to push for and ramp up a new, profitable Cold War between Russia and the USA again. The war on terror thing is getting old and harder to justify with limitless money and wars. With the Internet and average citizens utilizing it to spread info to each other, it's becoming increasingly difficult to start deceptive, profitable (open) wars or even just air strikes on places like Syria, for example. I'm not saying any of this is true and I sure hope it's not true, but the propaganda is really getting laid on thick lately and I'm not sure what the end-game is here. Even though many of the criticisms are certainly true against Russia, it seems like it's really getting "poured on" in the last few years and it's increasing tension with Russia on a scale I haven't seen since our last Cold War with them. I know it seems like I'm wearing a tinfoil hat and I'll understand if anyone thinks I'm sounding looney... but, I think the risk is something to watch for even if it is remote. I mean, for all I know this is simply a bunch of geopolitical pushing around that has nothing to do with any long term war profiteer agenda. I sincerely hope that's true. But, if there's something else going on, I hope we've all got our eyes wide open here and make sure we're not being led (yet again) into something that sucks away lives and treasure for the benefit of the very few. It's happened before (see Iraq) and I see no reason why the war profiteers won't keep trying and trying again.

JTenerife 13y ago

This is hilarious. And the winner of the Olympic Gold medal for FUD is ... NBC. But wait ... no need to be afraid: "So what can you do?" "Purchase ... antivirus software ... before you leave the country" LOL I can't wait coming to the US. Then I finally can connect to a US WiFi and go to these famous websites named facebook.com and google.com.

pje 13y ago

> The only thing that can be confirmed by the story is "don't let Richard Engel borrow your phone"