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Cyber attack on German parliament still active, could cost millions
- wiz21c 11y ago1/ Replace with Linux 2/ Understand that security is not easy 3/ Conclude that given 1/ you can work on 2/
- v4n4d1s 11y agoAll servers are already on linux since about 10 years. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-Source-Software_in_%C3%B6ffentlichen_Einrichtungen#Deutscher_Bundestag https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-Source-Software_in_%C3%B6... [german]
- Rockslide 11y ago4) Understand that every IT system is vulnerable as long as people are involved
- boroboro 11y agoSome years ago there was some press about how many German politicians were complaining about the state phones and would bring in and use their own shiny phones, probably this goes for laptops too. I assume this was against the wishes of IT security. Then boom, and the politicians are complaining again.
- mauricemir 11y agoAll it takes for a "friend" to donate some new shiny to a MP who then plugs it and its game over.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y agoIf the attack is ongoing, why not unplug the Ethernet cable?
- iMerNibor 11y agoOh no that's not possible. Think of all the politicans who couldn't do work.. That's unacceptable!
- mauricemir 11y agoWell they would have to go back to paper and maybe even voting physically rather than pushing a button remotely.
- tacone 11y agoHello, fellow German office here. We don't know what ethernet is, we thus started unplugging everything we could: pension funds, welfare spending, army spending. We even unplugged portugal, spain and greece, but nothing worked. Please help.
- totallynotcool 11y agoMerkel takes her tweets seriously.
- boroboro 11y ago1. People want to work, and I assume the 'productivity' of politicians (meaning "we don't want security") brought this in the first place. 2. If sophisticated, the outflow of information might be with a mobile device plugged in, or other means to jump the air gap when ethernet is disconnected.
- matt4077 11y agoThis is an attack on the Parliament, not the executive. Only very few parliamentarians actually work with sensitive data.
- fwn 11y agoFor this "we are being attacked" reason, they want to get the parlamentarians to let secret services manipulate their laptops / phones. It's a classic. As if the local agencies are somehow less dangerous for the individual politician than the foreign agencies. The actual costs, "millions", are rather irrelevant.
- r3m6 11y ago>as if the local agencies are somehow less dangerous And in what way are they dangerous? And if not these experts, who should do this (expert) work?
- fwn 11y agoIn what way are foreign agencies dangerous? Now remember that they do the same thing. The other question is pretty easy: Every involved party should use own trusted experts for the hardware/software part it manages. If you are a parlamentarian and it feels suspicious to you that a secret service wants to get your phone: Don't hand it.
- boroboro 11y agoAgain, the German BSI does not the same thing as the Russian GRU/SWR.
- relet 11y agoWho do these experts report to? The individual parlamentarian (who is supposed to be independent), or the individual parties, or the governing coalition, or unknown third parties? At the moment, this is not even well disclosed.
- cstuder 11y agoIt get's even better: According to some reports[1], the german IT-security office (BSI) recommended completely replacing the IT-infrastructure with new hardware and software. They say the situation has gone out of control and that they are unable to stop the leaking of data from parliament computers to unknown third parties. [1] http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Nach-Trojaner-Angriff-Bundestag-soll-neues-Computer-Netzwerk-benoetigen-2687521.html http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Nach-Trojaner-Angriff...
- totallynotcool 11y agoYou would think they'd have SIPR/NIPR networks in place.
- rndn 11y agoAre they incompetent or is this a result of unforeseeable circumstances?
- draugadrotten 11y agoIt is not a sign of incompetence to know when it's time to abandon a burning building.
- pluma 11y agoI love how these stories always tend to focus on the "cyber attacks" rather than the incompetence that allowed them to be attacked in the first place. These days, if a website gets defaced because of an outdated Wordpress installation, the media instantly rallies to the victim's defence and portrays the script kiddies that did it as terrorists. And if they're not personally identifiable, they're government agents of wherever their IP addresses originate from (or whoever the current political go-to villain happens to be). I wouldn't be surprised if this major government IT SNAFU paves the way to more aggressive "cyber crime" laws and more posturing against Russia. It'll also likely be used to make the public forget about the entire NSA ordeal (because hey, we totally need the US to protect us against evil Russia). Keep in mind that the entire "we're under attack" narrative isn't as popular or widely accepted in Germany as it is in the US. The last attempt to portray us as having to defend ourselves against an attack was during our involvement in Afghanistan, which the public generally disagreed with (although our politicians promised unlimited solidarity to the US). We're also in a really awkward position: politically we're very dependent on the US (up to the point where US agencies can legally do what it wants in Germany thanks to post-WW2 agreements) but economically we're also very dependent on Russia -- as is a lot of Europe, for that matter.
- rayiner 11y ago> I love how these stories always tend to focus on the "cyber attacks" rather than the incompetence that allowed them to be attacked in the first place. For the same reason stories about home invasions or robberies don't blame the victim for leaving their house or car unlocked.
- fwn 11y agoJust that it's the internet. So it's more like parking your ferrari with open doors in Somalia.
- rayiner 11y agoSure. But if someone hacks you or robs you, the media should place blame on the person who was actually malicious, not the one who was merely negligent Also, I love that the Internet = Somalia.