Posted on 07/23/2015 9:33:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The prolonged hacking into the White House Office of Personnel Management, which put the personal information of at least some 21.5 million past and current federal employees in jeopardy, is only the beginning of the security threat to the Obama Administration and its successors, a number of top-level experts in cybersecurity have told Fox News. The attack has been frequently sourced as coming from China.
The experts warned that the entire U.S. national security clearance system could be compromised, that future senior government leaders and advisors could be targeted even before taking office, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of government officials might successfully be blackmailed, bribed or otherwise manipulated in the future into handing over still more sensitive information.
The identity disaster could also weaken the U.S. in any time of military confrontation: “If we choose to engage in conflict, we are in a much weaker position,” one expert concluded.
The threat could include intruders already in the government whose security credentials were stealthily enhanced during the OPM intrusion, which may have lasted a year before it was detected last April.
“There may be people walking around with higher levels of clearance than they should have,” said one of the experts. “I believe the entire national security apparatus is now at risk. It’s mind-boggling.”
“It’s the digital equivalent of Pearl Harbor,” another expert told Fox News. “Because people don’t see the carnage, they don’t recognize that this is the equivalent of an act of war. This is about espionage—Cold War tactics in the modern digital age.”
The experts consulted by Fox News were former government officials with deep knowledge of federal information systems and experience with national security issues, who had worked in top positions in both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Trump is either too politically diplomatic — not his usual trait — or is fooled.
That's what they want you to think. In fact, they all too readily cop to people and agencies being "incompetent," "untrained," and/or "underfunded [by Republicans]" every time there is a scandal, mischief, felony or treason...
Besides, the "incompetence" doesn't lend itself well to charges of premeditation and planning, and therefore, possible conspiracy — it's confined to few, certain, usually lower level people.
If you had a choice between a charge of criminality, conspiracy, treason or "incompetence," which one would you chose, every time?
Thank you Fox! One of the few USA news services to provide any truth.
Good for the goose...
I doubt most in the real world know, understand, nor care, the bullsh!t D.C. forces down the throats of biz that I.T. must carry out.
If D.C. had an accounting (people, departments, etc. fined, fired and/or JAILED), let alone required to follow the same rules, this would never be an issue.
Working in ‘secure areas’ (as part of a DoD partner not that long ago), the thought of plugging a ‘secure’ server into an internet capable jack would have got me canned and my CAC revoked!
It irked me most seeing the crap the Hildabeast is getting away with that would have shut my employer DOWN.
They are required by federal law and regulations to comply with tighter security than what they demand of commercial organizations.
Most of them don’t comply with the laws any more than most commercial orgs do.
Unfortunately the vast majority of companies will not secure customer data unless forced. I’ve had many C level executives tell me they didn’t want to know where the problems were. I still have organizations tell me the danger is vastly over stated and nobody is going to target them.
Hillary violated numerous laws with her server. I’m not going to hold my breath that she’ll pay for it.
My point precisely. It should be physically impossible. A request for secure records should go through a person, period. I feel the same way about hacking cars, airplanes, sewer systems, the power grid; it should be physically impossible without a cable connection at a secure location.
Well, when a private co. doesn’t care about customer/corp data; they are beholden to the audits and customers/reputation. Too many dings, customers to elsewhere, and co. goes belly-up...
What happens when govt doesn’t follow the law?
Should?! In my line of work, it WAS impossible. They were physically separated. Anything going in never came out again, unless is was secured and shredded, on site by ‘approved’ entities. Anything less and you would no longer be DOING business...let alone with the DoD/govt.
There’s NOTHING preventing the same in the public sector. Hell, I’m sure it’s all 20yrs behind anywhere since they piss our $$ away on everything ELSE...easy pickings; but why make it EASIER by plugging it into the ‘net?
Answer: Because it doesn’t effect THEM. NO accountability, no fines, no lose of job no JAIL.
The executives don’t care what happens 2 or 3 years from now. Only what happens while they are there, this quarter and maybe next. Bonuses are usually determined by this budget cycle not one way down the road.
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