Trump-Russia: Bountygate

[Richard Smith]

Colonial is a private company. It was their call.

They were losing millions of dollars for each day that the pipeline was not able to distribute Gas. So it makes sense to pay the ransom rather than lose the same amount of money or more due to delays in getting their computers back online.

That doesn't inspire much confidence.  If a group of Russian hackers can shutdown the gas supply to half the US and demand a ransom, that is a major national security issues.  Only the US government has the power to put a stop to that.  Turn the power off in Moscow for a few days and this will come to an end real fast.  But we have Old Joe asleep at the wheel.  Imagine the indignation if Trump were President while the Russians caused a major US gas shortage and were paid millions in ransom and all he had to say was that Putin wasn't involved and that he had "no comment."   The media would be clamoring for impeachment.

[Jon Banks]

That doesn't inspire much confidence.  If a group of Russian hackers can shutdown the gas supply to half the US and demand a ransom, that is a major national security issues.  Only the US government has the power to put a stop to that.  Turn the power off in Moscow for a few days and this will come to an end real fast.  But we have Old Joe asleep at the wheel.  Imagine the indignation if Trump were President while the Russians caused a major US gas shortage and were paid millions in ransom and all he had to say was that Putin wasn't involved and that he had "no comment."   The media would be clamoring for impeachment.

Stupid idea. Russia has the ability to retaliate in a major way if the US escalates our Cyber attacks. Offensive escalation is a bad idea.

Cyber Warfare is the nuclear weapons of the 21st century. Do you really believe Russia can't shut down our infrastructure in retaliation?

I don't know what the solution is but I doubt Trump would've done what you're recommending.

The bottom line is, Colonial is a private company and many private companies are unable to secure their networks from Hackers.

We need the military to do more to help secure vulnerable private networks. Strengthening our Cybers Defenses is the only thing we can realistically do.

[Richard Smith]

Stupid idea. Russia has the ability to retaliate in a major way if the US escalates our Cyber attacks. Offensive escalation is a bad idea.

Cyber Warfare is the nuclear weapons of the 21st century. Do you really believe Russia can't shut down our infrastructure in retaliation?

I don't know what the solution is but I doubt Trump would've done what you're recommending.

The bottom line is, Colonial is a private company and many private companies are unable to secure their networks from Hackers.

We need the military to do more to help secure vulnerable private networks. Strengthening our Cybers Defenses is the only thing we can realistically do.

This is not just any private company like the local store.  It is an organization that supplies gas to a large portion the US.  There is a national, governmental interest in protecting them from such attacks.  What is a stupid idea is to pay ransom and emboldened further acts.  Cyber attacks are cat and mouse.  They can never be completely stopped by purely defensive measures.  Putin knows who these people are.  He could put a stop to it this minute.  But instead he is laughing his arse off at Biden's weakness.  Half the US was just crippled by some Russian teenagers who are millionaires.  Putin only responds when some of his rich friends are inconvenienced.  Turn the power off to some Russian oligarch's factory and there would be immediate results.  This would never happen again from Russia.  Imagine if this had happened under Trump and his only response was to end the mask mandate to change the topic.  The Dems would be howling in outrage clamoring for his impeachment.

[Jon Banks]

This is not just any private company like the local store. It is an organization that supplies gas to a large portion the US. There is a national, governmental interest in protecting them from such attacks.

It's still a private company.

If you think this example and others like SolarWinds justifies the Federal govt taking a bigger role in Cyber Security for private businesses, I totally agree.

As far as retaliation, it will become an endless cycle if neither side has a technological advantage...

[Richard Smith]

It's still a private company.

If you think this example and others like SolarWinds justifies the Federal govt taking a bigger role in Cyber Security for private businesses, I totally agree.

As far as retaliation, it will become an endless cycle if neither side has a technological advantage...

So the solution is to pay ransom and be forever at risk of being crippled by anyone with access to a computer?  I'm not sure why it being a "private company" has anything to do with this.  They certainly have the option to pay a ransom.  That isn't the point.  The point is that when it comes to certain "private" companies like those that supply gas and utilities there is a national security interest that extends beyond the interests of the private company.   Only the US government has the resources and intelligence apparatus to keep this from happening over and over again.  Russia is not going to invade the US because we make an issue of it by shutting down a factory or down.  That is the language they understand.  Putin wants to retain power and keep his rich friends happy.  When their interests are threatened the result would be that those responsible for these hacks will end up in the Gulag.  Weakness, however, is what creates further risk. 

[Jerry Organ]

US corporations enjoy the GOP's kowtow tax giveaways that make the effective tax rate so low that some pay no corporate tax at all (a few get a rebate). Many of those corporations take the savings and hand out millions in annual "bonuses" to executives. Maybe instead more could be spent by corporations on updating their software. A few years ago, I would go into Costco and see them using checkout software that looked like Windows 98.

And if the government has to do the donkey work on digital security for corporations and industries, then how about business and industry paying their fair share of tax.



Of course, even though these corporations are making astronomical profits, it's likely that any changes in their effective tax rate would be passed on to the consumer. Corporations never lose. It's all about the One Percent and their political toadys, the Republicans.

[Jon Banks]

So the solution is to pay ransom and be forever at risk of being crippled by anyone with access to a computer?  I'm not sure why it being a "private company" has anything to do with this.  They certainly have the option to pay a ransom.

The fact that they're a Private Company means that they had the Right to pay the ransom if they wanted.

We can criticize their decision but at the end of the day, they did what they felt was best to get their computers back online.

The point is that when it comes to certain "private" companies like those that supply gas and utilities there is a national security interest that extends beyond the interests of the private company.   Only the US government has the resources and intelligence apparatus to keep this from happening over and over again. Russia is not going to invade the US because we make an issue of it by shutting down a factory or down.  That is the language they understand.  Putin wants to retain power and keep his rich friends happy.  When their interests are threatened the result would be that those responsible for these hacks will end up in the Gulag.  Weakness, however, is what creates further risk.

You're missing the point.

Russia has the ability to retaliate and shut down our factories and infrastructure. There's no evidence that our Cyber Warfare capabilities are superior to Russia's.

In a Cyber War, there would be no winner so escalation is against the interests of both the US and Russia (the same logic applies to Nuclear War: Mutually Assured Destruction).

We don't for certain know that the Russian government was involved in the Colonial Hack. Biden says it didn't involve the Russian government but for all we know, he could be saying that to save face. Afterall, it came on the heels of Biden's sanctions on Russia for the SolarWinds Hack. Which would mean Russia doesn't feel threatened by our retaliatory actions...

[Richard Smith]

Yet another astounding fake story came apart this week.  A year ago Trump accurately suggested that the virus started in the Wuhan lab.  And the Chinese were responsible.  This was met with a storm of criticism from the leftist media and widely condemned as a lie and wild "conspiracy theory."  Why?  Because they wanted Trump to be the main focal point to blame for the pandemic.  They couldn't allow the Chinese to bear any responsibility.  Fast forward a year.  Election over and Old Joe napping in the White House.  Suddenly the story changes.  The virus did likely start in the lab.  Just like any reasonable person would have known a year ago.  Just like the media knew a year ago.  No other case could be traced prior the outbreak in Wuhan.  There is a lab in that very city that deals with such viruses.  Several members of that lab were hospitalized just prior to the outbreak.  What a coincidence.  Now the media is accepting the obvious.  The entire house of cards is falling apart.  This isn't just a case of media incompetence but an intentional lie to influence the outcome of the election.