Why the US Air Force Is Investigating a Cyber Attack From the US Navy (businessinsider.com) 59
"The Air Force is investigating the Navy for a cyber intrusion into its network, according to a memo obtained by Military Times."
Zorro (Slashdot reader #15,797) shares their report: The bizarre turn of events stems from a decision by a Navy prosecutor to embed hidden tracking software into emails sent to defense attorneys, including one Air Force lawyer, involved in a high-profile war-crimes case of a Navy SEAL in San Diego. The tracking device was an attempt to find out who was leaking information to the editor of Navy Times, a sister publication. A similar tracking device was also sent to Carl Prine, the Navy Times editor, who has written numerous stories about the case.
Navy Capt. David Wilson, chief of staff for the Navy's Defense Service Offices, wrote in the May 19 memo that an Air Force attorney was among the defense lawyers who had received emails with the hidden tracking software, which he described as "malware"...
"In fact, I've learned that the Air Force is treating this malware as a cyber-intrusion on their network and have seized the Air Force Individual Military Counsel's computer and phone for review," he wrote.
Zorro (Slashdot reader #15,797) shares their report: The bizarre turn of events stems from a decision by a Navy prosecutor to embed hidden tracking software into emails sent to defense attorneys, including one Air Force lawyer, involved in a high-profile war-crimes case of a Navy SEAL in San Diego. The tracking device was an attempt to find out who was leaking information to the editor of Navy Times, a sister publication. A similar tracking device was also sent to Carl Prine, the Navy Times editor, who has written numerous stories about the case.
Navy Capt. David Wilson, chief of staff for the Navy's Defense Service Offices, wrote in the May 19 memo that an Air Force attorney was among the defense lawyers who had received emails with the hidden tracking software, which he described as "malware"...
"In fact, I've learned that the Air Force is treating this malware as a cyber-intrusion on their network and have seized the Air Force Individual Military Counsel's computer and phone for review," he wrote.
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Time to bring the SR-71 out of retirement.
Re: Now the spooks are spying on each other... (Score:5, Informative)
Get serious yourself and RTFA. An Air Force attorney is working on the defense of a Navy SEAL accused (by his own men) of war crimes. The Navy prosecutor team sent infected emails to the defense team and to the privately-owned publication "Navy Times" in an effort to track leaks. Since it was one of the Air Force computers that was infected, they are conducting an inquiry into to what exactly happened. This incident has resulted on serious claims of prosecutorial misconduct that could get the case thrown out.
And for the record, bases ARE shared. JBLM, for example, is "Joint Base (Fort) Lewis (and Air Force Base) McChord." The administration of both facilities is shared. Not that it matters since we're talking cyberspace anyway. One would think someone on Slashdot would readily understand that.
Re: Now the spooks are spying on each other... (Score:1)
Without a warrant, this action is itself a felony.
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"Bases are not shared"
Welcome to Joint Base Andrews.
Re: Now the spooks are spying on each other... (Score:4, Funny)
"Bases are not shared"
Of course not. All your base are belong to us!
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Welcome to Joint Base MDL: https://www.jbmdl.jb.mil/ [jb.mil], and NAS Fort Worth JRB: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regi... [navy.mil]
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The NSA would know who is allowed to do what as approved in the USA.
Anything else would be malware, a spy, criminal, a problem, cult, faith group, something that needs to be looked at.
The US mil/gov should never have let the US Navy and Air Force do "cyber" things.
The NSA should be looking over all things US cyber/crypto.
Did the NSA detect/report/protect from this?
What is the NSA doing allowing random software to be on US mil/gov networks/computer
Re: Now the spooks are spying on each other... (Score:2)
IMHO it's a very very good thing that USIC is composed of many administratively separate agencies with disparate interests and motivations. Ubiquitous panoptic surveillance is just too much power to leave in the hands of a single agency.
Without pushback from the more patriotic elements in USIC, the surveillance state dystopia oppressing the American people today would doubtless be far more totalitarian.
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There is substantial, credible evidence that when the USIC has shared goals, it will coordinate cross-agency, and even try to hide that activity from oversight.
There are few options to fully oversee and manage the intelligence communities' abuses.
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Errr...the 1960's called and would like to read your newsletter on modern crypto-systems and forensics. It's the 2000's baby, learn to cook with gas.
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Friendly Fire? (Score:2)
I've heard of death/injury by "friendly fire", but I've never seen a case of it in cyberspace before.
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This wasn't "friendly". This was an attempt to use illegal means to catch a leaker. The Navy prosecutor fully intended to bring up charges upon other military personnel. They just overlooked the fact that they should also follow the law.
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There is NO such thing as *friendly* fire.
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Choice between two evils (Score:5, Interesting)
Judge Learned Hand wrote about this. There is a choice between two bad alternatives, he wrote. If prosecutors keep their traditional immunity for their actions as prosecutors, bad prosecutors can only be punished criminally or via removal and disbarment, not via civil suits.
If prosecutors are open to civil suits for every decision they make about what charges to bring and what evidence to put on, it would roughly double the number of court cases. Almost every defendant would want to either sue the prosecutor or threaten to, making that part of a plea bargain.
Even worse, since every not-guilty verdict would be ripe for a improper prosecution suit, prosecutors would know it's either get a conviction or pay up personally - a strong incentive to get a conviction by whatever means necessary.
You mentioned "the 1970s", which suggests you were thinking of Imbler v Pachtman. The prosecutor, Pachtman,
continued to investigate and discovered new evidence after Imbler had been convicted, and brought that to light I case it might set Imbler free. Would Pachtman have kept investgating and brought forth evidence of Imbler's innocence in this case if Imbler being found not guilty would subject Pachtman to liability? Probably not.
Imbler's lawyer said Pachtman's conduct was in "the highest tradition of law enforcement and justice," as a premier example of "devotion to duty." Do we want to discourage that?
There seems to be no good answer.
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There is a good answer, and it comes in part from reforming the crass system that rewards people for being litigious.
Loser pays.
You should be able to sue the prosecutor's office, but not the prosecutor personally, for tortious acts by the prosecutor, but you should be forced to eat the legal costs if your suit is proven to be unfounded. In the meantime the office itself has deep pockets and can afford to pay you, and at any rate should be held vicariously liable anyway for the acts of its employee, the act
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Something had total NSA approval?
US Navy networks are protected from the NSA due to historic issues.
The NSA was not told.
NSA protection is not allowed on a lot of US mil/gov networks? The NSA never knew.
NSA was too busy with other US cyber missions globally?
An event was detected by the NSA and the NSA was watching. But thats a real secret worth not telling the press about in real time?
The NSA buddy system is slowing th
Which one wins when they come to blows? (Score:1)
My bet is on the airforce.
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Oh? The navy has the most survivable leg of the nuclear triangle, and fifty percent the nuclear warheads.
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The stats I saw (admittedly what's public might not be accurate nor complete) show the gravity bombs aren't used any more, and the Navy stuff is MIRV'd so they have 920 warheads
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And just when USAF offcials lunge in ... (Score:2)
... to arrest USN officials they start singing "We all live in a yellow submarine ..."
McGee, is that you? (Score:2)
Come on, who else though of him?