The Big Hack (Chinese 'Take-Out'... hahaha)

[goldenequity]

Reuters Politics
@ReutersPolitics
JUST IN: Vice President Pence says Chinese security agencies have masterminded the wholesale theft of American technology, including cutting-edge military blueprints
And how did the Chinese get that military tech? From Israel but mike pence won't mention that.
https://www.military.com/defensetech/2013/12/24/report-israel-passes-u-s-military-technology-to-china
https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/12/world/israel-selling-china-military-technology-cia-chief-asserts.html

Explosive Report Details Chinese Infiltration Of Apple, Amazon And The CIA
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-04/explosive-report-details-chinese-infiltration-apple-amazon-and-cia
Bloomberg exposes How China used a tiny microchip "no bigger than a grain of rice" to infiltrate more than 30 US companies, the DoD and the CIA: "The global supply chain has been compromised."
https://i33.servimg.com/u/f33/19/91/34/17/hack10.jpg

[homahr]

https://i.chzbgr.com/full/1008601856/h3EDE1E84/

[pcosmar]

Trusted Computing can't be trusted.

[shakey1]

That itty-bitty thang?

[pcosmar]

That itty-bitty thang?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgFbqSYdNK4

[timosman]

Is somebody trying to frame the Chinese? :cool:

[Brian4Liberty]

“The best and brightest”.

What could possibly go wrong with importing foreign engineers to the US and outsourcing manufacturing to a foreign nation?

[Swordsmyth]

“The best and brightest”.

What could possibly go wrong with importing foreign engineers to the US and outsourcing manufacturing to a foreign nation?

We could end up with nothing left but Corn, Welfare Trash and Arrogance.

[eleganz]

Sounds like a class action suit against apple is in order. Don't see how any of this is covered in their T&A.

[Brian4Liberty]

We could end up with nothing left but Corn, Welfare Trash and Arrogance.

And backdoors embedded into all of our hardware, including the military. Wonder why those naval ships keep running into things?

[devil21]

And backdoors embedded into all of our hardware, including the military. Wonder why those naval ships keep running into things?

So the gist is that the NSA has backdoors into everything and the Chinese have backdoors into the NSA and everything else too.

[goldenequity]

gee.
so here comes this 'new Pentagon report'...
and then there's this 'Intrusion Truth'...
and then there's Pence...
and of course 'the big hack'...
say.. you don't suppose they're demonizing China doya?
poisoning this 'multi-polar' 'multi-lateral' thang doya?
well DO YA???? hahaha

Pentagon identifies China as ‘growing risk’ to supply of materials vital to U.S. defense industry (oh nooooozzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/10/05/asia-pacific/pentagon-identifies-china-growing-risk-supply-materials-vital-u-s-defense-industry/#.W7cQ9SpZjUw
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DouHiBBVsAAT-mc.jpg
New 150-page Pentagon report concluded
nearly 300 vulnerabilities that could affect critical materials and components essential to the U.S. military.
China given heavy emphasis in the report
was singled out for dominating the global supply of rare earth minerals critical in U.S. military applications
also noted China’s global profile in the supply of certain kinds of electronics
as well as chemicals used in U.S. munitions;
presents an alarming picture of U.S. industrial decay driven by both domestic and foreign factors,
wants to be sure China is not able to hobble America’s military by cutting off supplies of materials or by sabotaging technology it exports
noted 90 percent of the world’s printed circuit boards are now produced in Asia, with over half of that occurring in China
Pentagon has long fretted that “kill switches” could be embedded in transistors that could turn off sensitive U.S. systems in a conflict.
The report cited the risk of ” ‘Trojan’ chips and viruses infiltrating U.S. defense systems.

[AZJoe]

So the gist is that the NSA has backdoors into everything and the Chinese have backdoors into the NSA and everything else too.

So while Washington is hacking/pulling an NSA the rest of the world and the entire US population, China pulled an NSA on the NSA.

[shakey1]

say.. you don't suppose they're demonizing China doya?

Can't have too many boogeymen, eh?

[timosman]

Can't have too many boogeymen, eh?

Annoying how predictable everything is. :(

[goldenequity]

Annoying how predictable everything is. :(
speaking of predictable...
Putin: America Is Committing A Huge Strategic Mistake And Undermining Confidence In The Dollar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu5ac3piGx8

[dude58677]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEgUApf5-DY

[goldenequity]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEgUApf5-DY
awesome find +rep :check:

[goldenequity]

it's like watching the first highway wreck in a blizzard.... you know what's coming.
it will gather it's own momentum as it multiplies... tangential havoc is dead ahead
and the idjuts will wave flags right up to impact.
buh buh buh the Dow is the highest its ever been.... the unemployment is the lowest its ever been...
hahaha (lying metrics... )


the social/civil telltales as 'told' from the left/Chris Hedges...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg

[timosman]

https://i33.servimg.com/u/f33/19/91/34/17/hack10.jpg

What are we looking at here? :confused:

[goldenequity]

What are we looking at here? :confused:

it's the 'added' microprocessor chip not in original architecture design(s) specs...




You have to read the OP... basically 2 companies Elemental and Supermicro
are involved decades ago and right up to today...


Nested on the servers’ motherboards, the testers found a tiny microchip, not much bigger than a grain of rice, that wasn’t part of the boards’ original design. Amazon reported the discovery to U.S. authorities, sending a shudder through the intelligence community. Elemental’s servers could be found in Department of Defense data centers, the CIA’s drone operations, and the onboard networks of Navy warships. And Elemental was just one of hundreds of Supermicro customers.

these tiny microchips somehow found their way into Supermicro's products.
Bloomberg provided a step-by-step guide detailing how it believes that happened.

►A Chinese military unit designed and manufactured microchips as small as a sharpened pencil tip. Some of the chips were built to look like signal conditioning couplers, and they incorporated memory, networking capability, and sufficient processing power for an attack.
►The microchips were inserted at Chinese factories that supplied Supermicro, one of the world’s biggest sellers of server motherboards.
►The compromised motherboards were built into servers assembled by Supermicro.
►The sabotaged servers made their way inside data centers operated by dozens of companies.
►When a server was installed and switched on, the microchip altered the operating system’s core so it could accept modifications. The chip could also contact computers controlled by the attackers in search of further instructions and code.


During the ensuing top-secret probe, which remains open more than three years later, investigators determined that the chips allowed the attackers to create a stealth doorway into any network that included the altered machines. Multiple people familiar with the matter say investigators found that the chips had been inserted at factories run by manufacturing subcontractors in China.

[timosman]

You have to read the OP... basically 2 companies Elemental and Supermicro
are involved decades ago and right up to today...

I did read OP and chimed in on the thread earlier. The thing in the picture does not look like the chip they are describing. :cool:

[goldenequity]

I did read OP and chimed in on the thread earlier. The thing in the picture does not look like the chip they are describing. :cool:
ah... idk.

[Swordsmyth]

Apple Inc (AAPL.O (https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O)) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O (https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O)) denied a Bloomberg Businessweek report on Thursday that said their systems had been infiltrated by malicious computer chips inserted by Chinese intelligence agents.

Bloomberg cited 17 unidentified sources from intelligence agencies and business to support claims that Chinese spies had placed computer chips inside equipment used by about 30 companies and multiple U.S. government agencies, which would give Beijing secret access to internal networks.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a written request for comment. Beijing has previously denied allegations of orchestrating cyber attacks against Western companies.
Security experts who have worked for government agencies and large corporations told Reuters that they were surprised by the stark discrepancy between the claims in the Bloomberg article and the strongly worded denials from Apple and Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O (https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O)) Amazon Web Services. Some said that certain allegations were plausible, but that the strong denials from companies cited in the piece left them with doubts about whether the attacks had happened.
“There is no truth” to claims in the story that Apple found malicious chips in its servers in 2015, the said in a statement. “This is untrue,” Amazon said in a blog post.


Bloomberg defended its reporting.
“Seventeen individual sources, including government officials and insiders at the companies, confirmed the manipulation of hardware and other elements of the attacks,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “We stand by our story and are confident in our reporting and sources.”
The report said that a unit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army infiltrated the supply chain of computer hardware maker Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI.PK (https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SMCI.PK)) to plant malicious chips that could be used to steal corporate and government secrets.
Super Micro Computer shares fell 38 percent to $13.26 in Pink Sheet trading.
San Jose, California-based Super Micro strongly denied that it sold servers to customers contained malicious microchips in the motherboards of those systems. It said it has never found any malicious chips, had not been informed that such chips were found by any customer, and never been contacted by government agencies on the matter.
Bloomberg reported that Amazon uncovered the malicious chips in 2015 when examining servers manufactured by a company known as Elemental Technologies which Amazon eventually acquired.


AWS told Bloomberg it had reviewed its records related to the Elemental acquisition and “found no evidence to support claims of malicious chips or hardware modifications.”
Bloomberg also reported that Apple in 2015 found malicious chips in servers it purchased from the hardware maker, citing three unidentified company insiders.


Apple denied the account, saying it had investigated Bloomberg’s claims.
Representatives with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. A U.S. National Security Agency spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment.

More at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-cyber/apple-amazon-deny-bloomberg-report-on-chinese-hardware-attack-idUSKCN1ME19J

[Swordsmyth]

Britain’s national cyber security agency said on Friday it had no reason to doubt the assessments made by Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc challenging a Bloomberg report that their systems contained malicious computer chips inserted by Chinese intelligence services.

More at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-cyber-britain/uk-cyber-security-agency-backs-apple-amazon-china-hack-denials-idUSKCN1MF1DN

It has been officially denied, it must therefore be true.

[Swordsmyth]

The Department of Homeland Security has sided with Apple, Amazon and Supermicro, which vehemently denied claims contained in a Thursday Bloomberg report alleging that China installed miniature "spy chips" the size of a grain of rice on motherboards built by Supermicro and used by around 30 companies. Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies), citing 17 unidentified intelligence and company sources, claims that the chip can compromise data on the servers, giving China a backdoor into some of the world's largest companies and organizations.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/bighack.gif
The three tech giants have all published statements on their websites refuting the report, while Bloomberg is sticking by their story.
The DHS statement (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/10/06/statement-dhs-press-secretary-recent-media-reports-potential-supply-chain-compromise) reads in part:

The Department of Homeland Security is aware of the media reports of a technology supply chain compromise. Like our partners in the UK, the National Cyber Security Centre, at this time we have no reason to doubt the statements from the companies named in the story. Information and communications technology supply chain security is core to DHS's cybersecurity mission and we are committed to the security and integrity of the technology on which Americans and others around the world increasingly rely.





More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-07/homeland-security-backs-apple-amazon-denial-chinese-spy-chip-infiltration


More official denials. :rolleyes:

[enhanced_deficit]

Which agency responsible for checking all the USB devices being sold on Amazon/in stores? (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?519916-Which-agency-responsible-for-checking-all-the-USB-devices-being-sold-on-Amazon-in-stores&)

[enhanced_deficit]

Defence and BOM both used Supermicro, the tech company allegedly compromised by Chinese spies

ABC Science
By technology reporter Ariel Bogle


http://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/10342342-3x2-thumbnail.jpg?v=3

(http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-05/supermicro-malicious-chips-china-australian-government/10342006#lightbox-content-lightbox-8) Malicious chips were allegedly inserted into some Supermicro technology (not depicted).
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-05/supermicro-malicious-chips-china-australian-government/10342006#lightbox-content-lightbox-8)
At least two Australian government agencies held contracts for hardware from Supermicro, a company whose technology was allegedly infiltrated by malicious computer chips.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-05/supermicro-malicious-chips-china-australian-government/10342006

[nikcers]

Which agency responsible for checking all the USB devices being sold on Amazon/in stores? (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?519916-Which-agency-responsible-for-checking-all-the-USB-devices-being-sold-on-Amazon-in-stores&)



TSA maybe, I'm sure its probably something they can do now because of the patriot act I remember reading about an agency intercepting packages and then reshipping electronics being shipped in the mail to install their own bugs so maybe that agency can check for bugs while they are at it?

[Swordsmyth]

There’s a new wrinkle in the Bloomberg’s (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies)ongoing (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies) but controversial series (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies) on alleged hardware hacks affecting U.S. tech giants — despite heavy skepticism after the named companies rebuffed the allegations and critics poked holes in the reporting.
Bloomberg’s new report (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-09/new-evidence-of-hacked-supermicro-hardware-found-in-u-s-telecom?utm_content=business&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business) out Tuesday said that a U.S. telecom discovered that hardware it used in its datacenters was “manipulated” by an implant designed to conduct covert surveillance and exfiltrate corporate or government secrets.
The implant was found on an Ethernet connector — used to hard-wire device to a network — on a motherboard developed by Supermicro, a major computer manufacturer that was named in the first Bloomberg story.
It was that first report (https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/04/bloomberg-spy-chip-murky-world-national-security-reporting/) that claimed China had infiltrated a Supermicro factory to install chips on motherboards that went on to go into servers in datacenters operated by Apple and Amazon. Apple, Amazon and Supermicro denied the claims in a series of strong rebuttals (https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/08/apple-rebuff-bloomberg-letter-congress/). Supermicro’s said on Tuesday that it “still [has] no knowledge of any unauthorized components” and said it hadn’t been informed by any customer of the alleged security breach.
Although the report claims “fresh evidence of tampering” by China, it does not explicitly link the tampering to similar attacks on Apple and Amazon, or others.
What lends more credence to this second Bloomberg story than the first is that a security researcher said he inspected the implant first-hand, rather than the reporters having to rely on descriptions from several sources who allegedly had knowledge of the implants.
Yossi Appleboum, co-founder of Sepio Systems and former Israeli intelligence officer, provided Bloomberg with evidence and documentation — which wasn’t published alongside the story — that the alleged implant was introduced at the factory where the telecom’s equipment was built. He also said there are many ways that China’s supply chain is compromised (https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/04/china-spy-hack-chip-bloomberg-supply-chain/) and implants could be introduced.
Plot twist: Bloomberg didn’t name the telecom because of a non-disclosure agreement between Appleboum and the company.
We asked Appleboum several questions by email — including if the telecom company informed the FBI of the discovery — but he did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If that changes, we’ll update.

More at: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/09/a-new-twist-in-bloombergs-spy-chip-report-implicates-u-s-telecom/?yptr=yahoo

[devil21]

So while Washington is hacking/pulling an NSA the rest of the world and the entire US population, China pulled an NSA on the NSA.

Some have suggested in the past that Chinese "hacks" like this were, in fact, officially sanctioned so that China could keep tabs on what's going on behind the scenes. That is supposition of course but it would make sense in a 30,000 feet perspective kind of way. The NSA and CIA does not work for the American people or the US gov't. Connections between "our" intel agencies and Mossad, MI6 and Chinese intelligence is closer than people realize. Heck, Israel even gave control of their major Haifa shipping port to the Chinese recently.

[Swordsmyth]

Tech giants may have vehemently denied (https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/08/apple-letter-to-congress-supermicro-tampering/) Bloomberg's claims that China's Super Micro gave them hardware loaded with spy chips (https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/04/china-apple-amazon-hardware-hack-chip/), but that isn't stopping fresh allegations. Bloomberg has obtained (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-09/new-evidence-of-hacked-supermicro-hardware-found-in-u-s-telecom?srnd=premium) documents from security researcher Yossi Appleboum that reportedly show evidence of an unnamed major US telecom finding "manipulated hardware" from Super Micro in its network. According to Appleboum, there were "unusual communications" from a server that led the telecom to find an implant hidden in the server's Ethernet jack. The researcher determined that the server had been modified at a factory in Guangzhou after conducting an inspection.




Other companies have also fallen "victim" to China modifying hardware for surveillance, the security researcher said.
If any company is affected, though, it might not be easy to get an answer. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (our parent company) have all denied (https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qv9npv/bloomberg-china-supermicro-apple-hack) being affected, with AT&T and Sprint explicitly stating that they don't use Super Micro hardware. Cable provider CenturyLink has denied being the subject of the story, and Engadget has learned that Comcast also isn't involved. We've asked Charter for comment and will let you know if it responds.
There are also questions about the nature of the overall spy chip claims. Motherboard noted (https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qv9npv/bloomberg-china-supermicro-apple-hack) that one of the security experts referenced in Bloomberg's original article, Joe Fitzpatrick, told the Risky Business podcast (https://risky.biz/RB517_feature/) that he'd been referenced out of context and that the technical details of the spy chip story were "theoretical." In both stories, Bloomberg hadn't provided evidence to the companies in question or outside observers.
Bloomberg has continued to stand by its reporting and sources. However, the story might not go much further than this. On top of the adamant corporate denials, both the Department of Homeland Security and the UK's National Security Centre have backed the companies (https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/07/homeland-security-backs-amazon-apple-refutals-of-china-spy-chip/) by tentatively supporting their claims. Simply put, there don't appear to be any parties who take the assertions seriously enough to launch an investigation.
Update: A Bloomberg News spokesperson has provided a statement both defending its latest story and suggesting that Fitzpatrick mischaracterized his role. You can read the full statement below.

"As is typical journalistic practice, we reached out to many people who are subject matter experts to help us understand and describe technical aspects of the attack. The specific ways the implant worked were described, confirmed, and elaborated on by our primary sources who have direct knowledge of the compromised Supermicro hardware. Joe FitzPatrick was not one of these 17 individual primary sources that included company insiders and government officials, and his direct quote in the story describes a hypothetical example of how a hardware attack might play out, as the story makes clear. "
"Our reporters and editors thoroughly vet every story before publication, and this was no exception."








https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/09/super-micro-chips-alleged-in-us-telecom-network/?yptr=yahoo

[goldenequity]

'Entire generation' of US weapons easily hackable — RT
https://www.rt.com/usa/440817-security-flaws-weapons-hack/

[Swordsmyth]

Apple may have tried to reassure Congress (https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/08/apple-letter-to-congress-supermicro-tampering/) that there's no evidence of China tampering with servers (https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/04/china-apple-amazon-hardware-hack-chip/) to spy on data traffic, but it didn't do much to quell doubts. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marco Rubio have sent a letter (https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10.09.18%20-%20Supermicro%20-%20China%20Tampering.pdf) to Super Micro demanding answers around allegations of Chinese spy chips. The duo wants to know if Super Micro has monitored and investigated its supply chain for signs of tampering, and is particularly interested in February 2017 statements (https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-severed-ties-with-server-supplier-after-security-concern) to The Information that it had independent auditors look over its "process" and make changes following Apple's claims of security holes. If Super Micro conducted an investigation, the senators asked, what were the results?




Blumenthal and Rubio also wanted to know if Super Micro had worked with US law enforcement to address reports of tampering, what defenses it could mount (such as firmware updates or hardware configuration changes) and whether China had requested or restricted security info.
The politicians gave Super Micro until October 17th to provide its responses. We've asked Super Micro for comment.

More at: https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/10/senators-demand-answers-for-china-spy-chip-claims/?yptr=yahoo

[oyarde]

We could end up with nothing left but Corn, Welfare Trash and Arrogance.

Oh , Illinois ?

[Swordsmyth]

Oh , Illinois ?

All over if we don't stop letting it happen to us.