U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midte

[MelissaB]

Source: Washington Post


The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the group’s operations against the United States are not cost-free.

The strike on the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to President Vladi­mir Putin, was part of the first offensive cyber campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, the officials said.

“They basically took the IRA offline,” according to one individual familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information. “They shut ‘em down.”

The operation marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted by President Trump and Congress last year to bolster offensive capabilities.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-cyber-command-operation-disrupted-internet-access-of-russian-troll-factory-on-day-of-2018-midterms/2019/02/26/1827fc9e-36d6-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.48d5dea5c552

[sandensea]

1. Three cheers to our U.S. Cyber Command.

We'll need you all the more so in 2020!

[nycbos]

2. I second that.

[MBS]

3. I third that.

[IronLionZion]

5. I fourth that

[yaesu]

4. I'm very surprised, not by the attack but that it was disrupted. Its a good thing there are agencies

that can't be swayed by the orange hitler. Great work Cyber command!

[not fooled]

6. dirty donnie is probably worried

that Danish troll farms could convert the U.S. to democratic socialism*




Seriously, though, the actions of Cyber Command are good news.


*

[yaesu]

8. I bet the first order he gives to his new space force is to take out cyber command satellites

[okaawhatever]

16. I wonder if he even knew what was going on. Obama warned the Russians that there would be

a “proportional” response against the Kremlin.

Nearly a month later, the New York Times reports that the president has put off that response until after the election “to avoid the appearance that politics influenced his decision and to avoid provoking Russian counterstrikes while voting is underway.”

But once the election is over, all of that could change. Or Obama could leave the responsibility with his successor. Either way, the response appears to be coming. If Obama decides to engage in a cyberwar with Russia, his instincts “are to deal with the problem by developing new norms of international behavior or authorizing covert action rather than direct confrontation,” the Times says.

What might that covert action entail? NBC News has some hints. In an article published Friday, it revealed that the U.S. has “penetrated Russia’s electric grid, telecommunications networks and the Kremlin’s command system.” If Russia interferes with the election Tuesday, the U.S. is poised to strike.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/11/obama-is-ready-for-a-postelection-cyberwar-with-russia.html?gtm=bottom>m=top

Behind a paywall at WaPo is an article from 2017 titled "Obama used covert retaliation in response to Russian election meddling. Here's why"

I can't read the article, but one sentence in article says: While the details of Obama's cyber operation remain classified,

President Obama was on fire about Russia and the election hacking. He even sent his messages about it to Putin via the nuclear "red phone". I knew he had something up his sleeve. If Trump kept it going or launched a second attack I applaud him for it.

[PatSeg]

7. Whoa!

How cool is that!!!

[DrToast]

9. Finally some good news!

[Leghorn21]

10. Do it again, please!! Make it permanent, PLEASE

Yevgeny Prigozhin with his fellow mobster:




Prigozhin is a very bad man:

https://qz.com/1432071/yevgeny-prigozhin-ordered-a-murder-poisonings-and-beatings-alleges-novaya-gazeta/

Thanks for posting, MelissaB!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Good to hear

I wonder if it was much to Trumpy's chagrin.

[Scurrilous]

12. K&R

[Sapient Donkey]

13. I would love to know some more of the details of what they did.

The part about them contacting the trolls with the trolls personal information is awesome. If I was in that situation, I'm pretty sure I'd be looking for a new job.

[DeminPennswoods]

14. Cool!

[TheBlackAdder]

15. Remember when DU was hacked on 2016 election night? Could this have stopped a 2018 hack?

[Eugene]

17. Russia presses case for greater control over its internet

Source: Associated Press

Russia presses case for greater control over its internet

February 27, 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday that reports that the U.S. military carried out a cyberattack in Russia ahead of the U.S. midterm elections proves that the country needs to create its own, self-controlled segment of the internet.

Russia’s parliament this month passed the first reading of a bill that proposes all internet traffic be routed through servers in Russia. Opponents fear the measure would lead to widespread censorship.

Dmitry Peskov was reacting on Wednesday to a recent report in The Washington Post that quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying that the U.S. military remotely blocked internet access to a Russian “troll farm” ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Several employees of the troll farm - a group that tries to sow discord through the internet, often with a political motive - have been indicted in the United States. Special counsel Robert Mueller has charged 13 individuals, most of whom are the troll farm’s employees, with a conspiracy to spread disinformation on social media and mobilize supporters of Donald Trump during his successful presidential bid.

St. Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has close ties to President Vladimir Putin, was indicted by the U.S. last year on charges that he was funding the Internet Research Agency, alleged to be a troll farm. Prigozhin has denied the accusations.

https://apnews.com/da381bb0ef5e447e879e8661db79d55a