Nexus - 0703 - New Times Magazine-pages

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deBriefings HACKERS, MEDIA HYPE AND DISINFORMATION Then President Bill Clinton manages to spare 90 minutes to by Wayne Madsen © 2000 attend an Internet security summit on 15 February. Northern lor what it is worth, I am a 20-year veteran of the computer _ Ireland's peace agreement is falling apart, the Israel-Palestine Re community. I have served in the Navy, National agreement is unravelling, and Russia's new President is putting Security Agency, State Department, Computer Sciences — ex-KGB agents in his government, but Clinton has enough time Corporation and RCA, and have consulted on computer security to talk with a group of e-commerce barons, computer security with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, interna- geeks and even one hacker. The whole thing appeared to be tional banks, telecom companies and even firms that manufacture staged and scheduled way in advance. candy. The whole so-called Internet "hack" smells of a perception While working for the FBI and Naval Investigative Service, 1 | management campaign by the intelligence community. Perhaps put one US Navy official in federal prison for espionage and __ the system-flooding was coordinated by one group; however, other crimes, and I was involved in US counter-terrorism work in __ those types of attacks probably occur on a daily basis without Greece and The Philippines. I think I know how the "spook" __ being reported by the world's media. It is important to note that community operates and, more impor- one of the key components of informa- tantly, how it thinks. tion warfare, according to the Pentagon's The hype associated with the recent own seminal documents, is "perception Internet flooding is outrageous and management"—psychological operations serves the agendas of the military and The US Government has to whip up public support for a policy or intelligence communities regarding new already done more to program. vistas for bloated Pentagon and . The early Defense Science Board espionage budgets. disrupt the Internet than reports on Critical Infrastructure R on ewary: ontional Public any other player, Protection actualy are campaign to adio's Diane Rehm Show had a round- change the public's attitude about infor- table discussion featuring James Adams, state-sponsored or mation system and network security. a ‘mer London Sunday Times "poner freelance. The Pentagon s a master at deception in Washington who is now a drum-beater campaigns aimed at the news media. for information warfare, and Jeffrey They constantly broadcast disinforma- Hunker, the former head of the White US Government hackers tion to television and radio audiences in House Critical Infrastructure Assurance Haiti, Serbia, Colombia, Mexico and Office. Adams suggested that, for have penetrated networks elsewhere. They are now extend- critical infrastructure protection, certain civil liberties must be for- feited. He also stated that Internet transactions should not be afforded the same degree of privacy as the US mail. Hunker was uncomfortable that some people think that scare- mongering has been at the centre of the recent packet-flooding of the Internet. Adams supported the CIA's creation of IN-Q-IT, a CIA "Trojan Horse" in Silicon Valley. According to Adams, Science Applications International US Government has already done Corporation (SAIC), a virtual CIA more to disrupt the Internet than proprietary firm, is funding, through IN-Q-IT, a program called any other player, state-sponsored or freelance. ing this to cyberspace. Critical infrastructure protection is a mas- terful ruse aimed at creating the myth of impending cyber-peril. The major domo is a weird chap named Richard Clarke, a Dr Strangelove type of character who is Clinton's counter-terrorism czar. He always talks about defensive cyber-warfare, but clams up when it comes to offensive US cyber- operations. That is classified information. However, it is certain that the at the European Parliament, the Australian Stock Exchange, banks in Athens, Nicosia, Moscow, Johannesburg, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Zurich and Vaduz. Net Eraser. None of the participants in the Rehm Show was will- For the past few years, US Government hackers have penetrat- ing to talk about Net Eraser, and some seemed very nervous _ ed networks at the European Parliament and Australian Stock about discussing it in detail. Exchange, and banks in Athens, Nicosia, Moscow, Johannesburg, This radio program is highly indicative of the current hype sur- _ Beirut, Tel Aviv, Ziirich and Vaduz. The US also engaged in rounding the Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks on —_ network penetrations in Yugoslavia during the NATO war dot-com sites on the Internet. Even the use of the acronym _ against that country. DDOS is amazing. Here they are, 20-something dot-com execu- Why doesn't NPR, CBS, ABC, NBC and the others focus on tives (who probably never thought about computer security what the US is doing to disrupt the Internet? They are instead except for watching re-runs of Hackers and Sneakers) using _ falling into a familiar Pentagon trap of deception and diversion. Pentagon-originated terms like "Distributed Denial of Service" [Source: Wayne Madsen, 17 February 2000, website attacks. Why? Who told them to use those terms? hitp://cryptome.org/madsen-hmhd.htm] already done more to disrupt the Internet than any other player, state-sponsored or freelance. Exchange, banks in Athens, Nicosia, Moscow, Johannesburg, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Zurich and Vaduz. APRIL — MAY 2000 NEXUS © 15 The US Government has US Government hackers