North Korea, China, and Russia Attack United States

A few days ago, I read this article “Spies ‘infiltrate US power grid’ “, and I thought, “Wow, that’s hardly a surprise,” but I blew it off. I disregarded it-not because Michael Jackson’s funeral was on TV, or because I was preparing/partying/recovering from 3 days of straight BBQ party for the Fourth of July. No, I blew it off because we all suspected this kind of thing was always happening, always possible, and it’s like the threat of nuclear war: awful, not something one wants to think about, and we kind of already know the consequences.

Today, multiple papers are reporting a combined attack, and this time…it IS an outright attack on the United States-not a mere probe.

Official: N. Korea believed behind cyber attacks

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean intelligence officials believe North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces in South Korea committed cyber attacks that paralyzed major South Korean and U.S. Web sites, a lawmaker’s aide said Wednesday.

The sites of 11 South Korean organizations including the presidential Blue House and the Defense Ministry went down or had access problems since late Tuesday, according to the state-run Korea Information Security Agency. Agency spokeswoman Ahn Jeong-eun said 11 U.S. sites suffered similar problems.

Governments hit by cyber attack

A widespread computer attack has hit several US government agencies while some South Korean government websites also appear to be affected.

The US Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department were all hit by the attack that started on July 4.
…
The attack slowed down and, in some cases, shut government websites, including the site of the presidential office, for several hours.

President Obama hasn’t commented on having his website shut down by the North Koreans, but one can expect yet another “stern warning” like the twelve warnings NKorea got after they fired missiles, launched an ICBM, tested a nuke, threatened the entire United Nations, and declared the half century armistice as over.

On a more serious note, this is clear evidence that North Korea, China, and Russia are working together closely-even while President Obama is actually IN RUSSIA.

(from earlier)
Spies ‘infiltrate US power grid’

The WSJ reported that the intruders had not sought to damage the power grid or any other key infrastructure so far, but suggested they could change their approach in the event of a crisis or war.
US government computer
A report last year said China had been accessing sensitive US databases

Security watchers said that, if true, the involvement of the Chinese and Russians in such a scenario would show they were strategically thinking about how either to constrain the US or to inflict more damage if they felt a need to do so.

“I think that China recognises if in a very strategic sense you want to ensure you have the ability to exploit another country’s potential weakness or vulnerability, but do it in a way that isn’t confrontational or cause an international crisis, then this is a very good way of doing that,” Eric Rosenbach, of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center, told Reuters news agency.

The motives behind these potential attacks are undoubtedly military or political in nature, said Tim Mather, chief security strategist for the RSA Conference, the world’s biggest security event.

He told the BBC: “These countries are not doing this willy-nilly. There is a tactical reason for all of this and no doubt tied to a longer term strategic plan which is gosh if they need to jerk the chain of the US, then this is the way to do it.

“This is like having an ace in the hole for the Chinese or Russians, just in case,” said Mr Mather.