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U.S. Federal Reserve admits being breached by Anonymous

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posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 11:54 AM
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U.S. Federal Reserve admits being breached by Anonymous


www.net-security.org

U.S. Federal Reserve confirmed the breach of one of its internal websites by the hands of Anonymous hackers, but denied that the file containing personal information of over 4,000 U.S. bank executives the attackers made available for download contained passwords.
(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.reuters.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Anonymous Leaked Account Data for 4,000 Bank Executives on a Government Website



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 11:54 AM
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It may not be news... except the Federal Reserve is insisting that the beach was a "temporary vulnerability in a website vendor product."

The institution suffers the universal(?) governmental vulnerability they always refuse to acknowledge.... that there is some unwritten law among them forcing them to use 'contractor' and 'third-party' expertise to provide them with security.

Failure after failure of 'contracted' IT services seems not to have persuaded anyone in the arena of high-level government (or in this case "quasi-governmental") procurement decisions.

According to Reuters:


"Exposure was fixed shortly after discovery and is no longer an issue. This incident did not affect critical operations of the Federal Reserve system," the spokeswoman said, adding that all individuals effected by the breach had been contacted.


Notice they don't reveal "when" they "discovered" the hack... except the announcement Anonymous made regarding the effort they called "OpLastResort" seems to have preceded the discovery... meaning the damage had already been done.

While offering us a comment such as this:


It is unknown which website was hacked, but the stolen data apparently consisted of a contact database for banks to use during a natural disaster.


... they follow up with the following statement:


he Federal Reserve website is the last target of Anonymous’ OpLastResort. Initiated last week as a reaction to the U.S. government's role in the suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, it already resulted in the hacks of the websites belonging to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Probation Office, and the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, where the stolen file was initially hosted.


Curiously, they seem to imply that the file and location was known... despite the initial statement "..It is unknown which website was hacked..." It may be a simple editorial error... but it is nevertheless interesting who hosted the file in question.

Back to Reuters....


Cyber-security specialists said that any organization's computer systems could be breached, and that it was up to an organization like the Fed to prioritize its security needs, in order to protect its most sensitive information from attack.

"Every system is going to have some vulnerability to it. You cannot set up a system that will survive all possible attacks," said Mark Rasch, director of Privacy and security consulting at CSC and a former federal cyber crimes prosecutor.

"You have to defend against every possible vulnerability and the attackers only have to find one way in," he said.


Security firms explain always that it's not their fault.. they can't foresee 'every' possible breach point.... why does that sound like a political by-line to me?

Personally, I suspect that the true power of Anonymous isn't in the technical abilities of it's members... but instead their actual identities.. for all we know - some of them could work and play within the system....

www.net-security.org
(visit the link for the full news article)
edit on 6-2-2013 by Maxmars because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 12:05 PM
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Personally, I suspect that the true power of Anonymous isn't in the technical abilities of it's members... but instead their actual identities.. for all we know - some of them could work and play within the system....


Do you mean that they might be creating some sort of false flag, as to lead to tighter control of the system?

I think that would be interesting. To actually see people one day, plead to be more secure from the likes of Anonymous and Co.
edit on 6-2-2013 by DAZ21 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 12:14 PM
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Originally posted by DAZ21

To actually see people one day, plead to be more secure from the likes of Anonymous and Co.


As Maxmars said, its possible that some of them work and play within the system,
and maybe this is the ultimate goal end game check mate?

Seems likely.....

How do you get a top paying guberment job?
Get busted after a long string of hacking their chit.








edit on 6-2-2013 by burntheships because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 12:39 PM
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reply to post by DAZ21
 


Many people (quite a few actually) maintain that this is simply to be used for the purpose of justifying more stringent controls on internet activity. And I can't say that the net effect won't be the same... After all, anyone can perform a DDOS attack or a hacking job and claim to be "Anonymous."

I however, reserve that judgement. I believe that it is entirely possible that Anonymous has grown into a serious contender as a social movement. Sadly, this is not good news from my perspective.

Aside from the political party credo "let no crisis go unused" which could lead to draconian restrictions and loss of liberty; there is also the fundamental rejection I feel for the idea of "unaccountable justice" which is all that Anonymous could ever offer as an unknown group of unknown people doing unknown things based on unknown deliberations with entirely unknown evidence behind them.

My comment about them "working and playing within the system" is a sort of axiom I offer. Why does Anonymous have to necessarily be "the script kiddie" or "basement dwelling e-troglodyte" that people seem to love to accept? Is it not just as likely that associate directors, upper level managers, security staff, and others may be inclined to find the conduct of those in power (government or corporate - as if there was a difference) as repugnant as many of us do?

Whose to say definitively that there are no members of Anonymous among the government employees, military personnel, police, the AMA, the BAR, and all manner of places?

After all ....


The internal website that the hackers breached was a contact database for banks to use during a natural disaster—basically, execs used it to update the Federal Reserve on whether or not their operations have been damaged in a disaster. It was not a public website.

Source

The phrase, "An internal website" must offer up some clue....


Of course, if we are to believe the talking heads of the world... well... we all know what they tell us... they make sure we hear it... don't they?

edit on 6-2-2013 by Maxmars because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 02:10 PM
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After sitting back and carefully observing Anonymous' tactics over the past several months, I'm leaning more and more towards this being a psy-op. Government needs a reason and excuse to clamp down on cyber activity and information, and I think this is it.

I believe that its possible that Anon started as a few hackers who had something to say, but they has since expanded into a global movement, where anyone can carry the moniker. You see, the problem with naming yourself Anonymous, or choosing to be nameless, is that anyone can easily assume your identity/name and commit acts that no one has to be accountable for (if they're not caught). This gives leeway for government intelligence firms to use the Anonymous name to push their agenda of internet control. I think this is what is happening now. It is not beyond them to do this. They did it with the WTC car bomb in '91, and failed. They did it with the WTC on 9/11 again, and succeeded. They did it with Saddam, they did it with Gaddafi, they tried to do with KONY 2012, and failed, they're attempting to do it with gun control at this very moment, and they're doing it now, targeting internet security, to persuade the public to demand internet control...mark my words!

Watch closely and observe everything as this planned situation will spiral out of control. Very soon, "Anonymous" will cause a major leak of "sensitive information" potentially affecting National Security, and the privacy and safety of the American public. The media will jump on it (they're paid to do it, it's their job), publicize it, contort facts into propaganda, talk shows will jump on it, bills will be brought up, national security will be brought up, the unaware in the public will demand it, and the bill will be passed.

Mark my words!

No, I am not a prophet. I'm just a simple man who has been looking from sidelines and have seen through their veil. They're making it too easy now...way too easy to see. Anyone who has been paying attention can easily see it.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 02:34 PM
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reply to post by Maxmars
 





My comment about them "working and playing within the system" is a sort of axiom I offer. Why does Anonymous have to necessarily be "the script kiddie" or "basement dwelling e-troglodyte" that people seem to love to accept? Is it not just as likely that associate directors, upper level managers, security staff, and others may be inclined to find the conduct of those in power (government or corporate - as if there was a difference) as repugnant as many of us do?


That is an interesting thought. So you contemplate the notion, that this could be an inside job based on contempt from the same side of the coin. A government official maybe, using the Trojan horse strategy against his indifferent ideology to that of his peers.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see...
edit on 6-2-2013 by DAZ21 because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 02:34 PM
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Originally posted by sdrawkcabII
After sitting back and carefully observing Anonymous' tactics over the past several months, I'm leaning more and more towards this being a psy-op. Government needs a reason and excuse to clamp down on cyber activity and information, and I think this is it.

I believe that its possible that Anon started as a few hackers who had something to say, but they has since expanded into a global movement, where anyone can carry the moniker. You see, the problem with naming yourself Anonymous, or choosing to be nameless, is that anyone can easily assume your identity/name and commit acts that no one has to be accountable for (if they're not caught). This gives leeway for government intelligence firms to use the Anonymous name to push their agenda of internet control. I think this is what is happening now. It is not beyond them to do this. They did it with the WTC car bomb in '91, and failed. They did it with the WTC on 9/11 again, and succeeded. They did it with Saddam, they did it with Gaddafi, they tried to do with KONY 2012, and failed, they're attempting to do it with gun control at this very moment, and they're doing it now, targeting internet security, to persuade the public to demand internet control...mark my words!

Watch closely and observe everything as this planned situation will spiral out of control. Very soon, "Anonymous" will cause a major leak of "sensitive information" potentially affecting National Security, and the privacy and safety of the American public. The media will jump on it (they're paid to do it, it's their job), publicize it, contort facts into propaganda, talk shows will jump on it, bills will be brought up, national security will be brought up, the unaware in the public will demand it, and the bill will be passed.

Mark my words!

No, I am not a prophet. I'm just a simple man who has been looking from sidelines and have seen through their veil. They're making it too easy now...way too easy to see. Anyone who has been paying attention can easily see it.


I agree 100%. Anonymous started as a small group of malcontents, who used a very cool idea on how to stay "the man behind the curtain". Unfortunately that is their weakness also, anyone can see with the stripping of liberties going on that a large number of those in power currently want complete control with no checks and balances. Anonymous' downside is in giving them unwittingly another tool towards that end they will no doubt utilize at some point. By flying above the radar (being highly visible and looking for fame as a group) they are wittingly or unwittingly becoming a cog in the machine to take down liberty. I believe in what they are fighting for, but I fear they will not only cause thier own demise, but take us all down with them in the end by ending freedom of speech as we know it. Someone will eventually put out a video with one of those cool V for Vendetta masks as a pretext and then proceed to do something truly atrocious damning us all in the process.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 04:18 PM
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reply to post by Maxmars
 



Anonymous is the government attempting to justify the crack down on the net. It is pretty dang obvious.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 04:26 PM
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reply to post by Darkphoenix77
 


I really have to ask; where did this image of "a small group of malcontents" begin? Isn't this, in fact, how the identity of Anonymous was promoted by the very media who, operates as "Tonto" to the government's "Lone Ranger?"

At some point we have to question where such an image comes from? It is certainly not from them.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 04:32 PM
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Originally posted by votan
reply to post by Maxmars
 



Anonymous is the government attempting to justify the crack down on the net. It is pretty dang obvious.


I disagree. It is obvious that it is a perfect opportunity to use their actions as an excuse. Our political leaders are not going to waste the opportunity to keep the Internet population fearful of the big bad cyber-enemy.

Was it also obvious that the attempt to create an "Occupy" movement was perfectly adapted to increase authoritative thuggery by the same interests? Was it also not obvious that the wild hyperbolic over-reach for "homeland security" was perfectly implemented after other notorious attacks by terrorists?

I feel that attributing this to the government is as wildly speculative whichever direction one chooses to take it.

I am surprised that no one has implied the megalithic IT community isn't behind Anonymous to create more opportunities for profit.

Don't get me wrong; I am not saying the government wouldn't do such a thing. But I lack the confidence in their ability to get along long enough to pull it off.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 04:55 PM
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Not really sure about ano anymore too, but in this case they released a captured document that has info that doesn't add up to psy-op actions if you ask me.

link: www.speedyshare.com/Kmehw/Fed-Dump.xls

Link originally posted on ZeroHedge, seems legit.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 05:12 PM
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It really bothers me that a bank website can't even prevent a simple SQL injection attack. That's one of the easiest things to prevent.

Makes me worry about how safe my bank is, or the majority of websites today.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 05:23 PM
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Then you'll KNow, Jews Rule the world..



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 05:32 PM
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After seeing how Anon broke the Steubenville rape case into the forefront of the internet, I'm convinced that white hats are involved. That's not to say that dark forces aren't also claiming to be Anon to shake things up and smear the good ones though.

All I know is that WWIII is probably not going to be fought entirely on the battlefield. There most certainly is a war going on online and it's interesting to see how each team is scoring.

I don't believe that Anon is going to lead to the shut down of the internet. I think the government is much more interested in getting everyone to start using their real names like they have to in China, but this will be a difficult thing to accomplish.
edit on 6-2-2013 by Afterthought because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 06:31 PM
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Originally posted by Maxmars

It may not be news... except the Federal Reserve is insisting that the beach was a "temporary vulnerability in a website vendor product."

The institution suffers the universal(?) governmental vulnerability they always refuse to acknowledge.... that there is some unwritten law among them forcing them to use 'contractor' and 'third-party' expertise to provide them with security.

Failure after failure of 'contracted' IT services seems not to have persuaded anyone in the arena of high-level government (or in this case "quasi-governmental") procurement decisions.


Their pride is their downfall in this case.. oh well.

I don't condone these actions by anonymous though. Doxing that many people is bound to lead to innocents being targeted.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 06:39 PM
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reply to post by NarrowGate
 


Has it occurred to you or anyone else yet that the government isn't above using innocents to hide behind for protection?



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 07:10 PM
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Foolish misled mortals, Anon works for the Masters of Puppets. It has become so easy to herd the sheople together and feed them whatever they wish. They gotta fatten you up so that you're good and ready for the slaughter.

Wake up to their disinfo agenda. You gotta read between the lies my friends. Read between their lies. ~$heopleNation
edit on 6-2-2013 by SheopleNation because: TypO



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 07:41 PM
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reply to post by SheopleNation
 


So, why would the Master of Puppets have hacked into the Steubenville sheriff's office website to obtain the video they did and reveal it so it would go viral? Was this some strange way of distracting us from something else?

Sorry, I'm just not buying it. Anon can be anyone and I'm not saying that dark forces aren't covering themselves with Anon's cloak, but I do believe that Anon is an organic entity that has many uses. We just need to use our better judgement and not label all of their activities as government trolls.



posted on Feb, 6 2013 @ 07:45 PM
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Originally posted by SheopleNation
Foolish misled mortals, Anon works for the Masters of Puppets. It has become so easy to herd the sheople together and feed them whatever they wish. They gotta fatten you up so that you're good and ready for the slaughter.

Wake up to their disinfo agenda. You gotta read between the lies my friends. Read between their lies. ~$heopleNation
edit on 6-2-2013 by SheopleNation because: TypO


Shut your mortal self up. Don't use vague words like masters of puppets, and stop calling people sheople. We are sheep and we have a Shepherd perhaps you have heard of Him.
edit on 6-2-2013 by NarrowGate because: (no reason given)







 
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