Payback? Russia Gets Hacked, Revealing Putin Aide's Secrets

Karma, it turns out, is a borscht.

A Ukrainian group calling itself Cyber Hunta has released more than a gigabyte of emails and other material from the office of one of Vladimir Putin's top aides, Vladislav Surkov, that show Russia's fingerprints all over the separatist movement in Ukraine.

While the Kremlin has denied the relationship between Moscow and the separatists, the emails show in great detail how Russia controlled virtually every detail of the separatist effort in the Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine, which has torn the country apart and led to a Russian takeover of Crimea.

Payback? Russia Gets Hacked, Revealing Putin Aide's Secrets

Is this the hinted "payback" from US Intelligence towards Putin?

Of course, they claim it isn't, but then, what would we expect them to say? It is curious timing. The "Cyber Hunta" group is Ukrainian, so US fingerprints are not on it at all. It is, however, a great way for the US to do it and appear completely innocent. This shows Russia was behind it all, including choosing some friendly "puppets" in a fake "election." A new and less obvious warfare, but against international law all the same. Could be some serious fallout.

More importantly, though, than "who done it" is WHAT the hack reveals. Russia micro-managed the "separatist" movement in The Ukraine which took "10000" lives, and shot down a plane full of passengers.

Things could escalate if Russia blames the US for the hacks, regardless of whether the US did it or not.

What say you? Russian payback? Russian's going back to Empire levels??

- AB

a reply to: AboveBoard

Follow up: There may be more to come from Cyber Hunta. (same link)

Czuperski said he believed that since Russian authorities realized they were dealing with a violation of international law, they wanted to keep the details in their emails close-hold. He said that while he believes there is likely more hacked material, and that it may prove politically sensitive, he doesn't know that for sure, or whether "Cyber Hunta," like WikiLeaks, will continually dump material.

"It's all time and probability -- how much effort you put in and how much effort the adversary puts in," he said.

Imagine if it wasn't Russia that did the WikiLeaks "hacks", that they've declared open cyber war with them....

Don't forget how the Panama Papers that were released had Putin dirty deeds in it, but the Soros influenced outlets that did the release (the .01% that they did) didn't expose The Hillary, etc.

If it's from anyone in Ukraine it should just be dismissed instantly.

Groups that have connections to the Kiev Junta are not reliable, since this is the same regime that were caught faking 2008 Georgian war pictures to try and convince the Pentagon of a fictional "massive Russian invasion"

The Kiev Junta is pretty much just a puppet of the NATO powers, so the US (or agencies within its government at least) definitely had a hand in this disinformation piece.

a reply to: AboveBoard

I can't think of a better thing right now than the worlds corrupted gov'ts exposing each others secret.

Well let's imagine ... do you think Putin is going to sit there and whine about American groups doing it if it's Ukrainian hackers?

a reply to: AboveBoard

If the "Cyber Hunta" group is believed to be Ukrainian then why does this automatically suggest US payback or involvement?

It's not like it requires advanced off the shelf hardware or technology to perform such a hack. Anyone with a laptop and access to a network who has the correct skill set could be responsible.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

I understand what you are saying, but the Panama Papers issue is much deeper, at least to my thinking, than simply "Hillary and Soros" as to why "protections" were put in place regarding the release.

The Panama Papers are not just an embarrassment to Putin and Hillary, but to extremely powerful interests around the globe. It is unsurprising that there is "damage control" on that - not just for Hillary and Soros. Think about it, who uses "shell companies" to "hide assets" in addition to oligarchs and super wealthy folks? CIA? Foreign Intelligence organizations around the world??? There are reasons those things are made "legal" in addition to the benefit to the rich...

As to this hack and the potentially related hacks on the DNC and Clinton aides...

I think the finger pretty strongly points to Russia for the hack at the DNC and the Podesta emails, etc. Notice also that this new hack was NOT sent through Wikileaks.

In this case, it is really interesting, because it comes so soon after the US said they would retaliate, yet their fingerprints, as of yet, cannot be traced back to the deed itself. In other words, as far as can be shown, the Ukrainian group is the guilty party, and the US has no connection to the hack, other than the statement that they should expect payback for the DNC/Podesta hacks. (I know you may disagree that the Russians were behind that, but I've researched it pretty extensively and the finger does point to Russia.)

Cyber Hunta is Ukrainian, and has every motive to hack for this specific information -- it isn't just a general smear of Putin or something, and it is showing how they directly created a civil war inside the Ukraine in an effort to take it over. If the US is involved, it is a job well done from an intelligence standpoint - a clean hit - at least so far.

Let's also compare the two hacks, the "alleged" Russian based attack on the US vs the Cyber Hunta attack on Putin's aide.

The DNC and Podesta attacks showed some embarrassing stuff, and was delivered with uncanny timing to potentially affect the Presidential Election.

Remember that one of the FIRST things that was hacked, was the opposition research on Donald Trump. How weird is that? Link: Russian Government Hackers Penetrated DNC, Stole Opposition Research on Trump

A different "not mainstream media" source - Motherboard: Link: All Signs Point to Russia Being Behind the DNC Hack

So how good is the evidence? And what does all this mean?

The forensic evidence linking the DNC breach to known Russian operations is very strong. On June 20, two competing cybersecurity companies, Mandiant (part of FireEye) and Fidelis, confirmed CrowdStrike’s initial findings that Russian intelligence indeed hacked the DNC. The forensic evidence that links network breaches to known groups is solid: used and reused tools, methods, infrastructure, even unique encryption keys.

Ok, so again, there is definitely very very strong evidence that Russia was behind the hacks on the US - there may be some groups who don't agree, but seriously, the evidence is about as clear as if they'd left a little Russian Flag behind and a "neener neener" message, even though they tried to hide it through the Guccifer 2.0 personality.

The information from their hacks was directed at Democratic individuals and organizations. They HAVE impacted the election. It indicates a specific interest, a laser focus, no? It begs the question, "why?" Why not dump ALL the dirt on both the RNC and the DNC? Why not hack both? It would seem an obvious conclusion that there was an intent to harm only one side in our election. I've not seen any good argument against that.

Compare that to the information in the Russian hack by Cyber Hunta, also very targeted and specific, also to embarrass and in this case, show a massively illegal operation by Russia that cost 10 thousand lives. Russian dirty laundry has been aired. NATO has been, in some ways, vindicated for their sanctions and efforts to push back at Russia, who seems bent on expansionism.

To put it bluntly: This hack provided evidence of Russia plotting and micro-managing the attempted coup of a neighboring Nation State, The Ukraine, which eventually led to the annexation of Crimea. This is BIG.

Also remember how people were debating whether or not Russia was involved with the "separatists" in The Ukraine way back when, with some sources disbelieving Russian involvement. US Intelligence, however, was spot on with their assessment. Link: Wiki - 2014 Pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

United States – US Secretary of State John Kerry stated (on 7 April 2014) that he thought the conflict in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Mariupol was a carefully orchestrated campaign with Russian support.[386][387] Assistant US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that the United States had no doubt that Russians were behind the takeovers of government buildings in eastern Ukraine.[388]

Geoffrey R. Pyatt, United States Ambassador to Ukraine, characterized the militants as terrorists.[389] On 30 April, John Kerry stated that phone tap evidence proved that the Kremlin was directing pro-Russian protests in the region.[390]

On Monday, 7 July, the governments of the United States and France urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to put pressure on pro-Russian insurgents in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and to hold dialogue to reach a ceasefire with the Ukrainian government

Things have been brewing in a very serious way with Russia for years now. Disrupting our election and keeping out Clinton, while having a President who disrupts NATO agreements and seems pro-Russian in his viewpoint is good for Putin and Russia's objective of seeking more power and territory. There are connections between the events in The Ukraine, the DNC hack and the recent hack against Russia. Four dimensional chess is being played here, and the dots can be connected if you dig down deep enough.


-AB

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: AboveBoard

If the "Cyber Hunta" group is believed to be Ukrainian then why does this automatically suggest US payback or involvement?

It's not like it requires advanced off the shelf hardware or technology to perform such a hack. Anyone with a laptop and access to a network who has the correct skill set could be responsible.

Because of the threat openly given by US Intelligence that we would take revenge for the hack on the DNC/Podesta.

WSJ: White House Vows Proportional Response for Russian DNC Hacking

We may or may not have been involved. If we were, it was quite "clandestine" as promised - our fingerprints are not on it... Cyber warfare / espionage is the new Cold War front. This is a serious situation.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Well let's imagine ... do you think Putin is going to sit there and whine about American groups doing it if it's Ukrainian hackers?

Putin will suspect America is behind it because we said we would retaliate in a clandestine way. I don't know if he will say it was the US or not, or simply assume it and escalate more cyber attacks against the US.

I've no doubt Putin will also try to go after the Ukrainian group as well.

If the CIA was involved, they did a good job, at least so far, of generating a stealthy and potentially politically deadly attack, on Putin.

- AB

a reply to: Ohanka

If it's from anyone in Ukraine it should just be dismissed instantly.

Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day. Why are you so vehemently opposed to the source? If the Kyiv government really is a NATO puppet, why shouldn't NSA hand them some real goods to deliver?

a reply to: AboveBoard

If the CIA was involved, they did a good job, at least so far, of generating a stealthy and potentially politically deadly attack, on Putin.

Not really. Russians won't hear about it and the rest of the world already knows he's a lying SOB, so no harm done. The release was for American consumption. Of course, we are already seeing patriotic Americans posting here to poison the well. Well, well, well...

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: AboveBoard

If the CIA was involved, they did a good job, at least so far, of generating a stealthy and potentially politically deadly attack, on Putin.

Not really. Russians won't hear about it and the rest of the world already knows he's a lying SOB, so no harm done. The release was for American consumption. Of course, we are already seeing patriotic Americans posting here to poison the well. Well, well, well...

I don't think it's just for American consumption - don't forget the International community and NATO, who have just been handed serious justification to curb Russia via sanctions and, possibly in International court. 10,000 lives lost and a commercial plane downed = not good to have one's fingerprints on the trigger.

Russians may not hear the truth about it. I expect Russia Today and Zerohedge as well as other's who source them, to have a different narrative soon, but I could be wrong about that. That would be the story told to the Russian people. I'm guessing it will have to do with the "reliability" of the information and will claim Putin is being framed or some such. They may claim it was the US as well, but the information in the hack will be compared to actual events. It is already being "vetted" and showing its veracity, according to the article in the OP.

Notice also, how NBC got a VERY detailed "scoop" on this?? What does that say to you?

- AB

a reply to: AboveBoard

But they are not taking responsibility for the attack according to the article "a senior U.S. intelligence official said the U.S. "had no role" in the hack".

Not much point in issuing a threat and then not admitting culpability, kind of defeats the purpose of ones saber rattling if indeed responsible.

a reply to: AboveBoard

I don't think it's just for American consumption - don't forget the International community and NATO, who have just been handed serious justification to curb Russia via sanctions and, possibly in International court. 10,000 lives lost and a commercial plane downed = not good to have one's fingerprints on the trigger.

Good point. Russia's neighbors have been very nervous since the invasion of Ukraine. This reinforces their fears and might get them to up their spending.

Russians may not hear the truth about it. I expect Russia Today and Zerohedge as well as other's who source them, to have a different narrative soon, but I could be wrong about that. That would be the story told to the Russian people. I'm guessing it will have to do with the "reliability" of the information and will claim Putin is being framed or some such. They may claim it was the US as well, but the information in the hack will be compared to actual events. It is already being "vetted" and showing its veracity, according to the article in the OP.

Not a peep from RT and zerohedge so far, but based on the way the Kremlin handled MH-17, we can anticipate that they will deny that the emails are real. They will provide a "cyber-security" expert who will dismiss them, followed by a "Ukrainian whistleblower" who will claim he participated in the fraud (before disappearing), a completely different set of emails from the same people with conflicting contents that are supposed to be the "real" ones, a collection of ambiguous statements from American officials promising "payback," etc.

Notice also, how NBC got a VERY detailed "scoop" on this?? What does that say to you?

Clearly, they have a good back channel... or they released it without fully vetting it first. (Probably the latter; NBC has been getting sloppier and sloppier.)

a reply to: andy06shake

Honestly, this doesn't mean that the hack had anything to do with US Intelligence or the "proportional response" effort. I am not personally claiming that it had to be America, but only that if it was, they did a good job appearing to NOT be involved.

IF the CIA or US Intelligence was involved, they were very covert about it. If they weren't, the information is still damning against Russia and could lead to serious fallout for them.

a reply to: AboveBoard

"could lead to serious fallout for them"

Poor choice of words me thinks.

Especially since i hail from the UK, i don't want to glow in the dark.

End of the day whoever is responsible, its really nether here nor there, considering it only really matters how the story is spun.

Hackers tend to work to there own agenda, seldom even entertaining the notion of country's or nation states which are really just lines on maps to a significant percentage. Its more about cause and effect in there mindset.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: AboveBoard

"could lead to serious fallout for them"

Poor choice of words me thinks.

Especially since i hail from the UK, i don't want to glow in the dark.

Oops!!! NO pun intended!!!

That is the last thing any sane person wants.

(And if you glow, we'll glow, so we'll all glow together...mutual assured destruction is no one's idea of a good time...unless you are a super villain or something...)

Sorry!!

a reply to: AboveBoard

Full blown nuclear war is war against humanity, so i agree unless you are a super villain that likes DUMB life, it's really not a tenable solution to anything other than retarding humanity's progress for the next 10,000 odd years or so.

End of the day if it does happen i'm not that far away from the Faslane nuclear base(HMNB Clyde) so i don't expect we would even know what hit us.

Thing is through i grew up during the Cold war era, i don't want the same for my children.

a reply to: AboveBoard

I posted this in the other thread thinking it was this thread so will paste it here as well ....The hacks are probably covert CIA propaganda . Inside this piece the poster does a great job contextualizing the history ,and facts about MH17 that is well worth the read . thesaker.is... As he makes note . " The United States CIA had a hate on against Malaysia because they had hosted an International War Crimes Tribunal which had indicted George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and various other top American officials for invading Iraq (War of Aggression) and the many atrocities and crimes committed during the war. Although Malaysian Airlines had one of the best safety records in the business, in 2014 they lost three airliners in mysterious circumstances. CIA Payback?"

As he also posts ." In April around 100 people protesting the coup in Odessa were burned alive and/or shot in a massacre led by fascist militias thugs. In May, protected by hastily formed local militias, the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk held similar referendums to succeed from Ukraine which also passed by over 90 percent.
The United States CIA took over the top two floors of the Ukrainian SBU Intelligence agency and assumed control of the SBU and the developing civil war. Near the end of June CIA Director John Brenner made a secret visit to Ukraine over a weekend."