Here are some of the titles that have been floating around today about the initial report.
“Vermont utility finds alleged Russian malware on computer”
“Washington Post flubs report on Russia hacking utility company”
“Fake News' Cries Follow Discovery of Russian Malware at Vermont Utility
There has been more ado, including here with commentators citing an article that appeared in The Intercept, about the fact that it was a standalone company laptop and not a hack on the grid, than there has been about the fact of an actual potential security breach by Russia!
We have reports from The Guardian, The BBC, The New York Times , and the list goes on, that claims and concerns about what happened at the Burlington utility company are real and represent a clear risk and cause for deep concern. The Washington Post article was accused of “hype”, “blowing up”, and “fake news” you name it. Their most recent article: States re-examine cybersecurity after Russia accused of hack , clarifies that the malware was found on a company’s laptop not the company’s network or grid.
“Several states around the country on Saturday asked cybersecurity experts to re-examine state and utility networks after a Vermont utility’s laptop was found to contain malware that U.S. officials say is linked to Russian hackers. The Burlington Electric Department, one of Vermont’s two largest electric utilities, confirmed Friday it had found on one of its laptops the malware code used in Grizzly Steppe, the name the U.S. government has given to malicious cyber activity by Russian civilian and military intelligence services.”
As a former network administrator I can tell you that anyone who has admin rights can easily access a password on a laptop to capture WIFI or network settings and then add the computer to any existing network. It’s a pretty basic and simple thing to do for anyone with basic IT knowledge and access. So yes finding a standalone company laptop at the site with code that has been identified as Russian software code is a VERY big deal! And to hammer away at an initial article by a major newspaper that then pulled back due to being labeled as “FAKE NEWS!” and who then reworded their title in response does not take away from the seriousness of the initial report.
I would question why a legitimate news story due to its title wording would be so quickly called to the floor when there are plenty of Fox and bright shining Breitbart lies to keep us busy now and until hell freezes over. For example, Breit lies giving pride of place, such as front page, to a supposed hack of (GASP!) Drudge, by the US Government. Nary a word about an American utility company at risk for cyber hacking. But of course numerous articles appear on “Arabic speaking” suspects, for the sole purpose of destabilizing Merkel’s Germany.
We of course need to be conscientious with reporting, so let’s start holding the real FAKE NEWS agencies to journalistic accountability by demanding that they start to follow the journalistic standards that they are shrieking about today.
And true to form trump’s tweet of the day was probably designed to deflect from this or from something else of major importance.