Tag: security
Mike Waltz

Massive Hack Attack Topples Trump's Tower Of Arrogance

Well, that didn’t take long. An enterprising hacker has already penetrated whatever security supposedly protected the third-party communications app used by Mike Waltz to send text messages on Signal to the Secretary of State, the Vice President and the Director of National Intelligence during the White House cabinet meeting last week. The hack was reported earlier today by 404 Media, the new journalism website covering cybersecurity, the intelligence and surveillance business, and other topics involving the rapidly changing terrain of the tech industry.

The hacker apparently read the coverage of the loose use of the Signal app and its cousin TeleMessage, which sells its app to government agencies and corporations which require the archiving of messages sent via communications apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Telegram. The TeleMessage app is supposed to piggy-back on the other communications apps to provide secure storage of the messages on the other communications platforms, several of which can be set to delete messages after a set period of time.

The hacker, whose identity is not known to 404 Media, sent the tech website screen captures and data that “includes apparent message contents; the names and contact information for government officials; usernames and passwords for TeleMessage’s backend panel; and indications of what agencies and companies might be TeleMessage customers. One screenshot of the hacker’s access to a TeleMessage panel lists the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of CBP officials.”

“CBP” refers to Customs and Border Protection, one of the agencies in charge of protecting, among other borders, our border with Mexico, which according to the Trump administration, has been regularly breached by human traffickers and drug cartels shipping the dangerous drug Fentanyl into this country where it is sold on the street and has been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths of addicts.

Apparently, the hacker set out to penetrate the TeleMessage security just to see if it could be done. “I would say the whole process took about 15-20 minutes,” the hacker told 404 Media. “It wasn’t much effort at all.”

So, what we have here, folks, is a random computer hacker, whose identity and location is not known, meaning he or she could be living in a foreign country and working for its intelligence agency or tech firm in Russia or China, casually surfing into the communications channel Signal that the Trump administration itself admits is permitted to be installed on government-issued computers and cell phones used by high level administration officials even at cabinet meetings inside the White House.

What does this mean? It means that security throughout the U.S. government, including in the Departments of State and Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the intelligence agencies overseen by the Director of National Intelligence, has been so wide open that an apparent independent civilian hacker was able to download names, phone numbers, and email addresses of government officials as well as some of the contents of text messages, including links to tweets containing video and sound clips.

The data accessed by the hacker also included information relating to crypto firms such as Coinbase and Galaxy, meaning that communications within those firms and perhaps between the firms and their clients, who have invested real dollars in the firms’ stores and trading systems of cryptocurrencies, has been breached.

Based on the reporting of information provided by the hacker to 404 Media, communications within and between U.S. government agencies, as well as members of Congress and offices and officers within the White House, should be assumed to be compromised. Trump came into office promising to use Elon Musk and his cybernauts to save taxpayer dollars as well as modernize and increase the security of U.S. government data systems. Based on this reporting, it’s going to cost at least as much as Musk claims to have saved from so-called “waste and abuse” to take back and wipe clean every government computer, data storage facility, and cell phone that has been in use since January 20.

We have known since Trump’s first administration that he refused to use an official secure government cell phone and instead through his first term in office and this term so far has used his private cell phone to communicate with everyone from golfing buddies to foreign leaders. He has been compromised for years.

Now we know that everyone who works for him has been compromised due to their use of highly insecure communications apps. The 404 Media story even identifies the Northern Virginia location of the servers and storage facilities, owned by Amazon, through which and into which TeleMessage has sent data accumulated through its piggy-backing on communications apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, and Telegram. In the intelligence business, this sort of information is known as “gold.” The hacker “was able to login to the TeleMessage backend panel using the usernames and passwords” found during the penetration of the communications systems.

When you start to see words like “usernames” and “passwords” and “login” in a story about the official communications of the United States government, you know we’re in trouble.

And the trouble we’re in is rooted in the two north-stars of everything Donald Trump has ever done in his life: a complete absence of consequences and the overwhelming presence of arrogance. That combination is the yellow brick road foreign adversaries look for when they are trying to penetrate U.S. information stores, intentions, and methods of tactical and intelligence operations.

One independent hacker, in what he or she admitted was “15 to 20 minutes,” has stripped the façade from the Trump administration’s pretense of governing and put all our military services, including 1.4 million men and women and trillions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and facilities at risk. It’s going to cost lives.

Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has covered Watergate, the Stonewall riots, and wars in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels. He writes every day at luciantruscott.substack.com and you can follow him on Bluesky @lktiv.bsky.social and on Facebook at Lucian K. Truscott IV. Please consider subscribing to his Substack.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott Newsletter.

Hegseth Brags About Killing 'Woke' Women's Security Program Pushed By Ivanka

Hegseth Brags About Killing 'Woke' Women's Security Program Pushed By Ivanka

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that he ended the Women, Peace and Security program within the Pentagon, disparaging the initiative that ensures women are part of peace-building efforts across the world as "woke."

"This morning, I proudly ENDED the “Women, Peace & Security” (WPS) program inside the @DeptofDefense," the embattled Hegseth wrote in a post on X. "WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops—distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING.”

Hegseth continued his hysterical criticism of the program.

“WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it,” he seethed. “DoD will hereby executive [sic] the minimum of WPS required by statute, and fight to end the program for our next budget. GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!"

Of course, it was Donald Trump who in 2017 signed WPS into law. In 2019, the Trump administration touted the success of the program, which it said “aims to promote the meaningful inclusion of women in processes to prevent, mitigate, resolve, and recover from deadly conflict or disaster.”

A Women for Trump press release pointed to the passage of WPS as one of the reasons Trump was pro-woman (hah!).

What’s more, the law was written by Trump Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when she served in the House, and was co-sponsored by Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate.

The law was so uncontroversial that it passed by voice vote in both the House and Senate, without any lawmakers objecting to its passage.

Rubio even touted the program just a few days ago at the International Women of Courage event on April 1.

“President Trump also signed the Women, Peace and Security Act, a bill that I was very proud to have been a co-sponsor of when I was in the Senate, and it was the first comprehensive law passed in any country in the world— first law passed by any country anywhere in the world—focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society,” Rubio said.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, was also very proud of WPS, celebrating its passage in 2017 and later its implementation.

"By recognizing the diverse roles women play across the spectrum of conflict — and by incorporating their perspectives throughout plans and operations — DOD is better equipped to promote our security, confront near-peer competitors, and defeat our adversaries," former Trump Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said in 2020 while touting the success of the WPS program.

But now Hegseth, an accused sexual abuser and misogynist who has attacked the inclusion of women in the military, said he's ending it.

Democrats slammed Hegseth for announcing he’s killing the program.

“Dear @PeteHegseth: Please stop spewing bullshit. The WPS program was authored by GOP Rep Noem during the first Trump Administration in 2017. It was bipartisan and signed into law by Trump. Oh, and how is your makeup today? Did you use your taxpayer-funded Pentagon makeup studio?” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) wrote in a post on X.

After it was pointed out that WPS is a Trump initiative and not a Biden one, Hegseth had to defend his decision to go after the program as part of his nonsensical war on “woke.”

“The woke & weak Biden Administration distorted & weaponized the straight-forward & security-focused WPS initiative launched in 2017. So—yes—we are ending the ‘woke divisive/social justice/Biden (WPS) initiative.’ Biden ruined EVERYTHING, including ‘Women, Peace & Security,’” Hegseth wrote.

Ultimately, this is yet another instance of the unqualified buffoon leading the Pentagon putting his foot in his mouth.

Hegseth came under fire in March when he removed web pages that celebrated diverse military veterans such as Major League Baseball legend Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights icon Medgar Evers, and even an image of the Enola Gay airplane that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan during World War II. The pages were removed because they contained references to words deemed inappropriate under the Trump administration’s effort to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives—the dreaded DEI bogeyman.

It certainly seems that Hegseth’s war on DEI is also why he moved to cancel WPS.

Had he done any research whatsoever on WPS to see that it was Trump who created the program, maybe he wouldn’t have yet another foot-in-mouth situation on his hands.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Pelosi Lands In Taiwan, Defying China's Threatened Military Action

Pelosi Lands In Taiwan, Defying China's Threatened Military Action

Taipei (AFP) - US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan late Tuesday, defying a string of increasingly stark warnings and threats from China that have sent tensions between the world's two superpowers soaring.

Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years and Beijing has made clear that it regards her presence as a major provocation, setting the region on edge.

Live broadcasts showed the 82-year-old lawmaker, who flew on a US military aircraft, being greeted at Taipei's Songshan Airport by foreign minister Joseph Wu.

"Our delegation's visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy," she said in a statement upon her arrival, adding that her visit "in no way contradicts" US policy towards Taipei and Beijing.

Taiwan said the trip displayed "rock solid" support from Washington.

Pelosi is currently on a tour of Asia and while neither she nor her office confirmed the Taipei visit in advance, multiple US and Taiwanese media outlets reported it was on the cards -- triggering days of mounting anger from Beijing.

China's military said it was on "high alert" and would "launch a series of targeted military actions in response" to the visit.

It promptly announced plans for a series of military exercises in waters around the island to begin on Wednesday, including "long-range live ammunition shooting" in the Taiwan Strait.

"Those who play with fire will perish by it," Beijing's foreign ministry added.

Taiwan's defence ministry said more than 21 Chinese military aircraft had flown on Tuesday into Taiwan's air defence identification zone -- an area wider than its territorial airspace that overlaps with part of China's own air defence zone.

No Need For 'Crisis'

China considers self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if necessary.

It tries to keep Taiwan isolated on the world stage and opposes countries having official exchanges with Taipei.

In a call with US President Joe Biden last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Washington against "playing with fire" on Taiwan.

While the Biden administration is understood to be opposed to Pelosi's Taiwan stop, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said she was entitled to go where she pleased.

"There is no reason for this to erupt into conflict. There's no change to our policy," he told CNN shortly after Pelosi's arrival.

The last speaker of the US House of Representatives to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997.

Kirby reiterated that US policy was unchanged toward Taiwan.

This means support for its self-ruling government, while diplomatically recognising Beijing over Taipei and opposing a formal independence declaration by Taiwan or a forceful takeover by China.

Russia's foreign ministry called Pelosi's visit a "clear provocation," and said Beijing "has the right to take necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity over the Taiwan issue."

China has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for the Kremlin by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.

All Eyes On Taiwan

Pelosi left Kuala Lumpur Tuesday after meeting Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

So many people were tracking the US military plane ferrying her on FlightRadar that the website said some users experienced outages.

The plane took a circuitous route that avoided the South China Sea -- which Beijing claims -- before heading up the east coast of the Philippines.

Press access around Pelosi has been tightly restricted and limited to a handful or short statements confirming meetings with officials.

Her itinerary includes stops in South Korea and Japan -- but the prospect of a Taiwan trip dominated attention.

Taipei's government had stayed silent on whether she would visit but news kept leaking out.

The capital's famous Taipei 101 skyscraper was illuminated with the words "Speaker Pelosi... Thank You" on Tuesday night an hour before Pelosi's plane arrived.

- 'Seek to punish Taiwan' -

Taiwan's 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but that threat has intensified under Xi, China's most assertive ruler in a generation.

"Beijing shouldn't get to decide who can visit Taiwan or how the US should interact with Taiwan," Wang Ting-yu, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, told AFP ahead of the visit.

"I think China's open intimidation is counter-effective."

Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia programme at the US-based German Marshall Fund think tank, said the probability of Beijing choosing war was "low".

"But the probability that... (China) will take a series of military, economic, and diplomatic actions to show strength & resolve is not insignificant," she wrote on Twitter.

Taipei's Council of Agriculture on Tuesday said China had suspended the import of some Taiwanese goods, including some fishery products, tea and honey. The council said China cited regulatory breaches.

Pelosi's potential visit has been preceded by a flurry of military activity across the region that highlights how combustible the issue of Taiwan is.

Ted Cruz Decries ‘Elites’

Ted Cruz Decries ‘Elites’ For Hiring Private Security — Just Like He Does

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is complaining about liberal "elites" acquiring personal security but there is just one problem with his latest rant. According to The Daily Beast, it is highly hypocritical because he also has security.

The Texas senator made the controversial remarks when he appeared at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention on Friday, May 27. At the time, Cruz ranted about liberal “elites” who advocate for gun control while hiding behind “private security.”

However, the Beast has shed light on Cruz's itemized expenses highlighting the cost his campaign has paid for security since October 2022.

"Since October 2020, the Cruz campaign has paid Houston-area executive protection firm Atlas Glinn nearly half a million dollars to protect himself and his family—$499,661, almost all of it in monthly lump sums averaging around $30,000, according to federal disclosures. (The Atlas Glinn website features a photo of a security detail guarding Cruz in a parade car.)"

In fact, Cruz is considered the biggest Republican spender where the cost of security is concerned. However, data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, also indicates that he receives the most monetary support from pro-gun law advocacy groups. Behind Cruz's spending are three Democratic lawmakers. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) have all spent at least $300,000 on security. According to financial statements, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has reported approximately $122,000 in security expenses.

Speaking to the Beast, Swalwell explained his reason for incorporating security. As manager of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, the California Democrat faced numerous threats and personal attacks from Trump supporters.

“As the father to three children in diapers, I’m especially mindful of my kids’ security. Since Fox News [broadcast] footage of my home and numeric street address on-air in December 2020, my children have been limited in their ability to play out front. To protect my family, on some occasions we have hired trained security professionals,” Swalwell said.

“I do not oppose guns. I like guns. I enjoy shooting,” he continued. “And the security professionals I have hired are trained.”

“What I don’t like,” Swalwell continued, “is a country of unrestricted weaponry that allows the most dangerous weapons to end up in the hands of the most dangerous people. We can still be a country that allows its citizens to shoot for sport, hunt with your kids, and protect your home and not allow weapons of mass destruction to mow down our children.”

When asked about the campaign expenses, Cruz's spokesperson spoke with the Beast and insisted that he has faced an onslaught of death threats.

“Senator Cruz has received thousands of death threats from angry Leftists and there are several individuals being prosecuted by the Department of Justice because of threats on the Senator as we speak. If you don’t think that is a legitimate reason for security you should probably have your head checked,” the spokesperson said. “Senator Cruz supports the Second Amendment right of every law-abiding Texan and American adult to protect themselves.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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