back to article White House network pwned 'multiple' times by Chinese

US officials say Chinese hackers have raided White House email archives multiple times, according to a report. The Financial Times reports some people it describes as "US government cyber experts" suspect the raids were sponsored by the Chinese regime. "We are getting very targeted Chinese attacks so it stretches credulity …

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  1. Ash

    As if the Americans don't do this!

    This makes me laugh. It's likely the American's have been using their signals intelligence to spy on foreign corporations and give their own companies a competitive edge for years. The same is bound to be true of government level spying, it's not like the American's would tolerate having no intelligence on the rising world power.

    But of course it's a different matter when the glove is on the other hand.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    The White House's Lost e-mails...

    Ah, so, if we want President Bush's e-mail archives we need to ask the Chinese.

  3. RaelianWingnut
    IT Angle

    The Job Security Hack

    Hackers used to do this all the time... you been hacked, mister... giss a job mate... I'll sort you out, innit.

    Just sayin'

  4. Tyler
    Flame

    Email backups

    So maybe the CHINESE have backups of the "missing" White House emails?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    On the upside...

    ...the Chinese might be able to provide investigators with Bush's 'missing' email archive.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Can They Get Us the Missing Emails?

    We've heard that a whole bunch of emails have gone walkabout, and can't be retrieved, but maybe the Chinese have them backed up, hm?

  7. Steve

    Re: The White House's Lost e-mails...

    Even better, you can now defend yourself against the charge of hacking by saying you were preventing the worse crime of failing to archive governmental correspondence.

  8. Eddy Ito

    Finally

    The age of open government has dawned.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Equivocation nonsense

    "...American's have been using their signals intelligence to spy on foreign corporations and give their own companies a competitive edge for years."

    Absolute horse shit.

    Just offer employees at the competition more money. This works the world wide.

    Mine's the one with the Intel... um I mean AMD key card.

  10. Frumious Bandersnatch
    Flame

    compare this with Gary McKinnon

    1. actual espionage versus idle curiosity

    2. knowledgeable attacker versus wannabe script kiddie

    3. no chance of extradition versus "special friendship" relationship brought to bear

    4. international incident versus international farce

    5. downplaying of incident versus hyperbolic billing as "biggest military hack ever"

    6. incompetent security (though recognition of security as an ongoing process) versus incompetent security (compounded by focus on script kiddie instead of failings of process)

    7. large amount of data downloaded versus no UFO data found

    Am I missing anything here?

  11. Jodo Kast
    IT Angle

    Simple: Block All Access

    The only secure computer is one that is turned off.

    If that doesn't work, block all IP addresses from countries that you don't want snooping around.

    Also block all of the proxy IPs. No one *needs* a proxy.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    hwack

    I wonder what the Chinese hear about these so called Attacks. We do seem to hear alot of these reports of late saying the Chinese are attacking the UK and the USA.

    Im gonna try and ignore this as i think its blatant propoganda...

    Mines the crispy fried modem Extra Hot

  13. Anonymous Vulture
    Coat

    Maybe Yahoo is safer?

    Perhaps Ms. Palin had it right, its safer to store things in a Yahoo account. Or we could follow Mr. Rove's example and conduct government business from a political account.

    Yahoo could probably use this as advertising considering their sorry plight. "Use Yahoo - free from FOIA requests, mandatory archive requirements, and Chinese hackers".

    Mine's the one with not_a_government_account@yahoo.com e-mail address in the pocket.

  14. Andy Bright
    Pirate

    Isn't that good news?

    Didn't certain members of the White House mysteriously lose a bunch of emails recently? You know, when they decided what a neat idea it was to tell the world who the CIA agent in charge of tracking down loose nukes was. Thereby destroying not just her cover, but also that of everyone she worked with. Not to mention the high probability that anyone she did business with is also now under a certain amount of scrutiny in some very unsavoury parts of the world.

    And all because she was puzzled over how she missed a bunch of loose nuke material from a little country called Niger, and sent her husband over to investigate. Imagine her relief when she found out it was bullshit and she wasn't incompetent at her job. Imagine her surprise when the White House decided to let everyone know this.

    So.. given that the Chinese seem to be experts on White House emails, and given that we already outsource a large amount of business in that particular country.. perhaps we could ask them if they could find anything useful.. something we could use to press real charges against the people that committed treason. I don't know about you, but finding one person guilty of lying doesn't do it for me.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    oh well

    at least we will have an archive to fall back on when we want to impeach bush,

    cos there wont be any incriminating mails on the archives/servers when he leaves...

    (oh hes already bricked the servers several times this term)

    hmmm someone wanna ask the chinese if we can have a copy...

  16. Jeff
    Black Helicopters

    I'm confused here...

    The NSA created Security Enhanced Linux extensions for the purpose of blocking all unknown attack vectors and only permitting known good traffic and applications yet the government doesn't use it to protect itself?

    Clearly the definition of System Admin has lost its meaning in the days of point and click computing.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    I hope The Register...

    ...will dismount their tall'ish steed, "Pontificus", and give due credit to Palin, Cheney, and Bush for their "Cloud Email" initiatives. By concealing their email correspondence "in plain sight"* they may well have saved the world from dissolution and despair as the rising Red Dragon, no longer satisfied with simply owning our arses, decides it wants to know what the hell we think we're doing with them.

    A retraction is in order, and perhaps a written apology. Dont be afraid to grovel. Their personal addresses are, of course, top secret - with only key government staffers, the pimply undergrads at Google and Yahoo, and a couple of spam address harvesters (Proudly American, of course!) in the loop - but an email sent to the Whitehouse reception will find its way to the right place:

    Reception@whitehouse.gov.xinwahtradingcollective.cn

    I am sure a little humble pie will help fortify your usual diet of cheap red wine, rolos, and misanthropy. Feast!

    * Sited just out of sight of judicial oversight

  18. Joe

    RE: I hope The Register...

    Are you drunk?

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Simple: Block All Access

    ironically, Chinese citizens who wish to see and/or hack those parts of the World Wide Web that lie outside their Great Firewall definitely DO need a proxy. I'm behind seven as I type this.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Joe

    Yes. Very.

  21. amanfromMars Silver badge

    Security? .... What's that? Keeping things secret for Selfish Personal Gain? ...

    ... That aint never gonna work today.... so an IntelAIgent Change is Needed 42 Supply Feed.

    "I'm confused here ... The NSA created Security Enhanced Linux extensions for the purpose of blocking all unknown attack vectors and only permitting known good traffic and applications yet the government doesn't use it to protect itself?

    Clearly the definition of System Admin has lost its meaning in the days of point and click computing.".... By Jeff Posted Friday 7th November 2008 19:49 GMT

    Jeff,

    Point and click for a solution does not work in AIdDYnamIQ Virtual Environment which is under the Spell Control and Behaves at the Behest and Request of AIdDitional Binary Code. ...... for the very Simple Reason that the Perception of Attacks being Propagated, and Present, are New and NeuReal and are therefore an Unknown Known ....... with Root Source Kernel Supply/CyberIntelAIgent Lode from both Past and Future MetaDataBase.

    You can be assured though that AIdDitional Binary Code, which offers Transparency and Global Access to Any Communication/Thoughts Shared for More Powerful Controls Together, has No Secrets to Share only Intelligence Information to Beta Use and that Beta Use by XXXXPerienced Traveller Non State Actors/Intelligence Community Highly Qualified Experts. AIRovers with AIRogue Vogue Mode too ...... for the Singularity Karma of Balanced Yin and Yang ..... Curiosity Sated and Desire Elevated into Immaculate MetaPhysicality and Remote Viewing Control.

    Hard to Imagine and Believe? Not to those ReSearching IT in the Field, for they will recognise ITs Perfect ALLure.

    This is an interesting consultancy position/offer/phish .... http://www.dni.gov/electronic_reading_room/ICD%20623.pdf ..... and highly relevant here too.

  22. Ambi Valent
    Coat

    Spotted somewhere in China......

    ...Back-up solutions? ask Wing Xhiu, founder of US Gov Mail Back-up systems

  23. jake Silver badge

    "loaded off your system."

    ""You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an FBI agent reportedly told Obama staff members. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system.""

    Is that an honest to gawd/ess quotes from the FBI?

    "loaded off your system" ... WTF?

    THAT simple comment is scarier than someone reading email, probably sent unencrypted, across a network that was never intended to be secure in the first place.

    "loaded off your system."

    Gawd/ess. If that's really an FBI quote, the mind boggles. If true, hopefully the new administration will look into seeing to it that the nation's computer security folks (and their spokes-mouths) have a bit of a clue.

  24. James O'Brien
    Joke

    Off topic but relevant

    How come amanfromMars isnt using the trademarked Alien in all of his posts anymore? He ok?

  25. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    missing whitehouse email ..

    A link on www.whitehouse.gov points to sawho14.eop.gov. DNS lookup also provides these, mailhub-eop2.eop.gov 63.161.169.20, mailhub-eop3.eop.gov 198.137.241.41, mrx.eop.gov. I wonder are the missing emails stored here ..

    Office of Management and Budget

    725 17 th Street, N.W.

    New Executive Office Building, Room 9013

    Washington, DC 20506-000

    -

  26. John
    Alert

    OMG BUSH EMAILS

    HAY GUYS TOTALLY FRESH IDEA HERE, WHY DON'T WE ASK THEM FOR THE MISSING BUSH EMAILS?

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Hu Flung Dung?

    I'll have a number 34, a number 23 - extra rice and a fully backed up copy of the Whitehouse email server please.

  28. Norfolk Enchants Paris

    @amanfrommars

    That's rubbish - you can only be paid as much as the VP of the USA. Where are they going to get real experts from for that paucity of remuneration?

    I could be tempted as I am not even paid as much as Chris Moles MP, Vice-Undersecretary of Humourlessness, but my expertise is in Jammie Dodgers, Lagers Of The World, Star Wars Battlefront 2 on PSP, and Making Things Work Right.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Re: compare this with Gary McKinnon

    Perhaps the White House passwords are all blank, too.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Hacking?

    Surely this is just the Chinese checking up on their investment, probably wanting to know where all their money is being spent on.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Couldn't have gotten much from the Obama laptop.

    There's have to be something there to steal first.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Email Archive Hacked

    It wouldn't be sitting on an EMC Centera by any chance...?

  33. g00p
    Happy

    Heh..

    ..I wonder if they use Lotus Notes..?

    I just have this image of 3 yr old chinese kids hacking lotus notes archives - which is impossible - they're completely unsecured anyway :P

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    lol

    There was no break in, some guy in the Obama camp was just sharing his hardcore S&M prons by bittorrent.

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