Sunday, February 09, 2014

From the Dan Rather school of journalism? How does something like this come about? Slow news day? We need some anti-Russian propaganda? It's the way we do business?
Fraud Alert: NBC Sochi hack report is fake, says security expert
The frightening NBC report featuring Robert Engels, a journalist who reported that his smartphone and two computers were hacked in Sochi, is allegedly a fake. Errata Security's Robert Graham wrote a blog post calling the NBC story "wrong in every respect."
Graham accuses Engels of faking the report and intentionally downloading applications that would ensure that his smartphone was hacked almost immediately.
… "The story shows Richard Engel "getting hacked" while in a cafe in Russia. It is wrong in every salient detail.
  1. They aren't in Sochi, but in Moscow, 1007 miles away.
  2. The "hack" happens because of the websites they visit (Olympic themed websites), not their physical location. The results would've been the same in America.
  3. The phone didn't "get" hacked; Richard Engel initiated the download of a hostile Android app onto his phone.
  4. ...and in order to download the Android app, Engel had to disable a lock that prevents such downloads -- something few users do [update]."
Graham argued that NBC exaggerated the danger of being hacked in Sochi.
"Absolutely 0% of the story was about turning on a computer and connecting to a Sochi network. 100% of the story was about visiting websites remotely," Graham wrote. "Thus, the claim of the story that you'll get hacked immediately upon turning on your computers is fraudulent."


Something to watch closely. Remember, it takes two to tangle.
Abe, Aquino Views on China Unhelpful, Says U.S. General Carlisle
Comments by the leaders of Japan and the Philippines drawing parallels between China’s growing assertiveness in the region and events in pre-war Europe are “not helpful,” said the commander of U.S. air forces in the Pacific.
… The recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino -- two U.S. allies -- have escalated tensions at a time when China is pushing its territorial claims in both the East and South China Seas, and as President Xi Jinping expands the reach of his country’s navy.


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