Oh, for the love of Christ and all that is Holy, the New York Times cannot be serious about this. Nicole Perlroth and David Sanger now need to be watched like hawks. Let me ask you a question. If I asked you to list the people with an incentive to mess with the computer systems of American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, would you be able to complete it before the Sun burnt out? Would you tell me that the top of the list included North Koreans or Iranians, and not legions of Americans who got screwed by those institutions over the last decade?
Here we have an article that blames Iran for launching cyberattacks against our banks that has no on-the-record sources from anyone in our government. Here is all we get:
A group that calls itself the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
The group says it is retaliating for an anti-Islamic video posted on YouTube last fall. But American intelligence officials and industry investigators say they believe the group is a convenient cover for Iran. Just how tight the connection is — or whether the group is acting on direct orders from the Iranian government — is unclear. Government officials and bank executives have failed to produce a smoking gun…
…The American and South Korean attacks underscore a growing fear that the two countries most worrisome to banks, oil producers and governments may be Iran and North Korea, not because of their skill but because of their brazenness. Neither country is considered a superstar in this area. The appeal of digital weapons is similar to that of nuclear capability: it is a way for an outgunned, outfinanced nation to even the playing field. “These countries are pursuing cyberweapons the same way they are pursuing nuclear weapons,” said James A. Lewis, a computer security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “It’s primitive; it’s not top of the line, but it’s good enough and they are committed to getting it.”
…
…Mr. Lewis, the computer security expert, agreed. “The Iranian attacks have tilted private sector opinion,” he said. “Hence the muted reaction to the executive order versus squeals of outrage. Companies are much more concerned about this and much more willing to see a government role.”
So, we have exactly one “industry investigator” on the record and he is actually working at the CSIS, not at the banks. We have no one from the “intelligence community” even quoted anonymously. No one from the administration is quoted.
Nonetheless, “The Iranian attacks” is put in print as if it is factual.
This must stop.
