A reporter works on a computer as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on securing the nation's cyber infrastructure, Friday, May 29, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
(Ron Edmonds/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
President Obama: My campaign was hacked
By Matthew Shaer | 05.29.09
Today, the White House unveiled the details of an ambitious new cyber-security initiative, which President Obama said would gird the nation’s infrastructure against digital threats. “We rely on the Internet to pay our bills, to bank, to shop, to file our taxes,” Obama said in a news conference in the East Room of the White House. “But we’ve had to learn a whole new vocabulary just to stay ahead of the cyber criminals who would do us harm – spyware and malware and spoofing and phishing and botnets. Millions of Americans have been victimized, their privacy violated, their identities stolen, their lives upended, and their wallets emptied.”
‘I know how it feels’
Much of the buzz from the press conference has centered on Obama’s announcement that he will appoint a “cyber-czar” to oversee anti-hacker efforts. (The president has yet to decide who will fill the role, although speculation is high that his top choice is former Bush administration adviser Melissa Hathaway, who led a recent review into online security in the U.S.) But for geeks around the globe, the real news was that the Blackberry-addicted president has up-close-and-personal experience with malware. In his speech, Obama said he knows “how it feels to have privacy violated because it has happened to me and the people around me.” He continued:
It’s no secret that my presidential campaign harnessed the Internet and technology to transform our politics. What isn’t widely known is that during the general election hackers managed to penetrate our computer systems. To all of you who donated to our campaign, I want you to all rest assured, our fundraising website was untouched. So your confidential personal and financial information was protected.
The comment was greeted with chuckles.
The gathering storm
But the cyber-threat is no laughing matter, as Obama knows. In late April, it was reported that hackers had successfully busted into a top-secret strike fighter program, and last year, a virus surged through the computers at a military base in Afghanistan. “[It’s] clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country,” Obama said, adding that, “just as we failed in the past to invest in our physical infrastructure – our roads, our bridges and rails – we’ve failed to invest in the security of our digital infrastructure.”
For years, cyber-defense has been split between various federal organizations, including the Pentagon, the National Security Agency, and Department of Homeland Security. This new office will unify these branches under one single command, ostensibly amping up the defensive capability of the nation’s computer networks.
Taking the temperature of the blogosphere
The reaction on the blogosphere was mixed. Many lauded the appointment as long overdue; some argued there were already enough czars pottering around the White House. On Twitter, FrankBoone wondered, “Could Obama’s Cyber Cop be groundwork for assault on Free Speech?” RyanKendrick joked, “Because the US Government has so much xtra $, Obama expected to announce plans for ‘Cyber Czar.’”
Freedom Eden, a right-leaning blog, takes the direct approach: “I’m not suggesting that protecting our nation’s computer networks isn’t important, but is a cyber czar necessary?”
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2. Carrie Graham | 05.29.09
No way does he know how it feels! His life wasn;t shattered into a zillion pieces by identity theft. He has tons of security. I don’t, for one minute believe he has the slightest idea what a complete intrusion it can be.
3. Patriots Son | 05.29.09
Come on, why is everything with this administration somehow related to emperial granduer.
With so “czar’s” with their new kingdom’s, are we leading up to calling the president beside what many already call him thats unprintable.
4. Ron Paul | 05.29.09
Just another way to monitor Americans. Big brother is watching everything you do! We Americans must stop this from happening. I’m an IT professional and I know that this is pure crap. More proof that America is a Fascist State.
6. T.J. Fod | 05.29.09
Please stop this already!!!…where is our “free press” asking him why this has NOW risen to the top of the list (he already announced it two months ago) when we have serious hard targeting going on in the world.
He is a fraud….trying to act like he is in a million places at once….the media should make him stay focused on the reality of our economic disaster…but they can’t because they are only interested in getting to events..
T.J. Fod
7. guest | 05.29.09
Time for DRDO to re-invent the internet? Create thousands of more tech jobs? Way to go!!!!!!!!!! I am reaching for my passport
8. Skynet | 05.29.09
As soon as we integrate all of the military and intelligence agencies IT security systems, we’ll be in good shape to let the machines become self aware and take us over.
9. Doug Lawrence | 05.29.09
Maybee I’m out of touch with the specifics of his plan, maybee this is a bad idea. But the reaction to this seems to be perfect fodder for all the “party of no” junk libs are throwing at conservatives. “[It’s] clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country,” Do you really disagree with that? A 7-11 gets knoocked over for $50 and there are 3 cop cars there ASAP. Your economic life gets completely destroyed electronicly, the cops tell you to “talk to the bank, we don’t know what to do about it”. Csar, chief, expert, person, who cares? Why does everything turn into semantics? If there is something specifically wrong with what he’s doing, say so, I’d like to know myself. If you think this is a waste of time and money, your at least partially right because this does seem like something the government will screw up with incompetence (”The interweb is a series of tubes”), but should they do nothing? If they should do it differently, how? We (conservatives) are getting destroyed, and a lot of it is our fault. We need to be specific, articulate, and reasonable. Our principles are good. Recacting to everything with an unexplained “no” is killing us.
10. Doug Lawrence | 05.29.09
Maybee I’m out of touch with the specifics of his plan, maybee this is a bad idea. But the reaction to this seems to be perfect fodder for all the “party of no” junk libs are throwing at conservatives. “[It’s] clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country,” Do you really disagree with that? A 7-11 gets knoocked over for $50 and there are 3 cop cars there ASAP. Your economic life gets completely destroyed electronicly, the cops tell you to “talk to the bank, we don’t know what to do about it”. Csar, chief, expert, person, who cares? Why does everything turn into semantics? If there is something specifically wrong with what he’s doing, say so, I’d like to know myself. If you think this is a waste of time and money, your at least partially right because this does seem like something the government will screw up with incompetence (”The interweb is a series of tubes”), but should they do nothing? If they should do it differently, how? We (conservatives) are getting destroyed, and a lot of it is our fault. We need to be specific, articulate, and reasonable. Our principles are good. Recacting to everything with an unexplained “no” is killing us.
P.S. - Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
11. givemeabreak | 05.29.09
The British were the 1st country to permanently ban all “child porn” from their Internet system years and years ago. No kidding! Look it up.
At that very same time this country couldn’t even come to grips with forcing all the USA Internet porno sites here to use the (dot XXX) instead of the (dot COM or dot NET) URL endings so that the cyber cops could better - once and for all - track every Pedophile and Kiddy Porn site out there!
Child porn is still alive and well in the USA today thanks to the 2 recent EX braindead GOP’s we finally got rid of at the White House - total idiots that ran our once economically proud country right into another Great Depression.
Is it any wonder why the USA Internet is so deteriorated as it is today?
All the while this so-called Brainiac country of ours still can’t even figure out how to keep hackers out of the Pentagon, Campaign computers, and probably even the Prez’s own Blackberry as well! Go figure?
I do have to put a lot of - if not all - the blame on MicroChit (the C is actually replaced with the $ sign to sum it up right), and Symantec Corp (Norton A / V by any other name). The latter who is now sleeping in M$’s bed totally!
Reason why? It began in late 2003 when Symantec in their infinite wisdom offshored all their accts to none other country then that of INDIA!
I was totally uniformed just prior to them doing this - as had I been pre-notified like I should have been - I would have dropped and removed every bit of Norton A / V from all my cmptrs AT THAT TIME.
As it turned out I did anyway just shortly after that HUGE breech in my Internet security - as it related to any or all of my personal info that Norton had on record being outsourced to INDIA of all places.
It took me over an hour being on HOLD to begin with, but then it took another 35-40 minutes just to try and understand the poorly spoken INDIA rep over there who kept trying to read off of a cheat-sheet as to why my cmptr was locked down in the first place (email and otherwise), and as to what the heck the problem really was in getting my then DEACTIVATED acct back online.
That fool (for a better lack of words here) wanted me to uninstall and then reinstall Norton all over again - as though I didn’t know how that was going to totally screw up my Windows (ya Windows unfortunately) system with DRIVER problems up the kazoo!
What a nightmare of incompetence! I already knew it had something to do with Norton when I turned on my cmptr and went online that unfaithful morning back in late 2003 - that was a given! Being the sharp and savvy Cmptr Repair Tech I was even at that time I figured out the work-around fix and in less then 10 minutes I was back to square one!
Seeings I still had something like 5-6 months left on my Symantec Norton acct I just let it run out, and then switched back over to TrendMicro PC-cillian, which was btw light-years ahead of Norton anyway - even back then! Just the Free TrendMicro Online scan at their site always found stuff that Norton didn’t even catch on a twice daily Norton scheduled scan. Go figure huh?
Ever since 2003-2004 Symantec Norton A / V anything has been TOTAL JUNK as far as I’m concerned. Eats up so much system resources that it isn’t even funny! That 2003 version wasn’t too bad yet, but it was much slower then the 2002 version that’s for sure. If you like a SNAIL paced cmptrs be my guest. Anyone who even uses it today gets what they pay for! For my money I like and use AVG or TrendMicro in that order. No problems and NO conflicts at all.
If I had my choice of affordable OS as well - I’d be running MAC OS10 for sure! As it stands now I use Linux along with Mozilla Browser or the Firefox version IE. FLAWLESS! None of the Windows hassles at all…….
Enough said…
Wake up WASH, DC!
Wake up Pentagon!
Wake up USA!
Wake up World!
Get real….MicroChit….I don’t think so!
Norton A / V? Laugh a minute!
An Internet Czar…don’t make me laugh……
That is the beginning to the end of anyone’s private information as I seen it.
Nothing WASH, DC does ever is done right the first time around. It won’t end with someone whose last name is Obama either.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the state of CA. Most backward and dysfunctional state in the nation right now (that is - behind TX no doubt) - as look at who is running CA as far as a has-been washed up governor is concerned.
Why do you think I left that God-forsaken state to begin with? The only thing (call it an issue if you like) of importance there is “homosexual marriages”!
Give me a break!
12. Frank | 05.29.09
It seems obvious that this will be another way to have every move we make go thru the government. Then every thing we buy on the internet will be taxed by THE government. I must admit that we have went a lot longer that I thought we would without paying state sales tax on everthing. They will find out how to keep all the crooks out of all computers with EXCEPTION OF THE GOVERNMENT CROOKS THEMSELVES. Bernie Madoff was small time compared to the schemes that Obamas’ theft of all money that he is giving away to his buddies that supported him $$$$ to get elected. They must find many more ways to tax us to pay off the “trillions” (10,000,000,000,000) (thats 13 zeros) of Dollars we have obligated our children; our grand children; and our Great grandchildren and their children to pay off.
Frank
13. Kaelinda | 05.29.09
I’m curious about something. BUSH and the REPUBLICANS passed the TARP bailout before Obama was elected. The Stimulus Package that cost just as much, that was passed after Obama was elected, is going to the states, not to the banks. So… why is anyone blaming Obama for the bank bailouts? Before the election, republicans and democrats alike were hollering for the president (Bush, at the time) to stop the war in Iraq and close Guantanamo. Obama is trying to do both, and Congress ambushes him by refusing to give him the money to do it. So… why is anyone blaming Obama that neither of these two things is happening? Obama has been in office a little more than 4 months… so how can he be blamed for anything that’s going on? The only things he’s done have proven to be helpful to the economy, have improved the troops’ position in Afghanistan, and have started closing down the Iraq war. So… why is anyone so hostile? He hasn’t (nor has the Democratic Congress) taken away anyone’s freedom of speech, right to bear arms, or right to a jury trial. So… why does anyone blame him for any of that? Seems to me the Republicans are just afraid because a half-white man is president.
14. Anon | 05.29.09
Wow, this sounds pretty great. I’m actually really excited for this. Identity theft sucks. Yes, I’m okay with this. Really, I don’t think it’s a big deal, and I’m not sure why all of you think the government will be spying on you. Shoot, Bush did more to allow spying on the public with the Patriot Act than a “cyber czar” could achieve. I just don’t understand why you should be upset about being spied upon anyways; if you’re a decent American then you should have nothing to hide anyways.
Paranoia anyone?
Come on now guys, take a damn chill pill.
15. ITSecurityGuy | 05.30.09
I am on the frontlines in some ways when it comes to cybersecurity. If anyone thinks that the timing is weird on this or that he should not be focusing on this - you just don’t know what is going on.
I remember in the 90’s when hackers and viruses were mainly personally or politcally motivated. That is no longer the case. Eastern European and Asian groups, some of them government backed, have the most amazing hackers who churn malware out with assembly line efficiency that would make Ford proud. They are good and as of right now - they can get into absolutely anything they please, Pentagon, power systems, NORAD, you name it… they are and have been doing it.
I can’t find the figures to be sure, but I think it is that 80% of all attacks occurred in 2008. That is staggering to think of. From the first computer virus in 1981, to the wild-west day of the internet in the late 90’s when trojan horses ran free, all the way up to 2007 - 25% of what happened in 2008. From the logs of routers and server that I see, that is very fair to say. I am supposed to be wearing many hats, but the constant bombardment of attacks over the last year has made me pretty much keep the IT security hat on constantly.
In my learning on how to counter the ‘bad guys’, I’ve learned some of their methods. I’ve seen firsthand how something I thought was completely secure and reliable has been ripped through in 10 minutes. For every measure there is a countermeasure. I don’t know how many billions (yes, I think it’s with a B) are lost yearly on a personal, governmental, and business level due to hackers, viruses, etc - not to mention lives ruined and identities stolen. NAT routers, IDSs, firewalls, honeypots, encryption, anti-virus, anti-spyware and dedicated IT Security Teams are not enough to keep determined hackers out. The multi-layered defenses comprised of the latest and best equipment and software which was set up by our best and brightest people is not enough to keep them out of the Pentagon. It is time to look for a new answer and I applaud any leader who has the knowledge to see that.
16. whatthe | 05.30.09
czar??? what is with the U.S. using this word all of a sudden! Does anyone really think this is wise! and yes this is just a way to get hold of bloggers/ myspacers/ or anyone else that opposes Obama regime Its laying the ground work people!! as far as those who had your ID stolen…….. Do ya think you should be personally responsible for that? Ah hello
17. mkultracultchya | 05.30.09
ridiculous. “the government” is WAY out of their league on this one. obama is a fool for admitting these things, showing weakness and lack of judgement all for what? rhetoric. “i know how it feels” !!! great you and our internet-naive senior citizens, nice work pres. anon will only come faster and stronger, everything is subject to our whims- infiltration occurs at every level.
18. S. Sandlin | 05.30.09
If those who are now in charge of the internet in the US cannot maintain secure
operations, then it’s time for fixing because it’s broke. The idea of freedom of speech is priceless–especially for porno monsters and the scum that would slime precious livelihoods. I would rather the government elect a “czar” of this method of communication than leave it to those who have not only managed to threaten the nation’s security, but who managed to cause so much pain, if not ruin, to so many individuals.
19. MikeHawaii | 05.30.09
If the president were actually interested in improving cyber security, they would simply begin replacing their Microsoft Windows-based computing systems with Apple Mac OS X systems. There is virtually no computer viruses, spyware or other malware available on the Internet that affects Apple computer systems. Hello?
20. RandyB | 05.30.09
I get tired of trying to get people who have so little critical thinking ability, to understand that the argument, “If your a decent American then you should have nothing to hide anyways (sic)”, or any variation of that theme, realalize exactly what that statement, taken to its logical conclusion, means.
These Americans speak to the moment, not thinking what could be in the future. For instances, who would have though in 1963, that a United States citizen could be arrested, jailed, kept incognito, never be charged with a crime, never given access to an attorney, their families never notified, perhaps tortured, all…, on one man’s self proclaimed authority. Couldn’t happen, right, (or maybe a better word would be “correct” lol)? Well, it did happen. Would you want someone like Dick Cheney, to decide if you were a decent citizen?
If you would like an historical reference, the German third Reich rapidly comes to mind.
The danger of breaking a “law”, if you do not even know what the “law” is, a law that might be arbtary, capricious, or maybe just an edict of one man, is astronomical.
It should be obvious now, that “Being a decent American”, depends on who is doing the grading.
21. Carolyn | 05.30.09
Czars, by definition, are autocratic & don’t play well with Democracy’s children. iSafety is needed but a Czar plus entourage?
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1. LongOverdue | 05.29.09
All I can say is that it’s about time. Cyber crimes are some of the most costly forms of crimes out there, not only in terms of peoples’ privacy and personal money but in the sheer amount of bandwidth spammers and botnet owners use.
This is taxing on both private individuals, businesses *and* the government. It’s sapping a lot of money that could go elsewhere. The government would spend LESS money dealing with the situation than they would in the long run fixing the damage these crooks do.