What Sony, Nintendo, and Congress, have In Common

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Correction (June 15, 2011)
Editing this post, I moved the AP/FoxNews quote explaining the title to the footnote 1. That quote is now where it belongs, in the body of the post. Oops.
(a tip of the hat to Brigid)

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Looks like the U.S. Senate's website was hacked. That's the bad news.

The good news is that it's the Senate's public site, and apparently nothing sensitive was lost or stolen.

Some not-so-good news is that part of the problem seems to be inside the Senate:

"...The vulnerability was traced to a part of the Senate site that is maintained by an individual Senate office, which Bradford did not name. Each senator and committee maintains its own presence on Senate.gov and may not adequately protect the site, she [the Senate's Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Martina Bradford] said...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com)

This hack attack isn't China's doing - a group of hackers called Lulz Security says they're responsible. I suppose they could be fronting for China - or the CIA - or shape-shifting, space-alien lizard men, but I don't think that's likely.

Lulz Security's stated motives are pretty clear, and part of a familiar pattern:

"...'We don't like the US government very much,' the website wrote atop the file. 'Their sites aren't very secure.

" 'In an attempt to help them fix their issues ... this is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov,' the site added. 'Is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?'..."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com)

Lulz Security doesn't just hack into the U.S. government, apparently:

"...The group has claimed credit for hacking into the systems of Sony and Nintendo and for defacing the PBS website after the public television broadcaster aired a documentary seen as critical of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com)

I put more from that article at the end of this post.¹

I'm no adoring fan of the United States Congress. On consideration, I'd rather live in America than anywhere else - and I think our form of government, on the whole, works adequately well. But I also wish that members of congress would display common sense more consistently. I've discussed hyperventilating rhetoric before - in and out of Congress. (June 11, 2011)

Other congressional deficiencies - I've been over that in another blog:

• "Morality, Wisdom, and Getting a Grip"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (June 3, 2011)

That's partly about the Wiener debacle, so if you think Representative Wiener is the best thing that ever happened to New York state, you probably won't like the post.

Now, about the latest hack and getting a grip.

Briefly:

• This hack is
  • Embarrassing
  • Not, apparently, a serious threat
  • A useful wake-up call
    • Maybe
• One Senate office dropped the (security) ball
  • Spear phishing?
  • Something else?
• Cyberwar?
  • Probably not
• Alternatively-responsible?
  • Yes
    • In my opinion
• Ideology isn't an excuse for bad behavior
  • In my opinion

I've written about that sort of thing before.

Related posts:

• "IMF Hacked, Again - or - 'This isn't Cyberwar: It Just Acts Like Cyberwar'?!"
  (June 11, 2011)
• "Gmail, China, Knee-Jerk Response, and the Information Age"
  (June 4, 2011)
• "L-3 Communications, Grumman: Hack Attack"
  (June 1, 2011)
• "Lockheed Martin Corp, SecureIDs, EMC, and All That"
  (May 28, 2011)
• "WikiLeaks, Killing People Who don't Agree, and Living in the Real World"
  (July 30, 2010)

In the news:

• "Notorious Hacker Group Breaks Into Senate Server"
  Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (June 13, 2011)

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¹ From yesterday's news:

"A band of computer hackers who pride themselves on attacking vulnerable networks for fun accessed a Senate server that supports the chamber's public website but did not breach other files, a Capitol Hill law enforcement official said Monday. The hackers said the release was a 'just for kicks' attempt to help the government 'fix their issues.'

" 'Although this intrusion is inconvenient, it does not compromise the security of the Senate's network, its members or staff,' Senate Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Martina Bradford said in a statement.

"A hacking cooperative that goes by Lulz Security claimed that it had added a Senate file to its list of successful, high-profile intrusions at a time when governments and corporations are on high guard for cyber intrusions...."

"...'We don't like the US government very much,' the website wrote atop the file. "Their sites aren't very secure.

" 'In an attempt to help them fix their issues ... this is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov,' the site added. 'Is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?'..."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (June 13, 2011))