WP: Sharyl Attkisson’s computer intrusions: ‘Worse than anything Nixon ever did’

[Zguy28]

Sharyl Attkisson’s computer intrusions: ‘Worse than anything Nixon ever did’

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/10/27/sharyl-attkissons-computer-intrusions-worse-than-anything-nixon-ever-did/

 

The intrusions into former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson’s computers constitute the narrative spine of the reporter’s new book “Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington.” The book starts with not really a word, but a sound: “Reeeeeeeeeee.”

That’s the noise that Attkisson’s Apple computer was making at 3:14 one morning. A Toshiba laptop computer issued by CBS News did the same thing a day earlier, around 4 a.m. All this goes down in October 2012, right in the midst of the Benghazi story. A person who’s identified as “Jeff” warns Attkisson: “I’ve been reading your reports online about Benghazi. It’s pretty incredible. Keep at it. But you’d better watch out.” “Jeff,” like several of the names in “Stonewalled,” is a pseudonym.

 

Full article at the link.

[Destino]

It probably is but the government long ago decided that it wouldn't be held accountable, so it can't be. The CIA hacked congress to hide evidence, think about that, and what came of it? Absolutely nothing.

[btfoom]

I think the scariest thing I read in the article was that an extra ISDN line was installed into her house.

 

Many of these things can be explained away, but someone had to physically go to her house and install an additional data line.  That is scary.

[Springfield]

This country is so screwed up.

[Zguy28]

I think the scariest thing I read in the article was that an extra ISDN line was installed into her house.

 

Many of these things can be explained away, but someone had to physically go to her house and install an additional data line.  That is scary.

Isn't the gov't about the only entity that still uses ISDN lines? lol

[Corcaigh]

The article smells of hyperbole and **** ...

 

"Intrusions of this caliber, concludes “Patel,” are “far beyond the the abilities of even the best nongovernment hackers.” LOL

 

It reads like she is trying to promote a book. And all about Benghazi?

 

There are far, far worse stories out there to embarrass the government, such as this

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/05/watch-commander/
 

[Zguy28]

The article smells of hyperbole and **** ...

 

"Intrusions of this caliber, concludes “Patel,” are “far beyond the the abilities of even the best nongovernment hackers.” LOL

 

It reads like she is trying to promote a book. And all about Benghazi?

 

There are far, far worse stories out there to embaras the government, such as this

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/05/watch-commander/

 

No doubt.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Sharyl Attkisson’s computer intrusions: ‘Worse than anything Nixon ever did’

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/10/27/sharyl-attkissons-computer-intrusions-worse-than-anything-nixon-ever-did/

 

Full article at the link.

 

Its certainly serious that someone hacked her computer, but she has no idea who it is?  Couldn't it just as easily have been China trying to get secrets from her informants?

 

This "undeniable link" sounds like crap.  I'm not an IT specialist, but hacks do several things to cover their tracks, and she didn't actually figure out what was going on.  

[deejaydana]

This is how the gov't now operates. It's much worse and blatant now, under the current Administration, than it's ever been. Folks are too focused upon the next Kardashian update than how they're being screwed over.

[Predicto]

The NSA is out of control.   

[Tulane Skins Fan]

This is how the gov't now operates. It's much worse and blatant now, under the current Administration, than it's ever been. Folks are too focused upon the next Kardashian update than how they're being screwed over.

 

What's really strange about this, is that it seems people only complain when "the other guy" is the president.  Democrats were so pissed about the Patriot Act for eight years under Bush.  And that was a lot of the same issues.  GOP said it was "necessary" to make us safe.  NSA now saying the same thing, and the roles are reversed on both sides.

 

I think there's something to be said of political psychology on this.  

[Bang]

the world we live in:

if someone can take advantage of you, they will.

If a company can steal from you, it will.

If the government can spy on you, it will.

Each of them will aggressively pursue each of those goals, no matter how many obstacles you put in their way.

 

And there's nothing you can do about any of it except completely fall off the grid, and when you do..

Other people living off the grid will take advantage of you, steal from you, and spy on you if they can.

 

So we can shake our first all we want. we can blow all the whistles, ring all the bells, point and shout all we want.

It won't change. (It might OCCASIONALLY get one thief out of the primordial sewer.. but two more will take his place, with the knowledge of what got him busted.)

 

There won't be a revolt that will set any of it right.

Because if there is, then first thing the new power will do is figure out how to take advantage of you, steal from you, and spy on you.

And no matter how much we want to believe otherwise, that is exactly what will happen, nd those who believe otherwise are just the sort of dreamers that make it easy to take advantage, steal, and spy.

i know that for some that will seem awfully depressing and terribly cynical, but it's the fact of our world, and no amount of anything will ever change it. (except money, and only on a personal level then... if you have enough money then you can take advantage of others, steal from others, and spy on others...   for the purpose of figuring out the best way to take advantage and steal from them.)

And if you have that kind of money, you will.

But it won't stop you from being spied on, stolen from, or taken advantage of. it just happens on a bigger scale then, and you pay others to fight over it for you.

But win or lose, it won't stop, and the worst they can do to us is always just over the next rise.

Be vigilant, try to protect what you have, but believing it will ever stop and "justice" will prevail is a fool's errand with no eye on reality.

 

~Bang

[LD0506]

I know it's mostly my cynical/skeptical/old fart attitude but damn, I do laugh each and every time I hear the crying, the hand wringing and hair tearing about **** like this. Have you NOT been paying attention? Do you really think this is something new? Seriously? Didya growup in Antarctica or something? "Oh noes, I posted everything about my life on FB trying to attentionwhore more friends and likes than my sister and the awful, evil oppressive government READ IT ALL! I don't even go to the can without my idiotphone that tells anyone exactly where I am and they had the audacity to notice!!" etc etc yaddayaddafreekinyadda <insert derisive snort here> You don't have to go off the grid Bang but just protecting your interests with even a modicum of commonsense goes a long way. But that was a helluva post <applause>

[SkinsFTW]

Eww, you made me click on a WP article.

 

Good thing I have ghostery, adblock edge, bluehellfirewall etc all running at once and no cookies, popups, etc.

[Predicto]

I've been trying to follow up on this story, and I've seen a lot of chatter on technology blogs saying that her story doesn't make any sense, and is much more consistent with her simply having malware on her computer than with being hacked by the government.   I'm not knowledgeable in this area.  Anyone else seeing this?

 

I must admit that I am not inclined to believe her, because 1) she is selling a book designed to appeal to conservative conspiracy theorists, 2) she won't reveal any of the people she claims told her this stuff, 3) she is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist,4) is known for reporting "devastating emails" about Benghazi that didn't actually exist, 5) has started appearing on "end times" shows that claim Obama is the antichrist who is going to cancel the 2016 elections and rule as a dictator until the Rapture comes, and so on.    I have trouble believing people like that.  That's my bias.

 

So, anyone got anything more? 

Eww, you made me click on a WP article.

 

Good thing I have ghostery, adblock edge, bluehellfirewall etc all running at once and no cookies, popups, etc.

 

 

Maybe Sharryl Attkisson should have followed those precautions too.   

[Larry]

Have to confess to being skeptical, myself, when the OP said that she's supposedly claiming that her computers were destroyed because she was revealing the scandalous truth about Bengazi.

If she'd been writing about warrantless wiretapping, or overseas assassination, or something else that I could actually believe the government targeting people over? I'd be less skeptical.

[s0crates]

I agree with anybody who is outraged by this kind of thing.

 

I disagree with anybody who attributes it to one party or one administration.  No matter who we vote for we get more of the same. It's very discouraging.

 

Too bad our philosopher kings don't do the job they are supposed to be doing.

[Destino]

I must admit that I am not inclined to believe her, because 1) she is selling a book designed to appeal to conservative conspiracy theorists, 2) she won't reveal any of the people she claims told her this stuff, 3) she is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist,4) is known for reporting "devastating emails" about Benghazi that didn't actually exist, 5) has started appearing on "end times" shows that claim Obama is the antichrist who is going to cancel the 2016 elections and rule as a dictator until the Rapture comes, and so on. I have trouble believing people like that. That's my bias.

No reptilian invasion? That's easily the most entertaining one.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I've been trying to follow up on this story, and I've seen a lot of chatter on technology blogs saying that her story doesn't make any sense, and is much more consistent with her simply having malware on her computer than with being hacked by the government.   I'm not knowledgeable in this area.  Anyone else seeing this?

 

I must admit that I am not inclined to believe her, because 1) she is selling a book designed to appeal to conservative conspiracy theorists, 2) she won't reveal any of the people she claims told her this stuff, 3) she is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist,4) is known for reporting "devastating emails" about Benghazi that didn't actually exist, 5) has started appearing on "end times" shows that claim Obama is the antichrist who is going to cancel the 2016 elections and rule as a dictator until the Rapture comes, and so on.    I have trouble believing people like that.  That's my bias.

 

So, anyone got anything more? 

 

 

I wasn't aware of this history.  Maybe her book is fiction?

[drtdrums]

I do not have time to search this out right now, but if she is lying, she has been doing so for a long time. She is one of my few follows on Twitter, and it was months, possibly years ago, that I saw her post that there were very strange things happening with her computer(s) and that, on initial investigation, she was concerned she was being watched. She stated she wanted to get a highly qualified expert to investigate.

It is entirely possible she started a lie back then, but I doubt it. This just isn't a recent concoction if it is a concoction.

Regarding her anti-vax position, she exchanged words with me via tweet or email (not remembering which) clarifying that she is not anti-vax, but wanted to give anti-vaxers a fair shake. I took it with a grain of salt, but I had no reason to doubt her.

She is, I believe, unabashedly conservative and thus highly suspect for one crowd and an unquestioned heroine to another. I generally appreciate people who are willing to ride the razor's edge against social, political, religious, or scientific heresy, and thus found her reporting at CNN and CBS valuable but not without flaws.

If true, her allegations are both wholly unsurprising and disturbing. I should be clear, however, that I think the progressive descent into an Orwellian abyss is not an "Obama" issue, but a societal one. I've little doubt the worsening chicanery would be similar under a Clinton or Romney administration.

[Predicto]

I wasn't aware of this history.  Maybe her book is fiction?

 

 

I don't think it is fiction, but I think as her career at CBS began to wane, she may have decided that the best meal ticket available to her was to appeal to the right wing nut job group and get some of that sweet Ann Coulter cash.

 

I really don't know, and I really want to know the truth about these particular allegations she appears to be making. 

I do not have time to search this out right now, but if she is lying, she has been doing so for a long time. She is one of my few follows on Twitter, and it was months, possibly years ago, that I saw her post that there were very strange things happening with her computer(s) and that, on initial investigation, she was concerned she was being watched. She stated she wanted to get a highly qualified expert to investigate.

It is entirely possible she started a lie back then, but I doubt it. This just isn't a recent concoction if it is a concoction.

 

 

 

It's also possible that she genuinely believes it, but in reality just had a virus ridden computer and a paranoid imagination.   Believing that you are being spied upon is extremely common among the conspiracist community, of which she certainly dabbles on the fringes.   Orly Taitz, the birther queen, believes the government is spying on her and hacking her and so on, but she really just has a ton of malware and no understanding of computers.     

Regarding her anti-vax position, she exchanged words with me via tweet or email (not remembering which) clarifying that she is not anti-vax, but wanted to give anti-vaxers a fair shake. I took it with a grain of salt, but I had no reason to doubt her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh there was a lot more to it than that.   She is still pushing the vaccine/autism nonsense.  She constantly reported about the many peer reviewed studies that found vaccines harmful (there are none, actually.)  ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is, I believe, unabashedly conservative and thus highly suspect for one crowd and an unquestioned heroine to another. I generally appreciate people who are willing to ride the razor's edge against social, political, religious, or scientific heresy, and thus found her reporting at CNN and CBS valuable but not without flaws.

 

If true, her allegations are both wholly unsurprising and disturbing. I should be clear, however, that I think the progressive descent into an Orwellian abyss is not an "Obama" issue, but a societal one. I've little doubt the worsening chicanery would be similar under a Clinton or Romney administration.

 

 

I agree with all of this.

[mcsluggo]

......

 

I think there's something to be said of political psychosis on this.  

 

fixed that for ya

[PF Chang]

Regarding her anti-vax position, she exchanged words with me via tweet or email (not remembering which) clarifying that she is not anti-vax, but wanted to give anti-vaxers a fair shake.

 

Not every viewpoint deserves a fair shake, and anti-vax falls into that. IMO the biggest problem with modern media is that nonsensical views are often treated as if they belong at the table. 

 

Still curious about this because despite Attkisson's wingnut dabbling, the NSA seems to simply do whatever it wants to do. I'd like to read more about the technical side/plausibility of this. 

[Tulane Skins Fan]

If true, her allegations are both wholly unsurprising and disturbing. I should be clear, however, that I think the progressive descent into an Orwellian abyss is not an "Obama" issue, but a societal one. I've little doubt the worsening chicanery would be similar under a Clinton or Romney administration.

 

I probably need an education on this, but it was my understanding that Obama has actually reigned in this type of data collection/domestic spying, compared to the Bush Administration.  No?

[Predicto]

I probably need an education on this, but it was my understanding that Obama has actually reigned in this type of data collection/domestic spying, compared to the Bush Administration.  No?

 

I'm not sure about that, and to be honest, I'm not sure that even if Obama tried to do that, it would be effective.  

 

Still curious about this because despite Attkisson's wingnut dabbling, the NSA seems to simply do whatever it wants to do. I'd like to read more about the technical side/plausibility of this. 

 

 

That's what I'm hoping to see, and not from WND, Breitbart or Pajamas Media.