Washington Post has been particularly ridiculous this season

[Undertoad]

The WaPo headline of last night said Russian hackers penetrated the electrical grid through a utility in Vermont!!

It turns out there was a lone laptop involved, quickly isolated, infected with what the community calls "commodity malware" - a virus developed and then sold and widely spread. Created in Russia, likely -- but who used it? No-one can say right now!

In the light of morning day, the WaPo actually contacted the utility and got the details -- someone tried actual journalism! -- and decided to change their headline to something less ominous.

But by then the story had tweaked everyone's pleasure centers. This is how we end up with bubble facts. A virus created and sold by Russian hackers, making it onto a utility company laptop, is not "Russia hacking the power grid". In fact it is not actually NEWS -- talk to anyone in IT who's had a shitty accountant in the office, clicking on things with her laptop... were the Russians hacking my old AM/FM radio data services company too???

The idea that there is some kind of threat is only there for the drama of it. And that drama only works because we don't understand the whole thing. We don't understand, we don't know the facts, and we're entirely willing to BELIEVE. Ya remember Y2K?

[Gravdigr]

I want to believe™.

[sexobon]

Believe you me, no shit, looky there, just as you wanted to think, couldn't be anything else. Oh look, there's another one.

Buy a newspaper mister?

[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

It turns out there was a lone laptop involved, quickly isolated, infected with what the community calls "commodity malware" - a virus developed and then sold and widely spread.

That is how most data breeches are done. When dealing with the grid, any breech by simplistic software is a major news story. Breeching (stealing) the payroll for a company is a problem - not anywhere as serious. Power grid utilities cannot accept such trivial software breeching on any of their computers. Since that is how passwords are stolen to, in one case, cause major machine to self-destruction.

If commodity malware can breech security, then how bad is their security? A threat even to power for The Cellar. Never forget a massive 2003 blackout created by operational mismanagement in only one company in Ohio - First Energy. A looming disaster fortunately and successfully stopped by PJM, New England Power Authority, and Quebec Electric.

[Undertoad]

A few really major lefty journalists have taken notice. Glenn Greenwald gave the WaPo a huge slap for it. Because it's like the WMD days:

This matters not only because one of the nation’s major newspapers once again published a wildly misleading, fearmongering story about Russia. It matters even more because it reflects the deeply irrational and ever-spiraling fever that is being cultivated in U.S. political discourse and culture about the threat posed by Moscow.

The Post has many excellent reporters and smart editors. They have produced many great stories this year. But this kind of blatantly irresponsible and sensationalist tabloid behavior — which tracks what they did when promoting that grotesque PropOrNot blacklist of U.S. news outlets accused of being Kremlin tools — is a byproduct of the Anything Goes mentality that now shapes mainstream discussion of Russia, Putin, and the Grave Threat to All Things Decent in America that they pose.

The level of groupthink, fearmongering, coercive peer pressure, and über-nationalism has not been seen since the halcyon days of 2002 and 2003. Indeed, the very same people who back then smeared anyone questioning official claims as Saddam sympathizers or stooges and left-wing un-American loons are back for their sequel, accusing anyone who expresses any skepticism toward claims about Russia of being Putin sympathizers and Kremlin operatives and stooges.

Matt Taibbi wrote two days ago (before the WaPo bogosity), "Something About This Russia Story Stinks: Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment" and he had the same complaint about the administration's "I offer you no proof but obviously Russia did it":

Many reporters I know are quietly freaking out about having to go through that again. We all remember the WMD fiasco.

"It's déjà vu all over again" is how one friend put it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I've always maintained this nation went to hell when the Commies quit the cold war.
Before that we had full employment, a chicken in every pot, two cars in every garage.

The Post is doing their part to make America great again.

[Pico and ME]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

A few really major lefty journalists have taken notice. Glenn Greenwald gave the WaPo a huge slap for it. Because it's like the WMD days:



Matt Taibbi wrote two days ago (before the WaPo bogosity), "Something About This Russia Story Stinks: Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment" and he had the same complaint about the administration's "I offer you no proof but obviously Russia did it":

I read Taibbi's article. He is mostly clear-headed (in my opinion). He is the one, though, that sparked my 'puppet masters' conspiracy theory belief, with his 'vampire squid' characterization of Goldman Sachs. I believe he wrote honestly about his feelings on this matter.

[Gravdigr]

What's easier than hacking a utility's computer network?

Hacking the maintenance supervisor's laptop.

[Pico and ME]

OK, I just started on some homeopathic remedy just a bit ago, and (when normally I can understand TW), I just cant now. I'll re-read it later.

[Griff]

I'm having a bit of a fake news moment here.

[Pico and ME]

lol, thats funny, are you using the same?

[Griff]

Nah, I just celebrated 9(?) years without any sort of remedy. I truly wish some news organization would step up their game.

[Pico and ME]

Congratulations...?

[Griff]

For me it's good. I've peeled away enough layers to be okay with myself unadulterated.

[Pico and ME]

good