Connect with us

Technology

The Trump campaign hacking scandal and leak resembles a repeat of 2016. This time, the media is reacting differently

Published

on

Trump campaign hack-and-leak appears like a rerun of 2016. This time, media outlets are responding differently

This weekend Politico dropped an information bomb:An individual using only the name “Robert” provided the editorial staff with documents allegedly stolen from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Since then now we have learned that New York Times AND The Washington Post I also heard from the same person and received several stolen documents. The document dump has the characteristics of a hack and leak operation, which usually involves malicious hackers stealing confidential information and strategically revealing it to harm the goal of the hack. The FBI said it was investigating the hack. Trump himself he accused Iran’s government about the breach. Longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone said his email account was breached, which likely began the whole operation, based on anonymous people who spoke to The Washington Post.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because a nearly similar hack-and-leak operation before the US election happened before and will inevitably occur again. It’s value going back in time to the previous hack-and-leak operation to spotlight what we learned then and how those lessons apply now.

Advertisement

In the summer of 2016, a hacker who introduced himself as Guccifer 2.0 and described himself as a Romanian “hacker, manager, philosopher (and) woman lover” claimed to be behind the Democratic National Committee break-in. This got here as a surprise, as cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike he accused Russian intelligence agency behind the hack. In an ironic twist, Roger Stone, meanwhile, publicly disclosed was involved with Guccifer 2.0 and joined the hacker’s claims that he was attacking Democrats.

But because it turned out, after I began asking Guccifer 2.0 some specific questions in 2016, their mask quickly began to fallTwo years later, the FBI confirmed that Guccifer 2.0 was not the only Romanian hacker, but a person controlled by two agents working for the Russian military intelligence unit, the Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU. While I I pat myself on the backI also wish to be clear that in some ways it was easier for me to deal with Guccifer 2.0, his identity, and his motivations, than on the leaked documents, just because I used to be (and still am) a reporter covering cybersecurity moderately than politics.

At this point, and on this latest case, it’s unclear who “Robert” really is. However, early signs point to a repeat of the Guccifer 2.0 situation.

The day before the Politico report on the attack on Trump was published, Microsoft it was revealed that a hacking group supported by the Iranian government “sent a spear-phishing email in June to a high-ranking presidential campaign official from the compromised email account of a former senior adviser.” Microsoft didn’t say what the campaign was or name the “former senior adviser” who was targeted, but sources later said, The Washington Post AND Political that the FBI has been investigating the hacking of the Trump campaign since June.

Advertisement

IN latest report on wednesdayGoogle’s Threat Analysis Group, which studies hackers and government-backed threats, agreed with most of Microsoft’s assessment. Google said it had evidence that Iran-backed hackers were behind attacks on the personal email accounts of about a dozen people related to President Biden and former President Trump back in May.

To summarize: It appears that Iranian government hackers could have hacked Stone, used his email address to then goal and infiltrate the Trump campaign, stolen certain documents (to this point, we only learn about files related to the vetting process for Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance), and finally used someone named Robert to contact reporters in the hopes that they’d look into the leaked documents.

Contact us

Do you may have more details about the Trump campaign hack? Or other politically motivated hacks? From a non-work device, you’ll be able to safely contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on Signal at +1 917 257 1382 or on Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb or email. You can even contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.

The difference from what happened in 2016 is how the media is presenting the whole story.

Advertisement

During this time, countless media outlets acquired Guccifer 2.0’s documents, and later also the stolen ones. from Hillary Clinton’s then campaign manager, John Podesta — and published stories that essentially reinforced the message the Russian government wanted the American public to deal with, namely allegations of corruption and abuse. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote a 2016 book about the hacking campaigns, he told the Associated Press this week it was found that the media had distorted some of the leaks in 2016 in a way that hurt Clinton greater than it must have.

This time, initial coverage of the Trump campaign hack and leak focused on the hack and leak itself, moderately than what was leaked, a undeniable fact that disinformation experts have praised.

“Politico and (its reporter) Alex Isenstadt deserve a lot of credit for turning this story into a story about a (weak, it seems) foreign disinformation effort, rather than reporting on leaked Trump campaign documents themselves.” Thomas Rid saidprofessor at Johns Hopkins and someone who closely monitored 2016 Russian hacking and disinformation campaign

It is essential to notice that this might all change, perhaps if or when “Robert” decides to disclose something that the media deems more newsworthy. It is also essential to keep in mind that as my former colleague Joseph Cox said written a few years agowere many matters hackers leaky information that was in the public interest. The data from these hacks and leaks deserved to be discussed and reported. That could also be true this time, too.

Advertisement

Regardless, it is essential for journalists to offer the full context of hacking and leak operations, whether or not they are carried out by hackers working for governments attempting to undermine elections or specific presidential candidates, or by hacktivists with well-intentioned intentions.

When Politico asked the hacker how he obtained the documents, Robert supposedly said: “I suggest you do not inquire where I got them from. Any answer to that question will compromise me and also legally prevent you from publishing them.”

Perhaps Robert himself knows that this time the journalists have drawn conclusions.

Advertisement
This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com

Technology

The next large Openai plant will not be worn: Report

Published

on

By

Sam Altman speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024.

Opeli pushed generative artificial intelligence into public consciousness. Now it might probably develop a very different variety of AI device.

According to WSJ reportThe general director of Opeli, Altman himself, told employees on Wednesday that one other large product of the corporate would not be worn. Instead, it will be compact, without the screen of the device, fully aware of the user’s environment. Small enough to sit down on the desk or slot in your pocket, Altman described it each as a “third device” next to MacBook Pro and iPhone, in addition to “Comrade AI” integrated with on a regular basis life.

The preview took place after the OpenAI announced that he was purchased by IO, a startup founded last 12 months by the previous Apple Joni Ive designer, in a capital agreement value $ 6.5 billion. I will take a key creative and design role at Openai.

Advertisement

Altman reportedly told employees that the acquisition can ultimately add 1 trillion USD to the corporate conveyorsWearing devices or glasses that got other outfits.

Altman reportedly also emphasized to the staff that the key would be crucial to stop the copying of competitors before starting. As it seems, the recording of his comments leaked to the journal, asking questions on how much he can trust his team and the way rather more he will be able to reveal.

(Tagstotransate) devices

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
Advertisement
Continue Reading

Technology

The latest model AI Google Gemma can work on phones

Published

on

By

It grows “open” AI Google, Gemma, grows.

While Google I/O 2025 On Tuesday, Google removed Gemma 3N compresses, a model designed for “liquid” on phones, laptops and tablets. According to Google, available in a preview starting on Tuesday, Gemma 3N can support sound, text, paintings and flicks.

Models efficient enough to operate in offline mode and without the necessity to calculate within the cloud have gained popularity within the AI ​​community lately. They will not be only cheaper to make use of than large models, but they keep privacy, eliminating the necessity to send data to a distant data center.

Advertisement

During the speech to I/O product manager, Gemma Gus Martins said that GEMMA 3N can work on devices with lower than 2 GB of RAM. “Gemma 3N shares the same architecture as Gemini Nano, and is also designed for incredible performance,” he added.

In addition to Gemma 3N, Google releases Medgemma through the AI ​​developer foundation program. According to Medgemma, it’s essentially the most talented model to research text and health -related images.

“Medgemma (IS) OUR (…) A collection of open models to understand the text and multimodal image (health),” said Martins. “Medgemma works great in various imaging and text applications, thanks to which developers (…) could adapt the models to their own health applications.”

Also on the horizon there may be SignGEMMA, an open model for signaling sign language right into a spoken language. Google claims that Signgemma will allow programmers to create recent applications and integration for users of deaf and hard.

Advertisement

“SIGNGEMMA is a new family of models trained to translate sign language into a spoken text, but preferably in the American sign and English,” said Martins. “This is the most talented model of understanding sign language in history and we are looking forward to you-programmers, deaf and hard communities-to take this base and build with it.”

It is value noting that Gemma has been criticized for non -standard, non -standard license conditions, which in accordance with some developers adopted models with a dangerous proposal. However, this didn’t discourage programmers from downloading Gemma models tens of tens of millions of times.

.

(Tagstransate) gemma

Advertisement
This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
Continue Reading

Technology

Trump to sign a criminalizing account of porn revenge and clear deep cabinets

Published

on

By

President Donald Trump is predicted to sign the act on Take It Down, a bilateral law that introduces more severe punishments for distributing clear images, including deep wardrobes and pornography of revenge.

The Act criminalizes the publication of such photos, regardless of whether or not they are authentic or generated AI. Whoever publishes photos or videos can face penalty, including a advantageous, deprivation of liberty and restitution.

According to the brand new law, media firms and web platforms must remove such materials inside 48 hours of termination of the victim. Platforms must also take steps to remove the duplicate content.

Advertisement

Many states have already banned clear sexual desems and pornography of revenge, but for the primary time federal regulatory authorities will enter to impose restrictions on web firms.

The first lady Melania Trump lobbyed for the law, which was sponsored by the senators Ted Cruz (R-TEXAS) and Amy Klobuchar (d-minn.). Cruz said he inspired him to act after hearing that Snapchat for nearly a 12 months refused to remove a deep displacement of a 14-year-old girl.

Proponents of freedom of speech and a group of digital rights aroused concerns, saying that the law is Too wide And it will probably lead to censorship of legal photos, similar to legal pornography, in addition to government critics.

(Tagstransate) AI

Advertisement
This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending