Jeffrey Carr
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Author "Inside Cyber Warfare: Mapping the Cyber Underworld" (O'Reilly Media, 2011, 2009). Founder and CEO, Taia Global, Inc. - a cyber security consultancy.
Great job! I wish this type of collaboration could happen on a more regular basis. How did you guys get permission to train local forces? Was it easier to do since Animal Planet already had permission to film a TV show about the subject? Normally if a group of U.S. former military veterans wanted to hunt poachers in South Africa they'd need the permission of both governments, wouldn't they?
Thanks for this message, Brandon. Too often people who speak out about these issues, even with a clear motive to help improve our nation, are criticized for being "un-patriotic". Criticism is healthy and necessary; as necessary as taking a moment to celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of warriors like Glen, Chris, John and so many more who gave their lives in service to our country and whose sacrifice allows us the privilege of being able to work to make this country a better place.
@MedicSteve2 Cheers!
@MedicSteve2 Most regional experts (actual experts, not me) understand that Chechnya isn't Dagestan, and Kyrgyzstan isn't Kazakhstan. It's just bad analytic practice to lump people from that region together.
And regarding your criticism of my Irish analogy, you expressed my point exactly. You shouldn't be judged based upon where your parents came from. I'm agreeing with you. :-)
I think you nailed the incorrect attribution of Chechyna in both respects, Kerry: 1/ ignorance of the region and 2/ because of Chechnya's history of terrorist attacks against Russia. You might as well call every Irish kid born in the U.S. but whose parents were born in Ireland an IRA sleeper.
Russian terror group denies role in Boston bombingsBy Carlo Muñoz - 04/22/13 05:21 PM ET
Leaders of the primary Islamist militant sect in central Russia are denying any ties to the two U.S. citizens suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Command of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate said the terror group had never trained, met or made contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the two brothers involved in last week's terror attack.
"There are speculative assumptions that he may have been associated with the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate, in particular with the Mujahideen of Dagestan," according an online statement issued by the group."The Caucasian Mujahideen are not fighting against the United States of America. We are at war with Russia, which is not only responsible for the occupation of the Caucasus, but also for heinous crimes against Muslims," it adds.
Neither Tsarnaev brother ever lived in Chechnya, and both brothers spent 10 years in the U.S. receiving a good education and living in a pretty liberal state. How did they still manage to get radicalized? I think that's an important question to explore because it could have wider ramifications for other long term U.S. naturalized citizens.
Nicely written article, Laura. I'd also like to recommend that individuals interested in reading expert commentary on that region of the world refer to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Global Voices. Here are a couple of articles to start with:
Kyrgyz Former Neighbors Talk About Tsarnaevs, North Caucasus Ties: http://www.rferl.org/content/tsarnaev-childhood-family-kyrgyzstan-chechnya-daghestan/24963691.html?utm_source=feedly
The Boston Bombings Come Home to Russians: http://www.feedly.com/home#subscription/feed/http://globalvoicesonline.org/-/special/runet-echo/feed/
Looks like I was duped too. I thought it better to take "the Shooter" at his word when I contacted Bronstein and offered to help the guy land on his feet, not to mention giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was being mis-represented in some of what he said by Bronstein and Esquire. Thanks for posting this, Brandon.
@Txazz It's most likely bullshit. I can't tell you how many times I've found manipulated emails in document dumps posted by hackers. In this case, they don't even provide the original content which is almost unheard of. So the liklihood for these being real is extremely low.
Good article, Brandon. Way to keep the pressure on.
In an interesting bit of timing, I've stumbled across two other articles on women in the military in Russia and China. You'll need to use Google Translate to read these and even then it's hard to understand the Chinese article but just in case anyone is interested, here you go:
"Our military "Kung Fu" girl does not lose to male soldiers" http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2013-03/3714670.html
"More than 29,000 women soldiers in the Russian military" http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.forum-mil.ru/news/2013-03-08-2236
What happened, Jack? You saw under 50 comments in most articles and decided to write an article to change that? :-D
@Barnes @wannabearmyteen Yes, the power grid is not only exceedingly vulnerable but it's currently impossible to secure it thanks to the inherent insecurity of SCADA systems.
@ufridman Even Mandiant concedes that it could have been done by a group with dozens up to hundreds of people. I think the "dozens" is more likely but the RF is certainly engaging in widespread cyber espionage as a continuation of the industrial espionage that Putin acknowledged engaging in during his days at KGB. Nevertheless, I'm more than willing to concede China as a possible culprit; even a likely culprit. I just think the government and the press should be more cautious before claiming with 100% certainty than ANY country is responsible when so many other possibilities should also be considered.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. I just posted more information about different threat actors in China. Even if China is behind it, it's important to differentiate between which organization or agency is the culprit. It's not always the Third Directorate of the PLA, and that distinction is rarely made. http://jeffreycarr.blogspot.com/2013/03/who-are-players-in-chinas-targeting-of.html
@Tango9 I'm the one who's tired of your bullshit, T. Take your arbitrary 30 day nonsense and shove it. I'll drop a line in the morning to Jack and Brandon and retract my invitation for SOFREP to sponsor the next event that I'm hosting for SOCOM and the Information Security community. Congratulations on "defusing" the situation. You did a bang up job.
@majrod So your answer is you'd rather have the right to own a gun than have the right of free speech because by owning a gun you think that you can make sure that no one can silence you. Do I have that right? If so, then please explain how so many countries who enjoy the right of free speech can exist with severe gun control laws?
@SEAN SPOONTS Free speech. It's a no-brainer. Real power isn't in who holds the gun. It's in the ability to persuade, and to control the flow of money. A gun is just an instrument of power, not power itself.