Former FBI deputy director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi explained Wednesday that there is so much Russian hacking because it’s the only power they have.
“This is about as close as you’re going to get to state-sponsored terrorism in the cyber world,” Figliuzzi explained to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. “The code in the ransomware attacks is written so it will never attack Russian targets. That seems to be Putin telling these organizations, ‘I’m going to give you license to operate. Just don’t ever let this unleash on one of our companies or one of our agencies.’ That’s essentially state sponsorship. That’s why you’ll see our entire U.S. intelligence community directed even at these criminal organizations because they’re so closely tied to the Russian government. They present a national security concern for the United States.”
Velshi asked what Putin’s end-game is in all of the ransomware attacks. Unlike in normal terrorism, there’s money to be gained, but that’s about it.
“Well, first, let’s remember, Putin simply wants to sow discord and chaos and undermine our democracy,” Figliuzzi said. “We’ve seen that in election […]
Russia has never given sufficent priority to the economic wellbeing of its citizens.The real priority has always gone to military buildup and development, especially of nuclear weapons. Khrushev tried to improve agricultural production with his “Virgin Lands” project, but the effort failed.
All true, but, as well, America is little removed from your: “sufficent priority to the economic wellbeing of its citizens.” If America did, abortion would not be an issue, neither would Covid-19, race, universal medicare coverage, a pharmacare plan… it’s a long list Kenneth.