<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
On 2016-08-14 19:33, William Flynn Wallace wrote:<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAO+xQEbHFiKHPLqRMQ=j5wJMMhnnePz9uLopt1MnXcv87cuDYQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px"> Will
hackers win the next war?</span><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
It might be more relevant to ask whether hackers will win the next
diplomatic negotiation.<br>
<br>
Really interesting response from Snowden about the claimed sale of
NSA malware by a third party group:<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160816/07465535255/ed-snowden-explains-why-hackers-published-nsas-hacking-tools.shtml">https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160816/07465535255/ed-snowden-explains-why-hackers-published-nsas-hacking-tools.shtml</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/765513662597623808">https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/765513662597623808</a><br>
The most relevant part here is his speculation about motivation:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"><i style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);
font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Arial, Helvetica,
sans-serif; font-size: 12.96px; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing:
normal; line-height: 18.144px; orphans: 2; text-align: start;
text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal;
widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Why did they do it? No
one knows, but I suspect this is more diplomacy than
intelligence, related to the escalation around the DNC hack.
Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates
Russian responsibility. Here's why that is significant: This
leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US
responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware
server. That could have significant foreign policy consequences.
Particularly if any of those operations targeted US allies.
Particularly if any of those operations targeted elections.
Accordingly, this may be an effort to influence the calculus of
decision-makers wondering how sharply to respond to the DNC
hacks.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></blockquote>
<br>
Now in the light of the otherwise fairly laid back Bruce Schneier
reacting very strongly to the DNC hack implications (
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/2016/0815.html#1">https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/2016/0815.html#1</a> ) it
is not implausible that the claimed sale is a defensive move.<br>
<br>
It is enticing to focus on deadly drones, things blowing up, and
breaking infrastructure. But a lot is just stratagems to mess with
the other side. Of course, it is not inconceivable that this whole
story is just a bunch of random things with little plan in the first
place - subtle plans are vulnerable to unrelated events. <br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dr Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University</pre>
</body>
</html>