January 11, 2017

ALL COMEDY IS CONSERVATIVE:

Trump leak raises new questions about Telegram security (Russell Brandom,  Jan 11, 2017, The Verge)

[A]s explosive as the Trump allegations were, there was one passage that was particularly interesting for cryptography buffs, concerning the popular Telegram chat app.

According to one of the report's unidentified sources, the app may not be as secure as it seems:

An FSB [Russian secret service] cyber operative flagged up the 'Telegram' enciphered commercial system as having been of especial concern and therefore heavily targeted by the FSB, not least because it was used frequently by Russian internal political activists and oppositionists. His/her understanding was that the FSB now successfully had cracked this communications software and therefore it was no longer secure to use.

The report raised an alarming thought for Telegram users. Could Russia have an inside line to one of the most popular encrypted chat programs?


BBC claims a second source backs up Trump dossier (The Week, 1/11/17)


BBC correspondent Paul Wood came forward Wednesday to reveal that there are multiple intelligence sources alleging Russia is in possession of potentially embarrassing or compromising material regarding President-elect Donald Trump. Formerly, only a single source was known to have been aware of the alleged material.

"I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October," Wood said. "He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this." The Wall Street Journal alleges the British source is Christopher Steele, a director of the London-based Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd.

A member of the U.S. intelligence community also told Wood that "at least one East European intelligence service was aware 'that the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump,'" Raw Story reports. Wood said that he "got a message back" from the U.S. intelligence community member and that there is reportedly "more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg."


Posted by at January 11, 2017 3:22 PM

  

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