Spy Games <\/p>\n
04.13.155:15 AM ET <\/p>\n
Russian spy-watcher Andrei Soldatov on Snowdens strange behavior in Russia, the Nemtsov assassination, and signs of a power struggle in Putins inner circle. <\/p>\n
Andrei Soldatovs beat is Russian spies, which is a hot topic for a new cold war. As editor of agentura.ru, an online watchdog of Putins clandestine intelligence agencies, he has spent the last decade reporting on and anatomizing the resurrection of the Russian security state, from KGB-style crackdowns on dissent at home to adroit or haphazard assassinations abroad. <\/p>\n
Most recently, Soldatov and his coauthor and collaborator Irina Borogan broke serious news about the extent to which the Federal Security Service (FSB) was surveilling and eavesdropping on everyone within slaloming distance of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Soldatov has just emerged from a writerly purdah, which has seen him complete his latest and forthcoming title with Borogan, Red Web: The Struggle Between Russias Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries. He spoke to me via Skype from Moscow recently about the latest Russian hack of the White House, the Boris Nemtsov assassination, the Boston Marathon bombings, reshuffles in Putinist spyland, and why neither Edward Snowden nor Glenn Greenwald will agree to be interviewed by him. <\/p>\n
Weiss: Youve no doubt seen the CNN report about Russian hackers infiltrating White House computers and obtaining President Obamas personal schedule. What can you tell us about this operation? <\/p>\n
Soldatov: Reportedly, it took months. This type of attack is about phishing, not real hacking. Social engineering efforts are usedtheyre going after people, not systems. They sent emails provoking White House officials to disclose some information about their accounts. Its a very special operation because the people behind it are very sophisticated; they know the types of questions to ask to solicit a response. You need to know how bureaucracy works, and what kind of request people expect to get.It reminds me of an investigated by the University of Torontos CitizenLab in 2012. <\/p>\n
On February 23, 2012, an email was sent to the director of Tibet Group 1, an activist organization, addressed personally, and appeared to come from Mr. Cheng Li, a prominent China scholar based at the Brookings Institution. The email requested the assistance of Tibet Group 1 in verifying information on Tibetan self-immolations. The name and title provided in the email matched real details for Cheng Li provided on his Brookings Institute staff page.But the director noticed that the email was sent from a suspicious AOL account, and turned to CitizenLab experts. It was soon discovered that the account appeared to have been registered by the attackers for this specific attack. Attached to this email was an Excel spreadsheet with malware.The Chinese security services were thought to be behind it because the operation was very sophisticated. <\/p>\n
There were some reports that some Russian opposition leaders were targeted by the same people [who hacked the White House]. But thats the only evidence we have of Russian involvement right now. <\/p>\n
So how are these phishing expeditions coordinated? Are Russian spies in Washington keeping tabs on White House officials and feeding the relevant information back to the hackers or the hackers government handlers? <\/p>\n
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