Leaks Like a Pipeline

June 6, 2017

The news writers called it a crackdown – a one arrest crackdown. (We could really use new reporters who favor clarity of message over drama.) In that crackdown, a contractor, Reality Leigh Winner, was arrested for leaking a classified NSA report that further implicated Russia in tampering with the November election.

The report indicated that the Russians hacked election software – not emails or social media stuff, but actual election related software. The software in question provided polling place registration verification. Got that? They hacked polling place software. This, of course, begs questions like, how far into the polling place did the Russians hackers get? Up till now, we (the in the dark public) were led to believe hacking never reached into the election itself, but was limited to email intercepts, fake news feeds and social media. But, never the polling place. Hmm…

After reading the leaked report, I’m left with other questions. But, the one overriding, burning question is: why the fuck was this classified? There aren’t any national secrets in it – no launch codes, no IDs of covert operatives, no exposure of sleeper cells. It did, however, describe how the software provider and government were easily scammed by mediocre hackers with childish technique.

And that’s likely why it’s classified – cause, it makes the election software vendor and our government look like the idiots they are. (These geniuses, fell victim to spearfishing attacks; they clicked on infected links in emails. Dumb fucks, this is what passes for professional in the election software environment!)

So now we can expect the assholes, who don’t know not to click emailed links, to throw a twenty-five-year-old contractor under the bus for revealing what assholes they are. Is American great yet?

Oh, and speaking of leaks, the Dakota Access pipeline, the project Obama stopped, but the Donald restarted in January, is already leaking. The pipeline owners claim all contamination was contained the environment remains safe. If you believe that, I have some slightly used election software I’d like to sell you.

Over the last two-hundred-ten days since the stolen election, the most helpful information has come from leaks – and will continue to come from leaks. Complex high-pressure systems invariably fail to some degree. It doesn’t matter if the system is plumbing or intelligence gathering – leaks always occur. The republic can count on it.

In Peace and Justice,
osv