Live data from Hacker News

The Dubai Job

gq.com

61–64 of 64 posts

Re: The Dubai Job

#61
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People saying that Mossad messed up by getting caught on camera never really made sense to me. They clearly knew they were going to be on camera, and they had to have known that that footage would be reviewed in the future. Since they knew they were going to be on camera but did it anyway, it pretty clearly was a risk they calculated and decided was an acceptable payoff. Currently it looks like nearly 30 people were…

Oh, I totally agree-- this was the point of my earlier comment about it being tactically "good enough" but not perfect. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they knew all about the CCTV coverage in the hotel. I also think you're spot on about the blowback on the British passports. It was all calculated risk. In general, the article underestimates the technical savvy of Mossad-- see Stuxnet.

I hate to burst your bubble but as someone who's gone through stuxnet with a fine toothcomb more than once, there's nothing (as expected with decently written malware) that is directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service.

Stuxnet has been heavily sensationalised by the media, who like the idea of intrigue more than the reality that this is a (predominantly) untargeted (it hit more targets in India than Iran when I was looking at it) but highly sophisticated piece of malware, but nothing that couldn't have been written by a decent pen test team in a few months.

Is it a CNE (Computer Network Exploitation) act? Possibly, and the presence of Scada exploits indicates the possibility. But bear in mind that there are CANVAS (http://www.immunitysec.com/) packs that have 0day SCADA exploits in them and they aren't written buy governments.

Re: The Dubai Job

#62
post #61
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I totally agree-- this was the point of my earlier comment about it being tactically "good enough" but not perfect. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they knew all about the CCTV coverage in the hotel. I also think you're spot on about the blowback on the British passports. It was all calculated risk. In general, the article underestimates the technical savvy of Mossad-- see Stuxnet.

I hate to burst your bubble but as someone who's gone through stuxnet with a fine toothcomb more than once, there's nothing (as expected with decently written malware) that is directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service. Stuxnet has been heavily sensationalised by the media, who like the idea of intrigue more than the reality that this is a (predominantly) untargeted (it hit more targets in Indi…

directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service

Except that I didn't say that Stuxnet was attributable only to one country, just that it was effective.

Re: The Dubai Job

#63
post #62
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to burst your bubble but as someone who's gone through stuxnet with a fine toothcomb more than once, there's nothing (as expected with decently written malware) that is directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service. Stuxnet has been heavily sensationalised by the media, who like the idea of intrigue more than the reality that this is a (predominantly) untargeted (it hit more targets in Indi…

directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service Except that I didn't say that Stuxnet was attributable only to one country, just that it was effective.

[deleted]

Re: The Dubai Job

#64
post #62
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to burst your bubble but as someone who's gone through stuxnet with a fine toothcomb more than once, there's nothing (as expected with decently written malware) that is directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service. Stuxnet has been heavily sensationalised by the media, who like the idea of intrigue more than the reality that this is a (predominantly) untargeted (it hit more targets in Indi…

directly attributable to a single country or intelligence service Except that I didn't say that Stuxnet was attributable only to one country, just that it was effective.

> In general, the article underestimates the technical savvy of Mossad-- see Stuxnet.

I'm reading that as implying a link between Mossad and Stuxnet. If that's not what you're implying then I've misinterpreted your comment.

Post reply on HN