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Last week, I published two posts on cyber security firm CrowdStrike after becoming aware of inaccuracies in one of its key reports used to bolster the\u00a0claim that operatives of the Russian government had hacked into the DNC. This is extremely important since the DNC hired CrowdStrike to look into its hack, and\u00a0at the same time denied\u00a0FBI access to its servers.<\/strong><\/p>\n Before reading any further, you should read last week\u2019s articles if you missed them the first time.<\/p>\n Credibility of Cyber Firm that Claimed Russia Hacked the DNC Comes Under Serious Question<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n What is CrowdStrike? Firm Hired by DNC has Ties to Hillary Clinton, a Ukrainian Billionaire and Google<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Now here are the latest developments courtesy of Voice of America<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has revised and retracted statements it used to buttress claims of Russian hacking during last year\u2019s American presidential election campaign.<\/strong> The shift followed a\u00a0VOA report that the company misrepresented data<\/a>\u00a0published by an influential British think tank.<\/em><\/p>\n In December, CrowdStrike said it found evidence that Russians hacked into a Ukrainian artillery app, contributing to heavy losses of howitzers in Ukraine\u2019s war with pro-Russian separatists.<\/em><\/p>\n VOA reported Tuesday that the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which publishes an annual reference estimating the strength of world armed forces, disavowed the CrowdStrike report and said it had never been contacted by the company.<\/em><\/p>\n CrowdStrike was first to link hacks of Democratic Party computers to Russian actors last year, but some cybersecurity experts have questioned its evidence.<\/strong> The company has come under fire from some Republicans who say charges of Kremlin meddling in the election are overblown.<\/em><\/p>\n After CrowdStrike released its Ukraine report, company co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch claimed it provided added evidence of Russian election interference. In both hacks, he said, the company found malware used by \u201cFancy Bear,\u201d a group with ties to Russian intelligence agencies.<\/em><\/p>\n CrowdStrike\u2019s claims of heavy Ukrainian artillery losses were widely circulated in U.S. media.<\/em><\/p>\n On Thursday, CrowdStrike walked back key parts of its Ukraine report.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The company removed language that said Ukraine\u2019s artillery lost 80 percent of the Soviet-era D-30 howitzers, which used aiming software that purportedly was hacked. Instead, the revised report cites figures of 15 to 20 percent losses in combat operations, attributing the figures to IISS.<\/em><\/p>\n Finally, CrowdStrike deleted a statement saying \u201cdeployment of this malware-infected application may have contributed to the high-loss nature of this platform\u201d \u2014 meaning the howitzers \u2014 and excised a link sourcing its IISS data to a blogger in Russia-occupied Crimea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In an email, CrowdStrike spokeswoman Ilina Dmitrova said the new estimates of Ukrainian artillery losses resulted from conversations with Henry Boyd, an IISS research associate for defense and military analysis. She declined to say what prompted the contact.<\/em><\/p>\n Dmitrova noted that the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community have also concluded that Russia was behind the hacks of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton\u2019s campaign manager.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here\u2019s the problem. Yes, the FBI has agreed with CrowdStrike\u2019s conclusion, but the FBI did not analyze the DNC servers because the DNC specifically denied the FBI access. This was noteworthy\u00a0in its own right, but it takes on vastly increased significance given the serious errors in a related hacking report produced by\u00a0the company.<\/p>\n As such, serious questions need to be asked. Why did FBI head James Comey outsource his job to CrowdStrike, and why did\u00a0he heap praise on the company? For instance, back in January,\u00a0Comey\u00a0referred to CrowdStrike<\/a> as a\u00a0\u201chighly respected private company.\u201d<\/p>\n In a hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday afternoon outlining the intelligence agencies\u2019 findings on Russian election interference, Comey said there were \u201cmultiple requests at different levels\u201d for access to the Democratic servers, but that ultimately a \u201chighly respected private company\u201d was granted access and shared its findings with the FBI.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Where does all this respect come from considering how badly it botched the Ukraine report?<\/p>\n Something stinks here, and the FBI needs to be held to account.<\/p>\n ___ Michale Krieger Liberty Blitzkrieg Last week, I published two posts on cyber security firm CrowdStrike after becoming aware of inaccuracies in one of its key reports used to bolster the\u00a0claim that operatives of the Russian government had hacked into … Continue reading
\nhttp:\/\/libertyblitzkrieg.com\/2017\/03\/28\/crowdstike-revises-and-retracts-parts-of-explosive-russian-hacking-report\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"