Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • June 2, 2021 5:37 PM

@ ALL,

The quote from Vladimir Putin about not breaking Russian law, whilst true does not mean they have not broken the law.

The bit from Vlad about Americans is rather dumb though.

Vlad under Russian Presidential authority had something like 23 people in the UK Assassinated. So I assume he has also given such orders for Russian citizens to go out and kill others in other Soverign Nations whos jurisdictions Russian law does not apply.

I wonder how Vlad and those Russian Crooks would feel, if another Soverign Nation adopted Russia’s assassination policy against the Russian Crooks?

To make it legal under existing US doctrine all that has to happen is for Ransomware or similar to be declared “terrorism” and as Vlad has flapped his gums arguably it’s “State Sponsored Terrorism”. As we know the US has no qualms about killing even diplomats on peace missions if they believe they were previously involved with State Sponsored Terrorism…

Something perhaps those Russian Crooks and politicians who shield them should think about. Likewise US politicians, after all if those who commit what is regarded as terrorism under state protection feel they can not be protected by the state any longer, then maybe they would consider other occupations.

Just something for people to consider.

Clive Robinson • June 5, 2021 4:37 PM

@ informed, ex LEA,

Fox News as a source seriously?

A retired General providing the story serioisly?

The situation is actually rather more complicated than that simplistic mind candy for talking head wanabe’s.

If you thought about basic economics for five minutes you would realise this. Likewise if you knew a little more Russian history.

Most of the people behind Cyber-Crime in Russia are just plain criminals that never ever are employed by the Russian Government, nor would they want to be.

Whilst some are cleaver, most actually are not much more than one trick ponies or script kiddies, that end up paying protection money one way or another to various crime bosses and get some fraction of what they actually pull in, in foreign currency.

Some who have made some money and been able to keep it, have been daft enough to think they can go on nice Western Holidays… Only to discover that Russian protection is not what they thought it was. The rest are waking up to the realisation that they have effectively imprisoned themselves in an environment where they have to pay and pay to more organised crime, extortion, and being inter gang collateral damage.

But Super Power history tells you that both Rusia and the US used proxie wars in other nations, both sponsored terrorism including aircraft hi-jacking in the 60’s and 70’s. As with all “smoke and mirrors games” things move on, and those sucked into them discover that State Protection is fleeting at best as the terrorists hiding in East Germany and other CCCP satellites had to flee as the walls came down. A number who had technical skills rather than just being deranged got used again, this time in places like the Middle East where they trained the next generation to be used abused and discarded in another series of Super Power proxie wars.

And so the “great game” goes on, the most important thing being the “sinister hand” not letting the “dexta hand” of general population know what it was doing.

Clive Robinson • June 5, 2021 6:40 PM

@ informed, ex LEA,

You just don’t know how Russia operates.

You are not “thinking”…

You say,

Really high end criminals are mostly ex government and enjoy ex colleagues protection

Yes I know that is partialy true and have already said as much.

Ask yourself why they are “ex government” and you will see the connection to,

“If you thought about basic economics for five minutes you would realise this. Likewise if you knew a little more Russian history.”

Likewise,

They provide services to the government, hack “dissidents” etc, do all the dirty work and get protection for that.

I’ve already said that with,

“But Super Power history tells you that both Rusia and the US used proxie wars in other nations, both sponsored terrorism including aircraft hi-jacking in the 60’s and 70’s. As with all “smoke and mirrors games” things move on…”

As for,

You either collaborate with the government or you don’t work at all

Actually not true, it’s very rare for the Russian Government to stop people “working” that only happens as the start of a last resort process and then often only with regards “politics”. Rather like the US Gov revoking clearance and chasing people into bankruptcy with nuisance law suits to give the impression to the citizenry that it’s “due process for wrong doing”.

In Russia it’s done a different way, mainly at “arms length” by the criminal gangs as part of their “pay off” to officials. It’s one of the joys of “small government” and “patronage” it gives way way more deniability, especially when non of those involved have ever been anything other than criminals in what some might describe as mafia/triad crime syndicates (which are often not “oligarchs” or very much if abything to do with them).

The rigged court cases are carried out against two sorts of people,

1, Those who have political support.
2, Those far up the civil crime side of the patronage system such as oligarchs to be able to aford to purchase protection against the methods used on those lower down.

Some run abroad and that’s when “accidents happen” currently the UK has had between 20 and 30 such suspicious accidents in the past decade or so. These are carried out directly under Russian Presidential authoriry most are “non obvious” to the majoriry of people in the host nation, thus can be ignored by national government agencies, others are very much designed to send a much broader message to the host nation politicians via the host nation citizen’s as was the “Novichok” nerve agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, in Salisbury UK back in March 2018. Likewise the earlier Polonium assassination.

Less well known is counter terrorism detectives in the UK are after three years still looking into the “murder” of retired Russian financial director and Kremlin critic Nikolai Glushkov. Who was not a criminal but business man, he was found dead at his South London home on the morning he was going to a London Court against Putin’s “close friends” where it is almost certain Putin would have been very very embarrassed to put it mildly. Nikolai was “found hanging” in a staged suicide. Why staged? Well the autopsy findings were consistant with strangling by another person, not from hanging (post mortem injuries are usually fairly easy to spot in an autopsy due to the fact blood was not flowing when they were inflicted, there are ways you can reduce the obviousness but a good forensic pathologist can spot many of them from other indicators).

In all three cases the message was sent, but with enough time to alow the assasins to “get out of the UK” back to Putin’s Russia, where as long as Putin remains in power they are probably safe.

For various reasons I have cause to know about the way things work in Russia and lets just say that Russia like the US and China are not going to be on my list of places to go ever again. There may not be much in the way of protection in the UK who’s politicians whore themselves to all three super-powers but you try to avail yourself of what there is, as not all of it answers to politicians, a very sore point with the current UK PM.