Recently, NBC News ran a story that CIA is planning a cyber counterstrike against Russia to retaliate for interfering with the US elections. Initially, I saw people taking to Twitter talking about how "loose lips sink ships" and other such cliches. But is this a leak at all? I think it's at least worth considering the other possibilities here.
Theory #1 - this is total misinformation
While CIA is an intelligence organization, their recent history of leaks has been a little better than NSA. It therefore feels less likely that this was leaked by CIA sources directly. Also, as Wikileaks pointed out in a tweet, CIA is probably not the right organization to carry out such a mission.
Now I don't usually cite WikiLeaks as a reliable source, but I think they are probably right here. If this isn't a job for US Cyber Command, what would be?
Theory #2 - This is an exquisitely planned information operation
If you're not familiar with military deception operations, now would be a great time to fix that. We're very likely to see a larger number of these in the future as cyber conflicts between nation states become the norm.
This "leak" feels to me like a deception operation designed to undermine the Russian people's confidence in their government. That's the only reason I can think of to mention the CIA in the leak vs. the NSA or US Cyber Command. The Russian people know of the CIA just like we know of the KGB in the US. NSA and Cyber Command just aren't household names there.
How much will this "leak" impact Russian government information security operations?
While the leak may increase awareness of cyber attacks at the rank and file level, it isn't likely to change the Russian government's plans or information security posture in any way. Whether or not the Russians are responsible for the DNC hack, now that they've been called out by US intelligence agencies, they are doubtlessly preparing to defend against a retaliatory cyber attack. Saying "we're going to hack you" is completely unnecessary to prompt the Russian government to prepare for such an attack.
Increasing confidence of US citizens
If this is an information operation and not a leak, it does much to pacify the average US citizen who otherwise sees the Russian cyber attacks as being largely ignored. At least now they can point to this operation and feel like Russia hasn't "gotten away with something."
Bolstering recruiting
Whether this is a true leak or an information operation, it almost certainly benefits the US intelligence community's ability to recruit future cyber operators. "I can't tell you this was us or that you'll have the chance to stick it to Russia, but did you see that story about the US retaliating?"
What do you think?
I'd love to know what you think about this too. Please feel free to continue the discussion on Twitter (I'm @MalwareJake) or post your thoughts in the comments section.
Theory #1 - this is total misinformation
While CIA is an intelligence organization, their recent history of leaks has been a little better than NSA. It therefore feels less likely that this was leaked by CIA sources directly. Also, as Wikileaks pointed out in a tweet, CIA is probably not the right organization to carry out such a mission.
Theory #2 - This is an exquisitely planned information operation
If you're not familiar with military deception operations, now would be a great time to fix that. We're very likely to see a larger number of these in the future as cyber conflicts between nation states become the norm.
This "leak" feels to me like a deception operation designed to undermine the Russian people's confidence in their government. That's the only reason I can think of to mention the CIA in the leak vs. the NSA or US Cyber Command. The Russian people know of the CIA just like we know of the KGB in the US. NSA and Cyber Command just aren't household names there.
How much will this "leak" impact Russian government information security operations?
While the leak may increase awareness of cyber attacks at the rank and file level, it isn't likely to change the Russian government's plans or information security posture in any way. Whether or not the Russians are responsible for the DNC hack, now that they've been called out by US intelligence agencies, they are doubtlessly preparing to defend against a retaliatory cyber attack. Saying "we're going to hack you" is completely unnecessary to prompt the Russian government to prepare for such an attack.
Increasing confidence of US citizens
If this is an information operation and not a leak, it does much to pacify the average US citizen who otherwise sees the Russian cyber attacks as being largely ignored. At least now they can point to this operation and feel like Russia hasn't "gotten away with something."
Bolstering recruiting
Whether this is a true leak or an information operation, it almost certainly benefits the US intelligence community's ability to recruit future cyber operators. "I can't tell you this was us or that you'll have the chance to stick it to Russia, but did you see that story about the US retaliating?"
What do you think?
I'd love to know what you think about this too. Please feel free to continue the discussion on Twitter (I'm @MalwareJake) or post your thoughts in the comments section.
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