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Nerds Shut Down ISIS

Why don’t we hear much about ISIS anymore? Because the Obama Administration, the nerdiest White House since maybe Thomas Jefferson, waged nerd war on ISIS’s Internet assets.

Dina Temple-Raston gives us this riveting report on Operation Glowing Symphony (yes, that name captures what computer wizards feel when they are hammering away at their keyboards creating electronic magic and mayhem), which in November 2016 launched a cyber-attack from Fort Meade, outside of Baltimore, against the websites ISIS used to spread propaganda, raise funds, and recruit terrorists:

By the fall of 2016 there was a team, Joint Task Force ARES; there was a plan called Operation Glowing Symphony, and there were briefings — that had gone right up to the president. It was only then that there was finally a go….

They began moving through the ISIS networks they had mapped for months. Participants describe it like watching a raid team clearing a house, except it was all online. Logging into accounts they had followed. Using passwords they discovered. Then, just as their move through targets started to accelerate, a roadblock: a security question. A standard, “what was your high school mascot”-type security question.

The question: “What is the name of your pet?”

The room quieted down.

“And we’re stuck dead in our tracks,” Neal said. “We all look to each other and we’re like, what can we do? There’s no way we’re going to get in. This is going to stop the 20 or 30 targets after this.”

Then an analyst stood up in the back of the room.

“Sir, 1-2-5-7,” he said.

“We’re like, what?” Neal says.

“Sir, 1-2-5-7.”

“How do you know that? [And he said] ‘I’ve been looking at this guy for a year. He does it for everything.’ And we’re like, all right … your favorite pet. 1-2-5-7.

“And boom, we’re in.”

…Once they had taken control of the 10 nodes, and had locked key people out of their accounts, ARES operators just kept chewing their way through the target list. “We spent the next five or six hours just shooting fish in a barrel,” Neal said. “We’d been waiting a long time to do that and we had seen a lot of bad things happen and we were happy to see them go away.”

And there was something else that [Marine analyst Glowing Symphony conceiver] Neal said was hard to describe. “When you reach through the computer and on the other side is a terrorist organization, and you’re that close, and you’re touching something that’s theirs, that they possess, that they put a lot of time and effort in to to hurt you, that is an incredible rush,” he said. “You have the control to take that away” [Dina Temple-Raston, “How the U.S. Hacked ISIS,” NPR, 2019.09.26].

Nerds don’t just grow up to rule the world; they save the world from ISIS.

How do you stop bad guys with guns? You hack their file-sharing nodes, delete their folders, and throttle their Web access. Nice work, nerd-soldiers and nerd-President!

33 Comments

  1. John Dale 2019-09-27 07:56

    Funny .. I thought it was because Trump dropped the MOAB on their headquarters.

    It really freaked the deep state out because Clinton had a few CIA assets in the complex ..

    That’s when the whole Russia thing went into high gear.

  2. jerry 2019-09-27 08:39

    President Obama is truly missed by this country. Chubby has shown how fragile democracy really is. It will be a pleasure to see him in the hoosegow along with the rest of the crime family. So what was Thune doing on the 4th of July in Moscow? Selling soybeans to the Russians? Have you noticed now that Thune doesn’t want to appear to tall in the photo op’s? Thune is looking shorter than Moscow Mitch.

  3. John Dale 2019-09-27 10:28

    It’s all relative, jerry. I tend to think Obama was ushering in a new dark age of Chinese style tyranny funded by global banks wanting to put an end-cap on the experiment of human freedom.

    Did you watch the Shiff show yesterday? Deep state tried to censor, but information is still making it out. I don’t think impeachment is going to work .. for the third time.

    Either that or this drama is a cover for the 5G rollout that just started in Sioux Falls (better organize before this stuff gets finished, or get monitoring equipment to test the strength of the frequency matches FCC standards).

  4. jerry 2019-09-27 11:29

    Chinese style of tyranny? Nope, just capitalism. They’re simply going back to the what was their future in the Belt and Road that existed long before Obama. Those old trade routes are more important than ever as they do not require much sea lane shipping and that is why ISIS must be eliminated. Good on the nerds!

  5. jerry 2019-09-27 11:31

    Tyranny is thy name Dale and that is why you support Chubby as that is what he is trying to jamb down our throats just like ISIS does to their subjects. Chubby is really no different than them.

  6. Susan Rathburn 2019-09-27 15:13

    YES! Nerds Rule!

  7. Debbo 2019-09-27 16:03

    Obama is very smart and extremely disciplined so I’m not surprised he was responsible for the plan that took down ISIS.

    Bill Clinton was also very smart, but lacking the discipline. GWB was dumb as is Orange Anus. Ronny was average — on his good days. GHWB was smart enough. Carter was smart enough, but too honest and forthright for politics. Nixon was smart, but cruel and paranoid.

  8. John Dale 2019-09-27 16:38

    Debbo – “GWB was dumb as is Orange Anus. Ronny was average — on his good days. GHWB was smart enough. Carter was smart enough”

    These are sweeping generalizations that defy credulity and make you look bad.

    Who died and made you the official presidential intellectual capacity measurer?

    :D

    Honestly, your keyboard pass is revoked until further notice. Because I’m the keyboard revoker (self anointed).

  9. jerry 2019-09-27 16:47

    Pompeo just got his subpoena! The buffet lines will miss him.

  10. Porter Lansing 2019-09-27 17:01

    I vote for Debbo to be the official presidential intellectual capacity measurer. That’s two for Debbo and one for Dale. Welcome to Loserville, John. Population … you!

  11. John Dale 2019-09-27 17:05

    Porter Lansing – although I suspect the vote will be forthcoming, so far that’s only one vote, isn’t it?

    Honestly, you’re counting votes like a Democrat. :)

    Regarding Pompeo – Schiff lies about the transcript to create media frenzy. Media doesn’t really run with it. Most of America is pissed USMCA isn’t passed, all of Congress’ committees are trying to save face for their Ukraine money laundering front, where the Arab Spring and other crimes against humanity were organized, Biden and his son are outed basically as criminals, and jerry fat shames Pompeo and Trump while leaving Nadler alone.

    https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.nydailynews.com%2Fimg%2F2009%2F04%2F21%2Famd_nadler.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

  12. jerry 2019-09-27 17:06

    My vote makes 3, what idiot would vote for Dale? Who?

  13. jerry 2019-09-27 17:07

    Chubby’s twin is not gonna be so pompous. Will be good to see his fat arse go down as well. Bolton lucked out on this deal. Impeach them all and let God sort them out.

  14. jerry 2019-09-27 17:09

    Nadler is skinny now. Chubby and his identical twin are not.

  15. John Dale 2019-09-27 17:12

    Unprecedented for a whistle-blower to turn on the President. The information was second/third hand, so the whistleblower statute doesn’t apply technically, and executive privilege must be respected before the whistleblower statute.

    What a beautiful mess that really tests the laws.

    What if whistleblower #1 is Pence? Conflict of interest?

    Love it.

    If so, should have picked Rand Paul as a running mate.

    One thing is for certain – there is some shady isht going on in Ukraine.

  16. John Dale 2019-09-27 17:15

    “Nadler is skinny now. Chubby and his identical twin are not.”

    L. O. L.

    Is being overweight bad, there jer?

    Unless I’m missing something, your vote would make two, since Debbo hasn’t weighed-in with her vote officially.

    Not that it matters.

    :D

    We all know this impeachment is a sham meant to divide us and create civil unrest.

  17. John Dale 2019-09-27 17:19

    Make no mistake .. if you are for 5G and for this impeachment, you are doing the bidding of the military industrial complex and a rogue CIA agent trying to impeach the President.

    I like IKE:
    https://youtu.be/8y06NSBBRtY

  18. Debbo 2019-09-27 17:22

    The fantastical narratives wingnuts believe really defy incredulity– in people with critical thinking skills.

    In addition to Dale’s deep need to have the last word, notice how he is compelled to respond to every comment that refers, or might refer to him. 😮 Wow.

  19. jerry 2019-09-27 17:22

    Chubby started it and as you’re a Chubby fan, there ya go. I would’ve never thunked it by since Chubby did, all bets are off.

    I love the smell of Impeachment in the morning…it smells like…victory! Booyah! Impeach the whole criminal lot of them.

  20. jerry 2019-09-27 17:26

    Boo hoo Dale, Chubby’s going down baby and he’s taking the rest of the criminal enterprise with him. 5G rules!! Can’t wait to see how well this works in every place but here! When we finally figure it out, we still won’t be able to get it because of freedom. There’s no back door for the NSA to listen too, damn thing is that good.

  21. jerry 2019-09-27 17:28

    Narcissism, Dale has the same streak as Chubby. “Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s idealised self image and attributes. This includes self-flattery, perfectionism, and arrogance. The term originated from Greek mythology, where the young Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water.”

    Neither Dale or Chubby can help themselves. Life is funny like that.

  22. mike from iowa 2019-09-27 17:49

    Jimmy was a nukular scientist.

    WJC was a Rhodes Scholar.

    BHB was a constitutional law professor.

    Nixon, Ford, Raygun, 2 shrubs and dumb as dirt Drumpf were all mow rawns.

  23. Porter Lansing 2019-09-27 17:56

    You’re righter than right, Debbo. He does say and do some odd things. If three people write to the Colorado Regulatory Commission with doubts about him, they’ll red flag his drivers license and cut off his ability to buy marijuana products with an out of state identification. Just sayin’ … :0)

  24. John Dale 2019-09-27 18:03

    Porter Lansing – something like that could really backfire. :)

  25. John Dale 2019-09-27 18:04

    “Porter Lansing” – is that your real name?

  26. John Dale 2019-09-27 18:09

    Porter Lansing – what an innovative way for prohibition! :D

    I guess I’ll have to suspend my trips to Colorado to bring back all that Devil’s lettuce, now. *sarcasm*

  27. Certain Inflatable Recreational Devices 2019-09-27 18:18

    Notthing John Dale broadcasts is worthy of response. This is a knuckledragger who has a slightly larger vocabulary than most of his sisters to whom he is married (with the lord’s blessing, mind you). I’ll have to endure his mindless posts as long as I monitor Cory’s blog threads, and as long as Dale thinks he can afford to spend the time to broadcast nothningness. But this is the last time I shall mount anything that resembles a response to his Trump-uber-alles BS.

  28. Porter Lansing 2019-09-27 18:28

    John Dale. Let me apologize for the remark I made about your kids. I’m truly sorry. (Just because you insult cancer victims is no reason for me to get down to your level.) Won’t happen again.
    PS … I was just joking about red flagging you. I’d never do that to a pot smoker. That’s as bad as dosing someone.

  29. bearcreekbat 2019-09-27 18:43

    I’m with CIRD. Nuff said.

  30. Debbo 2019-09-27 20:47

    Looks like I completely won the vote for Judge of Presidential Intelligence. In addition, everyone is entitled to offer their opinions here Dale. Don’t be so thin skinned.

    Now I’ll leave you to your bizarre absurdities too.

  31. jerry 2019-09-27 21:15

    Bill Barr is to Chubby what Monica Lewinsky was to Clinton. Giuliani is the Linda Tripp in the remake of the Impeachment. Barr has gotten away with some shady deals like Iran/Contra, will be kind of cool to see him hanging out with Manafort in the Heartbreak Hotel.

  32. jerry 2019-09-29 15:50

    ISIS is still a problem. This is a bigger one. Wonder why Saudi Arabia is now opening up for western tourists? Women can even have their heads uncovered (if you’re a tourist). They are hoping that the Yemen rebels will stop blowing up stuff. It looks like we are gonna be wagging that damn dog again in the sandbox. What are we gonna due when those Houthi’s lead a charge on Mecca or Medina?

    “Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday broadcast footage they said was of a major attack into Saudi Arabia that killed or wounded 500 soldiers with thousands of others surrendering.

    Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described an ambush on the Saudi forces that then developed into an “all-out” cross-border offensive that trapped the troops inside Saudi Arabia.

    “More than 200 were killed in dozens of [missile and drone] strikes while trying to escape or surrender,” Saree said.”

    Now, are we gonna have to worry about Port Arthur, Texas as the biggest refinery in the United States is owned by Saudi Arabia which could make it a problem. Thank to Chubby, we sold it to the same outfit that butchered a journalist after they looked the other way while 3,000 of us were killed in the attacks by mostly Saudi nationalists.

  33. jerry 2019-09-29 22:55

    Looks like we’re saying adios to the Command and Control base in Qatar.

    “AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar — For 13 years, the U.S. has used a single building in this tiny Gulf state to command fighter jets, bombers, drones and other Air Force assets in a region that stretches from Northeast Africa through the Middle East to South Asia.

    And yet on Saturday, as 300 planes were up in the air in key areas such as Syria, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, hundreds of seats at the combined air and space operations center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar sat empty.

    Instead, the air power of the U.S. and its allies was being controlled by teams at Shaw Air Base in South Carolina — more than 7,000 miles away. Though the move was temporary — Al Udeid took back control on Sunday after 24 hours — it was a significant tactical shift.” https://www.stripes.com/news/air-force/air-force-shifts-middle-east-command-center-from-qatar-to-south-carolina-1.601074

    As you read the link, it should tell you that we are no longer the only policeman on the block and that is a good thing. There are powers in the area that are quite capable of taking care of themselves and some, not so much, but they should be allowed to work together. Peace can do many things… if it is allowed. Lets let the nerds handle all of this and bring our troops home. If we can do command and control from South Carolina, why put our troops in harm’s way in some far off place most can’t even pronounce.

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