Slog - Comments on The Hacking of Sarah Palin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah When I first heard about Sarah Palin's private Yahoo account being hacked, I was wondering the same thing as some of our commenters—basically, "Is this really true?" It sounds like it is. Here's a statement from the McCain-Palin camp that just landed in my in-box: This is a shocking invasion of the Governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these emails will destroy them. We will have no further comment. It is pretty shocking, even by the no-holds-barred standards of modern presidential... Copyright 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:40:53 -0800 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:45:53 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by StC "the hacker site" is wikileaks.org, which isn't going to go down without a fight.

]]> StC http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144417 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144417 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:41:47 -0800 Comment by Mike of Renton What @1 said. I'm on it right now, but unfortunately I don't have time to dig.

]]> Mike of Renton http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144423 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144423 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:45:51 -0800 Comment by Matt Fuckin' Hickey It can happen to you. Yahoo.com email addresses are notoriously easy to hack. Your best bet is to make sure you've got a really good password and that you change it every few months. And don't let your "password hints" be anything that someone with a little knowledge about you could guess, i.e. your cat's name or high school mascot.

]]> Matt Fuckin' Hickey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144431 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144431 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:47:16 -0800 Comment by Sean My Yahoo account was hacked. I believe they did so by figuring out the answers to my secret questions.

]]> Sean http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144433 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144433 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:48:07 -0800 Comment by formerly OR Matt Are there are more hacker savy democrats or democratic leaning people (possibly publically educated democrats who have a vested interest in education) than there are hacker savy republicans?

hmmm

]]> formerly OR Matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144434 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144434 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:51:11 -0800 Comment by leek The best defense is being someone who absolutely no one cares about.

]]> leek http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144435 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144435 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:51:19 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe I bet her password was 'God,' only no CAPS.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144439 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144439 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:53:19 -0800 Comment by robot2501 americablog.com has some copied images up. Check em out.

]]> robot2501 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144445 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144445 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:57:24 -0800 Comment by Caribou Barbie I sent this to the entire list. Bristol's did not fail.

http://www.myspace.com/cariboubarbie

]]> Caribou Barbie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144447 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144447 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:58:32 -0800 Comment by Sam M. If you use Gmail, do this immediately: go into settings, then scroll to the bottom of the "general" page and select "Always use https." Not that your account can't ever get hijacked, but encrypting your Gmail connection cannot hurt compared to the typical, more vulnerable HTML protocol.

]]> Sam M. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144451 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144451 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:00:25 -0800 Comment by mike Here's the MeFi thread, with links a-plenty:

http://www.metafilter.com/74960/palins-yahoo-mail-hacked-oh-anonymous-what-will-you-do-next

Quick summary: looks like a member of a prank-oriented community known as /b/ hacked in overnight and immediately posted screenshots to the board, someone else on the board tried to close the hack by changing the PW, but failed, and Yahoo shut the accounts down due to large-scale access. All the released material is confined to a few screenshots and personal photos at the moment. Consensus seems to be that it's unlikely that anyone downloaded the whole content of the account or accounts.

]]> mike http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144454 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144454 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:01:50 -0800 Comment by pox The issue was she was using a private account to evade public records laws, just like the Bush junta has been doing since the beginning. The communications regarding her job as governor are supposed to be public record. Now they are.

]]> pox http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144455 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144455 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:02:57 -0800 Comment by flamingbanjo So instead of using the government account she was required to use by law, she used an easily-hacked Yahoo account in order to circumvent possible subpoenas. As a result, everyone in the world can now read her secret government "business discussions."

Explain her tremendous National Security experience and acumen to me again please.

]]> flamingbanjo http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144457 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144457 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:06:57 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Here's a hint for liberals: committing felonies is not a path to victory. Hacking Palin's email account is incredibly stupid and wrong. Whoever is doing this belongs in jail, and also deserves to be beaten to a pulp for helping the McCain campaign. It doesn't fucking matter what's in the emails; they could reveal her habit of eating Christian babies for breakfast and it would help her, not hurt her.

This applies to dick-whistles who are participating in the gleefest too. Fucking stop it. IT'S NOT HELPING.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144458 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144458 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:07:27 -0800 Comment by Greg So, why can't private emails be subpoenaed? If the police can come and take my computer out of my house, why can't they take emails off a Yahoo server?

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144470 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144470 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:15:32 -0800 Comment by N Here's all that was released, a few screenshots: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin_Yahoo_account_2008
It doesn't seem like anything else got out, and no one saved all of the emails, nor does it seem like there was anything incriminated there anyway.

The 'group' that did it was just a bunch of idiot kids from 4chan, /b/, the same people who started the Scientology protests, the same people who jerk off to child pornography and gore and think it's funny to fuck with people like that. They like to pretend they're more distinguished and are a "hacker group called 'anonymous,'" but they're just stupid kids. It wasn't anyone trying to expose some political scandal, it was some people who like to cause trouble.

Of course the McCain camp will blame it on liberals treating Palin unfairly, but no one that involved with politics had anything to do with it. These are people who support Ron Paul and throw racial and sexist epithets around at everyone else.

]]> N http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144471 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144471 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:15:44 -0800 Comment by Non WikiLeaks is down.


FAIL

]]> Non http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144481 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144481 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:25:12 -0800 Comment by Matt Fuckin' Hickey @ Fnarf: You're right about it being illegal and not helping, but you're wrong to just point it at liberals. The people behind 4Chan's /b/ (the kids who did the hacking) are usually a pretty good mix of lefties and righties and wack-job libertarians. That being said, they'd all pick on Palin because they're assholes. They'd do Obama, too, if Obama was dumb enough to use his personal emails in a way that could be traced to an easily compromised Yahoo account.

]]> Matt Fuckin' Hickey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144484 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144484 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:28:34 -0800 Comment by jrrrl seriously? they took the trouble to hack into her email and didn't save ANYTHING of value? how worthless.

ah look at fnarf calling for people to get thrown in jail again, just like those damn terrorists (ie, reporters) at the republican conventions and wto.

]]> jrrrl http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144486 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144486 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:30:15 -0800 Comment by N @15 They can, I suppose it's just more difficult to do.

@17 No, it's not.

]]> N http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144488 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144488 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:31:09 -0800 Comment by pox I thought the wikileaks page said they'd given everything to The Guardian.

]]> pox http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144494 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144494 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:33:54 -0800 Comment by Smade Palin's husband at one time belonged to a group that advocated secession from the union. I'm sure that the NSA or the FBI or somebody used some obscure provision of the Patriot Act as justification to intercept all Palin's emails. She's a world traveler. Surely she sent an email to or from a location outside the country didn't she? My guess is that the leak originated with a Federal agency.

]]> Smade http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144504 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144504 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:41:30 -0800 Comment by paul A few things, as a computer scientist with a focus on security:

- The person who hacked the account probably didn't do it for political reasons, so much as bragging rights and to drop the pants around her ankles. Pride in the mirror is the second-biggest motivation for hacking (the first is profit, as evidence by all those identity theft cases you hear about).

If they catch the hacker, they will probably happen to be liberal because they are reasonably intelligent. But all who are castigating liberals/Obama campaign/etc. are either ignorant of how these things happen or internally doing a guilt-by-association.

- This (probably) isn't a major technical feat. Most successful hacks aren't because of brilliant mathematics, but a) creative approaches to lock in question, or b) human stupidity. Like a condom, the weakest component of computer security is almost always improper use by people. I'd wager that her account was hacked because someone guessed her password (lovesDaFetus, or hockeymom13). This person probably isn't brilliant, just persistent and creative.

- Anyone else worried that she's doing government business unencrypted on a Yahoo e-mail address?

]]> paul http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144515 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144515 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:48:30 -0800 Comment by Bears Sayin' @23: "bragging rights and to drop the pants around her ankles"

HAWT

]]> Bears Sayin' http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144524 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144524 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:00:10 -0800 Comment by Non @17, YES. IT IS.

The connection has timed out





The server at wikileaks.org is taking too long to respond.




* The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
moments.

* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
connection.

* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

]]> Non http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144534 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144534 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:05:12 -0800 Comment by Fnarf The "liberals" I was addressing are not the b-tard shitheads who hacked her account. They are the lefties who are looking at this event as a positive, as a potential source of damaging information about Palin. This includes a lot of people here. It's NOT a positive; the only ones being damaged are Palin's opponents. This is just another way of diverting attention from the truth about the McCain campaign; they get to cry "foul", the evidence is ignored, and the baby goes out with the bathwater.

By paying attention to this story, or by treating it as anything other than a grotesque abuse, you are electing John McCain. Fuckin' STOP IT. It's not OK to use these methods against your opponents.

It's no different than illegally obtained evidence in a trial. It CANNOT BE USED. This stupid stunt has quite probably made it impossible to bust her on Troopergate! Can't you see how stupid that is?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144558 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144558 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:26:11 -0800 Comment by Smade What a perfect way to avoid prosecution for any criminal conspiracy involving email. Use poorly secured email to conduct all your transactions, invite one of your pals to anonymously "hack" into your account and post the findings in the loudest, most public way possible and get off scot-free. The perfect crime!

]]> Smade http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144572 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144572 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:37:57 -0800 Comment by MyDogBen Can you see her with the nucular codes? Hiding them in the coffee can?

]]> MyDogBen http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144576 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144576 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:41:50 -0800 Comment by Fillip @26:
I got to say it: YOU do seem jail happy.

]]> Fillip http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144591 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144591 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:52:43 -0800 Comment by Phil M If, as Fnarf suggests, unauthorized access and disclosure of some of Palin's messages made it impossible to "bust her on Troopergate" then shouldn't she be a prime suspect in the break-in?

]]> Phil M http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144593 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144593 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:55:54 -0800 Comment by Caribou Barbie We don't know for sure that Palin had any incriminating emails in her Yahoo account anyways as far as Troopergate goes.

Either way this makes her look unprofessional in the public eye because she did not secure her email account.

McCain just sent his first email, what, about a month ago? And Palin doesn't know as an "executive CEO of the state of Alaska" how to secure her communication.

Putin probably cracked Palin's Yahoo account a week ago.

Both McCain & Palin come out of this email mess clearly not ready for serious roles in politics. The Independants will see this; they are the folks who will note this kind of cluelessness on the part of Palin/McCain when they vote Nov 4th.

]]> Caribou Barbie http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144628 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144628 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:30:38 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Wanting felons who hack email accounts to be lawfully charged and sentenced makes me jail-happy? How's that again?

Keep talking about how you don't think felonies should be punished, it'll do wonders for McCain's campaign.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144687 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144687 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:59:49 -0800 Comment by MemeGene What is the exact wording of the part of the Patriot Act that extends immunity to telecoms for supplying private user information to courts? Is there potential for Yahoo! to fall under this protection when it's subpoenaed to provide the contents of both of Palin's Yahoo! email accounts to the courts since this concerns official government business and is therefore a potential threat to national security?

]]> MemeGene http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144688 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144688 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:01:51 -0800 Comment by P to the J Maybe it was FISA?

]]> P to the J http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144749 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144749 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:57:24 -0800 Comment by wf FNARF your blaming the left for people being right wing is usually wrong. This country is, compared to most other developed nations, conservative, bigoted, and anti-intellectual. The right wing gets away with murder, and your solution is that the left shouldn't jaywalk.

]]> wf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144789 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144789 2008 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:41:51 -0800 Comment by Fillip Hey! Maybe Fnarf subscribes to that whole Christian turn the other cheek thang.

]]> Fillip http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144795 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144795 2008 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:05:38 -0800 Comment by Lawrence Why would she use a Yahoo account for anything important? As governor I'm sure they'd give her a more secured e-mail address right?

]]> Lawrence http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144851 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144851 2008 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:12:21 -0800 Comment by RonK, Seattle @ 23, others -- The (apparent) perpetrator states an explicit political motive.

And Fnarf is right - like many netroots "triumphs", this is a windfall for McCain/Palin and the Right in general.

]]> RonK, Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144907 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1144907 2008 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:16:24 -0800 Comment by maris Fnarf is right. I was forwarded a list of books which Palin supposedly tried to have banned from the Wasilla library. I later heard that the list was a total fabrication and she apparently only 'inquired about the protocol required to ban books.'

I feel like the people who start this kind of shit have GOT to be republicans because it is so clearly helping them by framing the left as a lying, hacking, propaganda machine.

Even if Palin scares the shit out of you, You can't say that hacking in to her email was wrong and then get all giddy about what was in the inbox. it was wrong and stupid and totally detrimental to the good team.

]]> maris http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1145422 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1145422 2008 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:10:01 -0800 Comment by Phil M And since it so obviously makes the good team look bad, it must have been done by the bad team, and that makes them look even worse!

BUT, a plot so clearly meant to tarnish the good name of the bad team could only have been hatched by the good team, right?

]]> Phil M http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1145705 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_on_the_hacking_of_sarah#c1145705 2008 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:45:53 -0800