The story of the Sarah Palin email hack has taken a new turn. According to security experts, the hackers’ electronic trail has been traced to Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago. His national headquarters is located there.
Palin Email Hack
In many ways the Palin email hack of her Yahoo account reminds voters of the Watergate break in of 1972. A generation ago, a very suspicious presidential candidate ordered his men to break into George McGovern’s campaign headquarters in Washington DC. The episode was emblematic of an administration known for dirty tricks politics as usual.
In those days they did not have electronic mail but they did have private correspondence on paper. Richard Nixon won election but was impeached for felonies related to the Watergate hack within a year. What is now known as Icegate in 2008 is eerily reminiscent to Watergate in 1972.
Those with a long memory remember the Watergate plumbers who Nixon insisted acted alone. Speaking of plumbing, now we are told that Wikileaks acted alone in the Icegate scandal. Some things never change.
According to an internet security expert located in San Francisco, Gabriel Ramuglia, the Palin email hackers were careless and left a digital trail. That trail leads directly to a server site in Chicago which happens to be the city where all of Obama’s men plot their daily moves. Mr. Ramuglia says that their electronic signature will be easily obtained from the server logs at that site. Mr. Ramugliait does not assert that the hacker is based in Chicago, or that the Obama campaign is involved.
Mere coincidence or more Obama dirty tricks? Nobody can say yet but we will all know soon.
And why is that?
Those familiar with the FBI understand that they take their time with criminal cases. The FBI methodically develops their evidence over a long period of data gathering, only bringing criminal indictments when they feel there is an overwhelming case. Many cases are dropped or drag on in secret for years because the FBI prizes a high conviction rate.
Not so with the Secret Service which has taken over from the FBI in this case. The Secret Service has one primary mission, which is to protect the individuals under their watch. Their mission is not just physical protection but privacy protection as well. They report directly to the Department of Homeland Security under a no-nonsense director named Michael Chertoff, a Bush political appointee.
Gawker Media published the private emails of a vice presidential candidate under Secret Service protection. Right Pundits wonders if our friends at Gawker understand the stakes. We would not be surprised if their servers are seized within the week and that the individuals responsible are arrested for election tampering. The Secret Service does not dick around with evidence building. They act to protect their subjects.
Stay tuned. The explosive turn of events in the 2008 presidential election leave much unknown at this point. Was the Obama campaign involved? Or did individuals act alone? We should know who was behind the Icegate breakin before the election on November 4th.
Palin Email Hack (Video)
September 17th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Is this true? If so, it’s the end for Obama the trickster.
September 17th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Woah - that’s heavy stuff. There have been SO many dirty tricks connected to the Obama campaign that its unbelievable he remains the democratic candidate.
Its interesting to me that the Obama campaign has made fun of the McCain campaign for not being computer savvy. Perhaps Obama’s people got overly confident (arrogant?) in their internet dominance, which would explain the sloppiness of this crime resulting in them leaving an electronic fingerprint.
I wonder if the perpetrators will fall on their swords to save the Obamessiah? Didn’t Nixon’s people try to do that?
September 18th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Din - I would have thought that him trying to interfere with the war in Iraq would have ended him. It seems that his supporters don’t care what he does or how crooked he is.
September 18th, 2008 at 12:31 am
What, you care more about the hacker than the fact she may be using non-official email accounts to circumvent records-retention and government oversight laws?
“Sir, this email orders the AL National guard to execute everyone in the town of Kandahook, AL!”
“Oh noes! Evil Hacker! Must be sent by Obama!”
Get your priorities straight.
September 18th, 2008 at 1:03 am
your story is completely wrong. MY servers are located in chicago. The offending user most likely is not. Typical right wing crap. I have not yet looked through the logs but there is as yet no evidence that the offender is located in chicago.
September 18th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Lol… too funny. You do realize how easy it is to hide your IP from even the most sophisticated experts, ie: Tor Project, and you think they would leave a trail to Chicago? Sounds awfully convenient doesn’t it?
If they can trace it Chicago they can trace it to the exact physical address.
If it was really hacked, why wasn’t it all published and just a couple harmless “proof it happened” screenshots? Maybe this was deliberate for an accuse to destroy the emails under subpoena?
We might as well explore all possibilities if you’re going to go out on a limb like that, ya know.
September 18th, 2008 at 3:40 am
[...] The signs of desperation are coming fast and furious in the form of personal attacks on her and, most appallingly, on ther family. Now her personal email accounts have been hacked. That hack attack has been traced to Chicago. [...]
September 18th, 2008 at 5:19 am
I think we’re looking through the wrong end of the telescope on this one.
We have a candidate for national office who allegedly uses a private email account from time to time to conduct official business, and that account has been purportedly hacked, with the potential exposure of government-related documents.
The real issue is whether this person is really prepared to deal with national security issues if they can’t keep their own email correspondence secure.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:23 am
I don’t see any true indication of Chicago being the home of this “hack.”
That said, unless this clown was piggybacking on an open or public wi-fi, tracking the access back to the culprit can and will be done.
If the RIAA can do it via DMCA, then you can be assured the secret service can do it 10 times faster. I’d be willing to bet that either the culprit or the physical address of the attack will be in the press before the election. My bet is on a 20-year old script kiddie who got a bit too clever and didn’t understand the legal implications of what will be sold by the media as a prank gone too far.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:26 am
They showed the kid playing counterstrike, extremely doubtful it’s an Obama staffer…
September 18th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Other Brian, I disagree. I think you’re missing the big issue for the small one. Using private email for state business purposes may or may not be unethical, but it sure isn’t a crime. And from the contents of the email, it doesn’t appear there was any real business conducted.
Hacking into email or conspiring to do so is a felony. And if we find out just who did it, the conspiracy just may be far-reaching.
BUT, Chicago is a very large city. So before I compare this Watergate, I think we need a few more facts. Most hackers are 22-year-olds living in their mom’s basements, so there may be nothing more involved here than someone with way too much time on his hands.
Or this may be the biggest political scandal in recent memory. Though I have a hard time believing anyone at a high level of the campaign could be THAT idiotic. But wouldn’t it be only fitting for an election this crazy to end this way?
September 18th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Idiots, she did not use that site for gov. business!
Show me one email where she did!
You can’t!
Talking to people who work for her does not matter as long as she isn’t discussing official state business.
And there was no official state business discussed in any of those emails!
So quit spreading your lies.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Rachel, please be civil.
I did say “allegedly,” and there have been allegations made in some quarters. Whether they have merit has yet to be determined.
I wouldn’t go so far as to challenge anyone to try to hack into my email, but please be assured I’ve taken security measures that almost guarantee my privacy. My point was, why hasn’t Ms. Palin?
The world is full of hackers and cyberterrorists, and I’d have thought any sensible circumspect person would protect their private data.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:53 am
If she had used her official email account for personal emails, you’d be upset about that. Some people are desperately trying to find something on Palin. That just is evidence of how desperate the left has gotten and how dirty they play the game.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:00 am
With all due respect, Beth, I don’t get upset about much. I’m just trying to stay informed and keep things in perspective. Enjoying some stimulating discussion. Sorry if you took my tone to be combative or partisan.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Brian, you might as well blame a victim of a home invasion for not having a proper alarm system.
BTW, McCain, you must have some super-secret sources, because I can’t seem to find anywhere else that this is linked to Chicago. Kudos on the scoop!
September 18th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Evidence that this was leaked to Chicago is almost completely pointless. Did it leak to a server in Chicago? In that case, the person could be anywhere in America.
I think you guys might be trying to create something out of nothing here, but I guess I can expect that from a right-wing blog site. Let’s just keep in mind that, in all likelihood, this was just an anonymous hacker and probably not related to Obama in any way. I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:16 am
“you might as well blame a victim of a home invasion for not having a proper alarm system.”
Come on, Ignatius, you know better. The reason we have a military, for example, is to deter an attack. We lock the doors to our houses to deter a thief.
We’re not blaming the victim for the attack, but there is a concern about not having taken prudent measures to prevent one.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I find it quite troubling that Palin’s email was hacked. Now, just because the server was in Chicago doesn’t necessarily prove anything, as some have pointed out. However, if it turns out to be someone who works for Obama who was responsible, that is major egg on face for his campaign.
So far, they have been trying to smear Palin every way they can. I guess they figure, if they throw enough mud at her, something will stick. First they questioned whether her baby was really her own. Then it was time to attack her teen-age daughter. Then they made an issue of her firing a guy who, as evidence proves, was actually insubordinate - going behind her back, contradicting her policy positions, etc. In private companies, that is terms for dismissal, so why wouldn’t it be OK for the Governor to do that? Now they are trying to justify invasion of privacy.
Look, if there was a concern she was using personal email accounts for government business, then there are proper channels for such an investigation. the hacker broke the law, and the ends does not justify the means.
re. the fact that her account was that un-secured - if it was a private account used for personal stuff (and so far, all that has been revealed has been personal), then why would it have NASA-grade security? I have a yahoo account, and you bet I have a fire-wall and security, but even people with the most up-to-date software may be compromised by a truly committed hacker. The other day there was an article about Russian hackers getting into a portion of the DOD (I think) files. Of course they have to stay vigilant and keep upgrading their security, and of course those of us with personal email accounts have to, as well, but that doesn’t mean a hacker might not find a way around our security measures. There is no system that is 100% secure, just like there is no home protection system that is 100% secure. You can minimize risks, not eliminate them entirely.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:47 am
FYI, President Nixon was not impeached.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:49 am
The email hacker will be caught. I work with guys who can plow through layers of network security right down to the individual node level. They can rdp right into your desktop. It can be done, and this email hacker will be found out.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I hope you’re right, Colorado.
My guess is, as previously mentioned, that it’s a pimply kid in a basement with too much time on his hands.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Isnt this like using company stationary for a something besides work, or the other way around ?
I mean, BFD !
September 18th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Sorry, you have this wrong. The information about the hackers Ip location is now LOGGED on a server at a Chicago colocation site owned by FDC Servers. That info has to be gotten to find the origin.
See this or reread it if you’ve already seen it.
And if the person claiming credit for the hack is for reals, that’s likely to be Memphis TN.
September 18th, 2008 at 8:35 am
To all you say that she was using email improperly, please read the stories. There were no incriminating emails found. A state official has a right to a personal email account.
Brian, perhaps she didn’t take enough measures, or perhaps not. It’s not really material here. When someone breaks into a house, the question about what kind of lock the house had is totally immaterial. The person who broke the law faces judgment.