The Trifecta of Social Media: Parler, Truth Social,Twitter & LinkedIn Censors

Updated Oct 18 5:00 pm

Whats  Comes Next?

Parlement Technologies just announced that it has entered into an agreement in principle with Ye -  formerly known as Kanye West to acquire the Parler platform. The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.

 According to Parler CEO George Farmer, “This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again.

Meanwhile, the FBI Mar-a-Lago Raid added fuel to Trump's Truth Social. The average number of app downloads per day from Aug. 8-15 was more than five times the number the previous week. President Trump said that as a result of the raid, Mar-a-Lago got $5 million in free advertising

Recently, in a surprise move Elon Musk suggested buying Twitter at his original price, after backing out of a $44 billion deal to acquire the company saying the Twitter acquisition is an accelerant for the everything app. Musk has said he wants transparency and the use of open source algorithms, and change its business culture.

This trifecta of social media accelerates the need to answer the questions we previously asked;
Will Big Tech transform itself into a free speech digital square using open source algorithms & stop monetizing hate & division?

If the initial news that Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter sent mainstream media, Big Tech, China, the DNC et al in a tailspin, how will they react to the Trifecta?

Will Columbia University and the Pulitzer Prize Board, stop giving Pulitzers for Fake News, like they did when they gave Pulitzers to the Washington Post and the New York Times for the Russian Hoax?

Consider that just last week. LinkedIn censored more of my posts than Facebook, Twitter, Gab, Parler and  Truth Social combined, for similar content:  In fact, not one of my  posts was censored were censored, other than from LinkedIn  Unlike the GOP, I am not complaining, just stating my observations: A business must do  what it's clients demand, otherwise it will soon be out of business. In fact, this LinkedIn censorship thing might be good, right?  Implies that someone is reading your posts, right?  In fact, I am doing better than the Ninth Circuit;  80% of the Circuit's decisions end up being overturned by the Supreme Court Justice.  I am doing 50-50.  I have appealed all the censored posts and about 50% have been overturned. So digging a little, it turns out that the LinkedIn Censorship is inconsistent:  The same content blocked in one thread, is allowed in another.  The offending posts fall in six categories: Voter Fraud,  Criticism of  Gates/NIH/COVID, DNC, Abortion, Teachers Unions, China 

You may recall that Big Tech promised to democratize the world by offering free Internet. But it quickly carved out silos and started to monetize hate and division According to Pew Research, In the USA,  a small minority of users create the vast majority of tweets from U.S. adults. 70% contain misinformation and most of these users are Democrat. The bigger the lie, the bigger the engagement Twitter then uses flags as call to action, deep scanning and bots/flags to throttle  the opposition Not to mention coordinated inauthentic behavior.  LinkedIn has other distinct actors, not as prevalent in other platforms like The Hall Monitor - They will typically write something like" this post doesn't belong here, take it to Facebook" if they see something they do not like.  Then there is the Fanatic, including religious and political. Their, void of reason, spew hate.  One of my posts censored by LinkedIn was in response to a Fanatic who started calling the state of Israel Theo-Fascist, Terrorist nation, for example

The majority of LinkedIn users reside outside the country, so its not too surprising to see posts with no so much love for the United States.   The posts from Jean-Francois Le Drian is in response to   my observation that his original post read like Russian propaganda and suggested that the CIA memo warned Europe about being to dependent on Russian Energy.  President Trump reminded the EU of the memo and he was ridiculed

Other LinkedIn actors include the Left Fielder: Comes in from the left field, completely different subject.  There's The My Ball, My Game, My Rules.  Do not challenge his posts lest you want to experience his full wrath. There is the  Advertiser not unlike those in other platforms,  often has editorial control and will block users who are critical or who may impact the company's sentiment analysis. Often the advertisers are allowed freedom to misinform such as promoting cannabis, gambling, vaccines, etc. Then there are the  Mind Benders - people who use logical fallacies, for a number of reasons - trying to persuade, rhetorical to encourage people to think a certain way or believe certain things, or most often, because they do not know better 

So far last week, I have come across a number of LinkedIn actors:  those who claim to care for Muslim suffering in India, those who claim to care about human rights but disregard the subjugation of women in the Middle East and Africa and dismiss the suffering by Ethiopians, the near extinction of the Rohingyas, Uyhgurs. SriLankan and  annihilation of  Native Americans.

The power of Big Tech and Social Media:  With all the talk about propaganda and  misinformation, on  social media, it would be very simple to just unplug. But that would be a mistake and increase the Social media Gapt 64% of LinkedIn users are whites, more than 16% of Hispanics, while African Americans were at 6% while others were at 14%.

Social Media played a big part in the 2016 elections, and will continue to do so. I said earlier that I ma not complaining about LinkedIn censorship. Unlike the GOP. You may recall that the GOP overrode Trump's Defense Bill veto giving Big Tech power to do as they please- now GOP whine because they are being canceled one at a time. Here is a different example of the power of Social Media : Yue Vang victimized more than 1,000 young girls in Minnesota and beyond through a vicious sextortion scheme. Using popular social media apps to prey on his victims, Vang’s manipulation began with compliments and expressions of flattery, which quickly turned into threats and extortion,” He got 40-year prison sentence. We should note FBI Directors FBI Christopher Wray specifically called out LinkedIn "Now, as an aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that we see an awful lot of Chinese intelligence outreach on social media, especially on LinkedIn" said Wray



So what happens after the Social Media Trifecta? Will Musk be able to put Twitter back together again? will Kanye West deliver on his pledge? What about President Trump? If You believe Pew, nothing will happen. According to Pew Research, Big Tech monetizes hate and division. Covertly leans ProChina and AntiUSA, its algorithms reflect such bias. In short, Big Tech and Twitter are diametrically opposed to Musk's desire for a free speech digital square free of bots and to use only open source algorithms. According to Musk: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”

RELATED

LINKEDIN JOINS ITS BIG BROTHERS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP

DECEMBER 15, 2020

The social media giants are currently protected by a key legal shield known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act



https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/linked-in-joins-its-big-brothers-with-social-media-censorship



LinkedIn hit with censorship accusations for removing critics of government Covid policies

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/12/17/linkedin-hit-with-censorship-accusations-removing-critics-government-covid-policies



https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/linkedin-microsoft-china-censorship-injobs.html


LinkedIn's unanswered questions about China censorship



https://www.axios.com/2021/10/12/linkedin-unanswered-questions-china-censorship


Some Black users say their posts are stifled by the networking site. But while LinkedIn insists issues are due to an unfortunate mix of technical



As Black users complain of censorship, LinkedIn faces a perception problem

https://www.fastcompany.com/90669854/linkedin-black-censorship-perception-problem


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/business/black-linkedin.html



An apparent censorship spree carried out on LinkedIn's China service has targeted journalists and researchers who have published works critical of Beijing.

https://www.dw.com/en/linkedin-hides-chinese-profiles-of-journalists-over-prohibited-content/a-59369850

AT&T fined $23 Million & slap on the wrist for tryng to influence Illinois Speaker of the House

llinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC, aka AT&T Illinois, today agreed to pay $23 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company’s efforts to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan.

According to the agreement, the company agrees to pay the fine and get a slap in the wrist;  it promises to behave for two years, then the government will seek to dismiss the  case if the company behaved.


The  company admitted it arranged for payments to be made to an ally of Madigan to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts to assist AT&T Illinois with respect to legislation sought by the company.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office today filed a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in Chicago charging AT&T Illinois with using an interstate facility




AT&T Illinois admitted that in 2017 it arranged for an ally of Madigan to indirectly receive $22,500 in payments from the company.  The company paid the money through an intermediary – a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois.  Although AT&T Illinois employees formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois and the company made no effort to ensure any work was performed.

AT&T Illinois acknowledged in the agreement that AT&T Illinois’s then-president used an interstate facility to facilitate Madigan’s indirect receipt of the payments made to his ally, in exchange for Madigan’s vote and influence over a bill.

In addition to the monetary penalty and its continued cooperation with the government, AT&T Illinois’s obligations under the agreement include implementing a new compliance and ethics program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of the program.  If AT&T Illinois fails to completely fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the two-year term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense.



https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/att-illinois-pay-23-million-resolve-federal-investigation-efforts-unlawfully-influence

Director of Islamic Center (ITMIC) pleaded guilty to embezzlement

Ahmed A. Sh. Ahmed, 43, of Gahanna, former director of a local Islamic center pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to embezzling funds from the mosque, defrauding public housing, and filing for fraudulent COVID assistance funds. Ahmed admitted in federal court today to committing wire fraud, submitting a false statement and making a false statement.

From 2009 until March 2019, Ahmed was employed as the Director of the Ibn Taymiyah Masjid and Islamic Center (ITMIC) on Mock Road in Columbus.  During this period, Ahmed used his position of trust - the Inside Threat - to embezzle funds from the religious organization: Ahmed wrote unauthorized checks from ITMIC’s accounts to himself. Each year from 2015 through 2018.


Ahmed also defrauded the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s housing choice voucher program. From 2014 until at least 2020, Ahmed submitted false claims to obtain housing subsidies he would not otherwise qualify.


Ahmed falsely claimed his personal income was $18,000 annually and did not report any household assets. In reality, Ahmed and his wife deposited more than $235,000 into their bank accounts from 2014 through 2018.


Ahmed fraudulently applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance nine times from August until October 2020. During that same time frame, Ahmed generated at least $4,000 in revenue by producing and posting approximately 126 YouTube videos to his YouTube channel.

As part of his plea, Ahmed will pay more than $37,400 in restitution to the Islamic center. 

In an Analysis with a Misleading Title, ETWN's NCR Warms up to Pope Francis

The usually #AntiPopeFrancis #EWTN/#NCR we dubbed part of the #NewPharisees, just published a misleadingly titled piece; Clashing Visions of #VaticanII Define Present-Day Theological Fault Lines. In a previous piece we noted Crux’s Sr Editor John L. Allen Jr. either does not understand the Church or was deliberately misrepresenting here in his article Pope Francis does not understand America. Allen wrote in part: “It’s said of the pope that he doesn’t understand the United States, and that what he does get, he doesn’t especially like. Many of his bishops’ appointments seem deliberately calculated to upset the dominant ethos of the American church, and some of his policy decisions also seem designed to challenge certain aspects of the American Catholic experience.”Allen does not understand that the American Church is a member of the body The Church is not a democracy. The American Church needs to understand its place in the Catholic Church. 1 Corinthians 10:17 says “And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.”

 

Image: Stained glass, depiction Christ appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showing her His Sacred Heart | St. Francis Xavier Basilica, Vincennes, IN

We also noted that The Catholic Media aka New Pharisees – along with its acolytes, would have persecuted Pope Francis 2000 Years Ago, Along With Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Jesus. They dislike that Pope Francis did not spike the ball when SCOTUS overturned Roe V Wade, as if it was an earthly victory like the Super Bowl. They dislike that Pope Francis offered communion to so-called devout Catholics Joseph Biden & Nancy Pelosi. They love to report on disobedient priests and hail them as heroes. The implied premise is that the Holy Spirt is no longer active in the Vatican


If the Catholic Media is waging a wart on Pope Francis, what can you expect from the seculars? The phrase "everyone's a comedian" doesn't mean that everyone is hilarious. It means that everyone thinks they're. Just like the phrase "everybody is a Pope." People may think they can do a better job than Pope Francis. Take for instance NY Post's Maureen Callahan who opines that the Pope's "slam of selfish pet parents proves he never owned a pet.' Or National Catholic Reporter's Flora Tang who frequently criticizes Pope Francis and writes that "Pope's comments are about more than pets. They reinforce the church's narrow view on reproduction and marriage."


”

And to say that the National Catholic Register is unhappy with Pope Francis appointment of new cardinals is an understatement. NCR does not like that Pope Francis did not nominate a cardinal for Kyiv to appease Russia: "Pope Francis has repeatedly refused to elevate Archbishop Shevchuk out of presumed deference to the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, which would prefer that the Ukrainian Catholic Church did not exist. Not creating Archbishop Shevchuk a cardinal not only undermines protestations of Vatican support for Ukrainian Catholics, but also gives the impression that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow holds a kind of veto over internal Catholic life in the so-called “Russian world." it writes. NCR would have preferred Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles over Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, "characterized by veteran Vatican correspondent John Allen as “one of the staunchest liberals in the U.S. bishops’ conference.” NCR reasons that "passing over Archbishop Gomez — head of the largest archdiocese in the United States — for one of his suffragan bishops is an exquisitely calibrated message. That Bishop McElroy has publicly clashed with Archbishop Gomez over pro-abortion Catholic politicians is not irrelevant to his selection. Archbishop Gomez, a gracious and dignified man, will conduct himself with customary reserve in the face of what many of his brother bishops — off the record — regard as shabby treatment.

So we were pleasantly surprised that in this new analysis, although it seems designed to promote two books, one by Father Blake Britton, a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, Reclaiming Vatican II and Shaun Blanchard, a theologian and senior research fellow at the Newman Institute, the Traditionalist Paradigm. In this piece, the author and Father Britton dare criticize the Traditionalists, although they might not have the Catholic Media in mind.

Blanchard's analogy included in this analysis makes my point about the title of the piece: Blanchard is quoted as saying: “The dad in the house is talking about how great last year’s Christmas was, and there are some uncles that don’t agree with that. They’re going to speak up much louder now that dad is speaking that way.” Of course the dad refers to the Holy Father and those who speak up in public are disobedient officials or priests. The Theological Fault Lines then are more like a family discussion as opposed to the implied imminent possibility of an ecclesiastical earthquake;

Father Britton is spot on; " “If Christ is alive, everything is going to be fine. Keep praying, discerning with an open heart, and let’s moved forward in a spirit of hope.

The Compelling Story of Tiffany Smiley

The Compelling Tiffany Smiley Story - Yes. The same Tiffany Seattle Times, Starbucks & Seahawks complained about: and it makes sense: Smiley's values are diametrically opposite Of course, if you love your Starbucks, read the Seattle Times, have a Black Lives Matter sign in your front yard, a Planned Parenthood sticker on your car and see yourself as the Seattle Seahawks 12th Man, you may not find the story as compelling. Tiffany Smiley grew up in Pasco, Washington where she helped out on her family's farm and learned a valuable, yet scarce  skill: the value of hard work.   Smiley played soccer at Whitworth College, where she  studied to become a nurse so she could pursue het passion of helping others in need.    She married her  high school sweetheart Scotty, who went on to serve our country in the United States Army while she started her nursing career.    In 2005, she received a call that changed their lives forever, Scotty was severely wounded by a suicide bomber in Iraq, causing him to fall into a coma and permanently lose sight in both of his eyes. Smiley immediately booked a flight for Walter Reed Medical Center to be by Scotty's side.    When she arrived, Scotty was still in trauma care, and Smiley was informed that he would never be able to serve his nation again in uniform. They even asked her to sign a document, right there on the spot, consenting to Scotty's immediate discharge from the Army.   Smiley refused! According to Smiley, that day she made it her mission to ensure Scotty, and every veteran gets the benefits and care they earned.   Scotty went on to serve as America's first blind active-duty Army officer, breaking barriers for many who followed along the way.    It's not every day you hear about American women going up against the U.S. Military. But the Smileys defied the government in a big way—and won. They stood up to a broken bureaucracy because it was the right thing to do. Tiffany pledges to  always stand up for our heroes and continue being an advocate for our veterans in the U.S. Senate.    In 2007, the Smileys welcomed their first child. "While Scotty will never be able to ‘see' our children's faces, he's always been an incredible father and hero to our boys," says Tuffany   "Now, our family is taking on a new challenge. I'm running for US Senate to help families across the country achieve the American Dream and save our country from Joe Biden and Patty Murray. I will take the same fight and optimistic spirit I've shown throughout my life to help Washington families secure a better life. I believe that now, more than ever, Washingtonians need a voice to find solutions to their unique problems and end the partisan gridlock in Congress. " she added.   My family began this journey in the halls of Walter Reed and we look forward to continuing this journey in the halls of the United States Capitol.- Tiffany Smiley  The Smiley's  oldest son Grady is a “Freshman Homecoming Prince,”  on his way to his first high school dance!

More Trouble Brewing in La La Land

 On Sunday, after racist comments were published online, Los Aangeles City Council President Nury Martinez issued a statement apologizing, saying, “In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry" In the leaked audio Martinez derided some of her council colleagues and according to the Los Angeles Times "spoke in unusually crass terms about how the city should be carved up politically." The contents of the leak were not new. The LA Times first reported about the audio recording of a conversation that happened back in October 2021 between Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera while discussing the redrawing of districts.  "The conversation remained private for nearly a year, until a leaked recording reverberated explosively Sunday and turned the focus of a sprawling metropolis toward Los Angeles City Hall." Response to the leak was swift. The California and Los Angeles branches of the NAACP demanded late Sunday that Martinez and the others involved, resign.

Ron Herrera, the president of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, who was part of the leaked conversation resigned at a meeting Monday,  The organization’s remaining leaders demanded Tuesday that the three City Council members involved in the leak scandal resign as well. Thom davis, the chair of the federation’s executive board, sid that “The Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor also calls on those elected officials who were present to follow President Herrera’s example by immediately resigning as well,” According to its website. The Federation "support progressive leaders and policies that will ensure the protection of our rights and the betterment of our lives"

 You might recall Doctor Jill Biden apologized via a tweet from her Spokesperson Michael LaRosa after she characterized Hispanics as unique as breakfast tacos. Martinez, Herrera and the others, like Biden, regardless of the issue, demeaning statements, racist remarks or vacuous apology is not what matters. Politicians are like the wind – they apologize if they sense resistance, or bask in it if praised

As if on que, on Wednesday, right after Martinez and Herrera stepped down from their respective positions, Salvador Huizar, 57, of Boyle Heights, brother of Former L.A. City Councilman José Huizar, facing federal racketeering charges stemming from a “pay-to-play” scheme, admitted in a plea agreement that the took cash from José Huizar on numerous occasions and immediately wrote checks back to him or arranged to pay his expenses, and then lied about his actions to federal investigators, On at least 20 occasions, José Huizar gave his brother an envelope of cash and asked him to write checks or facilitate electronic payments to José Huizar or for his expenses.

RICO Act

 The Chinese Connection

You might recall that in 2020 Huizar’s brother, then council member Jose Huizar, 52, of Boyle Heights, was Indicted for conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in which Huizar agreed to accept at least $1.5 million in illicit financial benefits. A superseding indictment also charges Richard Chan, who formerly was the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and, the city’s deputy mayor of economic development. Five new defendants were added in the superseding indictment

 

·         Raymond She Wah Chan, also known as “She Wah Kwong,” 64, of Monterey Park,

 

·         Wei Huang, 55, a resident of Shenzhen, China, who also maintains a residence in San Marino, previously identified in court documents as “Chairman E,” who is the billionaire chairman and president of a global development company headquartered in China,

·         Shen Zhen New World I, LLC, one of Huang’s U.S.-based companies, which acquired the L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown in 2011 for $90 million and planned to redevelop it into a 77-story tower,

·         Dae Yong Lee, also known as “David Lee,” 56, of Bel Air,  a developer with multiple properties in Los Angeles,

·         940 Hill, LLC, a Lee-owned company that purchased a South Hill Street property in downtown Los Angeles in 2008 for $9 million and planned to redevelop it into a mixed-use development

 

According to United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “The scope of corruption outlined in this indictment is staggering. As the indictment alleges, Huizar, Chan and their network of associates repeatedly violated the public trust by soliciting and accepting numerous cash bribes and other financial benefits, turning Huizar’s City Council seat into a money-making criminal enterprise. Powerful developers, operating through well-connected lobbyists, eagerly participated in the schemes to get preferential treatment for their downtown projects. This detailed indictment, which lays bare these backroom deals, should prompt a serious discussion as to whether significant reforms are warranted in Los Angeles city government.”

On August 2020, Morris Roland Goldman, a.k.a. “Morrie,” 57, of Porter Ranch, a longtime Los Angeles City Hall lobbyist and close associate of City Councilman Jose Huizar agreed to a plea deal where he was charged with participating in a bribery scheme in which he brokered deals where a developer client agreed to make $50,000 in political donations in exchange for Huizar’s official actions for the developer’s benefit.

Federal prosecutors today filed a criminal information charging a longtime Los Angeles City Hall lobbyist and close associate of City Councilman Jose Huizar with participating in a bribery scheme in which he brokered deals where a developer client agreed to make $50,000 in political donations in exchange for Huizar’s official actions for the developer’s benefit.

 A Chinese company’s Arcadia subsidiary, established to redevelop a downtown Los Angeles hotel, agreed on October 7, 2020, to pay $1,050,000 to resolve an investigation into the company’s conduct with public officials in the City of Los Angeles, including bribery, honest services fraud, and foreign and conduit campaign contributions.

 On January 7, 2021,  CP Employer, Inc., formerly known as Carmel Partners, a San Francisco-based company has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation that focused on the company’s relationship with former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, who voted to approve its 35-story project in the Arts District.

 Dae Yong Lee  and one of his companies were found guilty by a jury June 27, 2022 of federal criminal charges for providing $500,000 in cash to then-Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar and his special assistant in exchange for their help in resolving a labor organization’s appeal of their own Los Angeles development project

 

Given Salvador Huizar’s plea deal and the leaked audio, it would not be too surprising to see additional scandals coming out from the LA City Council

Trouble In Los Angeles City Council

On Sunday, after her racist comments were published online, L. A. City Council President Nury   

Martinez  issued a statement apologizing for her comments, saying, “In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold myself accountable for these comments. For that I am sorry"

The leaked  racist remarks  where she derided some of her council colleagues and according to the LA Times :spoke in unusually crass terms about how the city should be carved up politically." was not new. "The conversation remained private for nearly a year, until a leaked recording reverberated explosively Sunday and turned the focus of a sprawling metropolis toward Los Angeles City Hall."

Response to the leak was swift. The California and Los Angeles branches of the NAACP demanded late Sunday that Martinez and the others involve resign. 

You might recall Doctor Jill Biden apologized via a tweet from her Spokesperson Michael LaRosa after she characterized Hispanics as unique as breakfast tacos
Martinez, like Biden, regardless of the issue, is not demeaning statements or vacuous apology: Politicians are like the wind – they apologize if they sense resistance, or bask in it if praised
After the NAACP forced Martinez to step down from her position because she and two other councilmembers were recorded making racist remarks, now Salvador Huizar, 57, of Boyle Heights, bother of Former L.A. City Councilman José Huizar Admits Lying to Investigators about Converting Cash to Checks for Ousted Politician. According to court records, on at least 20 occasions, José Huizar gave his brother an envelope of cash and asked him to write checks or facilitate electronic payments to José Huizar or for his expenses, 

Expect more to come. As part of his plea agreement, Salvador Huizar has agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation and has agreed to testify at the next two trials in this case.

FBI Warns about Election Workers - Ignores Inside Threat

The FBI Cautions About Threats to Election Workers Ahead of the November 2022 Midterm Elections, as well it should and mainstream media eats it up line, hook and sinker without asking a single question

Output from simple Google search

According to the FBI, free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American democracy. Individuals who oversee and participate in the administration of elections to include poll workers, volunteers, and election officers, help safeguard the integrity of the democratic process. The FBI continues to prioritize identifying, mitigating, and investigating threats targeting election workers and provides the following information to assist the public in reporting threats of violence against election workers, While we applaud the FBI's concern, we argue the FBI is not prioritizing the number one vulnerability in the Democratic process: The Inside Threat. A Security professionals worse nightmare is Insiders with Motive. Insiders with Motive have #MOM - Motive, Opportunity & Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud, A motive can be money, power, revenge, jealousy, political partisanship and so on. Earlier this year the FBI issued a warning titled “Mitigating Threats Posed by Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors’ Exploitation of Default Multifactor Authentication Protocol and “PrintNightmare” Vulnerability” encouraging all organizations to take enable, enforce, and properly configure MFA as well as prioritize patching of known exploited vulnerabilities. Yet Dr. Anna Gabrielian, Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and Major Jamie Lee Henry, US Army, Fort Bragg, NC., were indicted for trying to provide medical information about U.S. military members to the Russian Federation.

Also earlier this year Chenyan Wu and Lianchun Chen, a married couple who worked as research scientists for a major American pharmaceutical company, pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from their efforts to gather confidential mRNA research from that company to advance the husband’s competing laboratory research in China. Yet another example of the Inside Threat. In April 2021, a federal jury convicted Chemist Dr. Xiaorong You of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud in a classic case of an insider Job.

You may recall that In 2013, Snowden was hired by an NSA contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, after previous Snowden says he gradually became disillusioned with the programs with which he was involved, and that he tried to raise his ethical concerns through internal channels but was ignored. When Edward Snowden stole the crown jewels of the National Security Agency, all he needed, was a few thumb drives and the willingness to exploit a gaping hole in an antiquated security system to rummage at will through the NSA’s servers and take 20,000 documents without leaving a trace. And earlier this year Mark Robert Unkenholz of Hanover Maryland was indicted for willful transmission and retention of National Defense Information (NDI).

Most recently the conviction of Joseph Sullivan, Uber’s Chief Security Officer illustrates the inside threat as well as the proposed cyber paradigm change: The higher the trust level, the lower the trust. Within days of being hired, Sullivan was involved in a data breach cover up.

On April 27, 2022 FBI Director Christopher Wray illustrated the extent of the Chinese threat, Wray says that of the 56 field offices the FBI has across the country, every single one has cases on the Chinese government’s attempts to steal U.S.-based information and technology, use intelligence officers, hackers, front companies, seemingly benign joint ventures or research partnerships and recruiting employees who use their legitimate access to steal corporate secrets, what we all refer to as “insider threats.” While we have been urging the FBI to address the insidious Inside Threat for years, this is the first time we see Director Wray address it - indirectly. For instance, Inside Threat was conspicuously absent in the FBI 2021 Internet Crime, even though Rachel Rojas, heads up the Bureau’s Insider Threat Office

The old proverb applies to elections integrity:  It does not matter who votes, but who counts the votes. By this time, a cynic might ask, given all these indictment, if there were any insiders committing fraud, wouldn't they have been outed by now?  Perhaps, but now its my turn to be skeptical.  Remind me again which prominent progressive (redacted)  has been held to account for the voting irregularities, Russia Hoax, Ukraine Hoax, corruption or any other trespass? Like destroying email server and smart phones, withholding Hunter Biden's PC evidence. To date, not a single John in Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell's black book has either been leaked to the press or raided by the FBI  When considering that even the SCOTUS' Roe v Wade Decision was leaked do you really believe that the Insider Threat is not a threat to the democratic process?

Uber’s Chief Security Officer Convicted: A Cyber Teaching Moment

Joseph Sullivan, the former Chief Security Officer of Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”), was convicted on Wednesday October 5, 2022 on charges of covering up data breach.  According to court records Sullivan’s wad involved in two separate hacks of Uber’s databases.  While Sullivan was hired as Uber’s Chief Security Officer (“CSO”) in April 2015 he was involved in two hacks: one in 2014 and another in 2016.  When Sullivan was hired, Uber disclosed to the FTC that it had been the victim of a data breach in 2014 and that the breach was related to the unauthorized access of approximately 50,000 consumers’ personal information, including their names and driver’s license numbers.

In May 2015, the month after Sullivan was hired, the FTC served a detailed Civil Investigative Demand on Uber demanding  extensive information about any other instances of unauthorized access to user personal information, and information regarding Uber’s broader data security program and practices.  In his new role as CSO, Sullivan supervised Uber’s responses to the FTC’s questions, participated in a presentation to the FTC in March 2016, and testified under oath, at length, to the FTC on November 4, 2016, regarding Uber’s data security practices. Sullivan’s testimony included specific representations about steps he claimed Uber had taken to keep customer data secure. 

Ten days after his FTC testimony, Sullivan learned that Uber had been hacked again. The hackers reached out to Sullivan directly, via email, on November 14, 2016. The hackers informed Sullivan and others at Uber that they had stolen a significant amount of Uber user data, and they demanded a large ransom payment from Uber in exchange for their deletion of that data. Employees working for Sullivan verified the accuracy of these claims and the massive theft of user data, which included records on approximately 57 million Uber users and 600,000 driver license numbers.

After learning the extent of the 2016 breach and rather than reporting it to the FTC, any other authorities,, Sullivan told a subordinate that they “can’t let this get out,” instructed them that the information needed to be “tightly controlled,” and that the story outside of the security group was to be that “this investigation does not exist.” Sullivan then arranged to pay off the hackers in exchange for them signing non-disclosure agreements in which the hackers promised not to reveal the hack to anyone, and also contained the false representation that the hackers did not take or store any data in their hack. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin in December 2016, despite the fact that the hackers had refused to provide their true names. Uber was ultimately able to identify the two hackers in January of 2017 and required them to execute new copies of the non-disclosure agreements in their true names and emphasized that they were not allowed to talk about the hack to anyone else. Sullivan orchestrated these acts despite knowing that the hackers were hacking and extorting other companies as well as Uber, and that the hackers had obtained data from at least some of those other companies.

Despite knowing that Uber had suffered another data breach directly responsive to the FTC’s inquiry, Sullivan continued to work with the Uber lawyers handling or overseeing that inquiry, including the General Counsel of Uber, and never mentioned the incident to them. Instead, he touted the work that he and his team had done on data security. Uber ultimately entered into a preliminary settlement with the FTC in summer 2016, supported fully by Sullivan, without disclosing the 2016 data breach to the FTC.

In Fall 2017, Uber’s new management began investigating facts surrounding the 2016 data breach. At the time Sullivan lied, falsely telling the new CEO that the hackers had only been paid after they were identified and deleting from a draft summary prepared by one of his reports that the hack had involved personally identifying information and a very large quantity of user data. Sullivan lied again to Uber’s outside lawyers conducting an investigation into the incident. Nonetheless, the truth about the breach was ultimately discovered by Uber’s new management, which disclosed the breach publicly, and to the FTC, in November 2017. 

In finding Sullivan guilty, the jury concluded he obstructed justice, and that he knew that a federal felony had been committed and took affirmative steps to conceal that felony.

 

A Teaching Moment. I often argue that a security professional’s worse nightmare is the Inside Threat:  Insiders with motive have Motive, Means and Opportunity (MOM) to commit a crime.  In Sullivan’s case, the Inside Threat is a second order effect and not too bright:  He brought his subordinates on board with not visible incentive, other than the implicit threat of being fired. Yesterday, the FBI Boston Office released a “Trust In Me”  public service announcement. During the announcement, Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division said “The first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is to develop a relationship with the FBI. Doing so enables you to identify who to call in the event you do suffer a cyber incident, granting quick and efficient access to our rich network of resources. Cybersecurity is national security, and by working together and reporting these incidents to us, you are working to help prevent these bad actors from victimizing others, and potentially from re-victimizing you.”  I disagreed with Mr. Bonavolonta then and now.  With all due respect to Special Agent Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the first step towards protecting yourself from cyber incidents is not to develop a relationship with the FBI.  While a relationship with the FBI is important, given the trust and competency issues: . For example, The FBI’s Cyber Guardian system “rather than a beacon of trust, as the moniker implies, an audit report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog paints a picture of a guardian that is not dependable, given to simple errors and late with needed information.”    The FBI’s email servers was previously  hacked, resulting in spam emails being sent to the public that appeared to be from the agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  Instead, we first recommend a review of the $1.00 fence for the $1,000 horse.  There are two types of businesses;  Those who know they have been victims of security breaches and those that don’t.  Why it is important to identify and prioritize the stored information aka as intellectual property.  We also suggest a paradigm change:  The higher the trust level in your computer, the least trust.  The people you trust the most, are the most dangerous.  This is known as the Inside Threat, which we have been preaching for years, but the FBI often leaves out: In remarks prepared April 27, 2022 for delivery to the Domestic Security Alliance Council, FBI Director Christopher Wray finally referred to the Inside Threat and  made it clear the counterintelligence threat posed by China is top of mind and " nothing presents a broader, more severe threat to our ideas, our innovation, and our economic security than the People’s Republic of China.". 

 

 Number three, develop a relationship with the FBI.  In the Uber case, bringing in Mr. Sullivan to Uber at the highest level of trust, management should have treated him with the least trust. The accounting issue should have been a big red flag for management as Uber paid the hackers $100,000 in bitcoin in December 2016.  Who signed off on the payment?  Where were the lawyers.