{"id":87328,"date":"2013-10-28T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T07:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=d559a1200396bb08cf30bf9950067eb9"},"modified":"2013-10-28T08:14:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-28T07:14:00","slug":"israeli-responsibility-for-hacking-millions-of-french-phones-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/israeli-responsibility-for-hacking-millions-of-french-phones-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Responsibility for Hacking Millions of French Phones?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><b>Israeli Responsibility for Hacking Millions of French Phones?<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Mossad&#8217;s credentials are notorious. They&#8217;re well known. It&#8217;s expertise is acknowledged. Its rap sheet is longstanding and nefarious.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Its tactics include targeted assassinations, satellite, drone and other type spying, hacking and espionage expertise, computer viruses, other cyber attacks, bombings, sabotage, and other lawless practices.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On October 25, France&#8217;s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/technologies\/article\/2013\/10\/25\/the-nsa-s-intern-inquiry-about-the-elysee-hacking-revealed_3502734_651865.html\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> Le Monde<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;The NSA&#8217;s intern inquiry about the Elysee hacking revealed.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Edward Snowden connected important dots for millions. Documents he released included &#8220;a four-page internal NSA memo,&#8221; said Le Monde. It&#8217;s marked &#8220;top secret.&#8221; France sent it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It said French secret service technical director Bernard Barbier and National Agency for IT systems security head Patrick Pailloux &#8220;are coming to ask their American counterparts, whom they suspect are (conducting Elysee Palace espionage) for an explanation.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;s the official French president&#8217;s residence. It includes his office. It&#8217;s where government ministers meet to discuss official business.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">France &#8220;learn(ed) that none of the services capable of carrying out this type of electronic attack came from America, Britain or Canada.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Carefully chosen wording said the NSA &#8220;intentionally did not ask either the Mossad or the ISNU (Israeli technical administration services) whether they were involved.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Penetrating Elysee began while Nicolas Sarkozy was president. Security systems were in place to detect electronic espionage.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">The attack conducted wasn&#8217;t &#8220;part of an act of sabotage which was to be made public but of the desire to be permanently installed invisibly at the centre of the Presidency,&#8221; said Le Monde.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Initially, America was thought to be responsible. Tensions followed. In January 2012, NSA head General Keith Alexander was questioned about his possible role.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He denied responsibility. He offered to send two NSA NTOC (National Threat Operations Center) analysts to help identify the hacker.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;On the eve of their departure,&#8221; said Le Monde, &#8220;France cancelled their visit and hardened (its) tone.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">The top secret NSA document discusses its Office of Tailored Operations (TAO). Most agency employees and officials know little or nothing about it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Extraordinary secrecy keeps its operations concealed. Only select NSA officials needing to know are fully apprised of its mission.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It involves targeting other nations. It seeks the most sensitive type information. Its tactics include sophisticated hacking. Its able to develop information needed to destroy, damage, or otherwise compromise targeted sites.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">The document France obtained said NSA, Britain, Canada and other close &#8220;second circle&#8221; allies weren&#8217;t involved in Elysee hacking.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It added that Israel&#8217;s Mossad has sophisticated technical expertise. Its involvement was suggested short of accusations. No investigation was conducted to learn for sure.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">At the same time, reasonable suspicion exists. A top NSA official commented on Israel&#8217;s aggressive spying on America. The document France obtained explained, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;France is not the only country to target the department of Defense using electronic espionage.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Israel also does this. On one hand, the Israelis are excellent partners in terms of sharing information but on the other, they target us to find out our positions on the Middle East.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;It is the third most aggressive intelligence service in the world against the United States.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;There is a chance that helping attribute the cyber attacks against the French Presidential network may reveal a US ally is responsible.&#8221; NSA had Israel in mind.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On October 25, London&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2477013\/Was-ISRAEL-hacking-millions-French-phones-NOT-U-S--Extraordinary-twist-spying-saga-revealed.html#ixzz2ioTwBK1y\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">Daily Mail<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Was ISRAEL behind the hacking of millions of French phones and NOT the US?&#8221;<span style=\"font-family: Times; font-size: 12px;\"> <\/span>Information Le Monde reported suggested so.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;In the latest extraordinary twist in the global eavesdropping scandal, Israeli agents are said to have intercepted more than 70 million calls and text messages a month.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">France initially blamed America. Perhaps it pointed fingers the wrong way.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">US and French intelligence work closely with Mossad. At the same time, suspicions cloud relations. Israel spies aggressively on allies.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">A government spokesman lied, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Israel is a country which is a friend, ally and partner of France and does not carry out any hostile activity which could pose a threat to its security.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">France complained earlier about Israel using its territory for so-called black operations.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">A notable 2010 Dubai incident involved assassinating Hamas Qassam Brigades co-founder Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh. Killing him succeeded after two earlier failed tries.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Israel is a notorious rogue state. International laws and standards don&#8217;t matter. They&#8217;re consistently violated. Anything goes is policy. Allies can be as vulnerable as foes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Has Israel been intercepting 70 million French phone calls and text messages monthly? Did it penetrate Elysee security? Does it target its other close allies the same way?<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Snowden released documents show aggressive global NSA spying. Perhaps Israel operates the same way.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israeli Responsibility for Hacking Millions of French Phones?by Stephen LendmanMossad&#8217;s credentials are notorious. They&#8217;re well known. It&#8217;s expertise is acknowledged. Its rap sheet is longstanding and nefarious.&nbsp;Its tactics include targeted assass&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-87328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87328\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}