Firm in the belief that only one communist regime is permitted to hack into American computers at any given time -- the US government is seeking help. According to recent reports, China's communist government was asked by the US to help it stop North Korea's communist government from hacking into American computers.
Theoretically, the US Government could ask the NSA to help, but its hands are allegedly tied-up monitoring all communication traffic generated by America and her allies.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers see red.
Filling in for our humble blogwatcher Richi Jennings, is a humbler Stephen Glasskeys.
Marc Ferranti's software can't trap a "divide by zero" error and crashes:
The U.S. government has rejected North Korea's proposal for a joint investigation of a devastating hack on Sony Pictures, and has reached out to China for help blocking future cyberattacks.
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One likely reason the U.S. has sought China's help is that North Korean telecommunications are run through Chinese-operated networks. MORE
But Eric Bradner's runtime engine can parse both presidential and Hollywood scripting languages:
President Barack Obama says he doesn't consider North Korea's hack of Sony Pictures "an act of war."
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"It was an act of cybervandalism," Obama said in an interview [on] Sunday.
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The President stuck by his criticism of Sony's decision to cancel its plans to release the movie "The Interview," which includes a cartoonish depiction of the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. MORE
Then, Adam Clark Estes finds all files containing "script" AND "plot twist":
Well, this is a weird twist. Just hours after we learned that North Korea wanted to work with the United States [to investigate] the Sony Pictures hack, The New York Times is reporting that the US now wants China's help in stopping North Korean hackers. Apparently, US officials want to unleash the Great Firewall on North Korea.
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At least, that's what it sounds like. MORE
David E. Sanger, Nicole Perlroth and Eric Schmitt attempt a "Denial of Service" attack:
[The] key is China. United States officials said...efforts to block North Korea's access to the Internet...available only to the military and the elite, would necessarily impinge on Chinese sovereignty. But they also saw...a chance to work with the Chinese on a subject the two countries have been warily discussing for several years: Establishing "rules of the road" for acceptable behavior in cyberspace. MORE
So Kwame Opam makes his network redundant, redundant, redundant : [Enough, enough, ENOUGH! - Ed.]
[President Obama said] the US will respond proportionally to the [hacking] attack, and is currently reviewing whether or not to put [North Korea] back on our list state sponsors of terrorism.
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"We're going to review those through a process that's already in place," said the president. "I'll wait to review what the findings are." MORE
Jeremiah Grossman discovers hacking humor:
"The Obama admin has sought China's help in blocking NK's ability to launch cyberattacks" < comical in so many ways. MORE
Meanwhile, Peter W. Singer is the one American that gets irony:
Irony: US looks to China to aid in Reining in N Korea Hacking MORE
You have been reading IT Blogwatch by Richi Jennings and Stephen Glasskeys, who curate the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites…so you don't have to. Catch the key commentary from around the Web every morning. Hatemail may be directed to @RiCHi or itbw@richi.uk. Opinions expressed may not represent those of Computerworld. Ask your doctor before reading. Your mileage may vary. E&OE.