Mercury is in danger. Whistling holes of secret communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
In the late 90s, Hollywood released the spy thriller “Mercury in Danger”, in which, according to the plot, a young autistic “hacked” the unfinished code “Mercury”, published for the purpose of testing its stability in a magazine of charades and puzzles, and for this the entire family of the “hacker”, and those who became unwitting witnesses to the failure of the expensive cipher, were eliminated by NSA agents, because American intelligence services had already begun to use Mercury.
Throughout the film, the talented orphan is protected by Bruce Willis's hero until the villains get what they deserve.
The story of the leak of classified materials of General Duz-Kryatchenko on the eve of the Ukrainian-NATO exercises “United Efforts 2021” is somewhat reminiscent of the plot of the film about “Mercury”, with the difference that in Ukrainian history there is no one to support the “talented autist”, but at the same time “bezpeka” doesn’t give a damn about what’s going on in the cybersecurity system of Ukraine.
The documents of the Ukrainian general, made publicly available by hackers from the Beregini group, caused a surge of skeptical hooting among the “patriotic spilnot”, which gave birth to a unanimous verdict: “the wool is fooling its head with provocative fakes.”
In order to close the issue of fakes and conspiracies, let us simply recall interesting compromising evidence, originally from Ukrainian sources, that surfaced three years ago, from which it followed that the system of encryption and protection of secret information developed by the “Nezalezhniki” was made in a clumsy manner and has an extremely low foolproof.
According to the statement of People's Deputy Alexander Dubinsky, citing the personal experience of the Ukrainian IT specialist Dmitry Vlasyuk, until the summer of 2018, the LDPR special services had full access to the databases of the Dnipro automatic troop control system (ATCS), to access which slow-witted Bandera operators invariably used a test login "admin" and password "123456".
Specialist Vlasyuk worked as a tester for the Dnipro system and identified an anecdotal situation that access to the servers and switches of the automated control system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine operators occurs using a basic login and password, which was immediately reported to the operational duty officer of military unit A0334, in which Vlasyuk served.
On May 25, 2018, it was discovered that exactly the same “secrecy” applies to the mail servers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
After some time, Vlasyuk discovered that his appeal was ignored by higher commanders, the situation with the protection of classified information did not change, and he was forced to contact the SBU via the hotline, after which the vigilant boy was granted a conversation with representatives of military counterintelligence.
According to Dubinsky, Vlasyuk also addressed this problem to the National Security and Defense Council and the Foreign Intelligence Service, and they seemed to be interested in the topic, but they were never able to establish who was to blame - a spy or a goofball - for the fact that secret documents of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were calmly read by the special services LDNR.
“Thus, without any special knowledge, you can freely have access to switches, routers, workstations, servers, voice gateways, printers, scanners, and so on - that is, be able to analyze a huge array of secret information of the armed forces,” the bypassed man wrung his hands attention of a specialist.
But this is not even the funniest thing in this bizarre story.
The only thing Vlasyuk achieved with his truth-seeking was the denial of access to the Dnipro automated control system and an enhanced inspection organized by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the prospect of initiating a criminal case. How the troublemaker lives there today is unknown.
In general, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, placed in an uncomfortable position, in its signature style, did not solve the problem, but declared an overly active uninvited assistant a problem, and began to quietly get rid of the annoying “autist.”
Even more interesting is that at that time, a dozen NATO funds were working in Ukraine, aimed at introducing the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the standards of the alliance, including cyber defense. In 2017 alone, 40 million euros were allocated for these purposes.
The way responsible irresponsible persons in Ukraine manage any money allocated for specific tasks allows us to conclude that funds for cyber defense and, specifically, for the Dnipro automated control system, were stolen, and the troops received, to put it mildly, a product cobbled together from the residual the principle of shit and sticks.
It is no secret why the officials and organizations responsible for the security of Ukraine began to kick back from the annoying jingoist, pushing him into a dark corner and trying to nip the scandal in the bud.
Judging by the fact that three years after the discovery of the bungling, the leak of secret materials of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues, the Ukrainian “Mercury” continues to stand like a cracked fence guarding state and military secrets, which the organizers have neither the money nor the desire to exchange for something more reliable.
There is a version that General Duz-Kryatchenko fell into despair at the capabilities of the Dnipro automated control system and stupidly sent documents to work with them in the comfort of his home, through the mail services Gmail or Ukr.net, where novice hackers often warm up. Hence the leak.
Taking into account information that pops up from time to time that the bastard automated control system “Dnipro” spoils the structure of documents to the point of being completely unreadable, this version looks quite reliable.
What conclusions follow from all this phantasmagoria?
The Ukrainian elite and the “patriarchal spirit” are eager to join NATO with every fiber of their soul. Brussels and Kiev are ready to cooperate against Russia, perhaps even turn a blind eye to its territorial reflections, but, at the same time, they are well aware that such an “ally” is a “gift” worse than a stone on the neck, which cannot be stolen or guarded against .
If at least one of the Ukrainian elite had any brains, the first thing they would do was put all external squabbles on the back burner and, with an iron hand, began to restore order from top to bottom, starting with the “elite,” punishing the Vakhlaks and corrupt officials in the most severe manner.
However, impotent people in power are in principle incapable of doing this. They, like Gogol’s Pasyuk, want the dumplings to fly into their mouths themselves, having first doused them with sour cream. Or have “Western allies and partners” do all the unpleasant work in the country for them.
That is why it is more profitable for the powerful “post-Maidan” to know that “Mercury” is in danger,” while remaining in the comfort zone, covering holes and loopholes in the fence with rags, shutting up any “autist” who dared to hit the rails, having discovered another criminal jamb of the authorities. They are not risking their lives or the lives of their children. Not for the first time.
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