Russia Attempted to Hack the MH17 Commission's Computers

Russian spies likely tried to hack into the Dutch Safety Board's computer systems to access a sensitive final report into the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, experts said Friday.

The cyberattacks were revealed by security experts Trend Micro which blamed a shadowy group dubbed Operation Pawn Storm, "an active economic and political cyber-espionage operation" that has targeted the White House and NATO in the past.

A spokeswoman for the Dutch board, which led the investigation into how Malaysia Airlines flight came down in July 2014 over war-torn Ukraine, confirmed the board had detected the attacks.

But there was "no evidence" that anyone "was successful in the attempt," spokeswoman Sara Vernooij told AFP.

She declined however to reveal "how and by whom" the attacks were carried out.

Trend Micro Friday blamed Operation Pawn Storm for a "cyber-espionage operation before and after" the publication on October 13 of the board's detailed report.

link.

Ukraine: Patterns of Confusion, Obfuscation & Slaughter?

The fight has moved into Gorlovka and Donetsk.  Artillery is impacting in the former (those are mine tailings fyi in the video, not hills) and street fighting has started in the latter.

Government forces have taken Heorhiyika in Lugansk Oblast. There are reports they have all but encircled Lugansk itself. In the Donetsk Oblast, Dzerzhynsk, Rubizhne and Soledar have been taken.

There are reports another AN26 was shot down.

There are conflicting reports as to what is going on with the rebels.  One report states about six armoured vehicles were headed to the border from the Ukrainian side.  Another report stated there were 30 coming in from the Russian side.  Perhaps the former were damaged and needed to be serviced?

With regards to Flight MH17, the rebels have taken the bodies on a refrigerated train.  There were 283 bodies recovered, but the train has left for parts unknown.  Likewise, chunks of the aircraft were also recovered and taken away.  The black boxes were handed over from the rebels to the Malayasian authorities.  Some of the fragments of the fuselage have very strong evidence of shrapnel.

The Russians doubled down on claiming the Ukrainians were responsible.  The US has outright said the rebels did it.  The UN has stated there must be a full and independent international investigation.  I doubt this is really possible at this point with the tampering of the site by the rebels.

Picture of Malayasian Airlines MH-17 Wreckage Shows Evidence of Shrapnel

The Financial Times posted a photo of what appears to be wreckage from the Malaysian Airlines jetliner peppered with shrapnel damage from an anti-aircraft missile.

The international community has pressed for an investigation into the cause of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17 crash, However, many, including U.S. officials, have said the evidence points to pro-Russian separatists shooting down the passenger jet with an advanced surface-to-air missile system capable of hitting an aircraft flying at 33,000 feet.

The photographed wreckage above adds to that mounting collection of evidence.

SAM systems destroy aircraft by exploding in the airspace in which the aircraft is flying. The resulting shrapnel destroys the aircraft.

link.