Russian Meddling: The Cold Hard Stats.

[Down1]

Numbers don't lie.
https://heartiste.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/russian-meddling/

[monty]

They don’t show a source for their information. Where is the proof?

[Neuro]

They don’t show a source for their information. Where is the proof?

Most of these things we have discussed here... ‘Russian’ may be code for some other... LOL!

[midnight rambler]

Those pesky Russians!

[monty]

Most of these things we have discussed here... ‘Russian’ may be code for some other... LOL!


Ok, so I am a little slow . . .

[Neuro]

Ok, so I am a little slow . . .

Normally you are sharp as a whistle! It’s ok to be a bit slow occasionally... ;D

[Horn]

Nowhere does it mention that Russia has GDP equal to upstate New York

[Cebu_4_2]

Oy-Vay

[calvine]

Most of these things we have discussed here... ‘Russian’ may be code on how canister filter works (https://bestaquariumpicks.com)... LOL!

My thoughts exactly!

[BrewTech]

My thoughts exactly!

Exactly? Like, EXACTLY exactly? Like exactly SPAMMER exactly? Like SPYBOT exactly?

[ziero0]

It is a matter of definition. Just like global warming means man's effect on the atmosphere Russian has become synonymous with political meddling.

All political meddling is Russian.

Only Russians can politically meddle.

If there is meddling it must be Russian meddling.

That is the illusion. Doesn't have anything to do with the Russian federation. It has to do with meddling.

That is the power of definition.

If you are caught meddling then you are Russian. Not the political society. The action.

[Neuro]

It is a matter of definition. Just like global warming means man's effect on the atmosphere Russian has become synonymous with political meddling.

All political meddling is Russian.

Only Russians can politically meddle.

If there is meddling it must be Russian meddling.

That is the illusion. Doesn't have anything to do with the Russian federation. It has to do with meddling.

That is the power of definition.

If you are caught meddling then you are Russian. Not the political society. The action.
The true Russian meddling fallacy! ;D

[ziero0]

The true Russian meddling fallacy! ;D
Years from now college courses will be taught based upon this concept. I'm just way ahead of my time (a legend in my own mind)!!!

[Horn]

Years from now college courses will be taught based upon this concept. I'm just way ahead of my time (a legend in my own mind)!!!

A DemiPutin

[Neuro]

In a way it is true, since most of these Khazar Jews meddling came from Russia in a generation or three ago... They are hard to identify as such though as most have changed their names. They sure wouldn’t identify themselves as Russian, not American or whatever country they are currently occupying (even while paying lip service to it when beneficial to their argument).

[BrewTech]

If there is meddling it must be Russian meddling.

That is the illusion. Doesn't have anything to do with the Russian federation. It has to do with meddling.

That is the power of definition.

If you are caught meddling then you are Russian. Not the political society. The action.

So, what you're saying is that Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and that dog were all Russian?? Oh wow... I'm gonna have to go back and reevalulate everything I learned from Saturday morning cartoons... :p


Seriously though, - Z is spot on... it's the reason only this single word is repeated over and over in conjunction with discussion of the subject. The latest edition of the Modern Newspeak Dictionary will only allow for "meddling" to be defined in this way. Some modern day version of Winston Smith is probably already busy going back through the archives of a popular Hanna-Barbera series and changing every instance of "kids" to "Russians"....

[Horn]

Meddling isn't really meddling with regards to blowing whistles.

And really had no place for any Russian types in the first place.

Anyone who knows about horns and or whistles knows that Russians prefer string instruments.

[Cebu_4_2]

http://youtu.be/B2HIj_QWaG0

https://youtu.be/B2HIj_QWaG0

[monty]

The Russians Did It, Seth Abramson says he has information it was Israeli intel-affiliated

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1057454270788890625.html

Thread by @SethAbramson: "(MEGA-THREAD) A *major* mystery in the Trump-Russia investigation—what type of illegal election assistance Israeli intel-affiliated entities […]"

2 days ago, 57 tweets, 10 min read 2,433 views


(MEGA-THREAD) A *major* mystery in the Trump-Russia investigation—what type of illegal election assistance Israeli intel-affiliated entities offered the Trump campaign after Trump Jr. accepted their help in August 2016—may have just been solved. I hope you'll read on and retweet.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqzU4TRX0AA0lfp.jpg (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqzU4TRX0AA0lfp.jpg)


1/ We know from the NEW YORK TIMES that on August 3, 2016, an emissary from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—George Nader—offered the Trump campaign illegal election assistance at Trump Tower, and that Don Jr. said "yes" to the two nations' offer.


2/ We also know that Joel Zamel—an Australia-born Israeli businessman who runs two "business intelligence outfits"—was also at the meetup, which Nader and Trump shadow national security adviser Erik Prince had set up. We know Zamel offered his assistance too—and Don Jr. said yes.


3/ In researching PROOF OF COLLUSION, I ran into a dilemma at this point in the NYT-sourced story: research revealed Zamel had connections to a top aide to Netanyahu, and that many men in his outfits (Psy Group and Wikistrat) had Mossad connections. So who let him do what he did?


4/ To explain: it's illegal for foreign governments to offer election aid to a campaign, yet that's just what Zamel did and what Don Jr. accepted. But Zamel—given his government ties—would have known that offering such help without Netanyahu's blessing would ruin him. Yet he did.


5/ Because the trail ended there—I couldn't clearly tie Zamel to Israeli government-granted authority to help the Trump campaign pre-election—this issue is only lightly covered in PROOF OF COLLUSION. But now there's new reporting that answers this question *and* another key one.


6/ The second question that is now answered—and will be answered in this thread—is one I've been asking here and elsewhere for a *year*: what the hell does *Ben Carson* have to do with *anything*? He employed Papadopoulos before Trump—and sent Papadopoulos to Trump. Why would he?


7/ I normally don't see Carson as any sort of player in any of this, but he used *Michael Flynn* and *Papadopoulos* as advisers before they *both* went to Trump. Both men were *bizarre* choices to be advisers—especially as all Papadopoulos knew about was... Israeli energy issues.


8/ So as I wrote PROOF OF COLLUSION, big issues stood unresolved with respect to Israel, Zamel, Carson, Flynn, and Papadopoulos. I had Flynn and Papadopoulos linked up—they emailed and worked closely together during the campaign—but I couldn't see how the others fit in with them.


9/ When Papadopoulos' wife, Simona, said that Papadopoulos had originally been suspected by Mueller as an *Israeli* spy, I perked up. When Papadopoulos told Tapper that an *Israeli* had given him $10,000, I perked up still further. And now I think it all makes sense. Here we go:


10/ Walla! News is a major Israeli news outlet connected to HAARETZ, which is one of maybe two or three huge Israeli news outlets that Americans have heard of. Think of Walla! News as the Yahoo! News of Israeli (and remember how much great Russia reporting Isikoff of Yahoo! did).


11/ Walla! News says in late Spring '18, Mueller sent agents to Israel to investigate Zamel's Psy Group and Wikistrat, both of which are filled with ex-Mossad guys (this is discussed in PROOF OF COLLUSION). But Walla! News says the *real* Trump collaborators were *another* group.


12/ Walla! says that AT THE EXACT SAME TIME that Zamel offered Psy Group/Wikistrat's services to Trump's campaign and Don Jr. said yes, a *nearly identical* Israeli outfit that *also* had Mossad ties, Inspiration, began working for one of the Trump campaign's biggest Super-PACs.


13/ Here is the Walla! News article, which I've reviewed in detail in translation (and I'll now discuss it in detail here, so feel free to read it yourself, though you can also just read the synthesis in this thread):


14/ Walla! News says Inspiration began working for a Trump Super-PAC "3 months" before the November 2016 election—*exactly* when Zamel made his offer to Trump Jr. at Trump Tower and Trump Jr. said yes. And who connected the Trump Super-PAC to Inspiration? Wait for it: Ben Carson.


15/ If that doesn't many *any* sense to you, it *shouldn't*. Ben Carson doesn't know a *damned thing* about foreign policy—everyone saw that during the debates. But his adviser, Flynn, had *previously been recruited by Zamel*, and his adviser, Papadopoulos, had deep Israeli ties.


16/ So Ben Carson offering George Papadopoulos to Trump, and sending his man Flynn to Trump, suddenly makes sense—as the two men were able to bring to Trump *Israeli* connections (in Flynn's case, Russian ones, too) which Trump would be able to draw from if he got the nomination.


17/ Based on his prior associations with both Prince and Zamel, it now seems highly likely that *Flynn*—working with his Israeli-linked protege, Papadopoulos—was able to link up the Trump campaign to not just one but *several* connected Israeli "business intelligence" outfits.


18/ This explains why Papadopoulos' arrest led almost immediately to Flynn's; this explains why Papadopoulos' first trip for Trump was to Israel, and that around the time Prince was in the Seychelles in January 2017 working on the "six-nation bargain," Papadopoulos was in Israel.


19/ This explains Papadopoulos getting contacted by a man he says was in Israeli intelligence; this explains Mueller investigating Papadopoulos as an Israeli spy. Both Flynn and Papadopoulos were supposed to be Trump's links to Israeli government-connected intelligence outfits.


20/ This explains why Joel Zamel *formally* went into business with Trump's data firm, Cambridge Analytica, *immediately* after the election (read that twice). This explains why Cambridge Analytica's whistleblower, Chris Wylie, said CA was working with former Israeli intel guys.


21/ WALLA! NEWS: "[Israeli business intelligence outfit] Inspiration worked behind the scenes for the election of Donald Trump....recently, FBI agents arrived in Israel [in May 2018] to investigate the involvement of foreign elements in the U.S. elections."


22/ WALLA! NEWS: "Inspiration [is] a company headed by a former senior IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] intel officer, whose main activity in recent years has been work for the election of Donald Trump as president in the last election campaign in the United States." *Main activity*.


23/ WALLA! NEWS: "[Inspiration head] Ronen Cohen held a number of senior [Israeli] intelligence positions: He was the head of the terror division in the Research Branch of Military Intelligence, the deputy head of the research division, and in his last position was... (continued)


24/ ...the [Israeli] Central Command intelligence officer. In 2012, after his retirement, he founded Inspiration. In the past, the company engaged in various types of intelligence and security consulting, but today it focuses on campaigns to influence public awareness." Bingo...


25/ According to THE NEW YORK TIMES, what Zamel offered Don Jr.—and what Trump Jr. said yes to—was just such a "campaign to influence public awareness" during a pre-election period. And right after he made that offer, Inspiration began offering such services to a Trump Super-PAC.


26/ And the man who connected the Trump Super-PAC with an Israeli government-linked intel outfit in August '16, right after Trump Jr. agreed to such Israeli assistance, was "Ben Carson"—meaning, Mike Flynn and/or George Papadopoulos, who were key Trump NatSec aides *at the time*.


27/ WALLA! NEWS: "In the first stage, Inspiration analyzes the client and the field that he wishes to influence, whether it's a business or political client. On the basis of the analysis, a campaign [is] built. 'It could be online--setting up sites, working on Facebook... (cont.)


28/ ...or working in more conventional media,' says a source familiar with [Inspiration] and similar companies [NB: Wikistrat, Psy Group, Black Cube]. 'There can also be acceptance on the ground, from the simplest thing, a kind of lobbying, to more complex things... (continued)


29/ ...that complement the campaign and create credibility and the narrative you want to achieve." In other words, what Trump's Super-PAC got after the Zamel offer was a *domestic disinformation campaign* identical to Russian's—one which was worth *millions* of (foreign) dollars.


30/ But oh god it gets better.


31/ Because WALLA! NEWS found that Inspiration *didn't work alone*. It worked with (wait for it) *another Israeli intel outfit*. ("The information [Inspiration gathered] was analyzed...in cooperation with another Israeli company.") So here's where things get *really* interesting.


32/ Three Israeli intel outfits with the capacity/resources to work with Inspiration have been named in the Trump-Russia probe: Zamel's Psy Group and Wikistrat and another outfit, Black Cube. The chances Inspiration worked with one of these is high—as it only had so many options.


33/ WALLA! NEWS: "In the first stage, the company received huge amounts of information about voters. The information was analyzed, apparently in cooperation with another Israeli company, in order to try to understand which voters were more likely or less likely to vote... (cont.)


34/ ...on election day. The company naturally focused on trying to predict the behavior of voters in internal splits in the swing states. Various content intended for different types of voters was prepared in a focused manner."

Note: this is EXACTLY what Cambridge Analytica did.


35/ So Wylie says Cambridge Analytica was working with Israeli intel guys; Walla! News says Inspiration was working with another Israeli intel company; Zamel offered Trump Jr. help, and Trump Jr. said yes; and Carson introduced a Trump Super-PAC to an outfit identical to Zamel's.


36/ This is as *thinly and poorly veiled* an acceptance of illegal foreign (in-kind) donations as could possibly be imagined—given that Trump Jr. accepted the help in person and it appears to have been set up by Trump's data firm and two of Trump's top national security advisers.


37/ Wiley says Cambridge Analytica didn't work with Black Cube, and Inspiration says it didn't work with Cambridge Analytica, so that strongly suggests either Psy Group or Wikistrat worked with Cambridge Analytica. And guess who else thinks that, apparently: Robert Mueller. Thus:


38/ WALLA! NEWS: "Psy-Group's profile is very similar to that of Inspiration—it employs Israelis with a security/intel background and focuses on campaigns to influence public opinion. As far as is known, the FBI didn't contact any Inspiration personnel." But it *did* Psy-Group's.


39/ But because the FBI didn't speak to Inspiration personnel, it didn't realize Inspiration had quite possibly been working with Psy-Group. That'd explain, and perfectly, what Zamel's real "offer" was and what it was that Trump Jr. accepted—thereby coordinating with a Super-PAC.


40/ A tweet on this, from a HAARETZ journalist:



41/ But it's HAARETZ *itself* that takes this story to the next level.


42/ According to HAARETZ, "Housing Secretary and then-candidate Ben Carson personally presented Trump with Inspiration’s plan for voter manipulation in swing states." You read that right—and not in translation: "personally presented Trump with [the] plan."


43/ HAARETZ: "A source in the company [Inspiration] told Walla! that Inspiration had received 'enormous amounts' of information from the Trump Super PAC, which it then used to compose strategies and slogans that would elevate Trump and 'float all kinds of things' about Clinton."


44/ Wait a minute—so Trump was *personally presented* a plan, and *personally approved* a plan, to have an "unconnected" Super PAC "compose strategies and slogans that would elevate Trump and 'float all kinds of things' about Clinton"? How have we not heard about this before now?


45/ PROOF OF COLLUSION has a whole chapter about the totally false "things about Clinton" that Trump's campaign knowingly amplified pre-election. And you know who was most involved in floating these stories in US media? These men:

* Donald Trump Jr.
* Michael Flynn
* Erik Prince


46/ Meanwhile, post-election Papadopoulos told his contacts in Greece that he had a "blank check" for any job he wanted in the Trump administration and that he *personally* had "helped Trump get elected." (This is all in PROOF OF COLLUSION.) Why did he say that? *What did he do*?


47/ And as importantly as anything else, why did George Papadopoulos' conviction lead so quickly to Michael Flynn's arrest and conviction? What did Papadopoulos tell Robert Mueller about Flynn, the Trump NatSec man he worked closely with—by his own confession—during the campaign?


48/ I'd mention, too, that Papadopoulos is now—hoping to save his would-be GOP political career—floating a theory that *Australians* set him up to look like a foreign spy. Isn't that interesting, when Joel Zamel was born in Australia? I feel like Papadopoulos knows what's coming.


49/ When you read the HAARETZ article I linked to (Tweet #42), you'll see just how many *in-campaign* emissaries Trump had to Israel *besides* Carson, Flynn, and Papadopoulos.

He also had men connected to the UAE and Saudi Arabia—think "six-nation bargain"—like Broidy and Nader.


50/ All the evidence suggests what I'd always suspected: Zamel *wasn't* a rogue actor on August 3, 2016—nor was Trump Jr. saying "yes" to an offer that mysteriously never materialized. The Israelis knew what they were doing, and so did the Trumps. Illegally and pre-election. /end


PS/ Because this is Twitter, everything here has been abbreviated. The evidence suggests Israel, Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and—most oddly, but a full presentation of evidence explains it quite well—Qatar were involved in an illegal pre-election six-nation bargain with the Trumps.


THE SIX-NATION BARGAIN/ Here it is: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqzlVbkXcAEguCX.jpg (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqzlVbkXcAEguCX.jpg)


NOTE/ A final note: I'm Jewish, and realize I'm researching a topic that implies the Israeli government may have acted illegally. But I want to underscore that Israel's motivations were entirely logical—not even opaque—even as what I believe were their actions were reprehensible.


NOTE2/ This research has nothing to do with American Jews or Jewry, nor does it imply nefarious motives on the part of Israeli agents. The Israelis are understandably trying to secure their people against certain external threats. The question is whether they broke laws to do it.


NOTE3/ Believe me, I *know* all the good stuff I left out, like Kushner's ties to Israel, and that it was *Kushner* who ordered Flynn to illegally negotiate with Russia and other nations on an *Israeli issue then before the UN* during the transition. Yes, that was a quid pro quo.


NOTE4/ I should add that I think (and actually would say that by now it's pretty well proven) that Netanyahu is a corrupt politician. I don't believe prior Israeli governments would have acted in this way. Netanyahu has been reckless, arrogant, and dangerous for a very long time.



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[Neuro]

Monty the above piece all makes sense. But all the movers and shakers are either Jews and/or strongly connected to Israel intelligence. The Jewish author, Seth Abrahamson, seems to downplay Israel’s role in setting it up. I buy the 6 nation deal, but the whole thing was initiated by Israeli intelligence, most likely they had approached Russia first to see if they could buy off Iran from them. They were only interested if they got payed massively (Thus nuclear deals with Saudi and UAE, whom instinctively hate Shia Iran over everything). Then they approached Trump/Kushner and offered them the deal of their lives. Sure the Russians may have offered some intelligence into the stew (I am thinking Uranium 1 on the Clintons) but the election collusion was wholly co-ordinated by Israeli intel (as always).

Attack on Iran immediately after mid-term elections, after a yuge false-flag attack? The sinking of ships in the Hormuz strait. Perhaps by the German built submarine gifted to Israel as repaytions for holyhoax?

I will start following the oil price, probably we’ll see a massive uptick in price a day or two for no apparent reason when some inbreeds at Wall Street buys massive amounts of futures and options.

[Jewboo]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dqx5P-rVAAESj_N.jpg

This slimy jew's new book comes out in two weeks. Buy his book goys!

:rolleyes:

[monty]

Monty the above piece all makes sense. But all the movers and shakers are either Jews and/or strongly connected to Israel intelligence. The Jewish author, Seth Abrahamson, seems to downplay Israel’s role in setting it up. I buy the 6 nation deal, but the whole thing was initiated by Israeli intelligence, most likely they had approached Russia first to see if they could buy off Iran from them. They were only interested if they got payed massively (Thus nuclear deals with Saudi and UAE, whom instinctively hate Shia Iran over everything). Then they approached Trump/Kushner and offered them the deal of their lives. Sure the Russians may have offered some intelligence into the stew (I am thinking Uranium 1 on the Clintons) but the election collusion was wholly co-ordinated by Israeli intel (as always).

Attack on Iran immediately after mid-term elections, after a yuge false-flag attack? The sinking of ships in the Hormuz strait. Perhaps by the German built submarine gifted to Israel as repaytions for holyhoax?

I will start following the oil price, probably we’ll see a massive uptick in price a day or two for no apparent reason when some inbreeds at Wall Street buys massive amounts of futures and options.



Book, that is a damn good analysis. I would expect Abramson to downplay Israel’s role in setting it up since he is a jew, in fact I was surprised to see that he even publicized his findings since it does expose his fellow jews involvement.

[Neuro]

Book, that is a damn good analysis. I would expect Abramson to downplay Israel’s role in setting it up since he is a jew, in fact I was surprised to see that he even publicized his findings since it does expose his fellow jews involvement.
Yes, it is surprising that he dared to go as far as he did. It does pass the smell test though. Trump is probably about to fulfill his campaign promise of being the best friends of Israel ever by doing as they told him to do from the beginning. In other words, attack Iran. If you look at what he has done everything points in that direction. He sold $200 Billions of weapons to Saudi Arabia and UAE(you don’t need that amount to fight a rag tag army in Yemen). He tore up the nuclear treaty with Iran, against the objections of all the other co-signers of the treaty. He appointed rabid war monger Zionist John Bolton as advisor. And now he reintroduced the sanctions x 10 on Iran. Effective the 5th of November.

It is all a setup for (((Iran))) to attack. Which would be the justification for the war on Iran, using the weapons cache in Saudi Arabia.

The last piece of the puzzle what would stop Russia from defending their old friend Iran, is provided by Abramson, they get nuclear deals in Saudi and UAE, worth $100’s of Billions, further they probably will get contracts rebuilding Iran post-destruction.

Yesterday I read that US was “several weeks away from issuing sanctions against Saudi Arabia” for the brutal murder dismemberment of journalist Kashoggi in Istanbul Saudi Consulate. The evidence is clear why drag your legs like this? Maybe it is not ideal to go to war with a partner you just sanctioned?

[End Times]

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/pentagon-prepared-cyber-attack-russia-170856445.html

The Pentagon has prepared a cyberattack against Russia


U.S. military hackers have been given the go-ahead to gain access to Russian cyber systems if meddling in America’s 2018 elections is confirmed.

The U.S. intelligence community and the Pentagon have quietly agreed on the outlines of an offensive cyberattack that the United States would unleash if Russia electronically interferes with the 2018 midterm elections on Nov. 6, according to current and former senior U.S. officials who are familiar with the plan.

In preparation for its potential use, U.S. military hackers have been given the go-ahead to gain access to Russian cyber systems that they feel is needed to let the plan unfold quickly, the officials said.

The effort constitutes one of the first major cyber battle plans organized under a new government policy enabling potential offensive operations to proceed more quickly once the parameters have been worked out in advance and agreed among key agencies.

While U.S. national security officials have so far reported only intermittent efforts by Russian sources to compromise political organizations and campaigns, they have been worried — in the aftermath of Russia’s digital contact with U.S. election systems in 2016 — that Moscow might unleash more aggressive interference in the hours before voting begins, while the polls are open, or when the votes are being tabulated.

The existence of such a plan means that America is more fully integrating offensive cyberattacks into its overall military planning systems, a move likely to make cyber combat more likely and eventually more commonplace, sometimes without first gaining specific presidential approval. Cyberattacks are now on a more obvious path, in short, to becoming a regular currency of warfare.




US nuclear weapons policy allows first-use in the event of a non-nuclear (e.g., cyberwarfare) attack on the United States. What's good for the goose?

[Neuro]

Just read that the relations and stability of Saudi Arabia was far to important for US to take any decisive actions in the Kashoggi murder. According to Netanyahu, meanwhile Israel doesn’t have any official relations with the kingdom, but he considers Iran a far greater threat in the region.
https://www.rt.com/news/443013-netanyahu-khashoggi-killing-iran/

Meanwhile no evidence of a crime with the two Saudi sisters found dead on the banks of Hudson River duck taped...
https://www.rt.com/usa/443003-saudi-sisters-dead-new-york/

[Neuro]

Mnuchin threatens SWIFT with sanctions unless they block Iranian financial institutions:
https://www.rt.com/business/442970-us-threatens-to-smack-swift/

[Neuro]

It is US/Israel/Saudi Arabia against the rest of the world, right now...

EU 404? Not finding itself on Iran exemption list, Europe vows to defy US sanctions
https://www.rt.com/news/443006-europe-iran-us-sanctions/

However when EU ships are sunk in the Hormuz straight by (((Iran))), they will change their tune. No questions asked.

Probably a German made submarine will be responsible for the sinking!

[End Times]

Just read that the relations and stability of Saudi Arabia was far to important for US to take any decisive actions in the Kashoggi murder.

The Jews secured the cradle of Islam, just as they secured the cradle of Christianity (Jerusalem and Rome). The House of Saud is Kosher.

If the Saudi regime fell, Muslims not beholden to Satan's chosen would fill the void. That's why Saddam "had to go" - his intelligence service exposed the House of Saud for what it is.

[End Times]

Mnuchin threatens SWIFT with sanctions unless they block Iranian financial institutions:
https://www.rt.com/business/442970-us-threatens-to-smack-swift/

Excellent! Give the independent nations a reason to create a SWIFT competitor!

Mnuchin looks like a feature from Der Ewige Jude:

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iJg41xKrrD0E/v1/800x-1.jpg

And like a cartoon Jew with his fabulous Shiksa wife:

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/11/steve_mnuchin_and_lousie_linton_-_jupiter_ascending_-_getty_-_h_-_2016.jpg

[Jewboo]

Excellent! Give the independent nations a reason to create a SWIFT competitor!

Mnuchin looks like a feature from Der Ewige Jude:

And like a cartoon Jew with his fabulous Shiksa wife:

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/11/steve_mnuchin_and_lousie_linton_-_jupiter_ascending_-_getty_-_h_-_2016.jpg

https://s1.r29static.com//bin/entry/3da/720x864,80/2001894/image.jpg

Supermodel Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner tied the knot (https://www.refinery29.com/2018/07/205273/karlie-kloss-joshua-kushner-engaged) in a super-secret ceremony October 18

[monty]

#ISRAELGATE

Jake Morphonios says the Mueller investigation has revealed the the real collusion in Trump’s election was Israel



http://youtu.be/TMct5JSS8iE

https://youtu.be/TMct5JSS8iE

[monty]

Russian Meddling, paying environmental groups to oppose fracking. ~ Free Range Report

http://www.freerangereport.com/russian-meddling-lawsuit-seeks-to-uncover-foreign-control-of-enviro-crusades/

Russian Meddling: Lawsuit seeks to uncover foreign control of enviro crusades – Free Range Report



http://www.freerangereport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/hillarywink-560x416.jpg





American officials confirmed back in 2017 that RT, a Kremlin-controlled media outlet, ran anti-fracking programming with an intent to protect Russian energy interests. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience behind closed doors that Russia’s government was propping up “phony environmental groups” opposed to hydraulic fracturing and pipelines, according to emails released by Wikileaks in 2016.


Jason Hopkins

Daily Caller News Foundation (https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/17/ier-russia-state-department-environment/?fbclid=IwAR1A14rLm3_Uyv92fvNFpwz9UjP8Bcj6rekFjaIC M_q22_YzemiGYkSOttE)
ARE RUSSIANS SECRETLY BACKING US ENVIROS? LAWSUIT INTENDS TO FIND OUT

An open records lawsuit filed against the State Department is attempting to uncover whether Russian entities attempted to financially support U.S. environmentalist causes.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) — a free-market energy group based in Washington, D.C. — filed the lawsuit on Monday. IER has requested (https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/ier-sues-state-for-records-on-russian-funding-of-environmental-pressure-groups/) that the State Department hand over correspondence concerning hydraulic fracturing, environmental advocacy and Russia that was exchanged to and from high-ranking employees.

The lawsuit (https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IER-v-State-18-2966-FILED.pdf) follows a Freedom of Information Act request (https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IER-State-Department-Russia-money-FOIA-Request.pdf) filed by IER back in October. However, the free-market group claims State Department officials are dragging their feet on providing the requested information.

“Any foreign attempts to covertly influence U.S. energy policy must be exposed and met with full consequences,” read a Monday statement from IER President Thomas Pyle. “Particularly given what we have already learned, the State Department’s evident lack of interest in examining this issue of obvious concern to congressional oversight, or in bothering with a substantive response to our request even when pressed, is deeply concerning.”

The State Department failed to hand over responsive records to IER by Nov. 23, despite a legal obligation to do so, according to the free-market group’s press release. Department officials have cited a “backlog” as reason for their slow pace, and have only acknowledged receipt of the request.

“We hope State corrects this matter immediately by providing the necessary records to document what has been happening behind the backs of the American people. The State Department must be clear: foreign meddling in U.S. energy policy or markets will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Pyle continued in his statement.

The lawsuit follows mounting questions over Russian support of environmentalist groups that have opposed U.S. fracking. American officials confirmed (https://dailycaller.com/2017/01/06/us-intel-report-confirms-kremlin-pushed-anti-fracking-propaganda/) back in 2017 that RT, a Kremlin-controlled media outlet, ran anti-fracking programming with an intent to protect Russian energy interests. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience behind closed doors that Russia’s government was propping up “phony environmental groups” opposed to hydraulic fracturing and pipelines, according to (https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/10/hillarys-leaked-speeches-confirm-russia-funded-anti-fracking-groups/) emails released by Wikileaks in 2016.

https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Pump-Jacks-e1543526579379.jpgThe oil pump, industrial equipment. Shutterstock

IER’s lawsuit also seeks to obtain correspondence from Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith who, as chair of the House Science Committee, has also made inquiries into the matter.
The U.S. shale oil boom has given Russia reason to worry. Moscow has long been able to wield its influence over European politics with the help of its vast natural gas supply.
However, with more European nations turning to (https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/18/trump-natural-gas-trade-poland/) the U.S. for its natural gas needs, Russia has been slowly rendered less dominant. (RELATED: Report: Oil Output On Federal Lands Hits Record During Trump’s Second Year) (https://dailycaller.com/2018/10/28/oil-output-federal-lands-record-ny-times/)

Thanks in large part to the implementation of hydraulic fracturing, the U.S. has reached record-levels (https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/29/us-oil-record-highs/) of natural gas production.
See more from Jason Hopkins here (https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/17/ier-russia-state-department-environment/?fbclid=IwAR1A14rLm3_Uyv92fvNFpwz9UjP8Bcj6rekFjaIC M_q22_YzemiGYkSOttE)
Free Range Report (http://18.223.241.71/support/)

Thank you for reading our latest report, but before you go…

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We respect your reading experience, and have refrained from putting up a paywall and obnoxious advertisements, which means that we get by on small donations from people like you. We’re not asking for much, but any amount that you can give goes a long way to securing a better future for the people who make America great.

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[monty]

In order to prevent “Russian Meddling” in future elections Micro$0ft is rolling out ElectionGuard

Whitney Webb exposes the dangers of the new software

Microsoft’s ElectionGuard a Trojan Horse for a Military-Industrial Takeover of US Elections


“The fact that we are handing over the keys of American democracy to the military-industrial complex — it’s like giving the keys to the henhouse to a fox and saying, ‘here come in and take whatever you want.’ It’s obviously dangerous.” — Investigative journalist Yasha Levine

May 24th, 2019
By Whitney Webb (https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/whitney-webb/)Whitney Webb (https://www.facebook.com/whitneywebbwriter/?ref=page_internal)

Read full article -> Microsoft ElectionGuard a Trojan Horse (https://www.mintpressnews.com/microsoft-electionguard-a-trojan-horse-for-a-military-industrial-takeover-of-us-elections/258732/)

[Jewboo]

My thoughts exactly!


Here you go "calvine". (https://i.4pcdn.org/pol/1547657135522.png)

:)

[Neuro]

#ISRAELGATE

Jake Morphonios says the Mueller investigation has revealed the the real collusion in Trump’s election was Israel



http://youtu.be/TMct5JSS8iE
https://youtu.be/TMct5JSS8iE

I don’t remember that from the Mueller report? Did those pages fall out?

[Cebu_4_2]

I don’t remember that from the Mueller report? Did those pages fall out?

Of course they did. This is why none of it is taken serious.

[Horn]

My estimation is Ukraine was hired by Hillary to interfere, who then subcontracted the job to Russia.

Russia then passed to Israel to do, but Russia switched the OP on the handoff to them.

Whether or not Tehran gets smart bombed has little or nothing to do at all with any of the above.

[monty]

In order to prevent “Russian Meddling” in future elections Micro$0ft is rolling out ElectionGuard

Whitney Webb exposes the dangers of the new software

Microsoft’s ElectionGuard a Trojan Horse for a Military-Industrial Takeover of US Elections


“The fact that we are handing over the keys of American democracy to the military-industrial complex — it’s like giving the keys to the henhouse to a fox and saying, ‘here come in and take whatever you want.’ It’s obviously dangerous.” — Investigative journalist Yasha Levine

May 24th, 2019
By Whitney Webb (https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/whitney-webb/)Whitney Webb (https://www.facebook.com/whitneywebbwriter/?ref=page_internal)

Read full article -> Microsoft ElectionGuard a Trojan Horse (https://www.mintpressnews.com/microsoft-electionguard-a-trojan-horse-for-a-military-industrial-takeover-of-us-elections/258732/)



Part 1 of a series by Whitney Webb ~ Mint Press Jan. 04, 2020

OPERATION BLACKOUT

Why a Shadowy Tech Firm With Ties to Israeli Intelligence Is Running Doomsday Election Simulations
(https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/)
A shadowy tech firm with deep ties to Israeli intelligence and newly inked contracts to protect Pentagon computers is partnering with Lockheed Martin to gain unprecedented access to the heart of America’s democracy.

January 04th, 2020
By Whitney Webb (https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/whitney-webb/)Whitney Webb (https://www.facebook.com/whitneywebbwriter/?ref=page_internal)



Election Day 2020: 32 Americans dead, over 200 injured, martial law declared and the election itself is canceled. While this horrific scenario seems more like the plot of a Hollywood film, such was the end result of a recent simulation examining the preparedness of U.S. officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service against “bad actors” seeking to undermine the upcoming presidential election.

Yet, this simulation was not a government-organized exercise but was instead orchestrated by a private company with deep ties to foreign and domestic intelligence services, a company that is also funded by investors with clear connections to individuals who would stand to benefit if such a catastrophic election outcome were to become reality.

Much of the rhetoric since the last presidential election in 2016 has focused on the issue of foreign meddling by U.S. rival states like Russia, while China has emerged as the new “meddler” of choice in American corporate media as the 2020 election approaches.
Though time has revealed that many of the post-2016 election meddling claims were not as significant as initially claimed, the constant media discussion of foreign threats to U.S. democracy and electoral processes – whether real or imagined – has undeniably created a climate of fear.


https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fundraiser-Icon-400x2.jpg
(https://www.gofundme.com/fighting-social-media-censorship)

Those fears have since been preyed upon by neoconservative groups and the U.S. military-industrial complex, both of which are hardly known for their love of demcratic processes, to offer a series of ready-made solutions to these threats that actually undermine key pillars of American democracy, including independent reporting (https://www.mintpressnews.com/newsguardneocon-backed-fact-checker-plans-to-wage-war-on-independent-media/253687/) and voting machine software (https://www.mintpressnews.com/microsoft-electionguard-a-trojan-horse-for-a-military-industrial-takeover-of-us-elections/258732/).

However, many of the very same media outlets and groups that frequently fretted about Russia, China or another rival state meddling in U.S. democracy have largely ignored the role of other nation states, such as Israel, in efforts to sway the last U.S. election in 2016 (https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/wikistrat-psy-group-joel-zamel-rick-gates-trump-campaign) and meddle in numerous elections in Africa, Latin America and Asia (https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190516-israel-firm-meddled-in-africa-asia-and-latin-america-elections/) in the years since.
As a consequence of this climate of fear, it should be hardly surprising that the corporate media lauded the recent 2020 election simulation that ended in an abysmal failure for U.S. officials, the cancellation of the U.S. election and the imposition of martial law. Yet, none of those reports on the exercise noted that the company that hosted the simulation, called Cybereason, is led by ex-members of Israel’s military intelligence unit 8200, advised by former top and current officials in both Israeli military intelligence and the CIA. In addition, it is funded by and partnered with top U.S. weapons manufacturer and government contractor Lockheed Martin and financial institutions with clear and direct ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House adviser and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Also left unmentioned in media reports on Cybereason’s election simulations is the fact that Cybereason’s CEO, Lior Div, has openly admitted (https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/05/cybereason-raises-200-million-for-its-enterprise-security-platform/) that he views his work at Cybereason as a “continuation” of his service to Israel’s intelligence apparatus.

With Cybereason planning to host more simulations in cooperation with federal agencies as the U.S. election inches closer, a deeper exploration of this company, its ties to intelligence and military contractors in the U.S. and Israel and its financial ties to key Trump allies both domestically and abroad warrants further investigation.

In this two part series, MintPress will not only explore these aspects but also how many of the technologies wielded by the “bad actors” in the Cybereason election simulation have been pioneered and perfected, not by U.S. rival states, but by Israeli companies and start-ups with clear ties to that country’s intelligence apparatus.

Also notable is the fact that Cybereason itself has covertly become a major software provider to the U.S. government and military through its direct partnership with Lockheed Martin, which followed the defense company’s decision to open an office at the Israeli military’s new cyber operations hub in the Negev desert. In examining all of these interlocking pieces, a picture emerges of a potentially sinister motive for Cybereason’s simulations aimed at gauging how U.S. federal officials respond to crisis situations on Election Day.

Understanding “Operation Blackout”

In early November, a team of “hackers” working for the private U.S.-based, Israeli-founded company Cybereason conducted a 2020 election simulation (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6548629-Operation-Blackout-Wrap-Up-Report-November-2019.html) with members of various U.S. agencies, namely the DHS, FBI and the U.S. Secret Service. The simulation was organized by Cybereason and the law firm Venable and the U.S. agencies in attendance were invited and appear to not have been charged to participate.

The simulation, titled “Operation Blackout,” was set in a fictional swing state called “Adversaria” and pitted “ethical hackers” from Cybereason against a team of federal and local law enforcement officials. The opposing teams were supervised by a “white team” composed of members of Cybereason’s staff and Ari Schwartz (https://www.venable.com/professionals/s/ari-schwartz) — a former member of the White House’s National Security Council and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — who set the rules of the simulation and would ultimately decide its outcome. Schwartz also used to work for the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a major backer of Microsoft’s ElectionGuard software (https://www.mintpressnews.com/microsoft-electionguard-a-trojan-horse-for-a-military-industrial-takeover-of-us-elections/258732/).

Operation Blackout did not involve hackers targeting election software or voting machines, instead, it focused on civilian infrastructure and psychological operations against the American citizens in the fictitious “Adversaria” on election day. The hacker team was led by Cybereason co-founder Yonathan Striem-Amit, a former contractor (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/israels-secret-the-link-between-idfs-8200-unit-entrepreneurial-success-tickets-68198119411#) for Israeli government agencies and a former operative (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article134016704.html) for the elite Israeli military intelligence Unit 8200, best known for its cyber offensives against other governments.
“In a country as fragmented as the US, the number of people needed to influence an election is surprisingly small,” Striem-Amit told Quartz (https://qz.com/1748054/a-2020-us-election-simulation-ended-with-32-dead-and-200-injured/) of the exercise. “We attempted to create havoc and show law enforcement that protecting the electoral process is much more than the machine.”

Streim-Amit’s team completely devastated the U.S. law enforcement team in Operation Blackout by not only causing chaos but murdering numerous civilians. Hackers took control of city buses, ramming them into civilians waiting in line at polling stations, killing 32 and injuring over 200. They also took control of city traffic lights in order to cause traffic accidents, used so-called “deepfakes” to conduct psychological operations on the populace and created fake bomb threats posing as the terror group ISIS, which incidentally has its own ties (https://www.mintpressnews.com/isis-commander-captured-libya-revealed-mossad-agent/231863/) to Israeli intelligence (https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-isis-revokes-citizenship/248179/). Telecom networks and news outlets within the fictitious states were also hacked and flooded with deepfakes aimed at spreading disinformation and panic among U.S. citizens.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/EArMgMZU0AQik89_edited.jpg
A map of targets in Adverseria is shown during Operation Blackout in Boston’s John Hancock Tower. Mark Albert | Twitter

The supervising team, composed of Cybereason employees and former NSC member Ari Schwartz, decided that the outcome of the face-off between the hacker and law enforcement teams was the outright cancellation of the 2020 election, the declaration of martial law by authorities, the growth of public fear regarding terrorism and allegations of U.S. government collusion with a foreign actor. Cybereason has stated that they will soon conduct another 2020 election simulation with federal authorities as the election draws closer.

Given how the simulation played out, it is quite clear that it is a far cry from the actual scope of alleged foreign meddling during the 2016 election, meddling which was allegedly the motivation behind Operation Blackout. Indeed, the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election amounted to (https://consortiumnews.com/2017/10/04/the-mystery-of-the-russia-gate-puppies/) $100,000 worth of Facebook ads over three years, 25 percent of which were never seen by the public, and claims that Russian state actors were responsible for leaking emails from the then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In contrast, Operation Blackout went well beyond any observed or even imagined “foreign meddling” related to the 2016 election and appears more like a terror attack targeting elections than a covert means of manipulating their outcomes.

Several mainstream publications have covered Operation Blackout but have failed to note that the company behind them has deep ties to foreign intelligence outfits and governments with a documented history of manipulating elections around the world, including the 2016 U.S. election.

Quartz framed the exercise (https://qz.com/1748054/a-2020-us-election-simulation-ended-with-32-dead-and-200-injured/) as important for “preparing for any and all possibilities in 2020,” which “has become an urgent task for US regulators and law enforcement.” Similarly, CyberScoop (https://www.cyberscoop.com/election-security-exercise-cybereason/) treated the simulation as a “sophisticated exercise to help secure the vote.” Other articles (https://fcw.com/articles/2019/11/05/election-hack-simulation-johnson.aspx) took the same stance.

A series of simulations

In the weeks after the Washington area election simulation, Cybereason repeated the same exercise (https://www.prweb.com/releases/cybereason_is_joined_by_former_members_of_gchq_for eign_office_and_metro_police_to_protect_the_uk_gen eral_election_from_hackers/prweb16784967.htm) in London, this time with members of the U.K. Intelligence agency GCHQ, the U.K. Foreign Office and the Metropolitan Police. The law enforcement team in the exercise, which included the U.K. officials, was headed by a Cybereason employee — Alessandro Telami, who formerly worked (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandro-telami-a042398/) for the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI). Like the prior simulation conducted in the U.S., Cybereason did not appear to charge U.K. government agencies for their participation in the exercise.

Cybereason has — with little fanfare — been promoting extreme election day scenarios since before the 2016 election. Cybereason’s first mention of these tactics appears in a September 2016 blog post (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/hack-the-vote-how-attackers-could-meddle-in-novembers-elections) written by the company’s CEO and former Israeli government contractor Lior Div (https://www.linkedin.com/in/liordiv/) — a former leader of offensive cyberattacks for the IDF’s elite Unit 8200 and a former development group leader at the controversial Israeli-American corporation (https://archive.org/details/CensoredIsraeliSoftwareSpyingOnUSAmDocsComverseInf osysCarlCameronDec2001)

Div wrote that hackers may target U.S. elections by “breaking into the computers that operate traffic lighting systems and interfering with the ones around polling stations to create massive traffic jams, “hacking polling companies,” and “targeting live election coverage on cable or network television stations.” A follow-up post (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/how-hackers-could-influnece-novembers-election-without-changing-a-vote) by Div from October 2016 added further meddling tactics such as “cut power to polling stations” and “mess with a voter’s mind.”div

Two years later, Cybereason held its first election meddling simulation, touting many of these same tactics, in Boston. The simulation focused on local and state responses to such attacks and saw Boston-based Cybereason invite Massachusetts state and local officials as well as Boston police officers and a former police commissioner to participate. “Twitter accounts spreading fake news,” “turning off a city’s closed-circuit cameras,” “hacking self-driving cars and navigation apps,” and “targeting a city’s 911 call center with a DDoS attack” were all used in the simulation (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/election-cybersecurity-cyberattack), which saw Cybereason’s “ethical hackers” attempt to disrupt election day. Media coverage of the simulation (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/election-cybersecurity-cyberattack) at the time framed it as a necessary preparation for countering “Russian” threats to U.S. democracy. Like the more recent simulations, the mock election was canceled and voter confidence in the electoral process was devastated.

This past July, Cybereason conducted a similar simulation (https://www.wcvb.com/article/operation-blackout-tests-response-simulated-election-cyberattack/28539874) with officials from the FBI, DHS and the Secret Service for the first time. That simulation, which also took place in Boston, was remarkably similar to that which occurred in November. One intelligence officer from DHS who participated in the July exercise called the simulation “very realistic.” Another claimed that the simulation was a way of applying “lessons learned from 9/11” by preventing the government’s “failure of imagination” that officials have long alleged was the reason for the government’s inability to thwart the September 11 attacks. Notably, The U.S. military simulated a scenario in which terrorists flew airplanes into the Pentagon less than a year (https://web.archive.org/web/20040803002233/http://www.mdw.army.mil/news/Contingency_Planning.html) before the September 11 attacks.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20180920_105316_edited.jpg
In this undated photo from Cybereason’s website, a faux ballot box is shown in the company’s Boston office.

Participating government officials, Cybereason staff and the media have consistently touted the importance of these simulations in securing elections against extreme threats, threats which — to date — have never materialized due to the efforts of foreign or domestic actors on election day. After all, these exercises are only simulations of possibilities and, even if those possibilities seem implausible or unlikely, it is important to be prepared for any eventuality.

But what if the very figures behind these simulations and the investors that fund them had a history of election meddling themselves? Cybereason’s deep ties to Israeli intelligence, which has a documented history of aggressive espionage and election meddling in the United States and in several nations worldwide, warrant a deeper look into the firms’ possible motives and the myriad conflicts of interest that arise in giving it such unprecedented access to the heart of America’s democracy.

What Does Cybereason Do?

Cybereason’s interest in terror events during elections seems out of place given that the company itself is focused on selling technological cybersecurity solutions like antivirus and ransomware protection software, software products that would be minimally effective against the type of threat encountered in the company’s election day simulations.

Cybereason is often described as offering a comprehensive technological defense platform to companies and governments that combines a next-generation antivirus with endpoint detection and response (EDR), which enables the company to respond to typical viruses and malware as well as sophisticated, complex attacks. The platform makes heavy use of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing and specifically uses (https://www.cbronline.com/qa/cybereason-qa) Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is used by a litany of private companies as well as U.S. intelligence agencies (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/the-details-about-the-cias-deal-with-amazon/374632/).

While many cybersecurity platforms combine antivirus and antimalware with EDR and AI, Cybereason claims that their military background is what sets them apart. They have marketed themselves (https://www.cbronline.com/qa/cybereason-qa) as offering “a combination of military-acquired skills and cloud-powered machine learning to endpoint detection and response” and actively cite the fact that most of their employees are former members of Unit 8200 as proof that they are “applying the military’s perspective on cybersecurity to enterprise security.”

In 2018, Cybereason’s former senior director for intelligence, Ross Rustici, described (https://www.cbronline.com/qa/cybereason-qa)the platform to CBR as follows:
Our founders are ex-Israeli intelligence who worked on the offensive side. They basically wanted to build a tool that would catch themselves. We follow the kill chain model started by Lockheed Martin [now a major investor in Cybereason] and try to interrupt every stage once an intruder’s inside a target network.”



Lior Div, Cybereason’s CEO described the difference between his company’s platform and that of past market leaders in this way to Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamelton/2019/08/06/cybereason-raises-200-million-led-by-softbank-ahead-of-ipo/#6223652579fe):
The old guard of antivirus companies like Symantec and McAfee would install something to block endpoints and you needed to do a lot [of monitoring] to make sure you weren’t under attack. We came with a different approach to see the whole enterprise and leverage AI to be able to fully autonomously identify where attackers are and what they’re doing.”



Thus, in looking at Cybereason’s product and its marketing objectively, it seems that the only innovative component of the company’s system is the large number of ex-military intelligence officers it employs and its tweaking of a previously developed and automated model for threat engagement, elimination and prevention.

Instead, Cybereason’s success seems to owe to its prominent connections to the private and public sectors, especially in Israel, and its investors who have funneled millions into the company’s operations, allowing them to expand rapidly and quickly claim a dominant position in emerging technology markets, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) (https://www.cybereason.com/press/cybereason-partners-with-arm-to-pioneer-protection-for-the-iot-ecosystem)and advanced healthcare systems (https://www.crn.com/news/security/new-cybereason-americas-channel-chief-doubles-down-on-health-care).

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screenshot-38.png
A screenshot from a live stream of a 2019 Cybereason cyber-attack simulation

Their considerable funding from the likes of Lockheed Martin and Softbank, among others, has also helped them to expand their international presence from the U.S., Europe and Israel into Asia (https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/news/press/2016/20160405_01/) and Latin America (https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/19/12/p14969201/nec-and-cybereason-sign-agreement-to-provide-advanced-cybersecurity-solutions-to-brazilian-market), among other places. Notably, while Cybereason is open about their investors and how much funding they receive from each, they are extremely secretive (https://www.sramanamitra.com/2017/10/04/billion-dollar-unicorns-is-cybereason-the-next-cyber-security-company-to-get-acquired/) about their financial performance as a company and decline to disclose their annual revenue, among other indicators. The significance of Cybereason’s main investors in the context of the company’s election simulations and its ties to Israeli and U.S. intelligence (the focus of this article) will be discussed in Part 2.

Cybereason also includes a security research arm called Nocturnus, currently headed by (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aserper/) a former Unit 8200 officer. Nocturnus will be explored further in Part 2 of this series, as it essentially functions as a private intelligence company in the tech sector and has been behind several recent claims (https://www.cyberscoop.com/china-telecom-hacking-cybereason/) that have attributed alleged hacks to state actors, namely China and North Korea. For now, it is important to keep in mind that Nocturnus utilizes Cybereason’s “global network of millions of endpoints” for its intelligence gathering and research, meaning the endpoints of every device to which Cybereason’s software has access.

Given what Cybereason provides as a company, their interest in offering election simulations to government officials free of charge seems odd. Indeed, in the simulations hosted by Cybereason for U.S. officials, there is little opportunity for the company to market their software products given that the simulation did not involve electronic voting infrastructure at all and, instead, the malevolent actors used deep fakes, disinformation and terror attacks to accomplish their goals. Why then would this company be so interested in gauging the response of U.S. law enforcement to such crises on election day if there is no sales pitch to be made? While some may argue that these simulations are an altruistic effort by the company, an investigation into the company’s founders and the company’s ties to intelligence agencies suggests that this is unlikely to be the case.

Exceeds 30000 characters~continued below —>

[monty]

Part 1 continued . . . . (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/)

The People Behind Cybereason

Cybereason was created in 2012 by three Israelis, all of whom served together as officers in the Israel Defense Force’s elite technological and signals intelligence unit, which is most often referred to as Unit 8200. Unit 8200 has been the subject of several MintPress investigative reports (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-israel-mossad-jeffrey-epstein-orwellian-nightmare/261692/) over the past year (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-israel-mossad-jeffrey-epstein-orwellian-nightmare/261692/) focusing on its ties to the tech industry.

Unit 8200 is an elite unit of the Israeli Intelligence corps that is part of the IDF’s Directorate of Military Intelligence and is involved mainly in signal intelligence, surveillance, cyberwarfare and code decryption. It is also well-known for its surveillance of Palestinian civilians and for using intercepted communications as blackmail in order to procure informants among Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank.

The unit is frequently described as the Israeli equivalent of the NSA and Peter Roberts, a senior research fellow at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, characterized the unit in an interview (https://www.ft.com/content/69f150da-25b8-11e5-bd83-71cb60e8f08c) with the Financial Times as “probably the foremost technical intelligence agency in the world and stand on a par with the NSA in everything except scale.” Notably, the NSA and Unit 8200 have collaborated on numerous projects, most infamously on the Stuxnet virus (https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1278286/nsa-israel-created-stuxnet-worm-together-attack-iran-says-snowden) as well as the Duqu malware (https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/duqu-2-0-the-most-sophisticated-malware-ever-seen/).

Given the secrecy of the work conducted by Unit 8200, it is hard to know exactly what Cybereason’s co-founders did while serving in the controversial unit, however, a brief biography (https://www.cybereason.com/press/cybereasons-ceo-lior-div-and-norways-prime-minister-erna-solberg-to-headline-norways-paranoia-2019-conference-tuesday-may-21) of the company’s current CEO and co-founder Lior Div states that “Div served as a commander and carried out some of the world’s largest cyber offensive campaigns against nations and cybercrime groups. For his achievements, he received the Medal of Honor, the highest honor bestowed upon Unit 8200 members (emphasis added).”

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/190625-cybereason-al-0752_c2fcb369b7f0cf98fdc0319ac5a5d0f5_edited.jpg
Lior Div speaks during the Cyber Week conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 25, 2019. Corinna Kern | Reuters

After having served in leadership positions within Unit 8200, all three Cybereason co-founders went on to work for private Israel-based tech or telecom companies with a history of aggressive espionage against the U.S. government.

Cybereason co-founders Yonathan Striem Amit (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonatanstriemamit/) (Cybereason’s Chief Technology Officer) and Yossi Naar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yossi-n-35113b1/) (Cybereason Chief Visionary Officer) both worked for Gita Technologies shortly before founding Cybereason with fellow Unit 8200 alumnus Lior Div. Gita, according to public records, is a subsidiary of Verint Systems (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1166388/000116638817000011/vrnt-ex211_20170131xform10.htm), formerly known as Comverse Infosys.

Verint/Comverse was initially funded by the Israeli government and was founded by Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, a former Israeli intelligence officer who was wanted by the FBI on nearly three dozen charges of fraud, theft, lying, bribery, money laundering and other crimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21options.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all) for over a decade until he was finally extradited to the United States (https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/jacob-kobi-alexander-pleads-guilty-securities-fraud) and pled guilty to some of those charges in 2016.

Despite its history of corruption and foreign intelligence connections, Verint/Comverse was hired by the National Security Agency (NSA) to create backdoors into all the major U.S. telecommunications systems and major tech companies, including Facebook, Microsoft and Google. An article on Verint’s access to U.S. tech infrastructure in Wired (https://www.wired.com/2012/04/shady-companies-nsa/) noted the following about Verint:
In a rare and candid admission (http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/israel-military-unit-ventures-biz-cx_gk_0208israel.html) to Forbes, Retired Brig. Gen. Hanan Gefen, a former commander of the highly secret Unit 8200, Israel’s NSA, noted his former organization’s influence on Comverse, which owns Verint, as well as other Israeli companies that dominate the U.S. eavesdropping and surveillance market. ‘Take NICE, Comverse and Check Point for example, three of the largest high-tech companies, which were all directly influenced by 8200 technology,’ said Gefen.”



Federal agents have reported systemic breaches (https://www.counterpunch.org/2008/09/27/an-israeli-trojan-horse/) at the Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, the State Department, and the White House going all the way back to the 1990s, breaches they claimed could all be traced back to two companies: Comverse/Verint and Amdocs. Cybereason’s other co-founder and current CEO, Lior Div (https://www.linkedin.com/in/liordiv/), used to work for Amdocs as the company’s development group leader.

After leaving Amdocs, Div founded a company called Alfatech. Alfatech publicly claims (https://www.linkedin.com/company/alfatech/about/) to specialize in “professional Head Hunting and Quality Recruiting services,” yet it has no functional website (http://www.alfatech.co.il/). Despite its publicly stated mission statement, Israeli media reports (https://www.israel21c.org/12-israelis-making-a-mark-on-bostons-tech-scene/) that mention Alfatech describe it as “a cybersecurity services company for Israeli government agencies.” No reason for the obvious disconnect between the company’s own claims and those made by the media has been given.

Div left Alfatech in 2012 to found Cybereason alongside Striem-Amit and Naar. According to an interview that Div gave to TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/05/cybereason-raises-200-million-for-its-enterprise-security-platform/) earlier this year, he stated that his work at Cybereason is “the continuation of the six years of training and service he spent working with the Israeli army’s 8200 Unit (emphasis added).” Div was a high-level commander (https://www.cybereason.com/press/cybereasons-ceo-lior-div-and-norways-prime-minister-erna-solberg-to-headline-norways-paranoia-2019-conference-tuesday-may-21) in Unit 8200 and “carried out some of the world’s largest cyber offensive campaigns against nations and cybercrime groups” during his time there.[I]TechCrunch noted that “After his time in the military, Div worked for the Israeli government as a private contractor reverse-engineering hacking operations,” an apparent reference to his work at Alfatech.

Even deeper ties to intelligence

Not only do Cybereason’s own co-founders have considerable links to the Israeli government, Israeli intelligence and intelligence-connected private companies, but it also appears that the work of Cybereason itself is directly involved with Israeli intelligence.

The company periodically publishes reports by a secretive faction of the company called the Cybereason Intelligence Group or CIG. The only description (https://hi.cybereason.com/hubfs/Content%20PDFs/Owning%20the%20Battlefield-Fighting%20the%20Growing%20Trend%20of%20Destructiv e%20Cyber%20Attacks.pdf) of CIG’s composition available on Cybereason’s website is as follows:
The Cybereason Intelligence Group was formed with the unique mission of providing context to the most sophisticated threat actors. The group’s members include experts in cyber security and international security from various government agencies, including the Israel Defense Forces’ Unit 8200, which is dedicated to conducting offensive cyber operations. Their primary purpose is to examine and explain the Who and the Why behind cyber attacks, so that companies and individuals can better protect themselves (emphasis added).”



It is unclear how many members comprise CIG and if its members are employees of only Israeli government agencies, or if it includes officials from the U.S.
government/Intelligence or other governments. However, what is clear is that it is composed entirely of government officials, which include active members of Unit 8200, and that the purpose of the group is to issue reports that place blame for cyberattacks on state and non-state actors. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of CIG’s reports published by Cybereason focus exclusively on Russia (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/blog-russia-nation-state-hacking-the-countrys-dedicated-policy-of-strategic-ambiguity) and China (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/blog-blurring-the-lines-between-nation-state-and-for-profit). When discussing nation-state cyber threats in general (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/tag/nation-state-attack), Cybereason’s website only mentions China, North Korea, Iran and Russia by name, all of which are incidentally rival states of the U.S. government. Notably, Israel’s government — listed as a “leading espionage threat” (https://www.newsweek.com/israel-flagged-top-spy-threat-us-new-snowdennsa-document-262991) to U.S. financial institutions and federal agencies by the U.S.’ NSA — is absent from Cybereason’s discussions of state actors.

In addition to CIG, Cybereason’s cybersecurity research arm, Nocturnus, (https://www.cybereason.com/nocturnus) includes several Unit 8200 alumni and former Israeli military intelligence and government contractors and has assigned blame to state actors (https://www.cybereason.com/blog/operation-soft-cell-a-worldwide-campaign-against-telecommunications-providers) for several recent hacks. It also has claimed to have discovered more such hacks but has declined to publicly disclose them due to the “sensitive” nature of the hacks and companies affected.

Other hints at Cybereason’s connections to state intelligence can be seen in its advisory board (https://www.cybereason.com/management). Robert Bigman (https://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14722499.htm), the former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who oversaw the spy agency’s “commercial partner engagement (http://2bsecurellc.vpweb.com/About-Us.html)” program (i.e. alliances with the private tech sector), is a key figure on the company’s advisory board. According to his biography (https://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14722499.htm), Bigman “ contributed to almost every Intelligence Community information security policy/technical standard and has provided numerous briefings to the National Security Council, Congress and presidential commissions. In recognition of his expertise and contributions, Bigman has received numerous CIA and Director of National Intelligence Awards.”

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cybereason-Leadership-Team_edited.jpg
Cybereason’s leadership team features a who’s who of Israeli and US intel officials

Unmentioned in his biography published his own website, or on Cybereason’s website, is that Bigman is also an advisor (https://www.sepio.systems/robert-bigman) to another Israeli tech company, Sepio Systems. The chairman of Sepio (https://www.sepio.systems/about), Tamir Pardo, is a self-described “leader” in the cybersecurity industry and former director of Israel’s Mossad. Sepio is funded by (https://www.foundersgroup.com/great-ideas-1) a venture capital firm founded by the creators (https://www.calcalist.co.il/internet/articles/0,7340,L-3745951,00.html) of the controversial Israeli spy tech company NSO Group, which has received a slew of negative press coverage after its software was sold to several governments who used it to spy on dissidents and human rights activists.

In addition to Bigman, Cybereason’s advisory board includes Pinchas Buchris (https://www.cybereason.com/management), the former head of Unit 8200 and former managing director of the IDF. Not unlike Bigman, Buchris’ bio fails to mention that he sits on the board of directors of Carbyne911 (https://carbyne911.com/our-team/), alongside former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Nicole Junkerman, both well-known associates of intelligence-linked sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein. Epstein himself poured at least $1 million into Carbyne, an Israeli company that seeks to run all 911 call centers in the U.S. at the national level and has close ties to the Trump administration. More information on Carbyne and its ties to Israeli and U.S. intelligence as well as its connection to coming pre-crime policies to be enacted in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Justice can be found in this [I]MintPress report (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-israel-mossad-jeffrey-epstein-orwellian-nightmare/261692/) from earlier this year. Given that Cybereason’s election day simulations involve the simulated collapse of 911 call center functionality, Buchris’ ties to both Cybereason and Carbyne911 are notable.

Another notable Cybereason advisor is the former commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Edward Davis. Davis heavily promoted Cybereason’s disturbing election day simulations and even participated directly in one of them. He was also police commissioner of the Boston PD at the time of the Boston Marathon bombing and oversaw the near-martial law conditions (https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2013/04/28/liberty-was-also-attacked-in-boston/) imposed on the city during the manhunt for the alleged perpetrators of that bombing (who themselves had a rather odd relationship (https://www.mintpressnews.com/boston-bombers-claim-to-have-been-contacted-by-fbi-before-attack/226765/)with the FBI). This is notable given that Cybereason’s election day simulations ended with martial law being imposed on the fictional city used in the exercise
Cybereason also has several advisors (https://www.cybereason.com/management) who hold top positions at powerful U.S. companies that are also — incidentally — U.S. government contractors. These include the Vice President Security and Privacy Engineering at Google (https://www.cnet.com/news/google-scores-big-federal-government-contract/), Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
of Lockheed Martin (https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2016/05/09/lockheed-martin-biggest-us-government-contractor-in-2015/) and CISO at Motorola (https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/solutions/national-government-security.html). Both Motorola and Lockheed Martin use Cybereason’s software and the latter is also a major investor in the company.
Furthermore, as will be explained in Part 2 of this article, Lockheed Martin has used its privileged position as the top private contractor to the U.S. government to promote the widespread use (https://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/05/06/a-match-made-in-heaven-lockheed-martin-partners-with-cybereason/#6be4c7fa5f7c) of Cybereason’s software among U.S. government agencies, including the Pentagon.

Much more than a cybersecurity company

Given Cybereason’s deep and enduring ties to Israeli intelligence and its growing connections to the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence through its hiring of top CIA officials and partnership with Lockheed Martin, it’s worth asking if these disturbing election simulations could serve an ulterior purpose and, if so, who would benefit. While some aspects regarding clear conflicts of interest in relation to the 2020 election and Cybereason will be discussed in Part 2, this article will conclude by examining the possibility that of Cybereason is acting as a front company for Israeli intelligence based on that country’s history of targeting the U.S. through private tech companies and on Cybereason’s own questionable characteristics.

First, Cybereason as a company presents several oddities. Its co-founder and CEO openly states that he views Cybereason’s work as a continuation of his service for Israeli military intelligence. In addition, he and the company’s other founders — after they left Unit 8200 — went to work for Israeli tech companies that have been known to spy on U.S. federal agencies for the Israeli government.

In addition, as previously mentioned, Cybereason has sought out former intelligence officers from the CIA and Unit 8200 for its management team and board of advisors. The company itself also functions as a private intelligence firm through CIG and Nocturnus, both of which employ former and current intelligence officials, and have made significant claims regarding the attribution of specific cybercrimes to state actors. It appears highly likely that these claims are influenced by those same intelligence agencies that boast close ties to Cybereason. Furthermore, Nocturnus’ access to Cybereason’s “global” network of endpoints makes it a private intelligence gathering company as it gathers and analyzes data from all devices that run Cybereason’s software.

Yet, even more telling is the fact that Israel’s government has an open policy of outsourcing intelligence-related activity to the private sector, specifically the country’s tech sector. As MintPress previously reported (https://www.mintpressnews.com/dubious-official-story-qassem-soleimani-assassination/263869/), this trend was first publicly acknowledged by Israel in 2012, the same year that Cybereason was founded by former Israeli military intelligence officers then-working for private contractors for Israel’s government (Alfatech) or private companies known to have ties to Israeli intelligence, including Verint/Comverse.

As noted in an article on the phenomenon from the Israeli media outlet The Calcalist (https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3735256,00.html):
Israel is siphoning cyber-related activities from its national defense apparatus to privately held companies. Since 2012, cyber-related and intelligence projects that were previously carried out in-house in the Israeli military and Israel’s main intelligence arms are transferred to companies that in some cases were built for this exact purpose.”



Mention of Israel’s policy of blurring the lines between the public and private sector when it comes to cybersecurity and intelligence gathering has even garnered the occasional mention in mainstream media, such as in a 2018 Foreign Policy article (https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/31/the-rise-of-the-cyber-mercenaries-israel-nso/):
Israel, for one, has chosen to combat the problem on a statewide level by linking the public and private spheres, sometimes literally. The country’s cyberhub in the southern city of Beersheba is home not just to the Israeli military’s new technology campus but also to a high-tech corporate park, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s cyber-research center, and the Israel National Cyber Directorate, which reports directly to the prime minister’s office. “There’s a bridge between them—physically,” [Gabriel] Avner, the security consultant, said by way of emphasis.”



Notably, a year before Lockheed Martin invested in and partnered with Cybereason, the U.S.-based weapons company opened an office at the IDF’s public-private cyber hub in Beersheba. At the inauguration ceremony for Lockheed’s Beersheba office, company CEO Marilyn Hewson stated (https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/head-lockheed-martin-israel):
The consolidation of IDF Technical Units to new bases in the Negev Desert region is an important transformation of Israel’s information technology capability…By locating our new office in the capital of the Negev we are well positioned to work closely with our Israeli partners and stand ready to: accelerate project execution, reduce program risk and share our technical expertise by training and developing in-country talent.”



https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Demo-Center-e1527141502863_edited.jpg
Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, inaugurates the Lockheed Martin Israel Demonstration Center in Tel Aviv.

Further evidence of this public-private merger can be seen in how two of Israel’s intelligence agencies, Shin Bet and Mossad, have both recently launched a private start-up accelerator and a hi-tech venture capital fund, respectively. The Shin Bet’s accelerator, called Xcelerator (https://finder.startupnationcentral.org/program_page/xcelerator), usually makes its investments in private companies public, while Mossad’s Libertad Ventures (http://www.libertad.gov.il/index.html#faq) refuses to disclose the tech companies and start-ups in which it invests. Former directors of both Mossad and Shin Bet have described (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-israel-mossad-jeffrey-epstein-orwellian-nightmare/261692/) these intelligence agencies themselves of being like start-ups, clearly showing how much the line between intelligence apparatus and private company has been blurred within the context of Israel’s tech industry and specifically its cybersecurity industry.

The advantages of outsourcing cyber intelligence operations to private companies have been noted by several analysts, including Sasha Romanosky, a former Cyber Policy Advisor at the Department of Defense and current analyst at RAND Corporation. Romanosky noted in 2017 (https://www.lawfareblog.com/private-sector-attribution-cyber-attacks-growing-concern-us-government) that private intelligence and cybersecurity firms “do not necessarily face the same constraints or potential repercussions” as their public counterparts when it comes to designating blame for a cyberattack, for example. In addition, outsourcing intelligence objectives or missions to private companies provides a government with plausible deniability (https://www.securityweek.com/russian-outsourcing-provides-plausible-deniability-state-sponsored-hacking) if that private company’s espionage-related activities or ties are made public.

Furthermore, Israeli intelligence has a long history of using private tech companies for the purposes of espionage, including against the United States. While Amdocs and Verint/Comverse were already mentioned as having been used by the state of Israel in this way, other private companies have also been used to market software backdoored by Israeli intelligence to countries around the world, both within the U.S. and elsewhere. The most well-known example of this is arguably the mass sale and distribution of the bugged PROMIS software, which was discussed at length in several recent (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/technology/kaspersky-lab-israel-russia-hacking.html) MintPress News reports (https://www.mintpressnews.com/genesis-jeffrey-epstein-bill-clinton-relationship/261455/).

Given Cybereason’s ties to intelligence and Israeli intelligence’s history of placing backdoors in its software, it is worth pointing out that Cybereason’s main product, its antivirus and network defense platform, offers a major espionage opportunity. Blake Darché, a former N.S.A. operator, told the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/technology/kaspersky-lab-israel-russia-hacking.html) in 2017 that antivirus programs, which Cybereason’s defense platform includes, is “the ultimate backdoor,” adding that it “provides consistent, reliable and remote access that can be used for any purpose, from launching a destructive attack to conducting espionage on thousands or even millions of users.” Whether a company like Cybereason would use its software for such ends is unknown, though the company does acknowledge that its cybersecurity arm does gather intelligence from all systems that use the company’s software and currently employs and works with active duty Unit 8200 officials through CIG. This is notable because Unit 8200’s main task for Israeli military intelligence is signals intelligence, i.e. surveillance.

More of a mystery, however, is why a company like Cybereason is so interested in U.S. election security, particularly when Israeli intelligence and Israeli intelligence-connected private companies have been caught in recent years meddling in (https://apnews.com/7d334cb8793f49889be1bbf89f47ae5c) elections around the world (https://www.timesofisrael.com/facebook-takes-down-network-of-fake-accounts-pages-linked-to-israeli-firm/), including the United States (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/us/politics/rick-gates-psy-group-trump.html).

Feature photo | Graphic by Claudio Cabrera for MintPress News

Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.

[monty]

Part 2

Whitney Webb~Mint Press Jan. 14, 2020

OPERATION BLACKOUT

How an Israeli Spy-Linked Tech Firm Gained Access to the US Gov’t’s Most Classified Networks (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-investors-offer-israeli-spy-classified-intelligence/264095/)


Through its main investors, SoftBank and Lockheed Martin, Cybereason not only has ties to the Trump administration but has its software running on some of the U.S. government’s most classified and secretive networks.

January 14th, 2020
By Whitney Webb (https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/whitney-webb/)Whitney Webb (https://www.facebook.com/whitneywebbwriter/?ref=page_internal)



If the networks of the U.S. military, the U.S. intelligence community and a slew of other U.S. federal agencies were running the software of a company with deep ties, not only to foreign companies with a history of espionage against the U.S. but also foreign military intelligence, it would — at the very least — garner substantial media attention. Yet, no media reports to date have noted that such a scenario exists on a massive scale and that the company making such software recently simulated the cancellation of the 2020 election and the declaration of martial law in the United States.

Earlier this month, MintPress News reported (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/) on the simulations for the U.S. 2020 election organized by the company Cybereason, a firm led by former members of Israel’s military intelligence Unit 8200 and advised by former top and current officials in both Israeli military intelligence and the CIA. Those simulations, attended by federal officials from the FBI, DHS and the U.S. Secret Service, ended in disaster, with the elections ultimately canceled and martial law declared due to the chaos created by a group of hackers led by Cybereason employees.

The first installment (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/) of this three part series delved deeply into Cybereason’s ties to the intelligence community of Israel and also other agencies, including the CIA, as well as the fact that Cybereason stood to gain little financially from the simulations given that their software could not have prevented the attacks waged against the U.S.’ electoral infrastructure in the exercise.

Also noted was the fact that Cybereason software could be potentially used as a backdoor by unauthorized actors, a possibility strengthened by the fact that the company’s co-founders all previously worked for firms that have a history of placing backdoors into U.S. telecommunications and electronic infrastructure as well as aggressive espionage targeting U.S. federal agencies.
The latter issue is crucial in the context of this installment of this exclusive MintPressseries, as Cybereason’s main investors turned partners have integrated Cybereason’s software into their product offerings. This means that the clients of these Cybereason partner companies, the U.S. intelligence community and military among them, are now part of Cybereason’s network of more than 6 million endpoints that this private company constantly monitors using a combination of staff comprised largely of former intelligence operatives and an AI algorithm first developed by Israeli military intelligence.

Cybereason, thus far, has disclosed the following groups as lead investors (https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2019/07/16/next-billion-dollar-startups-2019/#6d77ca981d43) in the company: Charles River Ventures (CRV), Spark Capital, Lockheed Martin and SoftBank. Charles River Ventures (CRV) was among the first to invest in Cybereason and has been frequently (https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-drone-start-up-awarded-unique-US-operations-waiver-573806) investing in other Israeli tech start-ups (https://www.cyberscoop.com/upstream-security-9-million-series-a-funding/) that were founded by former members of the elite Israeli military intelligence Unit 8200 over the last few years. Spark Capital, based in California, appears to have followed CRV’s interest in Cybereason since the venture capitalist who co-founded Spark and led its investment in Cybereason is a former CRV partner (https://www.sparkcapital.com/team-santo-politi) who still has close ties to the firm.

While CRV and Spark Capital seem like just the type of investors a company like Cybereason would attract given their clear interest in similar tech start-ups coming out of Israel’s cyber sector, Cybereason’s other lead investors — Lockheed Martin and SoftBank — deserve much more attention and scrutiny.

Cybereason widely used by US Government, thanks to Lockheed

“A match made in heaven,” trumpeted Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/05/06/a-match-made-in-heaven-lockheed-martin-partners-with-cybereason/#2ca694ae5f7c) at the news of the Lockheed Martin-Cybereason partnership, first forged in 2015. The partnership involved not only Lockheed Martin becoming a major investor in the cybersecurity company but also in Lockheed Martin becoming the largest conduit providing Cybereason’s software to U.S. federal and military agencies.

Indeed, as Forbes noted at the time (https://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/05/06/a-match-made-in-heaven-lockheed-martin-partners-with-cybereason/#2ca694ae5f7c), not only did Lockheed invest in the company, it decided to integrate Cybereason’s software completely into its product portfolio, resulting in a “model of both using Cybereason internally, and selling it to both public and private customers.”

Cybereason CEO and former offensive hacker for Israeli military intelligence — Lior Div — said the following (https://www.timesofisrael.com/cybereason-snags-second-huge-investment-in-six-months/) of the partnership:
Lockheed Martin invested in Cybereason’s protection system after they compared our solution against a dozen others from the top industry players. The US firm was so impressed with the results they got from Cybereason that they began offering it to their own customers – among them most of the top Fortune 100 companies, and the US federal government. Cybereason is now the security system recommended by LM to its customers for protection from a wide (sic) malware and hack attacks.”



Rich Mahler, then-director of Commercial Cyber Services at Lockheed Martin, told Defense Daily (https://www.defensedaily.com/lockheed-martin-makes-strategic-investment-in-israeli-cyber-threat-detection-firm-2/uncategorized/) that the company’s decision to invest in Cybereason, internally use its software, and include the technology as part of Lockheed Martin’s cyber solutions portfolio were all “independent business decisions but were all coordinated and timed with the transaction.”

How independent each of those decisions actually was is unclear, especially given the timing of Lockheed Martin’s investment in Cybereason, whose close and troubling ties to Israeli intelligence as well as the CIA were noted in the previous installment (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/)of this investigative series. Indeed, about a year prior to their investment in the Israeli military intelligence-linked Cybereason, Lockheed Martin opened an office in Beersheba, Israel, where the IDF has its “cyberhub”. The office is focused not on the sales of armaments, but instead on technology.

Marilyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin’s CEO, said the following during her speech (https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/head-lockheed-martin-israel) that inaugurated the company’s Beersheba office:
The consolidation of IDF Technical Units to new bases in the Negev Desert region is an important transformation of Israel’s information technology capability…We understand the challenges of this move. Which is why we are investing in the facilities and people that will ensure we are prepared to support for these critical projects. By locating our new office in the capital of the Negev we are well positioned to work closely with our Israeli partners and stand ready to: accelerate project execution, reduce program risk and share our technical expertise by training and developing in-country talent.”



Beersheba not only houses the IDF’s technology campus (http://houses/), but also the Israel National Cyber Directorate, which reports directly to Israel’s Prime Minister, as well as a high-tech corporate park that mostly houses tech companies with ties to Israel’s military intelligence apparatus. The area has been cited in several media reports as a visible indicator of the public-private merger between Israeli technology companies, many of them started by Unit 8200 alumni, and the Israeli government and its intelligence services. Lockheed Martin quickly became a key fixture in the Beersheba-based cyberhub.

Not long before Lockheed began exploring the possibility of opening an office in Beersheba, the company was hacked by individuals who used tokens tied to the company, RSA Security (https://gcn.com/articles/2011/06/07/rsa-confirms-tokens-used-to-hack-lockheed.aspx), whose founders have ties to Israel’s defense establishment (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adi-Shamir) and which is now owned by Dell, a company also deeply tied to the Israeli government (https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4806458,00.html) and tech sector. The hack, perpetrated by still unknown actors, may have sparked Lockheed’s subsequent interest in Israel’s cybersecurity sector.

Soon after opening its Beersheba office, Lockheed Martin created its Israel subsidiary, Lockheed Martin Israel. Unlike many of the company’s other subsidiaries, this one is focused exclusively on “cybersecurity, enterprise information technology, data centers, mobile, analytics and cloud” as opposed to the manufacture and design of armaments.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/lockheedoffice_edited.jpg
Marillyn Hewson, center, poses with Israeli gov. officials at the opening of Lockheed Martin’s facility in Beersheba. Photo | Diego Mittleberg

Haden Land, then-vice president of research and technology for Lockheed Martin, told the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/lockheed-martin-forms-israel-unit-executive-1410789395) that the creation of the subsidiary was largely aimed at securing contracts with the IDF and that the company’s Israel subsidiary would soon be seeking partnership and investments in pursuit of that end. Land oversaw the local roll-out of the company’s Israel subsidiary while concurrently meeting with Israeli government officials. According to the Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/lockheed-martin-forms-israel-unit-executive-1410789395), Land “oversees all of Lockheed Martin’s information-systems businesses, including defense and civilian commercial units” for the United States and elsewhere.

Just a few months later, Lockheed Martin partnered and invested in Cybereason, suggesting that Lockheed’s decision to do so was aimed at securing closer ties with the IDF. This further suggests that Cybereason still maintains close ties to Israeli military intelligence, a point expounded upon in great detail in the previous installment (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/) of this series.

Thus, it appears that not only does Lockheed Martin use Cybereason’s software on its own devices and on those it manages for its private and public sector clients, but it also decided to use the company’s software in this way out of a desire to more closely collaborate with the Israeli military in matters related to technology and cybersecurity.

The cozy ties between Lockheed Martin, one of the U.S. government’s largest private contractors, and the IDF set off alarm bells, then and now, for those concerned with U.S. national security. Such concern makes it important to look at the extent of Cybereason’s use by federal and military agencies in the United States through their contracting of Lockheed Martin’s Information Technology (IT) division. This is especially important considering Israeli military intelligence’s history of using espionage, blackmail and private tech companies against the U.S. government, as detailed here (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/).

While the exact number of U.S. federal and military agencies using Cybereason’s software is unknown, it is widespread, with Lockheed Martin’s IT division as the conduit. Indeed, Lockheed Martin was the number one IT solutions provider to the U.S. federal government up until its IT division was spun off and merged (https://www.wsj.com/articles/lockheed-martin-to-separate-government-it-business-1453814817) with Leidos Holdings. As a consequence, Leidos is now the largest IT provider to the U.S. government and is also directly partnered (https://www.leidos.com/insights/wannacry-ransomware-attack-was-preventable) with Cybereason in the same way Lockheed Martin was. Even after its IT division was spun off, Lockheed Martin continues to use Cybereason’s software in its cybersecurity work for the Pentagon (https://breakingdefense.com/2018/10/know-your-enemy-lockheed-touts-intelligence-driven-cybersecurity/) and still maintains a stake in the company.

The Leidos-Lockheed Martin IT hybrid provides a litany of services to the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence. As investigative journalist Tim Shorrock noted for The Nation (https://www.thenation.com/article/five-corporations-now-dominate-our-privatized-intelligence-industry/), the company does “everything from analyzing signals for the NSA to tracking down suspected enemy fighters for US Special Forces in the Middle East and Africa” and, following its merger with Lockheed and consequential partnership with Cybereason, became “the largest of five corporations that together employ nearly 80 percent of the private-sector employees contracted to work for US spy and surveillance agencies.” Shorrock also notes that these private-sector contractors now dominate the mammoth U.S. surveillance apparatus, many of them working for Leidos and — by extension — using Cybereason’s software.

Leidos’ exclusive use of Cybereason software for cybersecurity is also relevant for the U.S. military since Leidos runs a number of sensitive systems for the Pentagon, including its recently inked contract (https://seekingalpha.com/news/3525475-leidos-wins-6_5b-u-s-defense-contract) to manage the entire military telecommunications infrastructure for Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). In addition to maintaining the military telecom network, Cybereason is also directly partnered (https://intelligencecommunitynews.com/world-wide-technology-and-cybereason-announce-partnership/) with World Wide Technologies (WWT) as of this past October. WWT manages cybersecurity (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171031005858/en/World-Wide-Technology-Wins-First-Ever-DIUx-Contract) for the U.S. Army, maintains DISA’s firewalls (https://blog.executivebiz.com/2016/09/world-wide-technology-wins-disa-firewall-incidental-services-contract/) and data storage (https://www.wwt.com/press-release/wwt-awarded-disa-enterprise-storage-services-ii-contract) as well as the U.S. Air Force’s biometric identification system (https://www.wwt.com/netcents-2p-contract). WWT also manages contracts for NASA (https://www.wwt.com/nasa-sewp-v-contract), itself a frequent target (https://www.mintpressnews.com/bill-force-nasa-cooperation-israel-despite-history-israeli-espionage/248821/) of Israeli government espionage, and the U.S. Navy. WWT’s partnership (https://intelligencecommunitynews.com/world-wide-technology-and-cybereason-announce-partnership/) is similar to the Lockheed/Leidos partnership in that Cybereason’s software is now completely integrated into its portfolio, giving the company full access to the devices on all of these highly classified networks.

Many of these new partnerships with Cybereason, including its partnership with WWT, followed claims made by members of Israel’s Unit 8200 in 2017 that the popular antivirus software of Kaspersky Labs contained a backdoor for Russian intelligence, thereby compromising U.S. systems.

The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-hackers-stole-nsa-data-on-u-s-cyber-defense-1507222108)was the first to report on the alleged backdoor but did not mention the involvement of Unit 8200 in identifying it, a fact revealed by the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/technology/kaspersky-lab-israel-russia-hacking.html) a week later.
Notably, none of the evidence Unit 8200 used to blame Kaspersky has been made public and Kaspersky noted that it was actually Israeli hackers that had been discovered planting backdoors into its platform prior to the accusation levied against Kaspersky by Unit 8200. As the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/technology/kaspersky-lab-israel-russia-hacking.html) noted:
Investigators later discovered that the Israeli hackers had implanted multiple back doors into Kaspersky’s systems, employing sophisticated tools to steal passwords, take screenshots, and vacuum up emails and documents.”



Unit 8200’s claims ultimately led the U.S. government to abandon Kaspersky’s products (https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/07/governments-kaspersky-ban-takes-effect/149758/) entirely in 2018, allowing companies like Cybereason (with its own close ties to Unit 8200) to fill the void. Indeed, the very agencies (https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/07/governments-kaspersky-ban-takes-effect/149758/) that banned Kaspersky now use cybersecurity software that employs Cybereason’s EDR system. No flags have been raised about Cybereason’s own collaboration with the very foreign intelligence service that first pointed the finger at Kaspersky and that previously sold software (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/) with backdoors to sensitive U.S. facilities.

Exceeds V-Bulletin’s 30000 characters, continued —>

[monty]

Part 2 Continues
OPERATION BLACKOUT (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-investors-offer-israeli-spy-classified-intelligence/264095/)

SoftBank, Cybereason and the Vision Fund

While its entry into the U.S. market and U.S. government networks is substantial, Cybereason’s software is also run throughout the world on a massive scale through partnerships that have seen it enter into Latin American (https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/19/12/p14969201/nec-and-cybereason-sign-agreement-to-provide-advanced-cybersecurity-solutions-to-brazilian-market) and European markets (https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cybereason-and-securelink-partner-to-deliver-new-security-services-to-nordics-benelux-uk-and-dach-region-enterprises-813510061.html) in major ways in just the last few months. It has also seen its software become prominent in Asia (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191030005733/en/Trustwave-Positioned-Leader-Cybersecurity-Consulting-Services-Asia)following a partnership with the company Trustwave (https://www.cybereason.com/press/trustwave-and-cybereason-forge-alliance-to-bolster-managed-endpoint-security). Much of this rapid expansion followed a major injection of cash courtesy of one of the company’s biggest clients and now its largest investor, Japan’s SoftBank.

SoftBank first invested (https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-softbank-pumps-extra-200-million-in-us-israeli-startup-cybereason/) in Cybereason in 2015, the same year Lockheed Martin initially invested and partnered with the firm. It was also the year that SoftBank announced its intention (https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-japans-softbank-seeks-israeli-startup-partnerships-1001059494) to invest in Israeli tech start-ups. SoftBank first injected $50 million into Cybereason, followed by an additional $100 million (https://www.timesofisrael.com/softbank-adds-100-million-to-us-israel-cyber-firm-cybereason/) in 2017 and $200 million (https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-softbank-pumps-extra-200-million-in-us-israeli-startup-cybereason/) last August. SoftBank’s investments account for most of the money (https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-Israeli-cybersecurity-co-Cybereason-raises-further-220m-from-Softbank-1001296195) raised by the company since it was founded in 2012 ($350 million out of $400 million total).

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Cybereason CEO Lior Div speaks at a SoftBank event in Japan, July 21, 2017. Photo | Cybereason

Prior to investing, Softbank was a client of Cybereason, which Ken Miyauchi, president of SoftBank, noted when making the following statement (https://www.timesofisrael.com/cybereason-snags-second-huge-investment-in-six-months/)after Softbank’s initial investment in Cybereason:
SoftBank works to obtain cutting edge technology and outstanding business models to lead the Information Revolution. Our deployment of the Cybereason platform internally gave us firsthand knowledge of the value it provides, and led to our decision to invest. I’m confident Cybereason and SoftBank’s new product offering will bring a new level of security to Japanese organizations.”



SoftBank — one of Japan’s largest telecommunications companies — not only began to deploy Cybereason internally but directly partnered with it after investing, much like Lockheed Martin had done around the same time. This partnership resulted in SoftBank and Cybereason creating a joint venture (https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm/news/press/2016/20160405_01/) in Japan and Cybereason creating partnerships with other tech companies acquired by SoftBank, including the U.K.’s Arm (https://xconomy.com/san-francisco/2018/10/17/softbanks-arm-to-include-cybereason-security-services-in-iot-hub/), which specializes in making chips and management platforms for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

SoftBank’s interest in Cybereason is significant, particularly in light of Cybereason’s interest in the 2020 U.S. election, given that SoftBank has significant ties to key allies of President Trump and even the president himself.

Indeed, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son was among the first wave of international business leaders who sought to woo then-president-elect Trump soon after the 2016 election. Son first visited Trump Tower in December 2016 (https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-says-softbank-pledges-to-invest-50-billion-in-u-s-1481053732?tesla=y) and announced, with Trump by his side in the building’s lobby, that SoftBank would invest $50 billion in the U.S. and create 50,000 jobs. Trump subsequently claimed on Twitter that Son had only decided (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/806214236053667842)to make this investment because Trump had won the election.
Son told reporters at the time that the investment would come from a $100 billion fund that would be created in partnership (https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-says-softbank-pledges-to-invest-50-billion-in-u-s-1481053732?tesla=y) with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund as well as other investors. “I just came to celebrate his new job. I said, ‘This is great. The US will become great again,'” Son said, according to reports.

Then, in March of 2017, Son sent top SoftBank executives to meet with senior members of Trump’s economic team and, according to the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/business/dealbook/masayoshi-son-sprint-and-a-bet-on-the-trump-economy.html?_r=2), “the SoftBank executives said that because of a lack of advanced digital investments, the competitiveness of the United States economy was at risk. And the executives made the case, quite strongly, that Mr. Son was committed to playing a major role in addressing this issue through a spate of job-creating investments.” Many of SoftBank’s investments and acquisitions in the U.S. since then have focused mainly on artificial intelligence and technology with military applications, such as “killer robot” firm Boston Dynamics, suggesting Son’s interest lies more in dominating futuristic military-industrial technologies than creating jobs for the average American.

After their initial meeting, Trump and Son met again a year later (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-softbank-idUSKBN1JP06X) in June 2018, with Trump stating that “His [Son’s] $50 billion turned out to be $72 billion so far, he’s not finished yet.” Several media reports have claimed (https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2019/12/10/softbank-masayoshi-son-job-promise-president-donald-trump-progress/#1865820128fc) that Son’s moves since Trump’s election have sought to “curry favor (https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/07/softbank-talks-with-trump-team-about-sprint-merger.aspx)” with the President.

Through the creation of this fund alongside the Saudis, SoftBank has since become increasingly intertwined with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), a key ally of President Trump in the Middle East known for his authoritarian crackdowns on Saudi elites and dissidents alike. The ties between Saudi Arabia and SoftBank became ever tighter when MBS took the reins in the oil kingdom and after SoftBank announced the launch of the Vision Fund in 2016. SoftBank’s Vision Fund is a vehicle for investing in hi-tech companies and start-ups and its largest shareholder is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Notably, Son decided to launch (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-visionfund-launch-idUSKCN18F13T) the Vision Fund in Riyadh during President Trump’s first official visit to the Gulf Kingdom.

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Masayoshi Son, left, signs a deal related to the Vision Fund with Bin Salman in March 2018. Photo | SPA

In addition, the Mubadala Investment Company, a government fund of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), gave $15 billion to the Vision Fund. UAE leadership also share close ties to the Trump administration and MBS in Saudi Arabia.

As a consequence, SoftBank’s Vision Fund is majority funded (https://observer.com/2017/11/besides-uber-japanese-giant-softbank-owns-these-16-silicon-valley-startups/) by two Middle Eastern authoritarian governments with close ties to the U.S. government, specifically the Trump administration. In addition, both countries have enjoyed the rapid growth and normalization of ties with the state of Israel in recent years, particularly following the rise of current Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Jared Kushner’s rise to prominence in his father-in-law’s administration. Other investments in the Vision Fund have come from (https://observer.com/2017/11/besides-uber-japanese-giant-softbank-owns-these-16-silicon-valley-startups/) Apple, Qualcomm and Oracle’s Larry Ellison, all tech companies with strong ties to Israel’s government.

The Saudi and Emirati governments’ links to the Vision Fund are so obvious that even mainstream outlets like the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/business/dealbook/07sorkin-softbank-trump-saudi-arabia.html) have described them as a “front for Saudi Arabia and perhaps other countries in the Middle East.”

SoftBank also enjoys close ties to Jared Kushner, with Fortress Investment Group lending $57 million (https://therealdeal.com/2018/01/23/softbank-subsidiary-issued-57m-loan-to-kushner-companies/) to Kushner Companies in October 2017 while it was under contract to be acquired by SoftBank. As Barron’s noted (https://www.barrons.com/articles/fortress-makes-loan-to-kushner-cos-jersey-city-project-1516726648) at the time:
When SoftBank Group bought Fortress Investment Group last year (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-15/why-is-softbank-buying-fortress-son-gets-brain-trust-for-deals?mod=article_inline), the Japanese company was buying access to a corps of seasoned investors. What SoftBank also got is a financial tie to the family of President Donald Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.”



According to The Real Deal (https://therealdeal.com/2018/01/23/softbank-subsidiary-issued-57m-loan-to-kushner-companies/), Kushner Companies obtained the financing from Fortress only after its attempts to obtain funding through the EB-5 visa program (https://therealdeal.com/2018/01/22/kushner-companies-no-longer-seeking-150m-in-eb-5-for-jersey-city-project/) for a specific real estate venture were abandoned after the U.S. Attorney and the Securities and Exchange Commission began to investigate how Kushner Companies used the EB-5 investor visa program. A key factor in the opening of that investigation was Kushner Companies’ representatives touting Jared Kushner’s position at the White House when talking to prospective investors and lenders.

SoftBank also recently came to the aid of a friend of Jared Kushner, former CEO of WeWork Adam Neumann. Neumann made shocking claims about his ties to both Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s MBS, even asserting that he had worked with both (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7723261/WeWork-founder-Adam-Nuemann-claimed-Mohammed-bin-Salman-Jared-Kushner-save-world.html) in creating Kushner’s long-awaited and controversial Middle East “peace plan” and claimed that he, Kushner and MBS would together “save the world (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7723261/WeWork-founder-Adam-Nuemann-claimed-Mohammed-bin-Salman-Jared-Kushner-save-world.html).” Neumann previously called (https://archive.ph/bVPzL) Kushner his “mentor.” MBS has also discussed on several occasions (https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/)his close ties with Kushner and U.S. media reports have noted the frequent correspondence (https://theweek.com/speedreads/811664/kushner-reportedly-advised-saudi-crown-prince-how-respond-news-khashoggis-murder) between the two “princelings.”

Notably, SoftBank invested in Neumann’s WeWork using money from the Saudi-dominated Vision Fund and later went on to essentially bail the company out after its IPO collapse and Neumann was pushed out. SoftBank’s founder, Masayoshi Son, had an odd yet very close relationship (https://www.fastcompany.com/90426446/wefail-how-the-doomed-masa-son-adam-neumann-relationship-set-wework-on-the-road-to-disaster) with Neumann, perhaps explaining why Neumann was allowed to walk with $1.7 billion (https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/softbank-masayoshi-son-compared-wework-adam-neumann-alibaba-jack-ma-2019-11-1028694332) after bringing WeWork to the brink of collapse. Notably, nearly half of SoftBank’s approximately $47 billion investments in the U.S. economy since Trump’s election, went to acquiring and then bailing out (https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2019/12/10/softbank-masayoshi-son-job-promise-president-donald-trump-progress/#1865820128fc) WeWork. It is unlikely that such a disastrous investment resulted in the level of job creation that Son had promised Trump in 2016.

Given that it is Cybereason’s top investor and shareholder by a large margin, SoftBank’s ties to the Trump administration and key allies of that administration are significant in light of Cybereason’s odd interest in 2020 U.S. election scenarios that end with the cancellation of this year’s upcoming presidential election. It goes without saying that the cancellation of the election would mean a continuation of the Trump administration until new elections would take place.

Furthermore, with Cybereason’s close and enduring ties (https://www.mintpressnews.com/cybereason-israel-tech-firm-doomsday-election-simulations/263886/) to Israeli military intelligence now well-documented, it is worth asking if Israeli military intelligence would consider intervening in 2020 if the still-to-be-decided Democratic contender was strongly opposed to Israeli government policy, particularly Israel’s military occupation of Palestine. This is especially worth considering given revelations that sexual blackmailer and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who targeted prominent U.S. politicians, mostly Democrats (https://www.mintpressnews.com/ari-ben-menashe-israel-relationship-jeffrey-epstein/263465/), was in the employ of Israeli military intelligence (https://www.mintpressnews.com/scrubbed-reports-reveal-new-secrets-of-the-prince-andrew-jeffrey-epstein-relationship/262330/).

Notably, Cybereason’s doomsday election scenarios involved the weaponization of deep fakes, self-driving cars and the hacking Internet of Things devices, with all of those technologies being pioneered and perfected — not by Russia, China or Iran — but by companies directly tied to Israeli intelligence, much like Cybereason itself. These companies, their technology and Cybereason’s own work creating the narrative that U.S. rival states seek to undermine the U.S. election in this way, will all be discussed in the conclusion of MintPress’ series on Cybereason and its outsized interest in the U.S. democratic process.

Feature photo | Graphic by Claudio Cabrera

Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.