US-CERT Director Leaves Abruptly, Hacker Alliance "Anonymous" says: TANGO DOWN

anonymous via their irc group twitter feed just tweeted this article.

I'm not seeing the article pop up on the press radar except for a few sites, we will see how real this is in a few hours I imagine.

For UNKNOWN (yet) reasons, the head of U.S. cyber-security has resigned effective immediately!

Randy Vickers, head of the organization responsible for protecting the U.S. against cyber attacks, has resigned effective immediately.

By Elizabeth Montalbano InformationWeek
July 25, 2011 02:01 PM

FULL ARTICLE HERE:www.informationweek.com...

The DHS has not provided a reason for Vickers' sudden departure and the spokesperson, who asked to remain anonymous, declined to discuss the matter further. Vickers served as director of US-CERT since April 2009; previously, he was deputy director.

this won't be the first time the head of CERT has resigned, back in 2009, Mischel Kwon resigned

Article on that resignation here:

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Kwon, who is the fourth US-CERT director in five years, was frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of authority to fulfill her mission, according to colleagues who spoke on the condition of ANONYMITY. Her departure follows the resignation of the lead White House cybersecurity official, Melissa E. Hathaway, who said last week that she would step down.

that's a lot of resignations!

Why so anon-ymous?

Why the take downs, the step downs? Why the frustration? What's going on?

did a google search for "Randy Vickers Resigns and found this article sited two days ago by Federal News Radio 1500AM

By Ruben Gomez Federal News Radio U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team Director (US-CERT) Randy Vickers has resigned, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) email obtained by Federal News Radio.

2 days ago, and nothing in the mainstream media...AGAIN? Weird to say the least...

The email, from National Cybersecurity Division chief Roberta Stempfley, states that Vickers' resignation is effective immediately. A DHS official, who requested anonymity because the issue is a personnel matter, confirmed authenticity of the email but declined to provide a reason for the resignation. US-CERT Deputy Director Lee Rock will serve as acting director, the email said.

They realized that they're out of their league, and that Anonymous is not going to stop so there is no point in fighting it any more. Stress probably made him quit, i would be stressed out pretty bad too.

He's probably on a beach somewhere with a funky coloured drink. Something tasty. Relaxing.

Haha, Perhaps it is just too much for him to handle? Makes him a target perhaps?

Usually when I hear tango down in terms of hacking I think of th3j35t3r because every time he brings down a website he posts tango down and his program XerXeS pops up that messages when ever he attacks a website.
Right now I don't think th3j35t3r is on good terms with anon because he brought down anonops a while ago so I don't know if anon are saying TANGO DOWN to laugh back at him because th3j35t5r is always protecting the military.

Originally posted by fusionhunter
Usually when I hear tango down in terms of hacking I think of th3j35t3r because every time he brings down a website he posts tango down and his program XerXeS pops up that messages when ever he attacks a website.
Right now I don't think th3j35t3r is on good terms with anon because he brought down anonops a while ago so I don't know if anon are saying TANGO DOWN to laugh back at him because th3j35t5r is always protecting the military.

edit on 25-7-2011 by fusionhunter because: (no reason given)

I'm pretty sure he was recently arrested by the FBI, don't quote me on that, im not too sure yet. There's an article somewhere with it.

Another guy also tried to take down anonops, he was a scriddie though.

Originally posted by AzureSky

Originally posted by fusionhunter
Usually when I hear tango down in terms of hacking I think of th3j35t3r because every time he brings down a website he posts tango down and his program XerXeS pops up that messages when ever he attacks a website.
Right now I don't think th3j35t3r is on good terms with anon because he brought down anonops a while ago so I don't know if anon are saying TANGO DOWN to laugh back at him because th3j35t5r is always protecting the military.

edit on 25-7-2011 by fusionhunter because: (no reason given)

I'm pretty sure he was recently arrested by the FBI, don't quote me on that, im not too sure yet. There's an article somewhere with it.

Another guy also tried to take down anonops, he was a scriddie though.

No he wasn't it was some hacker "from anon I think" but anyway it was someone pretending to be him and he starting spreading rumours ect and the real jester caught him out.

Being a programmer I know just how important truth and integrity is if you are to find your way through the maze and put together some solid code. When seeing what these poor fellows have to work with I am not surprised by the high turn around of staff. I do not know what 'TANGO DOWN' represents, but an interesting theory by fusionhunter.

do you realize that when you do a google search for the string: "randy vickers resigns" that this thread is the seventh entry on the 1st page?

Why is an ATS forum thread number 7 on page 1 of reporting this? Why isn't the mainstream media outlets reporting this?

It's not THAT big of a deal, so why not release it? Is it because it's not a big deal? I would think it's at least fox news worthy.

Originally posted by kwakakev
Being a programmer I know just how important truth and integrity is if you are to find your way through the maze and put together some solid code. When seeing what these poor fellows have to work with I am not surprised by the high turn around of staff. I do not know what 'TANGO DOWN' represents, but an interesting theory by fusionhunter.

Here's some examples too



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when I first did a google search (minutes before the thread post) it returned about 3K results, an hour later, it's returning 400k results. wow, news spreads fast.

I dont know,, maybe this might just be ,,people not seeing eye to eye.


Laura Crabtree Callahan, former Clinton, White House computer supervisor

The administration in May quietly hired Laura Callahan for a sensitive post at the U.S. Cyber Command, a newly created agency set up to harden military networks as part of an effort to prevent a “cyberspace version of Pearl Harbor.”

reply to post by AzureSky

I don't think (just my joe-blow opinion) they would think they are out of their league against individuals; however, it is a fairly logical assumption, that "they" could they're out of their league against a seemingly unstoppable worm/virus/botnet.

Microsoft is offering a quarter million dollar reward for information leading to the individuals operating the botnet called Rustock

Technology
The business and culture of our digital lives,
from the L.A. Times
Microsoft offers $250,000 reward for Rustock botnet information
July 18, 2011 | 5:28 pm

Microsoft Corp. is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those controlling Rustock, an infamous botnet once responsible for enslaving an estimated 1 million computers worldwide and forcing them to generate billions of spam emails.

The bounty comes a few months after Microsoft, law enforcement and industry partners took down the botnet in March by dismantling a core network of servers. The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant didn't stop there, placing ads in Russian newspapers in St. Petersburg and Moscow in an attempt to find the main perpetrators behind the spam machine. Evidence suggests they operated out of Russia, Microsoft said.

the above was taken from the full article out of the L.A. Times a week ago here:latimesblogs.latimes.com...

An outlandish theory, although not impossible, is a "skynet" virus (I know, scifispiracy). Not necessarily like the Terminator skynet to control A.I. in machines of course, but an unstoppable virus that may shut LOTS of things down. That's PURE speculation of a highly imaginative type, but that's a an impossibility-an unstoppable botnet capable of infecting and shutting down LOTS

reply to post by N34Li3Z


We just underwent a change in leadership at the CIA and the DOD... Maybe it has something to do with that?

reply to post by Xcathdra


True, we do have a new CIA head, former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, etc, and there's been more than one resignation of this post in the past four years; however, my interests lie in why it was reported 2 days after a small news source broke this story.

What's to hide? Is it not big enough a story to cover? I realize there are bigger stories happening right now, Amy Winehouse's death, what you can do to beat the summer heat, etc, but seriously, it was kept hidden, or the entire global news corporations are conspiring to not do this story-a highly unlikely, although not impossible reason.

I still find only magazines, and small news sources reporting this, actually re-reporting this I should say. There was a huge spike in google search results after a matter of minutes (from 3k to about 400k results found) when this thread was posted, and with the organic ranking google does, and the trending of it making headlines in small news outlets, online magazines interested in articles, you think with the math involved, by this time it would have doubled at least; however, it's actually turning up LESS results found, about 2k less than what it was this morning.

When was the last time you googled breaking news of this proportion (abrupt resignation of our leader of cybersecurity for the United States of America, and Above Top Secret was on the first page of results, much less being in the top FIVE pages?)

Another weird things, is the poverty of ideas, and lack of input this has with all the conspiracy minded folk, and great imagineers and detectives of conspiracy theories. I guess it's just not that interesting, or it is, but no one wants to say anything.

I admit, I have nothing to contribute, other than maybe a theory about a super-bot net distributing a "skynet" virus, but other than that, I primarily wanted to see what others thought, and there are a lot of really good researchers of information on ATS, but apparently not a lot of research to find.

Maybe I will research Mr. Randy Vickers, and see if I can think of any possibilities based on any ties to anything in his past which could produce better theories as to the sudden, and as of now, "mysterious" resignation, right in the middle of a digital cyber-war. If you think a war of the machines isn't happening, then you aren't following the fighters.

The government isn't so flaunting of it's cyber warriors, but the opposition is flamboyant, and bragadocious-they should be I guess, unless it's a psy-ops, and the cyberwarfare isn't "really" happening, but the Assange trial says otherwise.

Mr. Vicker's retiring is like the President resigning in the middle of a war, and not giving any explanation. If I were resigning, and president of the U.S. it's because I would be heading to the hills...running away, or to something.

Is he running? Is he hiding? Was it stress, or a disagreement? It needs to be investigated.

I've got my keystroke shovel ready to dig, and any explanation or theory dug up is appreciated.

I'm tired, and gonna watch a movie. I'll find out, and maybe the world, more tomorrow.

A quick search for Randy Vickers reveals on his linked in account, tells us he is a Texan (one thing about Texans, they're very patriotic, and pretty much anti-government, just look at the Governor-he tried to have Texas
secede from the Union!), a graduate of Texas A&M, and besides showing companies, networks, a single individual, a Miss Shon Harris is the only "person" in his linked in account.

Here's a video from youtube she did for Logical Security:


Shon Harris is the owner, and president of www.logicalsecurity.com... and says on her company's website, she is a former instructor, author, and engineer for the Air Force's Information Warfare Unit.

A quick google search for Air Force Information Warfare Unit returns this wiki entry:

en.wikipedia.org...

The 177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 184th Intelligence Wing.

A unit of the Kansas Air National Guard? ...weird. then I'll take you to the 184th Intel Wing wiki page:

en.wikipedia.org...

The United States Air Force's 184th Intelligence Wing is located at McConnell AFB, Kansas. It is one of three Air National Guard wings that works with the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency.

Wichita, KS. I know, my father was stationed there in the mid-seventies, he died this past year of cancer, he did tell me, as did my mom, they used to go out near the air strip and watch for "triangle" shaped UFOs. My dad was a scifi kinda guy, so between that, it being the seventies, and him poking smot, who knows if he was kidding, or just boned to the stone. Not really relevant I guess, but thought I'd add it, it was a memory I had sparked when I saw the AFB name out of KS. I was born there, right on the base as a matter of fact.

Mission Intelligence gathering, information protection, threat deterrence The 184th Intelligence Wing encompasses a variety of missions at the federal, state, and community levels. 1. Federal: providing combat support for our nation—Guardsmen from our wing provide wartime support in the form of collecting and analyzing intelligence. Some unit members deploy overseas to augment active duty forces. 2. State: support to civil authority—The unit's primary responsibility is to the state of Kansas to assist civil authorities during natural disasters and civil strife in our state. 3. Community—Members of the 184th add value to our local communities by holding an annual science and technology camp for local kids (called STARBASE), hosting games of the Kansas Special Olympics, and volunteering in various charitable activities.

now, for McConnell (good irish/scott name, lol) AFB:

Global War On Terror After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the 22d initially deployed jets in support of Operation Noble Eagle. Before the end of the year, McConnell tankers were sent to Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Southwest Asia and other locations to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

not so tired, beginning to wake up after reading this article on "Operation Noble Eagle"

Operation Noble Eagle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joint NATO & U.S. AWACS service badge for Noble Eagle & Eagle Assist Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the name given to military operations related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The ongoing operation began 14 September 2001, in response to the 11 September terrorist attacks, although it is believed this operation simply earned its name after 14 September 2001, and began much earlier.[1] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Requirement 2 Equipment 3 Canadian NORAD Region 4 See also 5 References [edit] History Operation Noble Eagle began with the mobilization of thousands of National Guard and Reserve personnel to perform security missions on military installations, airports and other potential targets such as bridges, power plants, and port facilities.These reservists were called to active duty under a mobilization authority known as a Partial Mobilization (10 USC 12302). In time of a national emergency declared by the President, Partial Mobilization authorizes the President to order members of the Ready Reserve to active duty for a period not to exceed 24 consecutive months. Additionally, in 2001 and 2002, thousands of members of the National Guard were activated at the order of their respective governors to provide additional security at airports. They were called up under Title 32 of the U.S. Code, which means they were under state control, but with federal pay and benefits.[1] Canadian Forces Air Force assisted in providing defense of the northern border of the United States. Active Duty Army Military Police were sent to Washington D.C. to protect the Capital Building and White House under command and control of the 759th Military Police Battalion.

wow. now there's a bit to chew on, but it's all "linked in"

Thoughts?