Some people don’t know if you should trust the media anymore, with accusations of fake news flying here, there, and everywhere.
Which makes me wonder who can you trust for computer security advice?
The two worlds have just collided with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity (who may or may not have sought advice from time to time from Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen) seeming to suggest to witnesses in the Russia probe to delete evidence before handing devices over to special counsel Robert Mueller.
Hey remember when Assange DM'd Hannity asking him to reach out on an encrypted app?
Tonight Hannity is freaking out about Mueller searching encrypted apps and "advised" all Mueller witnesses to "bash" their phones "into itsy bitsy pieces" pic.twitter.com/cZhaUqVNQk
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) June 7, 2018
“If I advised them to follow Hillary Clinton’s lead: Delete all your emails and then acid-wash the emails on the hard drives and your phones, then take your phones and bash them with a hammer to little itsy bitsy pieces, use BleachBit, remove the SIM cards, and then take the pieces and hand them over to Robert Mueller and say: ‘Hillary Rodham Clinton, this is equal justice under the law.'”
Hannity’s advice comes after media reports that Mueller’s team have asked witnesses to hand over personal smartphones which may have used encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Confide, and Dust.
I’m going to presume that, if asked, Hannity would emphasise that he isn’t suggesting witnesses actually destroy evidence, as it’s unlikely to go down well with the authorities.
Furthermore, it would perhaps be a mistake to assume that no breadcrumbs of evidence of communications would be held in the cloud or at an external service which couldn’t care less if you put your phone in the blender or not.
Of course, if you are disposing of computers, hard drives, or smartphones then it makes sense to ensure that they are wiped securely, and minimise the possibility that someone else can recover any sensitive data.
But tread carefully if you are a witness in an investigation by law enforcement, whatever side of the political fence you sit on, as they might view it as an attempt to obstruct justice.
Regardless, Hannity’s advice comes too late for Paul Manafort, who has found that use of an encrypted messaging app wasn’t enough to stop his private communications being read by the FBI.
I heard Hannity's when he made the comment… He was being satirical. Text is too dry and the snippet too short. Watching the entire circus (all sides) it is very disconcerting and I don't understand why more people aren't upset over the loss of privacy we have lost over the past few years in the name of national safety.
Yes, whenever I see Hannity with my British eyes I do find it hard to believe he's being serious. I certainly hope no-one fails to get the joke and makes the mistake of following his advice – as they could end up in hot water.
You can see the full segment on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/3LWTgoCSbTE?t=2m52s
Of course, Hannity's advice was illustrating absurdity by being absurd. Acid-washing the hard drives and smashing the devices is EXACTLY what Hillary Clinton did to hide her unlawful bathroom server. In other words, if it was OK for her to do it, then it must be OK for you. Right?
I think you're right.
And if we're both right, we can anticipate that Sean Hannity will advise witnesses to willingly assist the investigation and hand over their unwiped electronic devices to law enforcement.
And, as I've written in the past, I agree that Hillary Clinton hardly showered herself in glory with her ill-advised use of a personal email server.
I'll accept advice from my lawyer instead of an entertainer, thank you very much. :)
>> But tread carefully if you are a witness in an investigation by law enforcement, whatever side of the political fence you sit on, as they might view it as an attempt to obstruct justice.
Except if you're Hillary Clinton.
Which was Hannity's point.
I just find it difficult to comprehend how I would use BleachBit after I'd bashed my phones "with a hammer to little itsy bitsy pieces". :-o
Graham: OUCH! You've obviously never listened to Hannity. He makes no pretense to being qualified to advise people on security matters. He wasn't telling anyone to do anything so stupid as what Clinton did.
He was making a point that the same standard of justice should be applied to all, and that if she can evade indictment and prosecution as a criminal by destroying evidence, then let's see what happens if others try it.
He knows full well what will happen: they won't get away with it, because we do NOT have equal justice for all. Anyone who actually takes the time to listen to his remarks in context knows that. People who don't and read this article will come away misinformed.
You generally manage to stay out of the sewer of politics, Graham, which is why I'm still a reader. Unless the point of the article is to take sides in a political squabble by discrediting a political commentator, it's a non-issue. Hannity is not the idiot this article makes him out to be.
Yes, he is. Hannity is a danger to the U.S. and complete and utter fool.
Yeah, no he is a vicious propaganda machine. People like hannity spread hate and violence.
Such well-reasoned, compelling, well-supported arguments: "danger to the U.S."; "complete and utter fool"; "vicious propaganda machine"; "hate and violence"…and that last one by someone using the name "HannityHater".
Very convincing.
Thanks for the full article explaining why one shouldn't follow advice that was never meant to be followed. Great to see a "security expert" writing click bait.
damn regardless of your political position, and I can't imagine why Graham would decide to enter the arena, it's bewildering to think that a security expert could be duped by media wagging a dog's tale. think – all you can sell is credibility – tainted your advice is meaningless.
A lightning rod is meant to draw lightning. If he was a liberal, the apologists and enablers would be all over this, but as he is not, they attack him for their deliberately deaf literal interpretations.