DU'ER something strange is going on. We need to be on alert and watch

[AnIndependentTexan]

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041012/NEWS03/41012016/-1/NEWS

Article published October 12, 2004

(New) Lucas County Democratic headquarters burglarized


A Toledo police officer leaves the scene of a burglary at Democratic Headquarters in Toledo today.
( THE BLADE/LORI KING )


BLADE STAFF


The Lucas County Democratic Headquarters was burglarized overnight, and three computers, including the party’s main system, were stolen.

The computers contained highly sensitive information, including the party’s financial information, names and personal phone numbers of hundreds of party members, candidates, and volunteers.

The computers also stored e-mails from candidates that included discussion about campaign strategy.

A second computer, belonging to an attorney-volunteer working to ensure voters’ rights, also was taken, officials said. The headquarters on 1817 Madison Avenue does have an alarm system that volunteers believed they set late Monday when they left.

However, it apparently wasn’t tripped during the night. Workers arriving about 7:30 a.m. yesterday noticed the back window had been shattered and called police.

For more information, see tomorrow’s edition of The Blade and toledoblade.com.
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http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5028933.html

Last update: October 12, 2004 at 1:16 PM
Dayton closes D.C. office over security concerns
Associated Press
October 12, 2004

WASHINGTON-- Sen. Mark Dayton said Tuesday he is closing his Washington office because of a classified intelligence report which made him fear for the safety of his staff.

Dayton, D-Minn., said the office will be closed while Congress is in recess through Election Day, with his staff working out of his Minnesota office and in Senate space off Capitol Hill.

``I take this step out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise be visiting my Senate office in the next three weeks,'' he said on a call with reporters.

``I feel compelled to do so because I will not be here in Washington to share what I consider to be an unacceptably greater risk to their safety,'' he said.

Dayton said he could not describe the contents of the top-secret intelligence report, which was presented to senators at a briefing two weeks ago.

``None of us can predict the future,'' he said. ``I hope and pray that the precautions I've taken will prove unnecessary.''

Asked what advise he would have for Minnesotans who want to travel to Washington over the next few weeks, Dayton said, ``I wouldn't advise them to come to Capitol Hill. I would not bring my two sons to the capitol between now and the election.''
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http://www.electoral-vote.com/

The site has had technical problems repeatedly in the past several days and has been down several times. I didn't want to discuss this, but I don't want anyone to think the problem was an incompetent hosting service. Just the opposite. The site has been subjected to a full-scale, well-organized, massive attack with the clear intention to bring it down. The attackers have tried repeatedly to break in, but the server is a rock-solid Linux system which has stood up to everything they threw at it and hasn't crashed since I got it in May. While our troops are fighting and dying to bring freedom of speech to the Iraqi people, there are forces in America who find this concept no longer applicable to America. I don't know who is behind this attack yet (although we are working it), but it is too professional to be some teenager working from a home PC. Given that all the hate mail and threats I get come entirely from Republicans, I can make an educated guess which side is trying to silence me, but I won't say. And I won't surrender to cyberterrorists

[soleft]

1. And don't forget the CNN glitch when David Brock was speaking

[Stew225]

3. just got home from work and hadn't heard about the

Toledo heist. That's where I got my Kerry signs and stickers. Bastards!

[HootieMcBoob]

2. Every since Watergate

They've been getting more brazen. They know they'll get away with it because the house of representatives is run by hastert and delay and the senate is run by frist. welcome to 1933.

[pscot]

4. Same thing going on

in the Seattle area, exept it's GOP offices being targeted. I think it's the work of Nigerian gangsters or vengeful Naderites striking out at both parties.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. This is the type of shit that happens

When you have people running the country that have no regard for the law. Soon enough all their friends realize that they don't have to worry about no stinking laws either.

One more way that Bush Co works to destroy America.

[Florida_Geek]

5. Are you votermaster at http://www.electoral-vote.com

:)

[KurtNYC]

6. regarding the first item - the IP address of the stolen

computers will remain the same when and if they are plugged back into the net. There are tools which can allow you to see the entire path of a ping to that IP which would show where they are hooked up.

Between this and the obiquitous sign stealings I ask: where are the video surveillance cams?

[Oreo]

11. Wouldn't work...

They wouldn't be able to find it by IP for technical reasons.
The computer would need the new gateway address to get out to the internet if it ever had one.

I'm sure we'll see more and more of this in the coming weeks.
Should be a wild ride!

[Heath.Hunnicutt]

16. Not going to work out for us

First, you are thinking of the MAC, or ethernet, address, not the IP address.

Whoever broke into the office bypassed the alarm somehow. They are not going to plug these computers into a public network where they would then be found.

[cthrumatrix]

7. this is "democracy"...Rummy says it's messy (like the mafia)

[Ksec]

8. Why do you think the call them thugs?

[TexasBushwhacker]

10. Geez, with everything at stake, you'd think they'd have back-ups

I mean, maybe they do and it just doesn't say it in the article, but it's crazy not to. As for the alarm system, cheap ones are on doors only. Then again, maybe their alarm system was good, and it was set, and it was an inside job. They should check with their security company and see if there's a log of entries and exits. That's what we had at the small business I worked at, and it wasn't that expensive a system. It had door alarms, motion detectors and glass breakage detectors.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

12. Two simple things to solve this

1. Removable hard drive trays-- they cost about 25 buck each. At the end of the day simply shut the computers down and pull the drives and put them in a secured safe.

2. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). From freeware to a small cost for a commercial version. Encrypt the hell out of your sensitive data. Perhaps they can break the encryption, but it will take a hell of a long time and a VERY strong computer system to do it.

A third thing thrown in at no extra cost-- KEEP THE COMPUTERS OFFLINE. Instead of email, use a phone (encrypted) or a courier. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.

[MazeRat7]

13. Well it wasn't Rove and his gang...

How do I know ? Simple, its the Dem headquarters. If he wanted that info, they would have broken in there in the night, removed the hard drives, imaged them (eg made a copy), and put them back in the computer. The next morning, nobody is the wiser and Rove has his information. Three computers would only take a couple of hours.

Now had it been a Repug headquarters, they would have left K/E signs on the floor AND taken the computers with them.

Just my 2cents.....

MZr7

[Renew Deal]

14. Hopefully they didn't lose the name of ID'd voters.

That would hurt their GOTV and help whoever jacked them. Hopefully the drives were encrypted and backed up, but that's unlikely.

[politicat]

15. They should be able to recreate a lot of the GOTV stuff from BottledLightn

ing. (That's a national database of voter information)... at least assuming they have their data entry up to date.

The lawyer's computer is going to be harder....

And the sensitive stuff - the campaign files - those are worrying. Unlike the person who thinks Rove is smart, it does seem rather... convenient.

Pcat

[Carson]

17. I bet it was an inside job...

...trying to make the Repubs look bad. ;-)

[H2O Man]

18. An ACT office near Philly was also

broken into last month. Although there was cash in the open, it was not touched. Their computer hard-drive was removed. I gave more details to someone high-up in the democratic campaign. The truth is that we are in for a fight. Kerry has the election won at this point, but the dark forces are going to try to steal it. There are at least ten states where they are resortng to criminal activities.

[brentspeak]

19. Good grief, get some hidden cameras!

C'mon people! You know that Repugs are going to do their dirty tricks -- I want to see them get caught red-handed.