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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Cyber Warfare is at the Center of the New Coup Attempt Against Venezuela</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Misión Verdad - August 3, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p><img width="423" height="241" src="https://orinocotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/us-cyber-command.jpg" alt="US soldiers at the Fleet Operations Center of the US Fleet Cyber Command headquarters. Photo: US 10th Fleet." class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p>
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US soldiers at the Fleet Operations Center of the US Fleet Cyber Command headquarters. Photo: US 10th Fleet.</p>
<p></p></div><div id="gmail-content"><div><p>By Misión Verdad – Aug 2, 2024</p><p>Attacks
on the Venezuelan electoral system have reached the terrain of
cyberwarfare, according to the complaints made by President Nicolás
Maduro, the authorities of the National Electoral Council (CNE), and the
Attorney General’s Office (MP).</p><p>The president of the CNE, Elvis
Amoroso, issued a second electoral bulletin on August 2 at noon, where
he also reported that there are still signs of massive computer attacks
from different parts of the world against the CNE and the Venezuelan
state-owned telecommunications companies, which has delayed the
transmission of the voting minutes and the announcement of electoral
results.</p><p>These cyberattacks have been accompanied by the burning
of CNE offices in various states and centers for the transmission and
reception of computations, causing damage to the electoral
infrastructure.</p><p>Investigations are ongoing and will be broadened
after President Maduro introduced an electoral contentions appeal before
the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).</p><p>However, with the information
available up to now, it is possible to tie up loose ends regarding the
depth and dimension of this aspect of the hybrid war against Venezuela
in the context of a new regime change operation.</p><p><strong>Epicenter of cyberattacks</strong><br>
According to the graphs and data published by computer expert Kenny Ossa
on July 29, Venezuela was one of the countries that suffered the <a href="https://x.com/otrak0ssa/status/1818072781558317338" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest number of cyberattacks</a> in the world.</p><p>The map of Ziwit <a href="https://www.httpcs.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HTTPCS</a> shows that on the election and post-election days, Venezuela was the 39th most “cyberattacked” country in the world.</p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa1.jpeg" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="214" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>On
July 29 at around 7:55 p.m., the real-time Kaspersky map found
Venezuela in 46th place among the countries that have suffered the
highest number of cyberattacks in the world, out of 200.</p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa2.jpeg" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="214" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>Ossa called attention to “the evident increase” of <a href="https://www.incibe.es/aprendeciberseguridad/botnet#:~:text=El%20Concepto,conjunta%20para%20realizar%20actividades%20maliciosas." target="_blank" rel="noopener">botnets</a>
that “are impacting Venezuela.” He explained that a hive of bots was
being maliciously operated in the Venezuelan cyber atmosphere amid the
election.</p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa3.jpeg" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="211" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>In another post, the computer expert <a href="https://x.com/otrak0ssa/status/1818417436217295218" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned</a>
that there was “a peak of malicious IP addresses between 12:00 and 3:00
p.m. on July 28 (6,154 IPs) and 29 (4,714 IPs).” He added that these
were “IPs for command and control of botnets, spam, DDoS attacks, etc.”
The data is taken from Ziwit’s HTTPCS.</p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa4.jpeg" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="214" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa5.jpeg" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="214" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>On
the morning of July 29, President Maduro reported that there was
intense malicious activity of bots in favor of far-right opposition
candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and a cyberattack against the CNE
transmission system, which caused the slowdown in the counting of votes
and transmission of election results.</p><p>This cyberattack created a
breeding ground for DDoS attacks on websites of some Venezuelan
institutions, including that of the CNE, making these websites
inaccessible.</p><p>Side fact: Misión Verdad’s website was hacked on the
morning of election day, so it was unavailable for a few hours. Regular
readers of the website can attest to this.</p><p>The objective of these
swarm attacks can vary, but they often intend to steal confidential
information and cause damage to the target’s infrastructure.</p><p>The Ministry of Science and Technology <a href="https://mincyt.gob.ve/venezuela-epicentro-de-ciberataques-de-bots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explains</a>
that “a bot attack is a type of cyberattack that uses automated scripts
to disrupt a site, steal data, make fraudulent purchases, or perform
other malicious actions. These attacks can be deployed against various
targets, such as websites, servers, APIs, and other endpoints.”</p><p>All
this indicates that Venezuela was indeed saturated with cyberattacks.
In addition, there was an attempted electoral blackout: a scenario that
requires a high level of security and seriousness in an era where the
cyber domain dominates and is of critical and daily use.</p><p><strong>A technician’s explanation</strong><br>
It should be highlighted that the reported attack against the CNE system
targeted the transmission of data. This does not affect the content of
the data since the security mechanisms guarantee its integrity. The
results transmitted cannot be altered, but the attack affected the
transmission of information.</p><p>The delay caused has been remarkable since, <a href="https://latamnews.lat/20240730/lo-que-se-sabe-del-apagon-electoral-que-pretendia-sumir-en-el-caos-a-venezuela-1156490419.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to IT specialist and external auditor of the CNE Victor Theoktisto</a>,
the attacks “reduced the connections in such a way that they were
rarely completed successfully, slowing down the whole counting process.”</p><p>In
conversation with Sputnik, Theoktisto explained that “communication
between the voting machines and the Totalization Center is based on a
WAN [Wide Area Network] provided by the Venezuelan national telephone
operator through the telecommunications network that transmits telephone
line data [Dial-up], Metro Ethernet, and GSM service or via satellite
in remote areas.”</p><p>“The transmission network used is exclusive for
the electoral process and does not use the Internet,” he added. “All
this is extremely secure and encrypted, making it impossible to alter
the transmitted data.”</p><p>Since the CNE has a system to back up the
vote, possesses all the electoral minutes that, as stated in the first
bulletin of July 29 at dawn, certify that Nicolás Maduro won the
presidential election.</p><p>As for the transmission system, the specialist supports President Maduro’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr-Ywk1UdPc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a>
to the Council of State and the National Defense Council on July 30 to
shield the integral security of the electoral technological domain.
“Obviously, it will be necessary to use alternative equipment and
protocols with greater redundancies to avoid a repetition, including
more drastic measures to preserve the security of the transmissions,”
Theoktisto commented.</p><p>Although Venezuela has an electoral system
shielded against frauds of any kind, unlike, for example, the United
States and the United Kingdom, the vulnerable flank (transmission
system) was undoubtedly attacked with partial success, a technical
detail that has been key to the present coup scenario led by María
Corina Machado.</p><p><strong>Origin of the cyberattacks: North Macedonia</strong><br>
Venezuelan authorities reported that the cyberattacks came from North
Macedonia, a country located in the Balkan peninsula, a member of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2020, and a candidate to
join the European Union (EU) since 2005 after splitting from Yugoslavia
in 1991.</p><p>It is one of the countries that, for a good part of the
20th century, was in the European socialist orbit and is now part of the
multinational military organization led by the United States.</p><p>In
recent years, the refreshed ties between North Macedonia and the United
States have consolidated a bilateral relationship of such magnitude that
<a href="https://www.usaid.gov/north-macedonia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USAID has dozens of active programs</a> throughout the country. The US embassy in the capital, Skopje, also <a href="https://mk.usembassy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintains close relations</a> with state and private institutions alike, in addition to close military ties.</p><p>Both countries share intelligence information and have a joint program in cybersecurity matters, a collaboration that <a href="https://www.cybercom.mil/Media/News/Article/1660069/us-and-macedonia-participate-in-cyber-defense-cooperation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began in 2018</a> and is overseen by the US Cyber Command.</p><p>It is worth mentioning that in February, a new commander took charge of that branch of the Pentagon, <a href="https://therecord.media/timothy-haugh-cyber-command-nsa-nominee-senate-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">General Timothy Haugh</a>,
who is also in charge of the National Security Agency (NSA), the US
institution overseeing the cyber domain and whose espionage scandals and
malicious activities have gone beyond the limits of its own country.</p><p>Haugh
announced in April that the US military’s Cyber Command has worked in
some 20 countries in the past year under a “proactive approach” and in a
secretive manner, including North Macedonia.</p><p>North Macedonia’s cyber activity, under US tutelage, is mainly focused on an <a href="https://www.intellinews.com/north-macedonia-steps-up-security-after-cyber-attacks-and-bomb-hoaxes-linked-to-ukraine-war-270736/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-Russia agenda</a> within the context of the war in Ukraine and Donbass. The agenda was prepared by the <a href="https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-helps-allies-fight-cyberattacks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">experts of the Cyber Command during the Trump era</a>.</p><p>Another
side fact that is not minor: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
maintained (or still maintains) a clandestine detention center (<a href="https://es-academic.com/dic.nsf/eswiki/176369" target="_blank" rel="noopener">black site</a>)
in Skopje, a secret prison financially assisted and run by the US spy
agency. This collaboration became known in a report published in 2007,
evidencing the close ties between North Macedonia and the United States.</p><p>As a NATO member, North Macedonia’s military structure is <a href="https://www.dbki.gov.mk/?q=node/130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">integrated into NATO</a>.
Its request to join the EU has also been accompanied by military
adjustments according to the delimitations of European legislation.</p><p>The
Venezuelan authorities’ accusation was not against the government of
North Macedonia. It was only alleged that the cyberattacks came from the
country. According to the <a href="https://cybermap.kaspersky.com/stats#country=49&type=OAS&period=w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kaspersky Cybermap</a>,
malicious cyber activity from North Macedonia increased significantly
on July 28, peaked on July 29, and exhibited a stable trend in the
following days.</p><p><img src="https://misionverdad.com/sites/default/files/Mapa6.png" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="423" height="182" style="margin-right: 0px;"></p><p>These
data broaden the perspective on the cyberattack against the CNE, an
attempt to throw the electoral system into chaos to benefit the coup
agenda of Machado & Co.</p><p>(<a href="https://misionverdad.com/venezuela/ciberguerra-apuesta-central-de-un-nuevo-intento-de-golpe-en-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Misión Verdad</a>)</p><p>Translation: Orinoco Tribune</p><p>OT/SC/SF</p><div id="gmail-mab-1954435059"><p><span><img width="150" height="150" src="https://orinocotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/D-fi4iQXUAEvvf5-e1562097727116-540x359-150x150.jpg" alt=""></span></p><div><p></p><h5><span>Misión Verdad</span></h5><p></p><p>Misión
Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a
socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution</p></div></div><h2>Continue Reading</h2></div></div></div></div>
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