Wednesday, June 10, 2015

State Department Spokesman Repeatedly Refuses to Say Whether Iran Nuclear Deal Communications Have Been Compromised



The Wall Street Journal reported the Russian Kapersky Lab, after checking millions of computers in thousands of hotels around the world, found a virus that infected computers in three hotels. The three with viruses were the luxury hotels in Geneva that hosted the Iran nuclear negotiations.

Upon examination, the firm concluded that the spyware was a newer version of Doqu, a virus cybersecurity experts say Israel used for their most important missions.

“Are you confident that there was no compromise? There was no breach?” AP reporter Matt Lee asked State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke about the report.

“We take steps to ensure that information remains behind closed doors,” Rathke said vaguely.

“You can take steps to ensure that don’t work,” Lee said, pressing Rathke not to deflect his direct questions.

Rathke repeatedly dodged the question, explaining that the State Department went to great lengths to ensure the security of communications between the negotiators, but declined to address any details within Kapersky’s allegations.

“I’m not commenting on the specifics of that report,” Rathke said.