General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDid Karl Rove Really Try To HACK ELECTION 2012? (Videos) (Conspiracy Theory)

-...After election day, Anonymous followed up with a press release announcing that they had hacked into Roves lurching ORCA fail whale behemoth of a computer system to block Roves vote tampering scheme in Ohio, but DC blogger Wonkette snarks:
If Anonymous hacked ORCA and caused it to explode miserably on Election Day, how could Anonymous ever prove that ORCA was actually a vote-thieving program? If they hacked in, couldnt they have planted code to make it look like Rove was gonna fraud the election?
(Though she then swiftly adds, Not that we believe for a second that Rove wasnt trying to fraud the election.)
http://wonkette.com/489966/anonymous-claims-it-stopped-karl-rove-from-hacking-the-election-by-hacking-orca-we-think
Yet some writers including this one believe Anonymous claims are within the realm of possibility, and imbued with a ringing sense of truthiness that we just feel in our gut. In his Anonymous Saved The Election? piece, my fellow AI editor Nathaniel Downes whos also a computer whiz and knowledgeable about Anonymous various exploits displays Anonymous letter, translates it from Geek to plain English, and ventures that the details seem too specific and authentic for someone to just make up.
They cite specific numbers. They state precisely how many tunnels are there. They cite how many passwords were attempted. But, there are key words which look innocent but, to a computer engineer, are very much a trigger.
These phrases are (our emphasis):
" We noticed these tunnels were strategically placed to allow for tunnel rats to race to the sewer servers from three different states.."
Now, to a normal person a rat is just that: a furry animal or a slang term for a scoundrel. But to a computer person, a rat is something radically different, a r.a.t. hack. The Remote Administration Tool hack is a method of remotely accessing a machine as if it were local. Using such a hack, you would have full access to the machine, at a level someone physically at the machine may not have. A sewer server is a term used to denote a hack over a secured tunnel, known as a Secured SHell (SSH), using a form of encryption designed to make it appear to be innocent background traffic.
This is not some general discussion, making claims in order to claim. They have released clear and specific details on what exactly was done, information which the people behind Orca can verify. Even more telling, however, is the name the group used for their denial of service attack: The Great Oz
Oz refers to the land in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz; more currently, it refers to the television show Oz,which is about a prison. And the actions the group took was to attempt to hack the election into jail, locking it away. It broke, absolutely. We reported on the failures of Orca and its public face earlier. What Anonymous is claiming is that Orcas public face was a farce, a lie. It was not to coordinate poll challengers so much as to steal the election.
The little cherry on top, however, is the hint that Anonymous not only blocked the operation, but kept copies of the code and data from Orca and are planning on leaking it to wikileaks. If and when this happens, you know AI will be there.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/17/anonymous-saved-the-election-text/
Bondibox from Daily Kos writes,
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/17/1162678/-Anonymous-claims-it-stopped-Karl-Rove-from-hacking-the-vote
A long article from Democratic Underground sardonically inquires, Hmmm Why Was Karl Rove So Adamant that Romney Not Concede Ohio? and then segues into the messy aftermath, investigation, and possible murder following the 2004 election which many believe should have resulted in challenger John Kerry (D-MA) unseating GOP incumbent President George W. Bush.
On October 26th 2008, Stephen Spoonamore a computer expert and professional colleague of Roves IT guru, Michael Connell wrote in his four-page sworn affidavit:
During the evening and early morning on the 2004 General Election in Ohio, on my own computer I was watching the results of incoming counties and precincts. I believed there was a more than likely chance County Tabulators had been programmed to manipulate votes.
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/images/Filed%20ExhG%20Spoon%20Decl%20Oct.pdf
Spoonamore further explained that the abrupt increase in Bush votes and decrease in Kerry votes followed a data pattern which resembled a fraud technique called an Intelligent Man In the Middle, or KingPin Attack, adding that the design of Roves and Connells SmartTech computer system was ideal for KingPin attacks. Craig Ungers best-selling Boss Rove, Inside Karl Roves Secret Kingdom of Power confirms Spoonamores testimony:
As does Steven F. Freemans report for the University of Pennsylvania Center for Organizational Dynamics, The Unexplained Exit Poll Discrepancy:
http://www.appliedresearch.us/sf/Documents/ExitPoll.pdf

On October 31st 2008, Judge Marbley ordered Connell to file a deposition concerning his knowledge of the GOPs computer system and possible vote tampering, and then summoned him to testify in court. Connells court appearance was scheduled for late December, but it never took place. On December 19th he unexpectedly died in a suspicious plane crash when the experienced pilots plane ran out of gas and crashed into a house in Akron, OH. According to John Byrnes 2008 article in Raw Story, a friend of Connells had warned him not to fly his plane due to possible sabotage, and Connell had already cancelled two flights because he believed his plane had been tampered with. Connell had also reportedly requested protection from the court.
Raw Storys Larisa Alexandrovna added:
He has flown his private plane for years without incident. I know he was going to DC last night, but I dont know why. He apparently ran out of gas, something I find hard to believe. I am not saying that this was a hit nor am I resigned to this being simply an accident either Mr. Connell has confided that he was being threatened, something that his attorneys also told the judge in the Ohio election fraud case.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Karl_Roves_IT_guru_Mike_Connell_1220.html
cont'
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/11/19/did-karl-rove-really-try-to-hack-election-2012-videos-conspiracy-theory/

leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)that election stealing is a conspiracy theory better left to other people and not the dem party that's it and nothing more. so go back to sleep people debbie will have none of it and none of you
bahrbearian
(13,466 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)Wisconsin uses paper ballots.
Phx_Dem
(11,198 posts)I don't doubt Anonymous' claims -- they are very specific and, frankly, I believe Rove would do ANYTHING to win the presidency. I think he rigged the Ohio election in 2004 and tried again this year which explains why he was so stupefied when Ohio was called for Obama and insistent that the networks "slow down." He was out-hacked and now he's political toast.
I say,THANK YOU ANONYMOUS!!
randome
(34,845 posts)Evil masterminds don't telegraph their inner feelings while on live TV. That only happens in TV Land when it's the only way to convey a character's state of mind.
If Rove expected Ohio to be flipped, he wouldn't give a damn what Fox News said. He would know it was in the bag.
And whatever anonymous email that was received did not offer any evidence so it's just another bogus claim by someone claiming to be with the 'real' Anonymous. Absent evidence to the contrary.