Post: #1

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/...ccess.html

To summarize the article, Capital Police are investigating congressional IT contractors for a security breach (hacking), improper handling of sensitive material, theft, etc.

Five specific individuals are involved. These persons provide IT services and are shared by 40 Democrat congressmen.

They made "unauthorized access" to the House computer system which puts sensitive info at risk. They placed House info on an external cloud server in direct violation of House rules.

Quote:Fox News is told the contract employees, shared by about 40 House Democratic members, removed hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment from offices, including computers and servers. There also were bookkeeping and inventory irregularities where the employees would purchase equipment at one price, bill the congressional office for another and potentially pocket the difference.

I've been searching for more recent info as I just heard about this about an hour ago on Fox News Channel. It seems that few are talking about it.

In the story I heard earlier today, it seemed the investigation had narrowed to three employees. All brothers, all had middle eastern names. This alone isn't the issue.

The three brothers are 20, 21, and 22 years of age. They're all making $165K/year. Needless to say, most of the IT guys I know in this area are like "WTF?"

If someone works the system and profits, I can't hold it against them. But I have to wonder who is asleep at the switch? Who was the genius who gave these kids this much access and money? Somehow I doubt it had much to do with their skills and experience, and more to do with Democrat virtue signalling. I hope at least one of the media outlets runs with this story.

Post: #2

Of course they are. Politicians don't know what the fuck they are doing IT wise. Hillary and Platt River and the DNC leaks were an inside job. Can't blame Russia for everything.

Post: #3

Tip of the iceberg, I'm guessing. The whole administration is faced with a government that has been staffed by globalists for 30 years. The level of treachery will be monumental unless there is very significant turnover. There are lots of IT people in the country, outside of DC, who are unemployed or underemployed due to guest worker and offshoring practices ... give some of them jobs.

Post: #4

(02-10-2017 09:48 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Of course they are. Politicians don't know what the fuck they are doing IT wise. Hillary and Platt River and the DNC leaks were an inside job. Can't blame Russia for everything.

You can when you are out of options.

Post: #5

Latinopan found a youtube video about the story. In it they mention the suspect's names. They also raise the question of is this where Debbie Wasserman Shultz got hacked?





One of these guys apparently had a prior criminal record as well.

Post: #6

Apparently these brothers leaked info to some camel humpers in Yemen which cost the life of one of our special forces guys.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-11...aned-house

Quote:“Initial reports are always wrong, but it doesn’t appear to be a failure of planning or intelligence,” said the former special forces officer.

Almost immediately, the raiding force on the ground took intense fire, according to the briefing paper and a senior military official. Occupants of the targeted house and its compound, along with their guard force, moved to a separate cluster of houses nearby where families, including women and children, were staying. Armed women fired on the U.S. and Emirati forces.

“There were a lot of female combatants who were part of this,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, on Monday. “We saw during this operation, as it was taking place, that female fighters ran to pre-established positions — as though they had trained to be ready, and trained to be combatants — and engaged with us.”

Post: #7

They sound like the nice immigrants I hear all the time why the I.T. Industry needs more visas for. Not.

One of our boys is dead. Give them the death penalty. I hope Trump and Sessions goes law and order on all these traitorous assholes. Bring back firing squads.

Post: #8

Update:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/20/exclus...aqi-money/

This story gets even more complex. Read the article in the link.

Three brothers from Pakistan granted full access and providing IT services to several high profile Democrats in Congress (including one Debbie Wasserman Schultz.) Their wives go on the congressional payroll as well.

It's no wonder the MSM is trying to ignore this story and still insisting that Russia and wikileaks are responsible for the DNC hacks. I'd like to think there's a lot of career ending incompetence that took place.

Post: #9

Here's another article on the story:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/21/congre...-fugitive/

One of the brothers in question filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and listed $1 million in liabilities. Bankruptcies are serious issues for employees in positions requiring a security clearance.

Post: #10

This is actually the nature of the IT business. It doesn't matter how smart you are or how hard you work. If you are properly connected, however, you can easily score a job with a six-figure salary.

It's a lot being an actor. It's a lottery to make the "big bucks." But it is a career where you can make a living, while most actors don't make one.

Needless to say, this is why most people leave it in disgust.

Post: #11

It's not really business as usual when you've got a 20 year old who is at best qualified to do help desk, pulling in $160K/year. It's not business as usual to get to put your wife on the payroll for $160K/year when she doesn't work at all. But the outlandish salaries are the tip of the iceberg.

They were stealing equipment. They were grossly overcharging for hardware. They were moving sensitive material to off site servers when such actions are prohibited.

They're engaged in some rather shady and unstable business practices outside of congress. Bankruptcies, DUIs, and other nefarious shenanigans. A lot of things that would disqualify most people from obtaining and retaining a security clearance.

Were they all hired as some hardcore show of Democrat virtue signalling? Or were they hired for "other" reasons?

Post: #12

Whatever the reason for hiring them, the reason they weren't fired until 1 March was specifically because they were Muslim:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-01...m-american

Quote:A month ago, three Muslim American brothers who managed office IT were barred from congressional computers (on suspicion that they accessed computers without permission). While many congressmen immediately relieved them of their duties, two House Democrats decided to delay the firing (until today) because their Muslim background, some with ties to Pakistan, could make them easy targets for false charges.

As we previously reported, the three brothers (Abid, Imran, and Jamal Awan) who managed office IT for members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and other lawmakers were barred from computer networks at the House of Representatives Thursday, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.

Three members of the intelligence panel and five members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs were among the dozens of members who employed the suspects on a shared basis. The two committees deal with many of the nation’s most sensitive issues, information and documents, including those related to the war on terrorism.

The brothers are suspected of serious violations, including accessing members’ computer networks without their knowledge and stealing equipment from Congress.
The three men are “shared employees,” meaning they are hired by multiple offices, which split their salaries and use them as needed for IT services. It is up to each member to fire them from working...

While many congressmen did fire them immediately (and barred them from congressional systems), Politico reports that, one month after being barred from congressional systems, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) have finally fired the IT staff...

Meeks said he isn’t convinced Alvi and Imran Awan, both of whom worked in his office at different times, are involved in the alleged procurement scam but that Alvi was dismissed because the investigation was interrupting the day-to-day functions of his office.

“As of right now, I don’t see a smoking gun,” Meeks said. “I have seen no evidence that they were doing anything that was nefarious.”

Meeks said he was hesitant to believe the accusations against Alvi, Imran Awan and the three other staffers, saying their background as Muslim Americans, some with ties to Pakistan, could make them easy targets for false charges.

“I wanted to be sure individuals are not being singled out because of their nationalities or their religion. We want to make sure everybody is entitled to due process,” Meeks said.

“They had provided great service for me. And there were certain times in which they had permission by me, if it was Hina or someone else, to access some of my data.”

Fudge told Politico on Tuesday she would employ Imran Awan until he received “due process.”

“He needs to have a hearing. Due process is very simple. You don’t fire someone until you talk to them,” Fudge said.

On Wednesday, Lauren Williams, a spokeswoman for Fudge, wouldn’t provide details about Imran Awan’s firing but did confirm he was still employed in Fudge’s office as of Tuesday afternoon.
The bottom line is simple - these House Democrats decided it was better to be at risk of hacking and extortion than to be accused of racism.

And just for good measure, Politico reports that Awan has long-standing relationships with Meeks, Wasserman Schultz and Fudge. Meeks was one of the first lawmakers Awan worked for after coming to Capitol Hill in 2004. He joined Wasserman Schultz’s office in 2005 and started working for Fudge in 2008. In addition, Meeks and, to a larger extent, Wasserman Schultz, are said to have a friendly personal relationship with Awan and his wife, according to multiple sources. Awan made nearly $2 million since starting as an IT support staffer for House Democrats in 2004, according to public salary data. Alvi, who worked for House Democrats beginning in 2007, earned more than $1.3 million as an IT staffer during that time.

It's true. The DNC really is paralysed by identity politics, such that they can't even secure their computers for fear of being accused as racists. Don't worry about the 'due process' soundbite; Democrats don't have any more regard for that than they do 'free speech', 'the right to bear arms' or other small phrases out of the Constitution.

God save us from people who mean well. -storm

Post: #13

Thanks for the update. I thought no one else was paying attention. This link shows a graph where you can see which house members had this family on the payroll and for how much.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/01/pakist...-dem-reps/

Post: #14

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/suspec...nc-emails/

The smoking gun takes shape. Imran awan had the password to the iPad belonging to Debbie wasserman schultz while she was the dnc chair.

The dnc and Clinton campaigns were the first to accuse trump of having nefarious Russian connections. In July, when Wikileaks dumped the dnc emails, they immediately accused the Russians of hacking. These people were unable to implement basic security protocols, yet at the same time, they had the ability to identify Russia as the culprit?

Also of concern in this case is the capital police. They're handling the investigation. The FBI wanted to investigate, however they have been denied. No other organization in the history of the world has the investigatory resources of the FBI. Shouldn't they be the first people you call in this situation?

In light of these facts, imran awan is still on the payroll of Schultz. Despite his credentials being revoked by the house sergeant at arms, he still has access as an independent advisor.

Post: #15

(03-10-2017 03:47 PM)porscheguy Wrote:  http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/suspec...nc-emails/

The smoking gun takes shape. Imran awan had the password to the iPad belonging to Debbie wasserman schultz while she was the dnc chair.

The dnc and Clinton campaigns were the first to accuse trump of having nefarious Russian connections. In July, when Wikileaks dumped the dnc emails, they immediately accused the Russians of hacking. These people were unable to implement basic security protocols, yet at the same time, they had the ability to identify Russia as the culprit?

Also of concern in this case is the capital police. They're handling the investigation. The FBI wanted to investigate, however they have been denied. No other organization in the history of the world has the investigatory resources of the FBI. Shouldn't they be the first people you call in this situation?

In light of these facts, imran awan is still on the payroll of Schultz. Despite his credentials being revoked by the house sergeant at arms, he still has access as an independent advisor.

At this point the FBI has screwed up a number of cases recently. I can't be the only one tired of Comey's tired and played out investigations. More has come out of the Capital Police than we would ever hear if it was the FBI instead. These guys so far have revealed plenty. Let's see how far they get before they start talking like Comey or throw the rest of the case in the trash like the FBI has done.

If they find out that these fools copied and sold DNC email off to third parties or the Saudis, the Russia narrative will probably die overnight.

Post: #16

I hate to be that guy but it's "Capitol" Police.

I do know there's a time limit so it would be nice if mods corrected spelling errors in thread titles.

Post: #17

This story keeps getting weirder, now the Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC is doing everything it can to protect these IT staffers and obstruct the police investigation. This bitch openly threatened the capitol police with cutting their funding if they didn't return "her laptop" that they took as evidence in this case. I wonder what's on that laptop, all of Congress' emails? These guys had access to every email sent by Congress, so are these IT guys blackmailing the DNC and all of the Legislature with their dirt? Seems like this may be related to the Seth Rich/DNC hacking case.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/21/house-...-own-data/

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/13/house-...-received/

Congressional IT staffers who are the subject of a criminal investigation into misusing their positions had full access to members’ “correspondence, emails, confidential files,” and there was almost no tracking of what they did, a former House technology worker said.

Imran Awan bullied central IT to bend the rules for him so there wouldn’t be a paper trail about the unusually high permissions he was requesting. And their actions were not logged, so members have no way of knowing what information they may have taken, the central IT employee said.

Awan ran technology for multiple House Democrats, and soon four of his relatives — including brothers Abid and Jamal — appeared on the payroll of dozens of other members, collecting $4 million in taxpayer funds since 2010.

There were some things – like access to the House email system that were totally controlled by the technicians at HIR. In order for certain permissions to be granted, a form was required to ensure that there was a paper trail for the requested changes. Imran was constantly complaining that he had to go through this process and trying to get people to process his access requests without the proper forms. Some of the permissions he wanted would give him total access to the Members’ stuff.”

“IT staff at HIR can be tracked for every keystroke they make,” the worker said. But by comparison, “when these guys were granted access to the Member’s computer systems there is no oversight or tracking of what they may be doing on the Member’s system. For example they could make a copy of anything on the Member’s computer system to a thumb drive or have it sent to a private server they had set up and no one would know.”

http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/24/wasser...ed-crimes/

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz threatened the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police with “consequences” for holding equipment that she says belongs to her in order to build a criminal case against a Pakistani staffer suspected of massive cybersecurity breaches involving funneling sensitive congressional data offsite.

The Florida lawmaker used her position on the committee that sets the police force’s budget to press its chief to relinquish the piece of evidence Thursday, in what could be considered using her authority to attempt to interfere with a criminal investigation.

The Capitol Police and outside agencies are pursuing Imran Awan, who has run technology for the Florida lawmaker since 2005 and was banned from the House network in February on suspicion of data breaches and theft.

“My understanding is the the Capitol Police is not able to confiscate Members’ equipment when the Member is not under investigation,” Wasserman Schultz said in the annual police budget hearing of the House Committee On Appropriations’ Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

“We can’t return the equipment,” Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa told the Florida Democrat.

“I think you’re violating the rules when you conduct your business that way and you should expect that there will be consequences,” Wasserman Schultz said.

“If a Member loses equipment and it is found by your staff and identified as that member’s equipment and the member is not associated with any case, it is supposed to be returned. Yes or no?” she said.

Police tell her it is important to “an ongoing investigation,” but presses for its return anyway.

A federal employee with knowledge of the situation and who requested anonymity told The Daily News Foundation’s Investigative Group that as House authorities closed in on Imran Awan and his brothers, a laptop used by Imran was hidden in an unused crevice of the Rayburn House Office Building. Wasserman Schultz’s office is in Longworth House Office Building, a separate structure.

The laptop was later found by Capitol Police and seized because it was relevant to the criminal investigation, the source said.

The investigation is examining members’ data leaving the network and how Awan managed to get Members to place three relatives and a friend into largely no-show positions on their payrolls, billing $4 million since 2010. (RELATED: Suspects Could Read Every Email Congressmen Sent And Received)

The congresswoman characterizes the evidence as “belonging” to her and argues that therefore it cannot be seized unless Capitol Police tell her that she personally, as opposed to her staffer, is a target of the investigation.

When TheDCNF asked Wasserman Schultz Monday if it could inquire about her strong desire for the laptop, she said “No, you may not.” After TheDCNF asked why she wouldn’t want the Capitol Police to have any evidence they may need to find and punish any hackers of government information, she abruptly turned around in the middle of a stairwell and retreated back to the office from which she had come.

Her spokesman, David Dameron, then emerged to say “We just don’t have any comment.”

Though on the surface Wasserman Schultz would have been a victim of Awan’s scam, she has inexplicably protected him, circumventing the network ban by re-titling him as an “adviser” instead of technology administrator.

Politico described him and his wife, Hina Alvi, as having a “friendly personal relationship” with both Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York.

That baffled a Democratic IT staffer, who said “I can’t imagine why she’d be that good of friends with a technology provider.”

“Usually if someone does bad stuff, an office is going to distance themselves” rather than incur political fallout for a mere staffer, he added. (RELATED: House IT Aides Fear Suspects Are Blackmailing Members With Their Own Data)

Wasserman Schultz resigned as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 2016 after Wikileaks published thousands of internal emails obtained by an as-yet unidentified hacker.

Post: #18

http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/23/exclus...ium=Social

Capitol Police have also seized computer equipment tied to the Florida lawmaker.

Wasserman Schultz has demanded return of a laptop seized by the Capitol Police because it was purportedly used by Imran and was found hidden in a vacant office. The Florida Democrat used a Capitol Police budget hearing to threaten “consequences” for them if the laptop wasn’t returned.

On Thursday it was reported that police have not examined its contents because of the invocation of the Constitution’s “Speech and Debate clause,” and after months of refusal, her lawyer is now “negotiating” access to the data on yet-to-be-determined terms.

...And the Marine that found their equipment

He believes “there’s no way they could get this far without help” from some of the Democratic members of Congress for whom the brothers worked. Other Democrats have ignored a major security breach because it could look like a “black eye” in that they failed to vet the Pakistanis, he said.

“He’s dangerous. This is a crime syndicate that has successfully infiltrated Congress,” he said.

“If Donald Trump and the Republicans had hired foreign nationals to be their top IT guys and somehow their congressional files had been compromised, this would have been all over the news,” he continued.

It's goin down....the DNC that is.

Post: #19

Hopefully being young indian race trolls they don't know about the Clintons much and will rat out the whole DNC if the FBI gives them immunity and dangles the idea of letting them go back home.

Post: #20

(02-10-2017 09:48 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Of course they are. Politicians don't know what the fuck they are doing IT wise. Hillary and Platt River and the DNC leaks were an inside job. Can't blame Russia for [s]every[s/] anything.

Fixed.

Post: #21

(07-26-2017 10:01 AM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  Hopefully being young indian race trolls they don't know about the Clintons much and will rat out the whole DNC if the FBI gives them immunity and dangles the idea of letting them go back home.

Just give the IRTs a white southern belle and they'll spill the beans faster than you can say "Shillary".

Post: #22

Via The Daily Caller

Quote:Suspect In House IT Security Probe Also Had Access To DNC Emails

Imran Awan — the lead suspect in a criminal probe into breaches of House of Representatives information security systems — possessed the password to an iPad used by then-Democratic National Committee Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz when DNC emails were given to WikiLeaks, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.

Wasserman Schultz resigned the DNC post in the wake of WikiLeaks posting damaging internal emails, blaming the scandal on hacking by Russians.

Imran and his family members, all of whom worked as IT professionals for members of Congress, were banned from the House network Feb. 2, 2017, by the House Sergeant at Arms, but Wasserman Schultz has declined to fire him and circumvented the ban by having him “advise” her office.

WikiLeaks emails show that although Imran was employed by her taxpayer-funded House office, the Florida Democrat’s world — and iPad — mixed DNC, House and campaign business, and that Imran was on call for, and on a first-name basis with, top DNC staff.

Garret Bonosky, deputy director of the DNC, wrote in a May 4, 2016 email: “Amy — I will call you shortly. I have to get this ipad thing figured out. Need to make sure I have her username and password.”

DNC Assistant to the Chair Amy Kroll responded: “I do not have access to her ipad password, but Imran does.”

Bonosky replied: “Just gave AK the cell phone for Imran.”

Kroll responded: “Just spoke to Imran, call me whenever GB and I’ll update you.”

WikiLeaks began publishing July 26, 2016, “44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments from the top of the U.S. Democratic National Committee … The leaks come from the accounts of seven key figures in the DNC.”

Past interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile initially claimed after the emails became public that they were fabricated, then switched explanations and said the Russians stole them.

The FBI requested access to the DNC’s server to find out who was responsible, but the DNC refused, FBI Director James Comey said, according to The Hill.

Politico reported that New York Rep. Gregory “Meeks and, to a larger extent, Wasserman Schultz, are said to have a friendly personal relationship with Awan and his wife, according to multiple sources.”

House authorities set their sights on the Awans while investigating the existence of a secret server that was funneling congressional data off-site.

They also suspect Imran of stealing money and equipment. Soon after he joined Wasserman Schultz’s congressional payroll in 2005, four of his relatives and one of his friends began getting paid by House members. It is not clear whether ghost employees are part of the theft being investigated, but the family collected a combined $5 million.

Over the last six years, the individuals in question worked for some 80 members of Congress, all Democrats, including members of the homeland security, foreign affairs and intelligence committees. They worked for multiple members at once, since the offices did not require full-time IT services.

Wasserman Schultz spokesman David Damron did not respond to questions about whether the stolen emails might have come from Imran. Damron also declined to respond when asked if Wasserman Schultz has stronger evidence the theft was committed by a Russian.

Computer security experts say the most common threat comes from someone abusing a position of trust, trusting the wrong person or a perpetrator manipulating someone using “social engineering” to gain access; all such explanations defy the prevalent stereotype of distant strangers using high-tech tricks.

Politico reported “Meeks said he was hesitant to believe the accusations against Alvi, Imran Awan and the three other staffers, saying their background as Muslim Americans, some with ties to Pakistan, could make them easy targets for false charges,” Politico reported, adding that, he did not see a “smoking gun.”

Earlier this year, the brothers were accused of using high-tech listening devices against their own stepmom as part of a scheme to ensure that she didn’t stop them from accessing money stashed in Pakistan under their father’s name. A relative said they threatened to have the woman’s loved ones in Pakistan kidnapped if she didn’t give them power of attorney to access assets stored in their dying father’s name.

Their stepmother called the Fairfax County, Virginia police shortly before the Capitol Police disclosed the individuals as targets of the investigation.

In a May 12, 2016, email that went out to Bonosky and other top DNC staff, Wasserman Schultz staffer Rosalyn Kumar wrote: “Pelosi is doing s closed door meeting. No staff or anyone allowed. Kaitlyn come to Rayburn room and get her iPad for Imran.”

As the IT employees who set up user accounts, they had superuser privileges and could read any emails and files saved on the computers of House members’ offices.

While they were supposed to be working for the House, they were also running a limited liability corporation called “CIA,” apparently a car dealership, that racked up massive debts and fraud accusations.

CIA took and never repaid a $100,000 loan from Dr. Ali Al-Attar, an Iranian-Iraqi who is a fugitive from U.S. authorities and has been linked to Hezbollah.

Abid Awan filed for bankruptcy in 2012, listing $1 million in liabilities. Employers typically don’t allow people with money problems to have access to sensitive information, because the financial pressures can cause them to misuse it.

Former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez was elected the DNC’s new chair in February, along with Minnesota Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison, as his deputy.

Neither Perez nor Ellison responded to a request for comment on what the House and DNC are doing to accurately assess whether the Awans stole data.

Post: #23

Without a doubt, this would be considered a conflict of interest. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's brother - Steven Wasserman - is a US Attorney who is overseeing Imran Awan investigation.

Sources
Conflict of Interest? Connections to Democrats in Investigations of Awan
DWS’ Pakistani IT Guy was Arrested, and Now There’s Intrigue Surrounding the Attorneys Involved

Post: #24

Freakin' outrageous. This needs to be pushed up the ladder to Team Trump and get this guy fired ASAP before he destroys any evidence in this case. He is beyond compromised.

Post: #25

I hope he doesn't have the capacity to bomb the case before he gets replaced.