Товарищ подполковник! Алексей Балашов нас выдал!!!!
2018-04-01 7:53 GMT+03:00 Eric Viel <[email protected]>: > Good one!!!! Made me really laugh > > Le dim. 1 avr. 2018 00:44, Alex Balashov <[email protected]> a > écrit : > >> (Filed by the Geostrategic Open Source Alliance.) >> >> ATLANTA, GA (1 April 2018)--In a twist of events that has shocked the >> global >> technical community, the well-known open-source VoIP professional Alex >> Balashov >> has revealed himself to be a deep cover intelligence operative of the GRU >> (Main Intelligence Directorate of the military of the Russian Federation) >> and >> the FSB (the Federal Security Bureau, the successor agency to the >> Soviet-era >> KGB). >> >> Balashov was reported to be seeking US political asylum and immunity from >> prosecution in return for an exposé of the ways in which the Russian >> foreign >> intelligence apparatus has sought to influence the direction of the >> open-source >> communications project "Kamailio", widely used in telecommunications >> carrier, >> service provider and enterprise environments to deliver high-scalability >> routing services and other SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) platform >> building >> blocks. >> >> In connection with these sensitive ongoing negotiations, Balashov was >> debriefed >> on behalf of the US Government by Fred Posner of The Palner Group, a >> counterintelligence think tank and security consulting firm based in >> Gainesville, Florida. This debriefing was coordinated with the German BND >> (Bundesnachrichtendienst) agency and other agencies representing security >> cooperation partners of the European Union and NATO. >> >> GOSA have been able to obtain exclusive excerpts from the portions of this >> interview not deemed top secret: >> >> >> POSNER: Please state your full name, age, place of birth, physical >> characteristics, serial number and any other relevant professional asset >> identification markers. >> >> BALASHOV: [redacted] >> >> POSNER: You have made the claim that Kamailio has been infiltrated by >> Russian >> spy agencies. Given that it's an open-source project, that's a bold and >> provocative claim. Where's the evidence? >> >> BALASHOV: Infiltration is perhaps strong word from spy novels. Reality is >> less >> thrilling. As you are knowing from controversy about election of our >> Donald, >> covert global influence today is mainly question of soft power. >> >> POSNER: Is there an obvious way in which this applies to the Kamailio >> project >> you can show us? I remind you that you have staked your personal freedom >> on >> this issue. >> >> BALASHOV: Influence is delicate matter. Da, of course there are some >> superficial indications... >> >> POSNER: Such as? >> >> BALASHOV: For example module to support language Squirrel. What is >> Squirrel? >> Who uses it? If you take a look at code is a bit complicated, da? What >> does it >> do? >> >> POSNER: It is a bit complicated, But I'm not convinced. Sell me. >> >> BALASHOV: It was in fact committed to GitHub by former Eastern Bloc >> personality, yes? Very complicated code for unknown mystery language >> support >> from Eastern Europe... >> >> POSNER: Yes, from the main developer and leader of the project. >> >> BALASHOV: Hmm. >> >> POSNER: What else? >> >> BALASHOV: There is a Ukranian [redacted] who is in charge of many SIP >> captures >> with system which diverts them to central database, yes? Something with >> name >> from ancient Greek troubadour or myths maybe? >> >> POSNER: We'll have to look into that. >> >> BALASHOV: Kamailio World is held every year in East Berlin. Every year >> back to >> Berlin. >> >> POSNER: So what? >> >> BALASHOV: Where do most guests of it spend their night? >> >> POSNER: [audible crack of pistol whip] This is not a quiz show! I ask the >> questions here. >> >> BALASHOV: Yes, yes, okay, they are at the Park Inn at Alexanderplatz. >> >> POSNER: And? >> >> BALASHOV: The history of this hotel in East German times and Stasi >> presence >> there... >> >> POSNER: That aspect of history is well-known. >> >> BALASHOV: Da... then is clear. >> >> POSNER: What are the strategic goals of Russia with regard to open source >> communication infrastructure? >> >> BALASHOV: From news lately can be seen that is soft power leveraging and >> economic sabotage. >> >> POSNER: Economic sabotage? How will they achieve that with open source? >> >> BALASHOV: Again is question of delicate influence in small ways. This is >> not >> time of Arab dignitaries visiting KGB hotels in Moscow in 1970s or this >> kind of >> naked and obvious trick. >> >> POSNER: [raises pistol] You are here to provide specifics. >> >> BALASHOV: Yes yes, okay. Well, I am not policy architect at Khoroshovskoe >> Shosse, but general point of view with colleagues is that best approach to >> Western countries is to encourage kind of "boondoggles" [air quotes] which >> consume large economic resources with very little benefit. >> >> POSNER: Does Russia create boondoggles in America? >> >> BALASHOV: No no. We don't have this level of direct influence to create >> per se. >> You can see from recent activities of Internet Research Agency for >> example that >> the successful approach is the one which will amplify or grow existing >> boondoggles which lead to kind of systemic dysfunction, through for >> example >> injection of kind of "memes" [air quote gesture] and "trolls" [air quote >> gesture]. >> >> POSNER: Where has Russia been successful at this specifically as it >> relates to >> the Kamailio, the VoIP industry, and real-time communications? >> >> BALASHOV: The GRU are very successful at disinformation campaign to >> convince >> business executives about cloud things. They are always listening to our >> "thought leadership" [air quote gesture] to move to cloud, mostly Amazon >> Web >> Services, which is great for us since is worst possible approach. At >> industry >> events our people are always pushing very much cloud cloud cloud, you >> know, >> like a stampede of rhinoceroses to cloud, don't miss out on cloud! Don't >> be >> left on the ground, fly away to cloud! We have great podcas-- >> >> POSNER: --stop. But there is a legitimate value proposition for service >> providers in moving to the cloud, isn't there? >> >> BALASHOV: Yes, for some maybe, but for example AWS is platform not >> designed at >> all for telecom, is kind of Node.js and Ruby on Rails hosting service. >> >> POSNER: Where is the economic sabotage? >> >> BALASHOV: Well they are spending one month $30,000 to Amazon, next month >> $35,000, next month $40,000, always bigger instances, bigger, bigger, to >> handle >> even very basic work. Official sexy seduction mythology is you can fire >> all the >> system admins and no longer replace hard drives at 3 AM and forget all >> this >> messing with hardware. >> >> Is very hard to resist for big business leaders who follow classical >> Western >> management consulting sermon from 90s about "divest yourself of non-core >> competencies" [air quote gesture]. You know, it is same advice they come >> to >> give to us in Gaidar and Yeltsin days. From my memory was not working out >> well >> until First Marshal Putin took different approach... >> >> POSNER: Let's stay focused. Surely companies can run the numbers for >> themselves >> and see if it makes sense for them? >> >> BALASHOV: Maybe, but where we have the success is in the exploit of the >> fear of >> missing out, I think is called "FOMO" [air quote gesture] nowadays. >> Everyone is >> moving to cloud, don't get left behind, even if unit economics of it are >> disaster for your product and your company. Have you heard about the >> cloud? >> It's future! >> >> POSNER: And this has been successful? >> >> BALASHOV: Hard to measure but for example there is major increase in >> mailing >> list posts about putting Kamailio in Amazon EC2, EC2, endless EC2 from >> people >> for whom it is obviously wrong thing. Lots of wheels spinnink, spinnik, >> making >> fire and sparks, light and heat going into cold, empty outer space, to >> keep warm >> our GLONASS satellites. But where is result? All cost increase. And >> still the >> $3000/mo instance does not process small amount of packets that is >> nothing for >> bare metal server. >> >> Meanwhile spendink, spendink, solvink big amounts of kind of fake >> problems... I >> heard this expression once in Atlanta, "keep up with Jones" [air quote >> gesture]. I don't know who is Jones but everyone agrees is very important >> to >> keep up with h-- >> >> POSNER: --back up. Fake problems? >> >> BALASHOV: Maybe is better word: unnecessary problems that come from way >> AWS >> inside workings. Stupid network constraints, stupid puzzles for >> puzzle-solvers. >> What is American term, "eager beaver" [air quote gesture]? >> >> POSNER: Apart from tying up resources, how does this enthusiasm for AWS >> help >> Russia? >> >> BALASHOV: Well it should be obvious that having whole industry pay huge >> premium >> price to centralise their infrastructure at one entity is both >> economically >> wasteful and precarious. Fragile and expensive setup is like our Soviet >> economy >> at end of eighties. Also havink resemblance to old-times mainframe >> computing is >> top secret irony nobody sees. >> >> POSNER: Where else is Russia seeding economically harmful memes? >> >> BALASHOV: Other big initiative is encourage huge overinvestment in WebRTC >> because is supposedly future of real-time communications. >> >> POSNER: But WebRTC is real. >> >> BALASHOV: Da, of course, sometimes workink fine, but eats up big >> engineering >> capital and talent fighting always browser bugs and incompatible >> implementations and always changink changink changink. Meanwhile who is >> caring >> for fundamental SIP services? >> >> POSNER: And this is a form of economic sabotage? >> >> BALASHOV: Of course is sabotage. If you can make much of a sector of >> economy to >> obsess always about some toy and create kind of echo chamber of >> "visionary" >> [air quote gesture] commentary about it it is negative for GDP and >> innovation. >> >> "Vision" has shown the big success for us; is perfect concept in hand of >> intelligence agency because nobody is knowing what it is but everyone so >> desperate to show they have it. >> >> POSNER: So a large-scale movement of VoIP service providers to the cloud >> and >> big development around WebRTC represent Russian attempts at sabotage of >> the >> Western real-time communications industry? >> >> BALASHOV: Well again, these tendencies are existing before. It is more >> question >> of amplifying and boosting and promoting them so many actors are >> distracted >> from important things. American business guys are very vulnerable to it; >> every >> time they are asking, "this does not seem to be worth it for us?", always >> they >> hear from friends at country club, "you need more bold vision and company >> culture of innovation, my friend". >> >> We have learned after some years and applying KGB psychology training to >> exploit their big personal insecurities about many things. For example >> they see >> competitor have Cloud Business Analytics, they too must have now Cloud >> Business >> Analytics, not for any reason, just fear, insecurity, the angst about not >> having enough "Big Data" [air quote gesture]. >> >> POSNER: What else? >> >> BALASHOV: In recent years can be found thought leadership to remove direct >> sales because is inefficient, too high customer acquisition cost and so >> forth. >> Always now resellers, channel partners this and master agents that. Common >> sense shows industry cannot support chain with big depth of reseller of >> reseller of reseller with everyone wanting to be reseller and nobody >> selling >> actual products to the real people. >> >> POSNER: That's not new to telecom. >> >> BALASHOV: No, no, but now new twist! They are now having everything "as a >> service" [air quote gesture], platform-aaS, infrastructure-aaS... >> >> POSNER: Okay? >> >> BALASHOV: But also now infrastructure management-as-a-service and kind of >> meta >> approach, management-of-management-of-platform-aaS. Resellers of resale >> platforms of platforms of platforms. >> >> Maybe not quite clear, but this is special recursive sense of humour >> tradition >> in Russia. Put endless things inside things inside things like matryoshka >> doll. Again-- >> >> POSNER: --matryoshka? Like the Russian nesting doll? >> >> BALASHOV: Yes yes, nesting doll. >> >> As I was saying key point is lots of "activity and buzz" [air quote >> gesture] >> which is parasitism by another name. Lots of energy and enthusiasm, big >> banners, hype from UC press, LinkedIn Pulse CTO insights, cheerleadink, >> but >> where is result? >> >> POSNER: How is this all tied to Kamailio? >> >> BALASHOV: Some of it is not directly tied. It is more idea that Kamailio >> is >> tool for executing "big ideas" [air quote gesture] and "platform plays" >> [air >> quote gesture]. >> >> When you are reading mailing list post like, "how to scale up with >> Kamailio to >> deliver cloud WebRTC solutions for the enterprise?" and wonder with >> yourself >> "from where this small guy got such 'big ideas'?" is often result of >> Russian-sponsored so-called thought leadership. Who is he? He does not >> have >> enterprise! >> >> POSNER: What's wrong with that question? >> >> BALASHOV: Well from our point of view nothing; great question, bold and >> inspiring! We are encouraging them always to go build grandiose >> megalomania >> ideas, telling to them, yes, "boil the ocean", "be disruptor 2.0", etc. >> Have >> you seen ITEXPO? Ideally also raising some venture capital to erase value >> from >> fund limited partners portfolio, like pension funds, university >> endowments. >> >> Although sometimes we feel sorry, knowink they will not meet the success, >> and >> almost have heart to tell them is just trollink, but our government is >> clear >> about goal: work hard every day to suck money out of American economy. >> >> POSNER: So it is in Russia's interest to see big ideas funded in America? >> >> BALASHOV: Oh yes yes! Bigger is better! First mover advantage and network >> effect, go big or go home trailblazink! On every time someone gets the >> Series A >> for "completely transforming the way you do the business with UCaaS" [air >> quote >> gesture] or like "a new kind of next-gen VoIP peering" [air quote >> gesture] we >> are having another champagne bottle at the headquarters. >> >> POSNER: This does not really sound like traditional intelligence work. >> >> BALASHOV: Is not. We are livink in Internet cultural moment, is about >> memes, >> engineering perceptions and mass behaviour, new kind of value creation. >> Likewise destruction. >> >> POSNER: We will consider your asylum application in detail. In the >> meantime, >> you will be detained at [redacted] as before. >> >> BALASHOV: This is famous American tradition of "customer service"? >> >> POSNER: We call it "customer success" nowadays. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Kamailio (SER) - Users Mailing List >> [email protected] >> https://lists.kamailio.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sr-users >> > > _______________________________________________ > Kamailio (SER) - Users Mailing List > [email protected] > https://lists.kamailio.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sr-users > >
_______________________________________________ Kamailio (SER) - Users Mailing List [email protected] https://lists.kamailio.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sr-users
