Experts question if Trump servers shared info with Russian bank

We don't know if it was the Russians. It could have been Jina, it could have been anyone.

For a man that seemingly knows more than the experts on the matter, he sure seems to allow the Russians into his computers.

Indeed, it appears that one Trump owned and ran server has an open communication line with a Russian bank, for some odd reason, transmitting data back and forth.

While investigating Russian hacks, it seems to have come to light that this Russian bank was granted access to a server, and if I understand the claims, the server was currently being used predominantly for email. Additionally, someone had to give this access to the bank.


https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/31/trump-russia-servers-alfa-bank-report/




A handful of computer scientists and DNS experts discovered that over the course of four months this year, a Trump Organization server irregularly pinged two servers belonging to the prominent Russian entity Alfa Bank, according to Slate. As former New Republic editor Franklin Foer reports, it is not clear what type of communication passed among the servers, whether emails or spam, but multiple experts agreed that the messages were sent in patterns consistent with human input.

"The parties were communicating in a secretive fashion," DNS authority Paul Vixie told Slate. "The operative word is 'secretive.' This is more akin to what criminal syndicates do if they are putting together a project."

This isn't a cut-and-dry situation. Foer sets the scene in the following manner: The first server was registered to the Trump Organization in 2009 to send out mass emails and other marketing materials for Trump-branded products. Cybersecurity experts investigating the hack of the Democratic National Committee earlier this year started tracking the server when one researcher spotted what appeared to be malware traveling from Russia to a domain with Trump in its name. At this point, the server was no longer used for marketing campaigns. In fact, it handled an oddly tiny amount of traffic.

What's more, the researchers received error messages when they attempted to ping the Trump-Email.com server. They concluded that it was established to accept messages from a small number of IP addresses, and 87 percent of the DNS lookups involved the Alfa Bank servers, Slate reports.

When researchers plotted the log data on a timeline, they found that it spiked during hot moments of the US presidential election. DNS lookups jumped during the Democratic and Republican national conventions, for example.

Nine experts who reviewed the server logs for Slate said that the data would be nearly impossible to fake, since it included thousands of records with nuances too advanced for even skilled programmers to reproduce.

Foer's report continues as follows: The Trump-Email.com domain stopped functioning on September 23rd, shortly after The New York Times reached out to Alfa Bank about the situation. On September 27th, the Trump Organization established a new host name, trump1.contact-client.com, which communicated with that very same server through a new route. The first attempt to look up the new host name came from Alfa Bank. The only way Alfa Bank could have learned the new host name would be through direct contact with whoever changed it, experts said.

"That party had to have some kind of outbound message through SMS, phone, or some non-internet channel they used to communicate [the new configuration]," Vixie told Slate.

In a statement sent to Slate, Alfa Bank denied that it had ever been in contact with the Trump campaign, via these servers or otherwise. The Trump campaign provided Slate the following response:

"The email server, set up for marketing purposes and operated by a third-party, has not been used since 2010. The current traffic on the server from Alphabank's [sic] IP address is regular DNS server traffic—not email traffic. To be clear, The Trump Organization is not sending or receiving any communications from this email server. The Trump Organization has no communication or relationship with this entity or any Russian entity."

The Trump spokesperson did not respond to Slate's follow-up questions about the new host name or its finding that the server handled only "regular" DNS traffic (which is usually email traffic), rather than email traffic specifically. Foer emphasizes that his report does not equate a smoking gun, but rather "a suggestive body of evidence that doesn't absolutely preclude alternative explanations."

In early October, the US intelligence community concluded that top Russian officials directed the hacks of the DNC and other US political organizations, and other evidence points to Russia's involvement in the cyberattacks on Gen. Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta.

Update: The New York Times' sources say that "none" of the investigations thus far have turne

 

Was this government classified info, or from a business venture or personal stuff ?

 

[QUOTE=GeddonM3;106

One question needs to be asked. What is the definition of "personal stuff" in the communications between a Presidential campaign and an agent of the Russian government?

But two facts make it worrisome.

It's apparant that either the Russians, Trump or both tried to hide this from view.

And it is also apparant that they made further attempts to hide what they were doing once the New York Times asked about it.

Which reminds me of the clumsy way the Trump campaign tried to cover for the fact that they never distributed any money to vets groups after their January veterens fundraiser until they got caught by the Washington Post.

 

It's incriminating whether Trump has personal or business ties to a Russian bank. He keeps his business dealings so secretive it's frightening that people don't see the danger here.

 

I expect this desperation to grow worse and worse over the next 7 days. I believe most of us will sit back and laugh as the democrats go into full blown panic mode.

 

LOL! Hillary and her pay to play foundation and folks are worried whether Trump may have had contact with a Russian......Bwahahahaha!

 

"Experts" question Trump?

Maybe they're liberal/socialist experts.

Fail.

 

Very partisan of you to think this is anywhere as important as what's going on with the other campaign. Trump probably has personal and business ties to banks across the world.

 

Trump has much to hide. He is nothing more than a prominent thug, with dreams of the White House.

 

Well, not this bank, nor any Russian entity according to the Trump campaign. Seems odd then to grant them access to a server that handles email communications, even more so when Trump so vociferously has stated that intelligence agencies and are incorrect in their determinations over whom was responsible for DNC hacking.

" The Trump Organization has no communication or relationship with this entity or any Russian entity."

 

How so? Hillary is a bad candidate who will result in the status quo. Trump is a bad candidate who will be disastrous for our country and its future elections. I'm a bipartisan critic, but I recognize a true threat when I see on.

 

Surprised they didn't use the "Most IT experts agree", or another similar straw-man preface before starting their argument. Someone is not following the S.O.P.

 

Did he pass classified intelligence around? What am I missing here, what are we supposed to be mad about?

 

How do you figure Trump will be disastrous for the country and future elections? Have you forgotten that Hillary wants to let refugees in and have open borders? Have you forgotten everything she said in private behind our backs about her true goals? Trump is an angel compared to her. At least that's what we believe, I've yet to see any behind the scenes talk where he plans on (*)(*)(*)(*)ing us.

 

SO WHAT!!! HE'S A PRIVATE CITIZEN overseeing a host of business entities.

Thug? Really? Funny how Trump haters pollute reality with crap like that. They idolize political thugs who heard them like sheep & hate on folks who try and stop that from happening.

 

So hows that work out with Podesta and his brother taking money from the Russians? Do you see the same danger?

 

You knew this play was coming after the FBI reopened their investigation into Hillarys email scandal. So its run with the Narrative that Trump is working with the Russians.

Naturally while Hillary and team says nothing about Podesta her Chairman of her campaign and his brother(a major bundler for Hillary) are taking money and helping Putin and his boys get around BO peeps sanctions.

 

Hillary is compromised by the Russians, and she with her people can be blackmailed by many of her Corrupt foundation Donors. So not so much like the Status Quo.

 

Nothing needs to be asked, it's not a big deal and trying to even dare claim it is anything like what Hillary has done is nothing but mental retardation at its finest.

Trump is not giving away classified government info, and to be honest Hillary has more ties
To the Russians than trump.

This thread is simply more left wing fodder, mixed with some typical liberal false journalism.

 

Did anybody (*)(*)(*)(*)ing ask him, or are you just trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill like most liberals do ?

Unless that business venture has anything illegal going on, really it's
None of your business.

Funny, you trashing on trump with zero proof of wrong doing, yet swinging from the clintons nuts even though they are doing exactly what you trying to claim trump is.

Enough with the partisan BS, sick of liberal hypocrisy.

 

WikiLeaks is going into phase 3.....so expect Hillary and her team to keep saying Assange is working with the Russians too.

 

CTR scrambling with their pants down. Gonna be pushing their lies and left wing journalism to the max now.

 

He only slaps around enemies of himself and America, it's not a new idea..

"If somebody messes wid me, I'm a-gonna mess wid him"- Al Capone

 

I wonder why they don't want to talk about Podestas ties to the Russians. Besides the FBI investigating him and his brother. They know Podesta put shares in his daughters name.

Trump should mention that.

Moreover if you want to see Podesta blow a gasket. Start talking about his daughter and her Russian friends.

 

They won't give up on this Red Scare bit. I'd like to see polling data or focus group info on this. They must think it's a good strategy.