China accused of hacking US Weather Systems, NOAA

[LiberalElite]

Source: UPI

BEIJING, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency that operates the National Weather Service, providing critical forecast data to countless military, civilian, and commercial operations, was hacked by the Chinese.
The NOAA operates satellites, both geostationary and polar-orbiting, responsible for real-time tracking of national and global weather systems, satellites that "provide critical data for forecasts and warnings that are vital to every citizen and to our economy as a whole," according to NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/11/12/China-accused-of-hacking-US-Weather-Systems-NOAA/3551415827316/#ixzz3IwxPA9qp


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/11/12/China-accused-of-hacking-US-Weather-Systems-NOAA/3551415827316/

[Renew Deal]

1. So Hurricane Sandy was sent by China?

I kid

[meegbear]

2. I hope they don't hack into the tsunami machine ...

[snooper2]

3. See, all those folks with all those chemtrail websites (and believers here) caused this

Now the Chinese think chemtrails are real and are going to use them against us!

[Sunlei]

4. and the NOAA app has the exact gps location of every user.....

[heaven05]

5. major climate deal one day

major hacking the next. What's this world coming to. Who can be trusted anymore?

[haele]

6. It's a strategic action. The Chinese government hacks because they invest the resources to do so

And to get a jump-start on technology advancements they might not have or might contemplate. Part of it is also cultural - after the disaster the 20th century was for what is basically the oldest continuous country (prior to the Western invasions, they quickly assimilated any "conqueror civilization" and there was never a loss of language, traditions, or bureaucracy during transition of power) in the world - they feel they need to regain their rightful place.

By any means, that is, that won't get them nuked by a Western country. So yes, they hack both NASA space and NOAA weather satellites so they can observe the processing of data and signal dispersal. The probability that they would use that hack as a weapon against the US is probably around .0001%.
Which is probably enough for fearful Hawks to say - "The Chinese are going to try to turn off our Satellites when the next Norman tornado or Hurricane Sandy develops so hundreds of Americans get killed! They're gonna keep us from knowing the next time the Polar Vortex hits!"

Frankly, I'm more worried about Imhofe cutting funding for NOAA public weather alerts and portals because some private Weather Service convinces him its better for to balance the budget, if they provide weather information on a fee or subscription service - while they access NOAA data basically for free, or worse, take control of the NOAA weather service component because "Private Competitive Businesses always provide better products and services more efficiently without regulation than the Government can..."
Even though 85% of the time Privatization has been invoked, that "free market theory" been proven dramatically and expensively false for the average taxpayer since 1982. It works great for the companies and investors, but in terms of services? Unless, of course, your town's revenue is based on fees and fines, neither the taxpayer nor the government nor the common resource being privatized sees a "better" benefit.

Haele

[valerief]

8. I'm more afraid of Inhofe than the Chinese, too. nt

[Demeter]

7. Why don't the Chinese just log into weatherunderground.com?

It's very user-friendly, and usually pretty accurate....

[jakeXT]

9. As long as there are still satellites out there

NOAA resurrects backup weather satellite after GOES-13 failure

May 29, 2013

One of two operational geostationary weather satellites failed May 22, forcing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to configure a backup satellite for operation just in time for what is expected to be an active six-month hurricane season beginning June 1.

http://fcw.com/articles/2013/05/29/goes-east-trouble.aspx

With satellite on death watch, forecasts face uncertain future

Greenwire: Monday, July 14, 2014

Five days before Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, weather forecasters predicted its infamous "left hook" -- the sharp turn that drove it straight into the New Jersey shore.

That early warning was mostly due to polar-orbiting satellites, the high-tech flecks in the sky that rotate just 600 miles above the Earth's surface. Circling the planet on a north-south orbit, the satellites provide forecasters with high-resolution images and detailed data that their geostationary counterparts miss from a 20,000-mile-high perch.

But soon, some of that data could disappear.

Polar-orbiting satellites are getting old, with the newest among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's constellation reaching the end of its lifespan in 2016. NOAA won't launch a new satellite until 2017, leaving several months during which the National Weather Service will be relying on several polar satellites that could fail at any time.

The possibility of a "gap" in weather data is well-known on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers have chided NOAA for years over delays in its satellite programs, with Senate appropriators once threatening to hand over all construction responsibility to NASA.

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060002814

[tclambert]

10. Oh, they hacked weather observation satellites? I thought the title meant they hacked the weather.

You know, by training Chinese butterflies to stir up wind currents that would create hurricanes on the other side of the world.