Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • September 8, 2017 10:10 AM

Hmm,

The malware’s modules — including FOGGYBOTTOM

Funny I seem to remember “FoggyBottom” being an area in Washington DC adjacent to the White house with the Watergate complex and George Washington University. Thus much frequented by certain types includind those from a well known IC entity.

So much so that it’s rumoured that it’s where spooks leak to aids who inturn leak to congress critters who then leak to other aids who in turn leak to the likes of the WashPo and so the wheel turns getting greased by the largess of corporate interests.

Clive Robinson • September 8, 2017 12:32 PM

@ ab praeceptis,

I seem to remember that “foggy bottom” is the informal name of the dep. of state.

Yup it’s it’s seventieth aniversary of it’s move there this year.

My main interest in the area is it used to have the Naval Observatory there. Amongst it’s other claims to infamy Washington had four different prime meridians rubibg through it. Foggy bottom had the prime meridian laid down by Thomas Jefferson in 1799. Which he used to try and usurp the “Prime Meridian” from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich East London. Apparently the French prefered to keep it with the “Perfidious Albion”[1] rather than ceed anything to America and thus in 1884 it was agreed internationaly that Greenwich would be the International Prime Meridian. As a consolation prize France gets to decide when we have “leap seconds” in colaboration with many Naval and administrative observatories and their respective time standards.

Hence the time in your PC can now be set for security reasons to wothin 1nS of UTC,

https://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/database/papers/nano/nano2.pdf

I was supprised to learn some years ago from a French colleague that the French were apparently more unhappy about the American Revolution than the English were. Thus had even less nice things to say about the nascent Americans. Apparently even Napoleon wanted a slice of them not so lightly grilled.

[1] The French have used the term from around the time of the French Revolution. Apparently because initially many in England favoured the reveloution but did “a reverse ferrit” when the heads of Royalty became basket cases. The term has since spread to many nations including Vietnam and even enemies of France. It was recently revived over Brexit, and some thing might well have changed the vote from remain to leave.