Re: NSA Teams Up With Colleges to Train Students for Secret Cyber-Ops Jobs

NSA Teams Up With Colleges to Train Students for Secret Cyber-Ops Jobs
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one step closer to mandatory government service

On May 23, 10:07 am, Travis <baconl...@gmail.com> wrote:
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> NSA Teams Up With Colleges to Train Students for Secret Cyber-Ops Jobs****
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> http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/05/nsa-college-students/****
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> ** **
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> ****
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>     By Kim Zetter****
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>     ****
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> ** **
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> The National Security Agency is partnering with select universities to train
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> students in cyber operations for intelligence, military and law enforcement*
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> jobs, work that will remain secret to all but a select group of students and
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> faculty who pass clearance requirements, according to Reuters.****
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> ** **
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> The cyber-operations curriculum is part of the Obama administration's****
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> national initiative to improve cybersecurity through education, and is****
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> designed to prepare students for jobs with the U.S. Cyber Command, the NSA's
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> signals intelligence operations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and****
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> other law enforcement agencies that investigate cyber crimes.****
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> ** **
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> The U.S. Cyber Command's job is, in part, to support the military in****
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> offensive cyber operations against enemy networks, suggesting the students**
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> would be trained in the methods of hackers.****
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> ** **
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> "We're trying to create more of these, and yes they have to know some of the
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> things that hackers know, they have to know a lot of other things too, which
> ****
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> is why you really want a good university to create these people for you,"***
> *
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> Neal Ziring, technical director at the NSA's Information Assurance****
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> Directorate, told Reuters.****
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> ** **
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> But another NSA official was quick to add that the NSA wasn't looking to****
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> teach students illegal hacking techniques.****
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> ** **
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> "We are not asking them to teach kids how to break into systems, we're not**
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> asking them to teach that. And a lot of them have said they wouldn't teach**
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> that," said Steven LaFountain, a senior NSA official who guides academic****
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> programs told Reuters. "We're just asking them to teach the hardcore****
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> fundamental science that we need students to have when they come to work****
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> here."****
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> ** **
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> Although 20 universities applied to participate in the program, only four***
> *
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> were selected so far: Dakota State University, Naval Postgraduate School,***
> *
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> Northeastern University and University of Tulsa.****
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> ** **
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> Schools applying for the program had to meet 10 criteria, among them was a**
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> requirement that they teach courses in reverse engineering.****
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> ** **
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> Once the students have the basic knowledge needed, they will be eligible to*
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> receive training to work in classified jobs with the NSA.****
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> ** **
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> "In our operational developmental organization, we would spend up to 12****
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> months to give them the secret sauce, the tradecraft, the really deep****
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> technical training so that they could make themselves useful in doing what**
> **
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> we need them to do, and that's with that technical underpinning," Captain***
> *
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> Jill Newton, who leads NSA's cyber training and education programs, told****
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> Reuters.****
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> ==========================================****
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> Exclusive: Spy agency seeks cyber-ops curriculum****
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> ** **
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> http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/us-usa-intelligence-educati...
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> BRE84L12T20120522?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews ****
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> ** **
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> By Tabassum Zakaria****
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> ** **
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> FORT MEADE, Maryland | Tue May 22, 2012 4:42pm EDT****
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> ** **
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> (Reuters) - The National Security Agency is trying to expand U.S. cyber****
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> expertise needed for secret intelligence operations against adversaries on**
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> computer networks through a new cyber-ops program at selected universities.*
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> ** **
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> The cyber-ops curriculum is geared to providing the basic education for jobs
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> in intelligence, military and law enforcement that are so secret they will**
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> only be revealed to some students and faculty, who need to pass security****
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> clearance requirements, during special summer seminars offered by NSA.****
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> ** **
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> It is not easy to find the right people for cyber operations because the****
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> slice of the hacker community that would make a quality cyber operator****
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> inside the government is only a sliver.****
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> ** **
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> The "quality cyber operators" the NSA is looking for are few and far****
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> between, says Neal Ziring, technical director at the agency's Information***
> *
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> Assurance Directorate.****
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> ** **
>
> "We're trying to create more of these, and yes they have to know some of the
> ****
>
> things that hackers know, they have to know a lot of other things too, which
> ****
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> is why you really want a good university to create these people for you,"***
> *
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> Ziring told Reuters in an interview at NSA's headquarters in Maryland.****
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> ** **
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> NSA has two main missions: to protect U.S. government computer networks and*
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> to collect foreign intelligence through electronic means like satellites and
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> decode it.****
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> ** **
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> Of 20 universities that applied, only four received this week the new****
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> designation of Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations: Dakota***
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> State University, Naval Postgraduate School, Northeastern University and****
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> University of Tulsa.****
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> ** **
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> Out of 10 requirements, the two most lacking at many schools were courses on
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> "reverse engineering" - or how to gain knowledge of a technology or product*
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> to reproduce it - and cellular communications and mobile technologies, NSA**
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> officials said.****
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> ** **
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> "We found a lot of schools weren't emerging with the technology, weren't****
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> keeping up," said Captain Jill Newton, who leads NSA's cyber training and***
> *
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> education programs.****
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> ** **
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> INNER WORKINGS****
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> ** **
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> NSA officials say the program, which is part of President Barack Obama's****
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> national initiative to improve cybersecurity through education, aims to****
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> prepare students for careers at the U.S. Cyber Command, the NSA's signals***
> *
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> intelligence operations and law enforcement agencies investigating cyber****
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> crimes.****
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> ** **
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> U.S. officials from the Obama administration and Congress have been banging*
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> the drums loudly about the need for greater cybersecurity, accusing China***
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> and Russia of hacking U.S. systems for economic gain.****
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> ** **
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> "Right now you hear a lot of talk about foreign countries, China in****
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> particular, coming into our networks. They get in, they look around, they***
> *
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> see what they might want, they send it home, and you don't know what else***
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> they've left behind," Dickie George, a former NSA official, said. "Why****
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> wouldn't we want to do the same thing? It's not a one-way game."****
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> ** **
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> Many universities are now focused on web technologies such as how to write**
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> applications for the iPhone, which is not what is required for cyber****
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> operations to collect intelligence or defend the government's systems, NSA**
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> officials said.****
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> ** **
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> That requires knowing "the guts, the internals of the operating systems,****
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> having to understand how the hardware actually works," said Steven****
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> LaFountain, a senior NSA official who guides academic programs.****
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> ** **
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> Newton said a cyber operation might involve altering computer systems to****
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> work to one's advantage and doing that "without being seen or without it****
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> being obvious that I was changing the inner workings of the operating****
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> system."****
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> ** **
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> "It could be very useful for a defender, so as you see your stuff being****
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> adjusted, corrupted, exploited, messed with, and being able to recognize****
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> when that is happening to you, to be able to better defend against it," she*
> ***
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> said.****
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> ** **
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> About 15 years ago, there was a mindset that the computer system being****
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> compromised happened rarely and if the security was hardened that would be**
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> sufficient to secure it, but the security environment has changed, said****
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> Ziring, a computer scientist and the first non-mathematician in his position
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> at NSA.****
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> ** **
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> "What we've realized these days is that's hokum, that doesn't work any more,
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> that systems are under attack constantly," Ziring said.****
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> ** **
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> "For many systems, especially those that for mission reasons have to work in
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> a very exposed space, being under some degree of compromise is sort of their
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> new normal state."****
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> ** **
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> That requires actively defending the systems by blocking and mitigating****
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> known problems and hunting for the unknown by looking for anomalies, Ziring*
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> said.****
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> ** **
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> ETHICAL ISSUES****
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> ** **
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> One mandatory requirement in the curriculum is covering legal and ethical***
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> issues so students understand the limits.****
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> ** **
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> "We still found a lot of schools are still a little reluctant on how they***
> *
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> characterize what they are teaching," LaFountain said.****
>
> ** **
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> "We are not asking them to teach kids how to break into systems, we're not**
> **
>
> asking them to teach that. And a lot of them have said they wouldn't teach**
> **
>
> that," he said. "We're just asking them to teach the hardcore fundamental***
> *
>
> science that we need students to have when they come to work here."****
>
> ** **
>
> While the open education provides the basic knowledge, it is not until they*
> ***
>
> arrive at the NSA that newly hired cyber operators get trained in their****
>
> secret jobs.****
>
> ** **
>
> "In our operational developmental organization, we would spend up to 12****
>
> months to give them the secret sauce, the tradecraft, the really deep****
>
> technical training so that they could make themselves useful in doing what**
> **
>
> we need them to do, and that's with that technical underpinning," Newton****
>
> said.****
>
> ** **
>
> Ziring said it was important to figure out the next step in threat evolution
> ****
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> so the technologies can be built to address it.****
>
> ** **
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> "The threat actor's action cycle is speeding up and getting shorter. The****
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> defender's cycle has to get shorter. So what technologies can we build that*
> ***
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> will help that?"****
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> ** **
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> (Editing by Anthony Boadle)****
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> ** **
>
> ==========================================****
>
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