Hacking Group Retires: Were They Helping or Hurting?
Christine Lusey
2011/06/27 19:00:00
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It's over! The group of hackers calling themselves Lulzsec has disbanded after 50 days of defeating the security of some of the world's most high-profile companies and government agencies.
The group, whose members remain anonymous, released scores of files obtained from infiltrating Sony, Nintendo, the CIA and the FBI, among others.
In a press release, Lulzsec said 50 days was all they'd ever planned, and encouraged others to carry on the work of Operation Anti-Security, their campaign, along with another prolific hacker group, Anonymous, to attack banks, governments and law enforcement agencies, like the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
We'll probably never know if they're telling the truth, and they'd only planned a 50-day spree all along, or if they were worried about mounting scrutiny from the authorities and other hackers.
Was Lulzsec just a bunch of cyber-terrorists, or did they do some good by exposing security flaws and promoting the freedom of information?
Excerpts from the Lulzsec press release are below:
"We are Lulz Security, and this is our final release, as today marks something meaningful to us. 50 days ago, we set sail with our humble ship on an uneasy and brutal ocean: the Internet. The hate machine, the love machine, the machine powered by many machines. We are all part of it, helping it grow, and helping it grow on us.
"For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. All to selflessly entertain others - vanity, fame, recognition, all of these things are shadowed by our desire for that which we all love. The raw, uninterrupted, chaotic thrill of entertainment and anarchy... "
The group, whose members remain anonymous, released scores of files obtained from infiltrating Sony, Nintendo, the CIA and the FBI, among others.
In a press release, Lulzsec said 50 days was all they'd ever planned, and encouraged others to carry on the work of Operation Anti-Security, their campaign, along with another prolific hacker group, Anonymous, to attack banks, governments and law enforcement agencies, like the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
We'll probably never know if they're telling the truth, and they'd only planned a 50-day spree all along, or if they were worried about mounting scrutiny from the authorities and other hackers.
Was Lulzsec just a bunch of cyber-terrorists, or did they do some good by exposing security flaws and promoting the freedom of information?
Excerpts from the Lulzsec press release are below:
"We are Lulz Security, and this is our final release, as today marks something meaningful to us. 50 days ago, we set sail with our humble ship on an uneasy and brutal ocean: the Internet. The hate machine, the love machine, the machine powered by many machines. We are all part of it, helping it grow, and helping it grow on us.
"For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. All to selflessly entertain others - vanity, fame, recognition, all of these things are shadowed by our desire for that which we all love. The raw, uninterrupted, chaotic thrill of entertainment and anarchy... "
Read More: http://gawker.com/5815589/lulzsecs-brief-reign-of-...
Top Opinion
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Moonage 2011/06/27 23:03:20What they did was illegal
+5Data is stuff. Stealing data is stealing stuff. It's a lot of fun to break security, I've done it a few times. But, it's not something I'd run around bragging about. People who don't like having their stuff stolen just don't laugh about it that much.
Help instead of hurt. Both benefit.
I also think it's funny how these people, who are pretty much "weekend warriors" with other jobs, pursue hacking/cracking as a pastime rather than a full time job.Yet they can run CIRCLES around the guys with a degree.
Fact of the matter is most of them probably tried to get into the tech field but were shooed away because they don't "look" professional or have a 90K dollar piece of paper that says "LOL I can has pc jerb naow?", I myself fell victim to the same BS.....but my degree was 20K dollars.
In all honesty, I would rather have hired the guy in bdu's and a kmfdm shirt than the tight laced prim and proper "chic-nerd" with glasses any day.
I dunno though, imo sony's biggest mistake was declaring they were now hack proof.....That....is a very....very....BAD THING.....to tell a hacker. Kinda like calling a boat unsinkable you know?
That aside, the guy in the picture you just posted?
I know him....he is every bit as creepy as he seems here.
Yay they exposed security flaws. I exposed my friend's security flaw when I kicked him in the nuts by surprise the other day. I'm not one photon closer to seeing the pics of his wife naked tho. Or Mariah Carey, now that Lulz is retired.
Legality aside, do something neat. Change the world. Launch a nuke from Iran. Let's see some real anarchy.
:)
btw, awesome dp, Asking Alexandria is awesome!!^^
Overall, I think the project was more positive than negative.
That isn't the case here, of course. The law's foolish and misguided, but at least it means well.
But you can't go around causing general mischief. It can cause people to panic, and then who knows what happens?
For example:
What if they had caused some sort of glitch in the banking industry, showing record losses and people took their lives over it? I realize this is an extreme example but sometimes it doesn't take much to push people over the edge.
How much information was stolen from Sony accounts? What could be done with that info?
Lobbyists write laws and hand them to lawmakers, who don't have a clue about technology. Something like this happens, and there's a lot of panic and hand-wringing about might-have-beens and how we have to make examples.
Meanwhile, real traders really did crash the stock market not too long ago. Well, the computers that make the high speed trades did. They stopped it before it could become a complete death spiral, but it was still one of the biggest crashes in history. *Much* bigger than crackers would bother to pretend, even if they could get total control of "The System."
No one panicked. No one committed suicide. The market was back to normal within a week, although it took months to figure out what went wrong. AFAIK, no one's suggested any extra regulations or rules to keep it from happening again.
So we have these minor nuisance criminals who everybody seems to want to see get hammered. Or people who are serving hard time for putting the wrong kind of seed in the ground.
Meanwhile, who ever made the decisions that led to the Deep Water disaster has gotten away with multiple murders.
The Rule of Law is supposed to be extremely important to America. Everyone has to obey the same laws and face the same...
Lobbyists write laws and hand them to lawmakers, who don't have a clue about technology. Something like this happens, and there's a lot of panic and hand-wringing about might-have-beens and how we have to make examples.
Meanwhile, real traders really did crash the stock market not too long ago. Well, the computers that make the high speed trades did. They stopped it before it could become a complete death spiral, but it was still one of the biggest crashes in history. *Much* bigger than crackers would bother to pretend, even if they could get total control of "The System."
No one panicked. No one committed suicide. The market was back to normal within a week, although it took months to figure out what went wrong. AFAIK, no one's suggested any extra regulations or rules to keep it from happening again.
So we have these minor nuisance criminals who everybody seems to want to see get hammered. Or people who are serving hard time for putting the wrong kind of seed in the ground.
Meanwhile, who ever made the decisions that led to the Deep Water disaster has gotten away with multiple murders.
The Rule of Law is supposed to be extremely important to America. Everyone has to obey the same laws and face the same consequences. Except pretty much everyone realizes it's a lie.
The rich almost never get more than a slap on the wrist for their crimes. Mainly because white collar crimes seem so much less...violent and personal. Embezzling $20 million from your company just doesn't seem as bad as mugging another person for $20. But, also, how good a lawyer can you afford? Can you afford a Senator to add loopholes to laws you want to break?
I know this wandered pretty much totally off-track. But my point is that there are many bigger problems than stolen account details from a gaming network.
e.g. When the Obamacare rules are in place, it's going to be dead simple to steal medical records. Do you honestly believe insurance companies won't be doing that? Assuming they aren't already?
Hacking is something that has become quite advanced and technical (more so recently). People are doing it easier, and hiding themselves better, and they'll only get better in the future.
Security systems need to account for it now rather than later. If these kinds of things don't happen now, then why would companies pay/develop better security in five, ten, twenty years time when technology advances further?
(Yes, I do realize that was a terribly explained and written example)