Who would have thought that defacing websites could get you arrested? What sort of world have we made when honest citizens aren't allowed to insert fake news stories about Tupac and Biggie Smalls living together in New Zealand into PBS' newsfeed? 1984! 1984!
Seriously, doofuses like Topiary give the legit hacking community a bad name and obfuscate genuine governmental and corporate abuse. They'd like to make this into a big call-to-arms message (and I can see an argument that his sentence was excessive), but the only real lesson I'm seeing is "don't do crimes, you'll go to jail."
While lulzsec were having their fun and getting mainstream media attention I had an excellent conversation with my Dad. He asked me simply who I thought was behind this kind of "hackivision". I explained that it was most probably intelligent but bored teenage kids living somewhere remote. I went on to tell him about the difference between script kiddies and real black hats.
His take away lesson was that if smart and bored kids could defeat the security of all these serious sites then the people who are actually really good at cracking into things and doing it with out being noticed probably have free reign over the internet.
It was pretty easy to convince him to start using complex pass phrases and not reuse them.
There are many sides to the cracking community, and the nefarious side of it is just as "legit" as the law-abiding side. They've been at it just as long and many of them are just as skilled as their legal counterparts. Note that when I say "legit" I'm not condoning their actions, I just recognize that they are a part of our history, and that many of them are good at what they do.
Sure, there are things that Anonymous and Lulzsec have done that weren't very impressive (like the DDoS attacks) but at times both groups have pulled of some pretty impressive stuff.
Practical jokes conducted via technology have a long and storied history in the hacker community, its disingenuous to act like Lulzsec's continuation of this tradition somehow maligns everyone else's reputation.
Also, unless you can prove that he was just a mouthpiece, there isn't really any way that you can argue his sentence was excessive when he only spent 37 days in prison. Sabu became an FBI informant, and I bet that even with his deal, he's going to end up getting anywhere from several years to a few decades when he's finally sentenced.
That and "you can get an astonishingly long way on nothing but gumption". Can you honestly say that the Wired shoe story didn't make you smile? Not even a little?
He seems like an interesting guy, and I hope his mystery employer is channeling his energy in useful directions.
It's pretty cool to see him talking about his experiences now.
Shameless plug:My friend is choreographing a ballet that covers some of these events, and she's been able to talk a bit with Jake. Check out this great Daily Dot article on the project:
Ultimately, Davis was denied bail because he was deemed to be more dangerous than nuclear warfare.
...
“The most interesting restriction at the moment is that I’m legally banned from communicating with anyone associated to, or formally associated to, Anonymous,” says Davis. “But I guess the whole idea of Anonymous is that everyone is anonymous.”
Huh. Some of the folks who were busted stateside had the condition that they were not permitted to knowingly communicate or associate with Anonymous in their supervised release agreements. A small but important distinction, I suppose, if someone wants to get you to unwittingly break the terms.
[+] [-] PhasmaFelis|12 years ago|reply
Seriously, doofuses like Topiary give the legit hacking community a bad name and obfuscate genuine governmental and corporate abuse. They'd like to make this into a big call-to-arms message (and I can see an argument that his sentence was excessive), but the only real lesson I'm seeing is "don't do crimes, you'll go to jail."
[+] [-] Fuzzwah|12 years ago|reply
His take away lesson was that if smart and bored kids could defeat the security of all these serious sites then the people who are actually really good at cracking into things and doing it with out being noticed probably have free reign over the internet.
It was pretty easy to convince him to start using complex pass phrases and not reuse them.
[+] [-] phaus|12 years ago|reply
Sure, there are things that Anonymous and Lulzsec have done that weren't very impressive (like the DDoS attacks) but at times both groups have pulled of some pretty impressive stuff.
Practical jokes conducted via technology have a long and storied history in the hacker community, its disingenuous to act like Lulzsec's continuation of this tradition somehow maligns everyone else's reputation.
Also, unless you can prove that he was just a mouthpiece, there isn't really any way that you can argue his sentence was excessive when he only spent 37 days in prison. Sabu became an FBI informant, and I bet that even with his deal, he's going to end up getting anywhere from several years to a few decades when he's finally sentenced.
[+] [-] saucetenuto|12 years ago|reply
He seems like an interesting guy, and I hope his mystery employer is channeling his energy in useful directions.
[+] [-] oatmealsnap|12 years ago|reply
Shameless plug:My friend is choreographing a ballet that covers some of these events, and she's been able to talk a bit with Jake. Check out this great Daily Dot article on the project:
[+] [-] codeulike|12 years ago|reply
...
“The most interesting restriction at the moment is that I’m legally banned from communicating with anyone associated to, or formally associated to, Anonymous,” says Davis. “But I guess the whole idea of Anonymous is that everyone is anonymous.”
Worth reading.
[+] [-] aspensmonster|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rlp10|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] knieveltech|12 years ago|reply