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Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

theshadowbrokers.tumblr.com

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Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#131

Post by EthanHeilman »

nadaviv wrote: post #36
nadaviv wrote: post #33

To prove this is real, they should've: - Split the leak into multiple chunks, each encrypted with a different key, and each readable/usable on its own - Announce, ahead of time, that a random chunk will be revealed, based on the hash of block #N on the Bitcoin network - On block #N, reveal chunk number block_N_hash % num_chunks . Basically, reveal a provably random chunk in a way that cannot be controlled by the auct…

Also, if they really want to make this as trust-free as possible, they could use ZKCP [0][1] to make the payment stage and the reveal stage atomic - the moment the payment is taken by the auctioneers, the decryption key is revealed (using hash-locked transactions and zero knowledge proofs). This, however, won't work with their penny auction style bids. [0] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Zero_Knowledge_Contingent_Payment…

They could even use the blockchain as a source of randomness to choose which chunks of the encrypted file they reveal for free.

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#132

Post by schallertd »

tedmiston wrote: post #60

Does anyone expect GitHub to intervene as the (partial) host here? Does this put them in a legal situation?

So why then hasn't Github taken-down the 'HackedTeam' repo? I'm pretty sure HT did send them copyright infrigment letters aswell. This whole situation looks pretty strange to me.. Btw. https://github.com/hackedteam?tab=repositories

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#135

Post by cornchips »

double_blink wrote: post #44

Just want to make this as clear as possible. Throwaway account, so I won't be replying or ever using this ever again, but let me run through a few things. * Whomever is running this auction knows everything that has been mentioned in these threads already, and they're probably a few steps ahead of us all. There are multiple indicators that they know what they're doing from a technical standpoint and that it's very li…

Go to jail or write code...

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#136

Post by kharms »

daxorid wrote: post #117

It seems that "open" and "transparent" GitHub has already ceded control of their business to Federal oversight, in deleting the repo: https://github.com/theshadowbrokers/EQGRP-AUCTION They are apparently still ignorant of the Streisand Effect

No reason to think so. If you know your platform is being used to commit a crime and you don't act to stop it, you are culpable as an accessory. I github shut it down themselves well before any government agency got involved.

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#137

Post by kharms »

ars wrote: post #110
double_blink wrote: post #44

Just want to make this as clear as possible. Throwaway account, so I won't be replying or ever using this ever again, but let me run through a few things. * Whomever is running this auction knows everything that has been mentioned in these threads already, and they're probably a few steps ahead of us all. There are multiple indicators that they know what they're doing from a technical standpoint and that it's very li…

> I plan to bid a couple dozen BTC or so You plan to bid $5,000 to $20,000 for this? Are you serious? Where do you work?!?

[S]He's probably one of the folk that got into the bitcoin game back when you could mine one in a day.

It's one of the things that puzzles and fascinates me about bitcoins in general - the early adapters have a disproportionate amount. Seems like a terrible investment because of the cap on growth - as soon as the currency reaches a certain threshold value, the select few cash out a few dozen or hundred. It drops again, they sit back and let demand build up again.

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#139

Post by schallertd »

Here's my theory. It's from the Snowden leaks and someone with access to it tried to make some quick money out of it. Wikileaks just announced they are in possesion of a full copy of the archive and will release it soon. The dates of the files in the sample archive would perfectly fit in the timeframe of the Snowden leaks and EPICBANANA could be related to CVE-2012-5717. Just speculating. We'll see...

Re: Equation Group Cyber Weapons Auction

#140

Post by nadaviv »

EthanHeilman wrote: post #131
nadaviv wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, if they really want to make this as trust-free as possible, they could use ZKCP [0][1] to make the payment stage and the reveal stage atomic - the moment the payment is taken by the auctioneers, the decryption key is revealed (using hash-locked transactions and zero knowledge proofs). This, however, won't work with their penny auction style bids. [0] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Zero_Knowledge_Contingent_Payment…

They could even use the blockchain as a source of randomness to choose which chunks of the encrypted file they reveal for free.

That's exactly what my parent comment suggested :-)
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