Why we do what we do: We're 15, unsupervised, and behaving badly. Do they really need a manifesto?
I don't think they're 15, they're to articulate for that age. But I don't think they above 30 either.
LulzSec: Why we do what we do
181–190 of 195 posts
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#182OK, so for the remaining 3 people out there who were pathologically not paying attention, computer hacking is easy. The state of computer security is poor. Lulzsec deserves a medal and a chest to pin it on for breaking this news to all of the people who don't have a facebook account, have never been on irc, didn't see the movie wargames, don't know anyone who plays world of warcraft, has never read the new york times…
If my data was stolen, I'd be annoyed, not dead. And the law, and enforcement priorities, reflect that.
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just like with violent video games, the internet doesn't make people feel disconnected, or turn them into sociopaths. It enables people who would rather be disconnected to disconnect themselves, and gives sociopaths the ability to do far more. The internet doesn't create people without empathy, it reveals that deep down, a lot of humanity didn't have it to begin with. The way society is starting to structure itself,…
>The internet doesn't create people without empathy, it reveals that deep down, a lot of humanity didn't have it to begin with. The way society is starting to structure itself, though, lets that shine through more clearly. A lot? I doubt LulzSec is more than five people. For every pathological script-kiddie there are ten Free Software hackers. The Internet has revealed new ways for people to be destructive, but it ha…
Not everyone on 4chan is a sociopath. Even on /b/, not everyone is a sociopath.
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#184The last line got me a giggle
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
>The internet doesn't create people without empathy, it reveals that deep down, a lot of humanity didn't have it to begin with. The way society is starting to structure itself, though, lets that shine through more clearly. A lot? I doubt LulzSec is more than five people. For every pathological script-kiddie there are ten Free Software hackers. The Internet has revealed new ways for people to be destructive, but it ha…
Not everyone on 4chan is a sociopath. Even on /b/, not everyone is a sociopath.
Of course not, just like not every project on github is open source. It just seemed like a nice glance at the ways people choose to spend time online.
I doubt society was ever much more virtuous than it is today, but we do hear about the problems more. There is the orthogonal and much more serious issue that many more people today feel unfulfilled in their lives than they did before, but I can't even begin to address that -- read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace if that interests or concerns you.
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love it when the economically illiterate attack others for "price gouging" as if the third party doesn't have a choice in the matter or they aren't "unenlightened" enough to properly appraise the value of what they are buying. How do I know that my jeweler isn't gouging me on my fiancee's 2 caret diamond ring? Because I know that there's a fixed quantity of available diamonds, and almost everyone would buy them at…
Also foolish to forget that time is money, you pay knowledge workers for the time they spent studying. You too can "save" $10,000 by doing security yourself, but only if you spend several years training and understanding the domain.
Where can one buy security for $10,000 anyway? I'm not mentally disabled and have spent many weekends learning about info security. What are they even talking about?
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#187OK, so for the remaining 3 people out there who were pathologically not paying attention, computer hacking is easy. The state of computer security is poor. Lulzsec deserves a medal and a chest to pin it on for breaking this news to all of the people who don't have a facebook account, have never been on irc, didn't see the movie wargames, don't know anyone who plays world of warcraft, has never read the new york times…
The gunshot analogy fails hard. LulzSec pre-empted at least half of it, by stressing how harm occurs quietly all the time. Data gets stolen or destroyed and we just don't know it. Unlike gunshot wound, where a person lands in a hospital, or morgue, or goes missing, data can be, and indeed is, copied quietly. Of gunshots, people are informed most of the time; of security breaches, barely ever. Cops investigate most gu…
To rephrase what dazmax said: They're under no delusions they're not evil. They're saying, "there are a lot of evil people around, and yeah, we're one of them, but who cares? There are a lot of evil people around, and in terms of damage, we're probably doing far less than anyone else and happen to be doing some good by bringing attention to how weak these security systems are. You're spending so much effort chasing us and condemning else; not that we don't deserve it, but you should be spending at least as much, in fact, far more on the people doing far more damage and not announcing it and not doing any good at all."
They're right too. I'm not saying what they're doing is good, or even necessary like some vigilante stories portray, but they're right that we should be devoting just as much attention and effort denouncing and trying to catch the doubtless countless people, who like they, tried some simple attacks and discovered that most security systems are almost trivial to breach, and are taking real advantage of it, not just putting it on the internet and watching the lulz unfold.
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#188Who else has a hunch they don't yet have access to Brink accounts, but instead have access to log files that would reveal password when users now change them?
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#189Why we do what we do: We're 15, unsupervised, and behaving badly. Do they really need a manifesto?
This missive strongly reeks of teen spirit. Guess we'll find out when the FBI perp walks them in front of the cameras.
No one that young would have the capacity to understand some of the contextual references required to write this piece. If you pay attention to the way LulzSec writes and words things, they aren't at all immature in their thinking or worldview. Ceasing to give a fuck about perceived trivialities is something that comes with age and seeing how the world really works. The confidence they have came with age as well. Neither is not a sign of youth whatsoever.
I'd guess mid-thirties for these guys, at least for whomever is putting out their twitter updates. This is someone who is basically immune to white-knighting and is a truly hard-core realist. It takes quite a while for someone reasonably intelligent to become that cynical, and then a while longer for them to act on it.
Anyway, I'm a fan of these guys. While I wouldn't do what they are doing myself, I certainly understand the mindset. I'm not quite sure I understand the arguments against what they're doing. The knee-jerk reactions of wanting to call them wrong frequently seem more immature to me than their recent campaigns. The real world is messy, and LulzSec's work is a valid reflection of that.
As far as the comparisons to sociopathic thinking, that's just ignorant. Sociopaths generally don't care about anyone but themselves and that's obviously not the case here. A sociopath would never release any of this data, and would simply use it for their own advantage, regardless of who was harmed.
LulzSec is gleaning entertainment here from the unwashed masses to be sure, but they aren't out there enslaving people with debt, indoctrinating them with religion, shooting them for protesting, putting them in cages for drug offenses, etc. All of which is completely legal, and in my opinion, far more sociopathic than releasing some bit personal data or playing a few practical jokes on people.
Re: LulzSec: Why we do what we do
#190this kids should be punished by pulling their ear. or beating them with branch. they're too young for prison