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DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

krebsonsecurity.com

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Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#561

Post by dannyw »

yebyen wrote: post #143
mgfist wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TBH I was shocked $5 million was all it cost.

I imagine it went something like this "OK, now that you have our attention, and the eyes of the entire international media apparatus are on us, here's how we're going to do this. We're going to send some integer number of million money dollars down this pipe, and you're going to turn that gas pipe back on like you said you would. Then here's what happens next... we're going to give you an integer number of minutes ru…

This is a huge fantasy. The attackers are likely not in the US.

The USA threatening to rain drones on Russia is just going to get laughed at. Nuclear war isn't breaking out over darkside.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#562

Post by dannyw »

cjblomqvist wrote: post #83
g_p wrote: post #43

> The REvil representative said its program was introducing new restrictions on the kinds of organizations that affiliates could hold for ransom, and that henceforth it would be forbidden to attack those in the “social sector” (defined as healthcare and educational institutions) and organizations in the “gov-sector” (state) of any country. Affiliates also will be required to get approval before infecting victims. Sta…

That's not really reasonable - what about replacing hacking with murder? It's illegal for a reason - and not because it's too costly to do.

Money can always be replaced. Lives can't be.

Most ransomware hackers are not so amoral enough to go around murdering people or calling hits. Some are, but most ain't.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#563

Post by dannyw »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #520
smabie wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 500k isn't all that unusual in tech I feel like.. Like a senior engineer at a FANG is probably making that much or more all in. Entry level salary for tier one firms across finance and tech is probably around 250-300k. Not hard to get to 500k with some experience.

> A 500k isn't all that unusual in tech I feel like.. > Like a senior engineer at a FANG Becoming a Senior Engineer at FAANG is very unusual, across all tech workers. It's doable with the right amount of work, dedication, and willingness to relocate to the right locations, of course. But it's nowhere near guaranteed or common.

It's not common but all of these aspects are within your control. Luck is surely involved too, but it's not like FAANG uses random() to pick senior engineers.

If you get your foot in the door into FAANG and work very hard, you have a decent shot. If you don't want to relocate, that's your problem. There are trade off's in life. If you can't relocate, that's unfortunate.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#564

Post by dannyw »

simias wrote: post #448
jandrese wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More like a $250,000 salary + benefits. Medical coverage is hideously expensive for example. Plus retirement, dental, insurance, and taxes. Still a cushy salary for a dev, but not completely out of the realm of reason.

That's definitely a high salary except for the biggest companies in the richest parts of the richest countries. I do thin the parent's point still stands though, my current salary is not nearly that high but you'd have to pay me a lot more than $500k for me to risk hacking an American pipeline. That's an insane amount of risk for a few years worth of salary (that I'll probably have to be very careful laundering if I…

What if you were in Russia and unemployed?

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#565

Post by mietek »

sonograph wrote: post #530
dools wrote: post #529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, money is inherently political as a matter of observable fact. It is created by governments and its value is driven by taxation.

> It is created by governments and its value is driven by taxation. How does taxation drive value? Which taxation? There are governments that don't charge income taxes, there are governments that don't charge property taxes, there are governments that don't charge sales taxes.

Simply: money is what you use to pay your taxes.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#566

Post by hellbannedguy »

podgaj wrote: post #442
TrackerFF wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got downvoted for saying that maybe it's time to treat serious ransomware attacks (infrastructure, security, health, etc.) as terrorism - as in the sense that they're a threat to the national security. But this kinda shows the response I was referencing to. A lot of people like to think of ransomware attacks as the ultimate stress test as far as security goes, and thus a good thing - but let's not get too blinded b…

Serious side effects, yes. I am homeless and live in my van in North Carolina and having to ration my gasoline waiting for the idiots to stop hoarding. These people thought they were sticking it to the man but they were actually sticking it to people like me.

I am getting close to homeless, and know people who never thought they would be without a home very scared.

I wish Biden realized how hard homeliness can be. Cities, and towns, need to stop ticketing vechicles that are parked overnight, and used as residences. I would like to see any federal, state, or local land, set aside for the homeless.

Hang in there.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#567

Post by remolacha »

sonograph wrote: post #530
dools wrote: post #529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, money is inherently political as a matter of observable fact. It is created by governments and its value is driven by taxation.

> It is created by governments and its value is driven by taxation. How does taxation drive value? Which taxation? There are governments that don't charge income taxes, there are governments that don't charge property taxes, there are governments that don't charge sales taxes.

This idea comes from Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Most mainstream economists do not agree with it. But the MMT claim is that at base, people only need USD because it’s how taxes are denominated. The notion is that without the driving force of compelled taxation, no one would use USD or other sovereign currencies. MMT also claims, through similar logic, that a monetary sovereign can print an extreme amount of currency without causing inflation. Which MMT’ers use to justify massive government spending programs.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#568

Post by manigandham »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #552
manigandham wrote: post #543

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not support. You're not a customer. They're not providing any value. This isn't some glorified version of business, it's just organized crime. They're available for their interests, not yours. They're actively robbing you and will be highly available to keep things moving efficiently, the same way physical bank robbers used to make sure staff were comfortable enough to open the safe and provide cover.

Of course I am... if I'm paying 5 million dollars to someone, I'm a customer. What level of support do you get for a 5 million dollar AWS budget?

If someone kidnaps your family member and asks you to pay $5M, do you think you're a customer now?

A customer willingly pays to get value in return. Having your resources stolen (even with the option to choose between data or money) just makes you a victim.

$5M on AWS gets you $5M of services. If they didn't have to actually provide anything then they could have an entire team to talk to you 24hrs a day. But these comparisons are beyond ridiculous and you know it.

Re: DarkSide ransomware gang quits after servers, Bitcoin stash seized

#570

Post by helsinkiandrew »

Tom Levine of Bloomberg said it well:

"So for instance if you run a ransomware business and shut down, like, a marketing agency or a dating app or a cryptocurrency exchange until it pays you a ransom in Bitcoin, that’s great, that’s good money. A crime, sure, but good money. But if you shut down the biggest oil pipeline in the U.S. for days, that’s dangerous, that’s a U.S. national security issue, that gets you too much attention and runs the risk of blowing up your whole business"

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-11/crypto...

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