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Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

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Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#111

Post by charcircuit »

jeroenhd wrote: post #34

He could've prevent all of this by a) making sure his traffic was blackholed when the VPN went down and b) adding another layer from a free service (like TOR or a proxy or another VPN). He also should've been actively using the VPN so his traffic patterns wouldn't stand out as much, and so his purchase would be justifiable. If he really did buy the VPN 6 months ahead then he was a fool to leave the subscription dorma…

It might be better to just get at account from an account reseller for a few pennies.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#112

Post by function_seven »

stef25 wrote: post #110
function_seven wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. You don't have to say it aggressively. Politely say, "I need to talk to my lawyer before answering questions." 2. “The suspect conveniently had a receipt in their pocket placing them elsewhere at the exact time of the Y crime. It was the only receipt in his pocket! Seems suspicious to me. He plainly engineered the alibi.” 3. There's no reason you have to immediately begin demonstrating your innocence. It can wait…

You mistook my assertiveness for aggression :) And let's assume it's not just the only receipt you happen to have in your house. Anyway, real life example - police calls me up saying this number came up in an investigation, who are you and a few more other questions. They were obviously expecting me to cooperate cause they hadn't bothered to do the paperwork to obtain my identity which was tied to the number. First t…

I like your actual scenario. I would probably have done the same as you, and yes it would probably be absurd to actually pay a lawyer money for that situation. Less absurd to just refuse to talk without a lawyer (This refusal does not obligate you to actually go get a lawyer unless and until you get some sort of subpoena or summons, or are arrested)

In this case you had a cop who is actually willing to go back-and-forth with you until you discovered what was going on. Absent that, you absolutely would be right to say something like, “without knowing what’s going on here I can’t answer any questions.”

Your initial example of “you look like a criminal we’re searching for” is way more fraught with pitfalls that can be avoided by not cooperating.

Also, I should be more “assertive” at work…

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#113

Post by bschne »

klabb3 wrote: post #38
LiquidPolymer wrote: post #19

I've always been fascinated by the idea that intelligence lies within a spectrum. Someone might be incredibly smart about a narrow topic or field, yet be blind to their own stupidity within another realm. To me, this seems like a classic example. To quote the press release: "During the execution of that search, SHARP made numerous false statements to FBI agents, including, among other things, in substance, that he wa…

> I've always been fascinated by the idea that intelligence lies within a spectrum. Someone might be incredibly smart about a narrow topic or field, yet be blind to their own stupidity within another realm. I've been seriously bitten by this, and find it more scary than fascinating. Growing up, I thought people who followed cult leaders and charismatic narcissists were so stupid (still do), it appeared so transparent…

Reminded me of this I read recently and found quite fascinating — http://knowingless.com/2021/11/27/frame-control/

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#114

Post by stef25 »

underwater wrote: post #108
stef25 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine the simple scenario of "someone who looks like you was spotted in area X doing crime Y" and in your pocket you have a receipt that puts many miles away at that time (or something else that would immediately stop you from being a suspect). In what way would "fuck you talk to my lawyer" be helpful?

If they're accusing you the they are at the stage where they already convinced you did it. They would simple think the receipt is an easily faked alibi. Then by talking to them you accidentally give them ammunition. "Yeah, I hated the guy, but I couldn't have killed him" turns into "the defendant told us that he hated the guy". Or you lie accidentally, which gives them another crime to threaten you with; "you had bet…

Surely there's a world where not every cop is bent on convicting the first guy that comes up in the conversation and every piece of evidence is seen as fake?

It's totally true that you can give cops ammo against yourself without realizing and you must be very careful wrt lying and saying the wrong things.

But there also has to be some kind of middle ground.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#115

Post by OneTimePetes »

stef25 wrote: post #97
ex_ubiquiti wrote: post #23

Ex-Ubiquiti employee here. Nick Sharp wasn't just a senior software engineer. He was the Cloud Lead and ran the whole cloud team. His LinkedIn profile will confirm it. This is why he had access to everything. Nick had his hands in everything from GitHub to Slack and we could never understand why or how. He rose to power in the company by claiming to find a vulnerability that let him access the CEO's personal system,…

> He rose to power in the company by claiming to find a vulnerability that let him access the CEO's personal system Do you mean he got promotions cause he found a non existent vuln? Surely whoever handed out those promotions is to blame here?

He extorted himself a promotion, by knowing some dirt on the CEO.

Actually not unusual.

Lots of the Highest Ranked Sys Admins in larger companies are quite "invulnerable" due to the implication, that they might know everyones mail & the companies dirt.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#116

Post by myrandomcomment »

cyounkins wrote: post #71
myrandomcomment wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to recommend them. Not anymore. My complete home setup is all their kit (the GUI means that if I kick it, the family can likely sort - it is import). I opened a case that a replacement switch (new model, old is EOL) did not work with one of their POE devices. I know this stuff backwards and forwards. I did my testing and basically sent the case to support with all the details (I know this stuff at the ASIC lev…

Possibly related: Ubiquiti used non-standard 24V POE for some devices. Plugging standard 48V POE into certain old devices could damage them, and 48V devices won't power on with 24V injectors.

Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately this is not the issue. I wish it was that simple as they make an adapter for that.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#117

Post by b3lvedere »

baskethead wrote: post #27
ex_ubiquiti wrote: post #23

Ex-Ubiquiti employee here. Nick Sharp wasn't just a senior software engineer. He was the Cloud Lead and ran the whole cloud team. His LinkedIn profile will confirm it. This is why he had access to everything. Nick had his hands in everything from GitHub to Slack and we could never understand why or how. He rose to power in the company by claiming to find a vulnerability that let him access the CEO's personal system,…

Is this why Ubiquiti quality has fallen over the last ~2 years? I went all-in on Ubiquiti almost 3 years ago and I’ve been less than thrilled with the quality and level of support. This chaos that you say happened seems to line up with what I was seeing as a customer but everyone has been shocked at how UI has dropped in terms of quality.

I used to like Ubiquiti a lot, but nowadays i prefer to use other brands which are even easier to implement and manage. For the clients that still want to use Ubiquiti i try and implement a Debian 11 VM with the Ubiquiti software on it.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#118

Post by doctor_eval »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #51
doctor_eval wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I found myself to be equally gullible when intelligent people were abusive or outright dumb in other areas. This has been a challenge to unlearn, like learning an old dog to sit. Basically, our proxies for predicting people's character range from bad to terrible. oh I am 100% with you on this. I tried to elaborate but I just sound bitter and twisted, and that's probably true. But I've spent the last few years unlea…

I would like to hear more about your experience.

I’ve finally worked out that people who want something from me, like my company or my software or my expertise, will say whatever they have to say to get a deal - but once the deal is done they just do whatever the hell they want, regardless of what they said. It’s the opposite of what I expect. I can’t deal with it.

The people who do this are smart, confident and charismatic. It is clearly a negotiating strategy. But in reality, the only thing that matters is who controls the flow of money. If they control the money then it doesn’t matter what they said, they can do what they damn well please. They know this up front, and they count on it.

Despite these setbacks I’ve done alright for myself, but honestly, I’m really bummed out about how useless I am when it comes to judging people and creating businesses where I’m free to actually do my best work.

Anyway, I don’t know if that helps you, but you asked and honestly it has helped me a bit to vent even if it’s all in the abstract.

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#119

Post by mavhc »

chriscjcj wrote: post #63
dotBen wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I have yet to understand why people talk to law enforcement instead of staying silent so as to not implicate themselves.) When the FBI knock at the door you totally do the whole "no comment/talk to my lawyer" thing. But what happens next if you're actually part of an investigation is they hand you a grand jury subpoena (which they were going to do anyway, even if you just talked willingly, because they have already…

I think many folks have watched this may be coming from this perspective... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE

Lawyer suggests you always hire a lawyer? Not at all suspicious

Re: Former Ubiquiti employee charged with stealing data and extorting company

#120

Post by sneak »

stef25 wrote: post #114
underwater wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're accusing you the they are at the stage where they already convinced you did it. They would simple think the receipt is an easily faked alibi. Then by talking to them you accidentally give them ammunition. "Yeah, I hated the guy, but I couldn't have killed him" turns into "the defendant told us that he hated the guy". Or you lie accidentally, which gives them another crime to threaten you with; "you had bet…

Surely there's a world where not every cop is bent on convicting the first guy that comes up in the conversation and every piece of evidence is seen as fake? It's totally true that you can give cops ammo against yourself without realizing and you must be very careful wrt lying and saying the wrong things. But there also has to be some kind of middle ground.

Cops don't decide who gets convicted. Your statements suggest that you are ignorant of the basics of the process you are criticizing.

Don't talk to the police under any circumstances. You cannot ever talk your way out of getting arrested.

There is no middle ground. Watch the "don't talk to police" video linked in the thread. He explains that it is like a ratchet: statements can only hurt, it is illegal under the rules of evidence for your statements to the police to be used to exonerate you!

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