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I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
121–130 of 173 posts
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a weird term. My impression is that it mostly means "randos LARPing spies", though there's a commercial angle too, it being to intelligence what PMCs are to the military. May or may not be called after "Open Source Publishing, Incorporated", featured here: [0]. -- [0] - https://irp.fas.org/congress/2005_hr/062105jardines.pdf
it is not a weird term, and is absolutely a thing. a big deal in 2024, really. back in the day it was just "reading the newspapers and talking to the local cab drivers", but on 2024 you're scanning forums and social media, on top of news sites. go to a military-related subreddit and start asking questions about stuff, and you'll eventually get an expert to chime in. Make wrong & stupid claims and then have them slap…
> OSINT is also absolutely a thing in Cyber
First time I see "cyber" used as a noun. Is that short for "cyberspace", i.e. the internet, or is it something else?
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#123>Like many other US hackers and security researchers, Caceres had been personally targeted by North Korean spies who aimed to steal his intrusion tools. He had detailed that targeting to the FBI but received no real government support. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and to send a message to the regime of Kim Jong Un: Messing with American hackers would have consequences. “It felt like the right thin…
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Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
it is not a weird term, and is absolutely a thing. a big deal in 2024, really. back in the day it was just "reading the newspapers and talking to the local cab drivers", but on 2024 you're scanning forums and social media, on top of news sites. go to a military-related subreddit and start asking questions about stuff, and you'll eventually get an expert to chime in. Make wrong & stupid claims and then have them slap…
> OSINT is also absolutely a thing in Cyber First time I see "cyber" used as a noun. Is that short for "cyberspace", i.e. the internet, or is it something else?
Five-sided thought is a hell of a drug, are you _sure_ you want to know?
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#125>Like many other US hackers and security researchers, Caceres had been personally targeted by North Korean spies who aimed to steal his intrusion tools. He had detailed that targeting to the FBI but received no real government support. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and to send a message to the regime of Kim Jong Un: Messing with American hackers would have consequences. “It felt like the right thin…
Hardly. He's creating tools that interest state actors with no real means of defending himself or the tools. If he's that concerned he could just destroy the tools, but he wants to have his cake and eat it too.
Then, in response to what should have been an obvious outcome to his actions, he commits what should be described as a "crime against humanity" against the entire communications infrastructure of a foreign country with nuclear weapons.
There is nothing based here. This is stupid with a tinge of greed and ego mixed in.
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#126There are a couple good points in the linked Wired article, such as the fact that the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Korea are already escalating attacks on civillian and commercial targets and our restraint isn't being matched. I fully understand why the US and partner governments won't be able to respond in kind, but there is certainly a lot more that could be done in that domain.
There are people that are in offensive cyber security in the US government, but realistically they have a bit more moral compass than the other state level actors that try and bring a hospital to its knees for the grand goal of making america look stupid for the nationalistic few who might actually care about that sort of thing. There's a saying we have here about never wrestling a pig in the mud: you will both be di…
> that try and bring a hospital to its knees for the grand goal of making america look stupid for the nationalistic few who might actually care about that sort of thing
That the public believes this is our biggest problem from an international policy perspective... (as far as this topic, that is)
These governments are turning a blind eye, if not quietly supporting such because of the sheer economic and social damage.
I know a local hospital group paid 22mil in ransom on top of a lot of days where stuff barely got done.
Iirc United Health said a recent attack was probably 900 million in total costs to them?
It adds up.
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#127There are a couple good points in the linked Wired article, such as the fact that the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Korea are already escalating attacks on civillian and commercial targets and our restraint isn't being matched. I fully understand why the US and partner governments won't be able to respond in kind, but there is certainly a lot more that could be done in that domain.
Having worked in this space a while back, every federal gov digital service experiences nation-state intrusion attacks daily and in the 1,000s on the low end. Our gov digital infrastructure has been born under the weight of constant attack.
Responding in kind has minimal value because it’s not a deterrent.
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
it is not a weird term, and is absolutely a thing. a big deal in 2024, really. back in the day it was just "reading the newspapers and talking to the local cab drivers", but on 2024 you're scanning forums and social media, on top of news sites. go to a military-related subreddit and start asking questions about stuff, and you'll eventually get an expert to chime in. Make wrong & stupid claims and then have them slap…
> OSINT is also absolutely a thing in Cyber First time I see "cyber" used as a noun. Is that short for "cyberspace", i.e. the internet, or is it something else?
the military uses it to describe all things relating to the internet, the rest of us used to use it to mean cybersex, which why you mostly only ever hear it from military folks and c-suite type people now and the rest of us kinda chuckle under our breath every time they mention it.
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, it seems way too many people know who he is irl. I would be not sleep well for the coming decade at least.
Eh, he’s probably safer than if he’d hacked a cartel. North Korea isn’t known for its tradecraft in the United States.
While it's true that North Korea's tradecraft within the U.S. might not be as sophisticated as some fear, the situation isn't so straightforward. Given the significant public exposure of this case and the individual's prior connections within the U.S. government, NK would need to carefully weigh their options.
I would wager that if NK would attempt to harm this hacker it would be through using third parties like cartels or local gangs. This could offer NK plausible deniability and physical access to the target, but it also complicates their operational control and increases the risk of exposure. The calculus for NK would include considerations such as:
- The individual's public and former government status, which might provoke a stronger U.S. response if harmed. NK would have to vet the hackers assertions that he still has meaningful and significant contacts within the USG. - The cost and complexity of outsourcing such an operation discretely. - The types of U.S. responses that might follow, from diplomatic measures to cyber counterattacks.
While an attack via third parties is plausible, and given these factors which I am sure there are others I haven't considered, it would require NK to balance the benefits against the potential repercussions and the likelihood of successful attribution. But I am very confident that if they do follow through it will be using a cartel or local gang as proxy for the reasons I mentioned.
P4x's public disclosures and technical skills make him a unique target, but as he himself noted, the operational capabilities of North Korea within the U.S. are limited. It's a nuanced threat landscape where indirect methods might be considered but are not guaranteed to succeed without significant risks.
Re: I'm the hacker that brought down North Korea's Internet for over a week. AMA
#130There are a couple good points in the linked Wired article, such as the fact that the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Korea are already escalating attacks on civillian and commercial targets and our restraint isn't being matched. I fully understand why the US and partner governments won't be able to respond in kind, but there is certainly a lot more that could be done in that domain.
There are people that are in offensive cyber security in the US government, but realistically they have a bit more moral compass than the other state level actors that try and bring a hospital to its knees for the grand goal of making america look stupid for the nationalistic few who might actually care about that sort of thing. There's a saying we have here about never wrestling a pig in the mud: you will both be di…
> but realistically they have a bit more moral compass than the other state level actors
yeah, some of those governments have even admitted to spike their own citizens with LSD to see what happens, and COUNTLESS other things. oh....