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Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

arstechnica.com

51–60 of 74 posts

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#51
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a real-life chewbacca defense if I ever heard one.

Ha. That made me laugh. The point is if you make someone look extremely evil, more "normal" people are less likely to show any support or sympathy towards them, right? Some who might have been neutral about a black market where you can buy drugs (that the government deems illegal) who would have supported the person who owned/managed it, whereas now I imagine they'd be less likely speak up.

But surely those people are perfectly well aware that such a black market is deemed illegal and that they can still be arrested for selling, buying and using.

He's not being made to look any more evil than anyone else accused of attempted murder and running a criminal syndicate.

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#52
post #10
post #2

He kept a written journal of this stuff? Truly must not have expected to be caught, I can't imagine what world he was in inside his head to have believed that. Given the status of the website, it was only going to be a matter of time. Fairly convincing looking fake Australian license though, wish there was a better photo of it.

I can't get over how he wasn't using full disk encryption.

[deleted]

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#53

So, as an armchair juror, 3 enourmous questions spring to mind: 1. Why would a man, who allegedly built an extremely profitable empire using robust cryptographic software, not have enough expertise to employ powerful encypted countermeasures on his personal machine? Why wasn't his hard drive encrypted? Why were there no plans to erase and destroy data at a moment's notice, in the event that he gets arrested? Are we e…

1) The drive was very likely encrypted. The FBI deliberately waited until he was using the laptop in a public location, and tackled him so they could explore the drive while it was still logged in. As to why he wrote everything down in a diary, or didn't plan for that eventuality...seems to be a combination of hubris, inexperience, and naivety. 2) Yes. They can be authenticated by the officers who took them. The offi…

Specifically in response to number 3: I contend that it is easier to coerce a machine than a witness, that forged bits can be perfectly identical whereas forged letters might not.

Machines need to be held to different standards for different reasons. If we lend them a greater veracity than is appropriate, how unforgiving might such an error be?

We live in a world of statecraft through malware with Stuxnet, Flame and Duqu. We live in a world where international telecommunications companies enable global eavesdropping and interception at the carrier-grade level.

You cannot discount the idea that his entire machine might have been compromised all the way down to the firmware, to elicit highly specific programmable responses choreographed in real time. That much is is honestly unlikely, and unrealistic, but in theory, the possibility is there.

Consider that he may have been a useful idiot. A patsy. That he was framed, does the physical evidence and circumstantial evidence seal off that path of doubt? How advanced could the Silk Road's administrators actually be? Could they have crafted such malware, to root kit his laptop and lead investigators to a fall guy, and then temporarily close up shop if he goes down?

I don't think that's what happened, but when a laptop is a key piece of evidence that a case may hinge on, The first thing I think of is how much control I honestly have over my own laptop.

Fabricating bits is not the same as fabricating other evidence. Machines are different.

As for your points #1 and #2, yeah, I'll agree that those are valid points and that sounds pretty damning, and I'll give it up on those.

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#54
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha. That made me laugh. The point is if you make someone look extremely evil, more "normal" people are less likely to show any support or sympathy towards them, right? Some who might have been neutral about a black market where you can buy drugs (that the government deems illegal) who would have supported the person who owned/managed it, whereas now I imagine they'd be less likely speak up.

Right, but that's like arguing the government clearly controls the weather, because of how convenient it would be for them if they could. You're just saying, "Well I could see them setting him up" and hoping that counts as evidence.

So, you're trying to twist my words into saying "this is what is happening and I am claiming it to be true" - however what I'm saying is that it's a reasonable possibility - I am not saying there is proof behind it or that it's a real occurrence.

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#55
post #51
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha. That made me laugh. The point is if you make someone look extremely evil, more "normal" people are less likely to show any support or sympathy towards them, right? Some who might have been neutral about a black market where you can buy drugs (that the government deems illegal) who would have supported the person who owned/managed it, whereas now I imagine they'd be less likely speak up.

But surely those people are perfectly well aware that such a black market is deemed illegal and that they can still be arrested for selling, buying and using. He's not being made to look any more evil than anyone else accused of attempted murder and running a criminal syndicate.

Facilitating the sale of drugs is quite different than if he's accused of trying to (successfully or unsuccessfully) kill 6 people - which is much more extreme, no?

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#57
post #55
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But surely those people are perfectly well aware that such a black market is deemed illegal and that they can still be arrested for selling, buying and using. He's not being made to look any more evil than anyone else accused of attempted murder and running a criminal syndicate.

Facilitating the sale of drugs is quite different than if he's accused of trying to (successfully or unsuccessfully) kill 6 people - which is much more extreme, no?

Cartel bosses, gang members and drug dealers have been known to have their perceived enemies killed to defend their money, territory or evade capture. Let's not pretend that 'facilitating the sale of drugs' at that scale is an necessarily nonviolent business.

And besides, what does the government have to gain that's worth the risk of damaging their case if its discovered they fabricated evidence?

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#58
most of the comments tend to say that he was stupid, but in some respects, i think the guy was quite bold and somewhat intelligent if he was able to roll something up this large over that long of a time period even if what he was doing was highly illegal. sure he could have been smarter about some things, but honestly, the fact that he got this far, this fast means that he was an enterprising individual, just on the wrong track.

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Ulbricht gets off on a technicality for the crime he's charged with, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. He's being charged with the hypothetical thoughtcrime of killing an internet persona (or two). To me, that feels like a technicality to begin with. I'm sorry, we're considering hiring a hitman and paying them large amounts of money for what you believe to be a successful torture and execution as a thought crime no…

A screen name on the internet, possibly a sock puppet, may or may not be tied to a real world person. He didn't have the capacity to visit this person in real life. He couldn't have possibly been sure whether it was a real person or not. He never met them, he never shook their hand, he couldn't have been sure of where they lived, because they didn't exist to begin with. Another screen name claims to have the ability…

> A screen name on the internet, possibly a sock puppet, may or may not be tied to a real world person.

Are you suggesting that there are advanced AI botherbots out there just looking for other entities, presumably flesh and blood, as prey?

Re: Feds say Silk Road suspect’s computer shows he (thought he) plotted 6 murders

#60
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but that's like arguing the government clearly controls the weather, because of how convenient it would be for them if they could. You're just saying, "Well I could see them setting him up" and hoping that counts as evidence.

So, you're trying to twist my words into saying "this is what is happening and I am claiming it to be true" - however what I'm saying is that it's a reasonable possibility - I am not saying there is proof behind it or that it's a real occurrence.

How do we know it is a reasonable possibility? We have zero evidence to suggest it is the case.
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