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Yeah, it's not like the high-functioning sociopaths that seem so well-represented in the programmer population would be at all interested in the six-figure salaries

True. And they don't need many smart people to herd their idiotic workforce. Take a look at how Ferret Cannon (the NSA automated hacking system) works. It took a few smart people to figure out how to get exploits purchased on the black market (which are 'payload hook ready') hooked into their exploit delivery system. Someone purchases the compatible exploits, another categorizes the exploit's tech level, another adapts it to work with their system. Then a "cyberarmy" of power-tripping idiots follows a damn flow chart that tells them which level of exploit to use against a target based on the target's technical capabilities.

The morons select a target and press a button to hack them. The folks "hacking" you are less qualified than skiddies using automated pen testing like metasploit. It may have worked at first, but I know for a fact that due to their incompetence they frequently underestimate the technological capabilities of their targets; They don't know what to do about VMs and hardware with spoofed fingerprints (so they end up identifying and hacking into VMs instead of hardware's firmware), and wind up giving their 'enemies' their 'cyberweapons' meanwhile tipping them off to the intrusion.

Protip: Yank the network connection to your systems and wait a little while. Do the disconnected systems' storage devices become highly active? If you were hacked by "them", this is the spyware trying to remove itself to evade detection by offline analysis. It's a simple quick-litmus test, but you'll still have to verify the infection via diff against a known good VM image. Then, simply restore the VM to it's latest known-bad state, reconnect the network, and feed the morons disinformation.

Look, I'm not against my government, I value my country, but you can't really tell if this is a foreign intel agency or your own government hacking you (maybe "they" think you could be a valuable asset for your government). So, one might as well play it safe and fuck with "them" hard core. If you go to the FBI, they'll just stonewall you and probably refer you (or your loved ones) to a psych ward for paranoid schitsophrenia -- Regardless of whether or not you are a security researcher and carry documented proof of the intrusion -- Since that's the label they use to dissuade others from believing you, whether you're a nutter or not (and you would be incredibly enraged if you found out why the label is this particular mental disorder).

As "they" escalate their unwarranted attack against you, simply collect and document more of their technology. Put it in an encrypted insurance file and upload it around the net as things like "Justin Beaver Discography". Use a network of human and automated Dead Man's Switches, to dissuade them from disappearing you lest the leaks begin. Protip: Encrypt the most outrageous stuff first, then place some less outrageous stuff along side that encrypted blob and encrypt them both into another blob. Repeat as needed. Now you can create a timed release of the info without relying on corrupt journalists to do it for you, just arrange to have the keys released in reverse order: Each decryption reveals another more scandalous secret and another juicy blob that needs decryption. The thing to remember here is that you don't have to worry about "them" cracking your encryption methods, or finding out what's inside via hacks, because "they" already know what you know. You encrypt the data to prevent the common citizens from peering inside, and frankly, some of the shit I've seen should not be exposed since we don't need riots right now as they'll be exacerbated by the current

Setup automated "are you still alive?" checking with http://www.deadmansswitch.net/ Have it email your password if you don't respond to a few checks in a few months. In lieu of the password, enough clues for family to reconstruct it if you're worried about these guys seeing it should do the trick. E.g First pet name + second pet name + wedding anniversary + favourite color etc etc.

I follow the school of thought that I could be "hit by a bus" at any time. All my documents and code are in remote repositories ("commit" is my "save"), and I've arranged several ways for folks who need/want access to get it. A distributed replication strategy is dead simple -- git pull in a chron job does the trick for most of my stuff.
That way, I know anything I put in: ~/with/great/power/comes/great/responsibility/ will at least get seen by some people I trust.

For the casual deadman there's several online solutions, even Google has theirs.

In a way, we live in a continuous afterlife where the passed pass the patterns of genes and minds towards eternity via cultural contributions. It's up to the living to carry on in the spirit of our deceased. It's a waste of life's works otherwise.

Now I'll have my moment of routing output to /dev/null/ in observance of Barnaby Jack, hoping none of his contributions will do the same.

This may be useful. Of course it has the same problem of any on-line service you may think of: you will probably outlast it.

I've posted this previously but I keep thinking it deserves merit:

Dead Man's Switch

Its a project that emails you periodically. If you don't respond it fires off a pre-defined message to a set of individuals you've chosen. Full disclaimer here, I have nothing to do with the project and I have not yet tested it myself but it doesn't seem like a difficult system to set up.... cron job + mail server + port listening app.

Check this out: http://beta.deadmansswitch.net/

Its a service that you register with that periodically sends you emails you must respond to. If you don't respond to the email the service assumes you've passed away and then sends out an email to the people you indicated previously. I haven't given it a try yet but it might be handy to have for when I keel off and business partners need access to my data.

How is this different from any of the following which have been around for years?

http://www.deadmansswitch.net/
http://lastpost.com/
http://www.youdeparted.com/
http://www.letterfrombeyond.com/
http://mylastemail.com/
http://www.postexpression.com/
http://www.finalthoughts.com/

like dead man's switch

"That gives me an idea. Delayed emails that do not get sent until after my death. "

It's been done.

http://www.deadmansswitch.net/