Wikileaks DDoS Attacker Arrested, Equipment Seized

kaptink writes "The self proclaimed hacker that waged a DDoS attack on Wikileaks has been arrested and has had all his equipment seized. What is interesting is that local police conducted the raid and not a federal authority such as the FBI. The Jester (th3j35t3r) who has a reputation for attacking websites he disagrees with is said to be trying to raise $10,000 in expected lawyers fees. If anyone is going to be alight in the whole Wikileaks debacle, its going to be the lawyers. Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated."

Comments

Summary Fail

[intellitech]

Try as I might, I see ZERO MENTION of the jester being arrested in the linked article. Here's the real article, pulled from the original submission:

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/12/1/wikileaks-hacker-raided-cops/

Interestingly enough, thinq.co.uk seems to be one of only a few, if more than one, reporting on the subject. A few quick google searches turned up nothing regarding his arrest..

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Not only that, but other sites reporting on the subject are already retracting:

UPDATES: Reports of the raid and confiscation of equipment are most likely a hoax or an elaborate social engineering scheme to capitalize on current news events.

Details are still few, and sympathizers should exercise caution before donating funds allegedly for "attorney fees". The original text requesting donations, as quoted below, and the corresponding link have been deleted from the "new" site.

https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/9916-Hacker-The-Jester-Reports-Raid-By-Law-Enforcement.html

Re:Summary Fail

[electron sponge]

I sense a hoax.

Re:Summary Fail

[Monkeedude1212]

Someone on here earlier was saying that the Jester doesn't have the smarts or the technology to pull off something like the DDoS thats been happening to Wikileaks - and if that's true I wouldn't be surprised if this is just some fabricated story to pump up Jester's "cred" as a "leet hacker".

Re:Summary Fail

[intellitech]

I think the lack of official executive branch announcement of the arrest is further evidence of this.

Re:Summary Fail

[blair1q]

He is, however, dumb enough to use Twitter to brag about his sploits, which makes locating and arresting him about as hard for a cop as scratching his own nuts.

Re:Summary Fail

[intellitech]

Or he's just the fall guy for an elaborate government conspiracy to bring down WikiLeaks covertly.

Re:Summary Fail

[NiceGeek]

Why would the executive branch comment on the arrest of a bush-league hacker?

Re:Summary Fail

[NiceGeek]

"Someone on here earlier was saying that the Jester doesn't have the smarts or the technology to pull off something like the DDoS "

and if someone says something on Slashdot, it must be true!

Re:Summary Fail

[Celestialwolf]

Try as I might, I see ZERO MENTION of the jester being arrested in the linked article. Here's the real article, pulled from the original submission:

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/12/1/wikileaks-hacker-raided-cops/

Interestingly enough, thinq.co.uk seems to be one of only a few, if more than one, reporting on the subject. A few quick google searches turned up nothing regarding his arrest..

Reply posted on the link you provided above: "UPDATES: Reports of the raid and confiscation of equipment are most likely a hoax or an elaborate social engineering scheme to capitalize on current news events: https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/9916-Hacker-The-Jester-Reports-Raid-By-Law-Enforcement.html "

Re:Summary Fail

[NiceGeek]

The nice thing about conspiracies is that they can be blamed for everything.

Re:Summary Fail

[blind monkey 3]

which makes locating and arresting him about as hard for a cop as scratching his own nuts.
Hey, you try scratching your nuts when you have a donut in one hand and a coffee in the other... you get some strange looks if you start scratching against furniture.

Re:Summary Fail

[Monkeedude1212]

Then why stop him now?

Re:Summary Fail

[intellitech]

The executive branch extends to the various law enforcement departments..

Re:Summary Fail

[MichaelSmith]

I may not have the smarts to do that either but I posted a link to my own server on slashdot and it stopped working.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, unless he's using proxies and/or TOR.

Re:Summary Fail

[AndrewNeo]

Not if he was behind SEVEN PROXIES.

Re:Summary Fail

[Ihmhi]

He is, however, dumb enough to use Twitter to brag about his sploits, which makes locating and arresting him about as hard for a cop as scratching his own nuts.

Do you have any idea how hard it is for a cop to scratch his nuts? He has to make it past a belly bloated by years of coffee and donuts.

Re:Summary Fail

[t0p]

What is it about tweets and blog posts that makes the cops think they're true? If I tweet that I killed Princess Di will the Paris plod come crashing through my door?

Conversely, if I tweet that I'm not a serial killer, will that keep law enforcement off my back long enough for me to get rid of all the body parts in my freezer?

Re:Summary Fail

[h4rm0ny]

Neither of which would compare to being dumb enough to get actively involved in this stuff as an independent. It's plausible that the US government through some proxy could carry out DDoS attacks against Wikileaks, though it would presume a level of pretty high stupidity on their part to think it would have any effect other than adding to the publicity. But if the US governement wasn't tacitly giving the go-ahead to something like this, then I'd expect them to come down hard on anyone they caught who was. Same as the cops with vigilantes. An outsider might think they'd have a common interest, but in reality it's all about control and authority. I doubt the US authorities would appreciate someone acting without their approval regardless of the target.

Re:Summary Fail

[blair1q]

If I tweet that I killed Princess Di will the Paris plod come crashing through my door?

No, because they already solved that case. But if you tweet that you want to destroy an airport you will probably get a visit from someone interested in prosecuting you no matter how serious you were. Same deal for death threats against leadership figures.

And they get to use your tweet against you in court, and ask "were you lying then or are you lying now", which inexorably paints you as a liar, which heavily biases a jury against you.

Re:Summary Fail

[Zero__Kelvin]

Glad I could help.

Re:Summary Fail

[SuricouRaven]

"Someone on here earlier was saying that the Jester doesn't have the smarts or the technology to pull off something like the DDoS thats been happening to Wikileaks "

That would be me - I believe I know what type of attack he is using, and while it's quite capable of taking out those jihadi websites he usually targets, the wikileaks DDoS is far, far beyond his capability. I think he is just taking false credit. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is also a hoax, as there has been no confirmation of an arrest or equipment seizure by anyone other than The Jester himself. Maybe he just wants those legal defence donations, or a bit of martyr's glory.

Re:Summary Fail

[Frosty Piss]

and if someone says something on Slashdot, it must be true!

Well, the fact that this "story" made it past "editorial review" pretty much speaks to that! Seriously, even just a Google would show there's a problem with this "story".

Re:Summary Fail

[idontgno]

The nice thing about conspiracies is that they can be blamed for everything.

For instance, it's pretty damn near self-evident that the conspiracy would post something just like that. Deflect attention from itself by drawing attention to itself, self-mockingly.

In other words, THAT'S JUST WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK!

Re:Summary Fail

[morgan_greywolf]

Sure, but it wasn't even the FBI or any other executive law enforcement department that arrested this guy; according to the summary, it was the local police. So, again, why would the FBI comment on the arrest of a bush-league hacker by the local Barney?

Re:Summary Fail

[ilikejam]

"He has to make it past a belly bloated by years of coffee and donuts."

Careful - these are IT types your talking to.

Re:Summary Fail

[intellitech]

My point exactly. It's something you'd expect the feds to handle, yet it was allegedly carried about by the local law enforcement.

Re:Summary Fail

[ilikejam]

s/your/you\'re/

Re:Summary Fail

[kulnor]

Snow Crash and the Seven Proxies?

Re:Summary Fail

[Mitchell314]

Careful - these are old IT types still using ed you're talking to

FTFY. :P

Re:Summary Fail

[Myopic]

Maybe not all bush-league hackers, but with all the WikiLeaks shit hitting the fan recently, don't you think they would in this case? I bet they would.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

When it's Christmas, would he be behind SEVEN PIXIES?

Re:Summary Fail

[fph il quozientatore]

A Vi command in the body and an Emacs one in the signature? That's a good way to make enemies on both sides.

Re:Summary Fail

[PopeRatzo]

I sense a hoax.

Definitely.

Nobody with the right-wing sensibilities of the so-called "Jester" would even be able to spell "DDOS attack".

Re:Summary Fail

[Manos_Of_Fate]

and if someone says something on Slashdot, it must be true!

Netcraft confirms this.

Re:Summary Fail

[Pharmboy]

Netcraft confirms this.

What, that /. is dying?

Re:Summary Fail

[ilikejam]

[ilikejam@localhost ~]$ vi .emacs

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

What about this is a conspiracy exactly?
If I recall properly a conspiracy is a group of people planning on breaking the law in some way. While a DDoS attack is against the law it is said to be done by one person, and while his arrest was probably a hoax, it still has nothing to do with a conspiracy.

So what exactly are you talking about?

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Hold donut by inserting gun barrel through the donut's hole, scratch nuts with end of barrel?

Re:Summary Fail

[Will.Woodhull]

I, too, have doubts that any l33tnik could have mustered the resources to DDOS an operation like wikileaks.

I don't have much respect for l33tniks. They are pretty much the bottom fish of the basement dwellers.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

If only they'd built it with 6,001 hulls!

Re:Summary Fail

[Khyber]

Load balancers are your friend!

I doubt /. is taking my website down anytime soon.

Re:Summary Fail

[AlamedaStone]

"Did you win your sword fight?"
"Of course I won the fucking sword fight," Hiro says. "I'm the greatest sword fighter in the world."
"And you wrote the software."
"Yeah. That, too," Hiro says.

Re:Summary Fail

[AlamedaStone]

if you tweet that you want to destroy an airport you will probably get a visit from someone interested in prosecuting you no matter how serious you were.

If I chose to state "I intend to set off a bomb in Benton, OK tomorrow", am I committing some kind of crime in the US? I mean, someone always wants to prosecute you for something, but is this a legitimate infraction of law?

God damn, I hope not.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Not if he was behind SEVEN PROXIES.

And what happens if someone comes up with SIX proxies?

Re:Summary Fail

[mlyle]

Yes. For instance, under California law:

Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which
will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with
the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or
by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a
threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out,
which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made,
is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to
convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an
immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes
that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own
safety or for his or her immediate family's safety, shall be punished
by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by
imprisonment in the state prison.

or (c) Any person who maliciously informs any other person that a
bomb or other explosive has been or will be placed or secreted in any
public or private place, knowing that the information is false, is
guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year.

Or there are many other choices of statute depending on specific circumstances. Note that both of these require malice. If you were going to legally set off a bomb as part of a demonstration when you had a pyrotechnics license, neither of these would apply.

Re:Summary Fail

[Kagura]

Here's the guy's twitter. He claims he's not arrested.

Weird story...

Re:Summary Fail

[Dayofswords]

further update from his twitter:
( http://twitter.com/th3j35t3r )

# the real Jester thanks all with common sense and the ability to research, while at the same time never begging for money. (EVER). OUT. about 3 hours ago via web

# The raid story = fabricated by the imposter (@th3j3st3r - www.th3j35t3r.net) to facilitate him capitalizing on the name, or to draw me out. about 3 hours ago via web

# really wanted to TANGO DOWN - www.th3j35t3r.net IMPOSTER - today but I appear to have bigger stuff to deal with. Shit happens. about 3 hours ago via web

# requires no cash. I will not have blood of a money-grabbin opportunist (@th3j35tsr) on my hands. Consider urself dusted. (thankyou). about 3 hours ago via web

# PS FOR the record I have not been lifted, and do not require any finances or donations - dont be sucked in by @th3j3st3r imposter.OUT about 4 hours ago via web

# th3j35t3r For sake IMPOSTER (@th3j3st3r (www.th3j35t3r.net)) I plead you to STFU and vanish.'He knows not what he does.' Heed me now. about 4 hours ago via web

Re:Summary Fail

[vldragon]

Thats a rookie mistake. You're overthinking the problem. Insert donut in mouth, scratch nuts with FREE hand. Do NOT attemp to drink coffee during this procedure or scratch nuts with coffee hand. Officer Johnson made that mistake once... Once.

Re:Summary Fail

[tombeard]

Up yours whippersnapper. I route your SNA token ring over SDLC. Take THAT!
Surrender now or it's frame relay at 1000 kbps. And I have ISDN backup in reserve.
Don't make me use my FIDI ring!

Re:Summary Fail

[ushering05401]

Given the boost in publicity that the down-time added don't you think anyone calling attention as the cause of said down-time would be investigated for collusion?

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Or a fabricated story to cover the tracks of whoever did do the DDoS....

someone with that many numbers in their n4m3 and the ability to DDoS a website like Wikileaks must be made up.

Now I wonder who doesn't like Wikileaks and had anything to lose during the time of the DDoS.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope the misplaced sense of superiority feels good now. It's going to be stinging you as you get older and realize you aren't as bright as you think you are.

Re:Summary Fail

[booyabazooka]

Maybe because he wasn't actually arrested... Isn't this the Twitter account in question? http://twitter.com/#!/th3j35t3r

• www.wikileaks.org - TANGO DOWN - for attempting to endanger the lives of our troops, 'other assets' & foreign relations #wikileaks #fail
• th3j35t3r For sake IMPOSTER >> (@th3j3st3r (www.th3j35t3r.net)) I plead you to STFU and vanish.'He knows not what he does.' Heed me now.
• << PS FOR the record I have not been lifted, and do not require any finances or donations - dont be sucked in by @th3j3st3r <<< imposter.OUT
• << requires no cash. I will not have blood of a money-grabbin opportunist (@th3j35tsr) on my hands. Consider urself dusted. (thankyou).
• <<< really wanted to TANGO DOWN - www.th3j35t3r.net The raid story = fabricated by the imposter (@th3j3st3r - www.th3j35t3r.net) to facilitate him capitalizing on the name, or to draw me out.
• <<< the real Jester thanks all with common sense and the ability to research, while at the same time never begging for money. (EVER). OUT.

Re:Summary Fail

[dropadrop]

What does that mean? We've had children launch 10gbit/s dos attacks against our service and all that was needed was a small payment via paypal. Attack starts and ends with 1s precision...

All you need is a connection to somebody with a big enough botnet, and will to use it for DOS attacks. Even then he will be using less then 1% of it's capacity.

Re:Summary Fail

[h4rm0ny]

Very difficult to prove, though. I mean, anyone here could be behind the DDoS attacks (and if they've an ironic sense of humour, they might well be). How do you distinguish between someone supporting the attacks by drawing attention to them, and someone just stating the obvious conclusions that all can see? The action and the effect are the same in both cases. Only the degree of satisfaction *may* be different.

Re:Summary Fail

[Zaiff Urgulbunger]

He talks funny don't he?

Re:Summary Fail

[jpate]

anything's possible.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

s/your/ur/ for ultimate leet value

Re:Summary Fail

[tehcyder]

if you tweet that you want to destroy an airport you will probably get a visit from someone interested in prosecuting you no matter how serious you were.

If I chose to state "I intend to set off a bomb in Benton, OK tomorrow", am I committing some kind of crime in the US? I mean, someone always wants to prosecute you for something, but is this a legitimate infraction of law?

God damn, I hope not.

Making hoax bomb threats is definitely illegal (at least here in the UK), it doesn't matter whether you do it by twitter, phone or writing it on the side of a cow.

As a rule "I was only kidding" doesn't count as much of a defense in these sort of cases. (People usually try "I was drunk" or "I have been suffering from mental health problems") It's why that bloke recently got done for tweeting about blowing up Nottingham airport, even though to 99% of people it was obviously a joke.

Re:Summary Fail

[tehcyder]

What about this is a conspiracy exactly? If I recall properly a conspiracy is a group of people planning on breaking the law in some way. While a DDoS attack is against the law it is said to be done by one person, and while his arrest was probably a hoax, it still has nothing to do with a conspiracy.

So what exactly are you talking about?

Presumably it's a conspiracy theory because he wasn't acting alone.

You can't explain away JFK assassination conspiracy theories by saying "but Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone gunman so therefore there can't be a conspiracy". It's begging the question.

Re:Summary Fail

[Joe U]

Isn't Benton a ghost town?

Either way, why would you think that making a threat to blow someone up wouldn't be a crime?

Now, if you said, 'I'm going to do lots of drugs in Benton, OK tomorrow', you might get a cop to drive around and see if you're actually in town doing the drugs, but most likely not.

Re:Summary Fail

[mcgrew]

/.'s been dying since I got here. Kinda like the old guy in The Holy Grail.

Re:Summary Fail

[arth1]

I still have a couple of systems that use UUCP for mail and file propagation. And not too long ago, I was troubleshooting FTAM file transfers. Does that count?

Re:Summary Fail

[uninformedLuddite]

Bullshit! The guy is 31337 he used a Gibson

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, that counts, as long as it's an indicator of your age and experience and/or laziness rather than network necrophilia or some sort of retro chic.

How long was not too long ago, out of curiosity? Was it in the context of GOSIP?

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

N.B. This only applies if you are trying to impress script kiddies.

Re:Summary Fail

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought the IT types had bellies bloated by years of Mountain Dew and pizza, in which case he should be fine.

4n0nym0u5

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated." Have to say, I do agree here.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Monkeedude1212]

m0nk33dud3 concurs.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Machtyn]

Boy, I'm glad I didn't originally make my handle mach10 back in the BBS days.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Anonymous Coward]

m0nk33dudonetwoonetwo

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Anonymous Coward]

m0nk33dud301100110

Re:4n0nym0u5

[h4rm0ny]

Hey, "Harmony" was taken, you know? Numbers are an easy way of getting past duplicate names. WIth well over a million users signed up to Slashdot, the chances of anyone at this stage getting their desired username are slim. At least with a few digits here and there you can be roughly consistent with your username on other sites.



Plus it makes me sound cool, of course!

Re:4n0nym0u5

[baegucb]

I never had that problem. It's pronounced phonetically "John" btw ;)

Re:4n0nym0u5

[by (1706743)]

I guess this makes my nick even more lame (first level of lameness in that I didn't even get the right UID).

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Ambvai]

I spell my name B-R-I-V-O-L-B-N-7-Q.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[SimonTheSoundMan]

Oh, that's just epic! +1 Funny if I had mod points.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[JohhnyTHM]

Are you a friend of Raymond Luxury Yacht by any chance?

Re:4n0nym0u5

[boarder]

Dammit, I was going to post that it's easy to get a normal username if you sign up early enough, but your UID is twice as low as mine.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[mcgrew]

Well, I got my real last name as a UID. Oh, wiat... that was ten years ago. never mind.

- /\/\c6r3w (hey, I can pretend to be 133t, too!)

Re:4n0nym0u5

[mcgrew]

I believe Luxury Yacht is Ford Prefect's brother.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[Coren22]

Pretty insane you were only off by one though. Grats on that.

Re:4n0nym0u5

[baegucb]

I'd have an even lower number, but when slashdot first started requiring signing on, there were privacy issues raised.

Computer expert?

[clone52431]

A self-proclaimed "hacktivist" said Tuesday he's the computer expert who knocked rogue Web site WikiLeaks offline for several hours through a distributed denial of service attack.

It doesn’t take a computer expert. It just takes a botnet.

And personally, I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look “leet” automatically loses the ability to be called a “computer expert”.

Re:Computer expert?

[Yvan256]

Watch it with the comments about having numbers in your nick, dude. We're both on very thin ice here.

Re:Computer expert?

[Yvan256]

That's weird... my last two comments have been modded but I only see the score (Score: 3) instead of the score+mod (Score: 3, Funny).

Re:Computer expert?

[clone52431]

Well, I’m not doing it to appear leet.

I’m actually doing it in a small sort of protest to the fact that it’s virtually impossible to get a descriptive username (on AIM, originally) without having a number tacked on the end. So I made the username as non-descriptive as possible and made the number extra big.

But I somewhat doubt anyone cares.

Re:Computer expert?

[Amorymeltzer]

I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look “leet” automatically loses the ability to be called a “computer expert”.

No, but it does make him eminently qualified to call himself one.

Re:Computer expert?

[cryoman23]

well as far as having numbers.... im on slieghtly thicker ice (having only2) but thats a far cry from the name being mainly numbers and substituting letters for numbers, having numbers at the end i have no problem with, it helps to seperate those who have the same first part(now or future), also adds unique identifier to the name

Re:Computer expert?

[jonbryce]

That happens if it was modded "under-rated"

If someone mods it "Troll", and 4 people mod it "under-rated", you could end up with "Score: 5, Troll")

Re:Computer expert?

[Fluffeh]

That's weird... my last two comments have been modded but I only see the score (Score: 3) instead of the score+mod (Score: 3, Funny).

When someone uses the "underrated" mod, it simply pushes it up a notch without changing the previous tag. On the other hand, you can be modded "overrated" which will simply push your point down without touching the tag attached.

There have been some rather funny cases where a mod has been +5 Troll and similar mods. Well, at least they give me a giggle :)

Re:Computer expert?

[nschubach]

If you look at his mod though, it's marked funny and has +1 karma (for 3 points with my preferences) and it does not show "Funny"

Re:Computer expert?

[nschubach]

That's fine and all, but it should show (Score:3 Funny) on his because there IS a funny mod. It's not simply an Underrated mod.

Re:Computer expert?

[ArhcAngel]

Let me allay any doubts.

Besides all you need to get a name without numbers is be good at mispelling things.

Re:Computer expert?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I don't care, but I do look forward to harassing you on AIM now that you've decided to share your screen name....

Re:Computer expert?

[blair1q]

It's not the format, it's the effort.

My nick was auto-generated by a failover in an account-request form (mumble) years ago, so there's no effort involved here. Not that any is needed.

Re:Computer expert?

[clone52431]

Good luck with that.

Re:Computer expert?

[Geoffrey.landis]

There have been some rather funny cases where a mod has been +5 Troll and similar mods. Well, at least they give me a giggle :)

I don't see anything contradictory about that-- ia post can be a troll, but a very very good one.

Re:Computer expert?

[Binestar]

lrn2bbornsooner. It's your own fault it took you this long to join the Internet. Now get off my lawn y0un6k1d154 before I get my belt out! I have a 5 digit UID and a 6 digit ICQ number, and 3 AIM names without any numbers in them!

Re:Computer expert?

[eln]

Seems to be something funky going on with Slashdot's mod system today. I had mod points earlier today and when I moderated comments, it would increment the total score, but wouldn't show the moderation I gave it, even though it had always done so in the past. Probably the Slashdot admins running test code on the production server again.

Re:Computer expert?

[MichaelSmith]

Thats even better than "-1, Insightful"

Re:Computer expert?

[clone52431]

If I’d signed up for an ICQ number on my 13th birthday, I could probably have got a 5-digit number, but I can’t say I particularly wanted to be a 5-digit number for my 13th birthday.

Re:Computer expert?

[Anonymous Coward]

I fairly often end up with a +1 troll, but most of the time once it's into positive territory nobody cares enough to push it up any further. It's probably because mod points are easily abused and the new metamod system doesn't work as well as the old one did.

Re:Computer expert?

[royallthefourth]

Cardinal numbers? How crass!

Re:Computer expert?

[Nethead]

I'm sorry you came late to the game.

Re:Computer expert?

[XnavxeMiyyep]

Now that would be a good use of The Jester's botnet!

Re:Computer expert?

[sourcerror]

+5 troll is reserved for 4chan.

Re:Computer expert?

[guyminuslife]

I think it's just a call for more creative nicknames. I don't think I've put numbers in my nickname...ever. Maybe when I was 9 years old and using AOL. Plus nobody else uses this one.

Re:Computer expert?

[Target Practice]

Spaces work on some nicer systems, too. That, and a willingness to broadcast your ineptitude at FPS games.

Re:Computer expert?

[Spyder]

I was gonna do the same thing, but you win. I for one welcome our gray bearded overlords.

Re:Computer expert?

[Anonymous Coward]

When someone uses the "underrated" mod, it simply pushes it up a notch without changing the previous tag.

Sort of. Enough underrated mods will nullify the tag if it is negative (flamebait, troll, offtopic).

This makes the coveted "+5, Troll" quite elusive.

Re:Computer expert?

[AhabTheArab]

I care.

Re:Computer expert?

[Jaysyn]

There have been some rather funny cases where a mod has been +5 Troll and similar mods. Well, at least they give me a giggle :)

Me too, still waiting on mine :D

Re:Computer expert?

[Blakey Rat]

That would imply they test changes before pushing them into production. Sounds pretty unlikely to me.

Re:Computer expert?

[CODiNE]

How did you get the combination to my briefcase in your sig??

Re:Computer expert?

[by (1706743)]

It doesn’t take a computer expert. It just takes a botnet.

And personally, I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look “leet” automatically loses the ability to be called a “computer expert”.

Yeah, tell that to 7of9...

Re:Computer expert?

[clone52431]

I don’t have a sig, you insensitive clod.

Re:Computer expert?

[Jay L]

and 3 AIM names without any numbers in them!

Noob.

-- jay@aol.com

Re:Computer expert?

[TBBle]

Or just accept that in English, spelling doesn't have to be tied to pronunciation. Also, vowels are overrated.

Re:Computer expert?

[Binestar]

I gave up my aol.com name when I moved off aol in '94.

Re:Computer expert?

[Anonymous Coward]

Unoriginalist.

You could tack on a number at the beginning.

Re:Computer expert?

[Anonymous Coward]

Plus nobody else uses this one.

Outside of /. I only use nicks that I know are in use by semi-anon, but active others out in the Web. It pretty much guarantees that people think they have the search-fu drop on me if ever they come looking.

Re:Computer expert?

[guyminuslife]

I was going to make idle threats about using mine, but that's just a way to ensure it happens.

Re:Computer expert?

[identity0]

Are you me?

Sorry, that story just sounded so familiar...

Re:Computer expert?

[MorpheousMarty]

Let me allay any doubts.

Besides all you need to get a name without numbers is be good at mispelling things.

Yup. It's a tradition with me now to have a misspelling in my handle. I find it has two advantageousness. You can usually get the name you want. People can't find you just hearing your handle, you have to literally spell it out for people to find you. I need to put a misspelling in my last name.

Re:Computer expert?

[gr8dude]

Uhmm... the three of us.

Re:Computer expert?

[tehcyder]

There have been some rather funny cases where a mod has been +5 Troll and similar mods. Well, at least they give me a giggle :)

I don't see anything contradictory about that-- ia post can be a troll, but a very very good one.

Very very good trolls are something other than a troll, i.e. they will also be funny or insightful. There are very few really good trolls any more, of course, the GNAA et al have ruined it for everyone, trolls just get ignored completely.

Re:Computer expert?

[tehcyder]

people can't find you just hearing your handle, you have to literally spell it out for people to find you

How often do people hear your handle but not see it written down? Do you and your friends go around calling yourselves things like "Neo1337" in everyday conversation?

Re:Computer expert?

[MorpheousMarty]

people can't find you just hearing your handle, you have to literally spell it out for people to find you

How often do people hear your handle but not see it written down? Do you and your friends go around calling yourselves things like "Neo1337" in everyday conversation?

When I'm at a bar, writing utensils are not always handy, and here (Buenos Aires) e-mails are more useful that phone numbers because no one likes to use minutes on their phone. In that case I may speak my handle.

But you're right, I don't think I've heard someone else say my handle out-loud in forever.

Re:Computer expert?

[WildBlueYonder]

Or you could put a bunch of adjectives before your name that you don't really want.

Re:Computer expert?

[Coren22]

I would assist with that. It would be hilarious to me.

Re:Computer expert?

[Coren22]

+1 funny to you and GP. I wish I had the points.

Re:Computer expert?

[wilec]

Hey admin can I sell my nick? And naw I am NOT going to dig thru the TOS for an answer.. sheesh!

wabi-sabi
matthew

No surprises

[betterunixthanunix]

I won't say which, but that guy (or at least someone using that handle) would occasionally drop into an IRC channel that I frequent, trying to recruit us. When news of the leak first broke, I wondered if he was going to try to DOS wikileaks (something he had spoken about doing in the past), and then, there was a DDOS. Now he's been arrested for it, and I cannot say that I am surprised.

Now I just have to wonder if he'll receive a pardon of some kind.

Re:No surprises

[newcastlejon]

Now I just have to wonder if he'll receive a pardon of some kind.

Or a job.

Re:No surprises

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I just have to wonder if he'll receive a pardon of some kind.

Or a job.

Why? If he got caught this easily, he cannot be very good. Then again, he can use a computer, so he's overqualified for a government job.

Re:No surprises

[budgenator]

The only thing better than not getting arrested, is being arrested and then having them decide your not the right guy.

Re:No surprises

[Anonymous Coward]

Now he's been arrested for it, and I cannot say that I am surprised.

No he wasn't, it's a hoax. The headline needs to be updated or the submission pulled down.

Re:No surprises

[Anonymous Coward]

And by recruit he means "use your IPs to make you the fall guys". I used to doubt the jester I'd had contact with in IRC (he was taking down one of our game servers because some GM didn't get fired for not returning an item he used an exploit to get) was the same but the language in his twitter feed the last few days has erased all doubt. While I salute his tool building skills (said it was a 3 line plugin to cripple our server (it did cripple it)) and his dedication to something he believes in (keep pushing those silly terrorists to the CIA site *thumbsup*) he is still kind of an idiot. His beef with Wikileaks seems to be littler more than Asange being a better known name than Th3Jest3r, particularly when jester is much better at computers than just Tor exit node sniffing. It's pathetic, this isn't the first time he's acted like a child, and I doubt it will be the last.

Nothing like sinking a start-up (15 people) with a DDoS (yes he uses multiple traffic generators, got search for logs) over an item he was gonna lose in 2 days when beta ended. Still, I would have loved to see him take down Amazon's cloud in his weird attempt to... draw more attention to wikileaks? I seriously don't get why he thinks he's hurting them...

Re:No surprises

[arth1]

Not that it relates to this case, but here in the US, just getting arrested will likely cost you your job, and your ability to get another job until you (without a job) have been able to pay lawyers to file and argue your lawsuit for getting the arrest record stricken.
Yes, something is seriously wrong with our system.

Anonymous Coward

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't he trying to look "1337" not "leet"?

Trying to raise money

[kyrio]

I truly hope no one is dumb enough to give him money.

Re:Trying to raise money

[js3]

why?

Re:Trying to raise money

[SnarfQuest]

Of course not. Just look at that SCO business. No one was stupid enough to invest in that mess, so you shouldn't have to worry about this one.

Re:Trying to raise money

[Monkeedude1212]

Only someone dumb enough to give him money would ask a question like that.

Re:Trying to raise money

[Terrasque]

Now, it would be a shame if someone took some stolen credit cards and sent him a lot of money... Right? Truly bad indeed.

Re:Trying to raise money

[Anonymous Coward]

While I wouldn't participate, I would be thoroughly amused if his donation site was DDoS'd.

Re:Trying to raise money

[TooMuchToDo]

Because you don't subsidize stupid.

Re:Trying to raise money

[Anonymous Coward]

I truly hope no one is dumb enough to give him money.

As much as I sympathize with your comment, there probably is no hope.
I suspect there are some Teabaggers out there who will prove me right.

Re:Trying to raise money

[Fnord666]

I truly hope no one is dumb enough to give him money.

I did, but it was only $10. Besides, it was on my credit card so I should be able to just get the credit card company to reverse the charges, right?

Re:Trying to raise money

[tehcyder]

I truly hope no one is dumb enough to give him money.

Oopsie...can you cancel PayPal payments like you do with cheques?

Re:Trying to raise money

[Coren22]

That would be epic, please do.

Helping Law Enforcement

[Sponge Bath]

So he committed a crime and tweeted about it. Stupid, but helpful for law enforcement. Durrrr....

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[countSudoku()]

Obviously this super 1337 h@X0r is of the smooth, x86-pimp ilk to fake his own arrest! Damn, that guy is G00D!!1! I'll bet he did this with a sweet VBS script. Props to da M@N!!1!

Seriously, this is the best the Tea Baggers can muster? This is pathetic, at best.

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[The Archon V2.0]

So he committed a crime and tweeted about it. Stupid, but helpful for law enforcement. Durrrr....

The Internet has made stupid drunken or braggy confessions to one's pals even easier for cops to overhear. No longer does a cop or an informant have to be in physical proximity to the moron! Oddly exactly what it was made for: Easier communication!

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[Nadaka]

script? nope, he he made a gui in vb4 with a button on it that launches a script made by someone else. Like all the other 1337 h4x0rs.

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry, you lost me here. Tea Baggers?

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[hedwards]

That's assuming that he actually did it. But whether or not he did it, tweeting about committing a crime is stupid. Most of the time when cops bust somebody it's because the person did something stupid. There'd be a much smaller number of people in prison if individuals who had felony arrest warrants out for them were more mindful of obeying traffic laws when driving around

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[Dishevel]

Only if the can use Visual Basic to make a GUI to track his IP address.

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[magus_melchior]

Fortunately, a great deal of criminals are as stupid (or as brazen) as this guy.

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[hb79]

> "stupid drunken or braggy confessions"...
... is the main reason for getting caught after you've gotten away with the crime. Just ask Bradley Manning. But not only on the internet. Schneier's "Beyond Fear" is packed with examples of people getting caught after they could not keep the secret to themselves anymore.

Re:Helping Law Enforcement

[Anonymous Coward]

Does a DDoS necessarily have to be illegal? what if he owned all of the machines he used.

Honestly, who didn't see that coming?

[Winchestershire]

I honestly don't care one way or the other regarding the Wikileaks mess, but common sense tells you that if you do something illegal (like DDoS'ing) and then brag about it that you will likely get caught.

Re:Honestly, who didn't see that coming?

[Starteck81]

I honestly don't care one way or the other regarding the Wikileaks mess, but common sense tells you that if you do something illegal (like DDoS'ing) and then brag about it that you will likely get caught.

Maybe he thought the CIA would thank him and give him a job. ;-)

Re:Honestly, who didn't see that coming?

[Anonymous Coward]

... but common sense tells you that if you do something illegal and then brag about it that you will likely get caught.

Think again!

"Andrew Kellett, 23, was served yesterday with an interim anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) at Leeds Magistrates' Court that bans him from posting any image or description of unlawful activity on the internet, the Times reports."

Note the lack of prosecution for any of those crimes. That's a civil order to stop bragging about them on a public forum.

Re:Honestly, who didn't see that coming?

[Coren22]

Even if he didn't do it originally, the prosecution will still do their best to ignore sarcasm to pin a crime on someone.

Saw this coming

[Anonymous Coward]

I was having a discussion with a friend about this. My point of view was that Assange was more safe than this guy, since Assange didn't go around boasting about having committed a crime on U.S. soil.

Oh darn...

[Anonymous Coward]

Another unskilled script kiddie with a message bites the dust. I'm sure the hacker community is really broken up about this tragic loss.

Re:Oh darn...

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

I ate a box of Ex-Lax, but I can't bring myself to give a shit.

th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Teckla]

A nick name like "th3j35t3r" is so unbelievably lame.

It clearly should be "7h3j3573r".

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[fiatluxiam]

EXACTLY what I was going to point out, 1337 fail!

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[HTH NE1]

He wanted 7h3j3573r, but someone else had already claimed it, so he had to substitute ts for his 7s.

(Not realizing 73hj3573r was available.)

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[SEWilco]

How about "0x544845204a4554000000"?

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[ziggyzaggy]

you forgot the 4 for h lamer!

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Sleepy]

He says it as "th3j35t3r" because he is a Lisp programmer...

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

But you can't start nicknames with numbers on IRC!

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[melikamp]

"7h3j3573r" is still super-lame compared to "73|-|_|3$73®"

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[MichaelSmith]

Or 101401040B010510180A

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

or 7|-|3_|3573|2

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe he first used it in a context where identifiers can't start with a number?

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[idontgno]

or 0xDEADBEEF0BADBABE

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

you aren't thinking l33t enough!

It obviously should be "7|-|3_/3573|2"

skewld!!!!!11!1!1one!11!!!elevenminusten!!one!1!!!!111!!!!

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Manos_Of_Fate]

I can read every one of these posts as if they were plaintext. I need to get out more...

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[blutfink]

Still lame. It clearly should be "7h3j3570r".

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[sg_oneill]

The lameness rabbit hole goes really deep with this guy.

It took me about 5 minutes of clicking around and whois , basic stuff your average donut eating cop could do, to work out who he was. He had NO IDEA how to cover his tracks, and as far as I can work out basically his attack consisted of pointing slowloris at websites, at least back when he was harassing muslims online (Seriously, most of his "jihadist" groups he attacked appeared to be community muslim groups and shit).

Presumably he got his hands on a botnet at some point, which isnt so hard to do if you know the right people, and yeah. lame-o-rama.

An even half way competent hacker wouldn't be using the lame ddos shit, and instead would have broken into the site and defaced it.

DOS attacks using googled tools is pretty lame.

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey! that's the combination of my luggage!

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's nothing compared to !

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[ensignyu]

It needs some Unicode pictographs.

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[tehcyder]

Or 5318008

Re:th3j35t3r - Lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

He says it as "th3j35t3r" because he is a Lisp programmer...

"th3j3tht3r" then, surely?

Point

[Voulnet]

"Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated"

This.

Re:Point

[MichaelSmith]

Apparently its right there beside the "no fat chicks" law.

Re:Point

[Anonymous Coward]

You must be new to the internet.

Re:Point

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

"Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated"

"Personally I think anyone who DDOS's people they disagree with deserves to spend a few years in Federal pound-me-in-the-ass Prison.

Re:Point

[Anonymous Coward]

"Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated"

This.

I was thinking the use of a name such as that is to make it difficult to remember and duplicate, unlike having a nick like Smith or Johnson or Bob.

Now, tell me how lame it is to make these short articles about somebody else's article????

I'm surprised.

[grub]

I honestly thought it was government(s) behind the DDoS.

Re:I'm surprised.

[ShaunC]

Funny, I thought it was BAE. ;)

Re:I'm surprised.

[Mindcontrolled]

Ah well, the beauty of modern times is, you do not have to take immediate action as a government in cases like this - especially if the internet is involved. Most likely some moron somewhere will take it on himself to act as your sockpuppet - intentional or not. Then you wipe your hands clean, arrest the poor fool and play the part of the righteously indignated while secretly laughing all the time.

Re:I'm surprised.

[wjousts]

You give up too quickly. Based on the furor with which some people where insisting it must be the government yesterday, I'm fully expecting to see people arguing that "The Joker" is a patsy taking the fall to distract attention from the government and their elite squad of script kiddies.

Re:I'm surprised.

[grub]

Happy World AIDS Day to you, too!

lol.

Re:I'm surprised.

[cryoman23]

naaa they would have just seized his domain instead :)

Re:I'm surprised.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh hey, looks like someone got mad on the internet.
Perhaps you should DDoS him!

future tags: goodluckwiththat idiot soreass owned buttdevestated

Re:I'm surprised.

[VGPowerlord]

At least it wasn't the TSA... they would have seized his crotch. ;)

Re:I'm surprised.

[Scrameustache]

I honestly thought it was government(s) behind the DDoS.

Well, he was motivated by "patriotism" fueled by the FUD spread by government(s)... is it them doing it if they influence people without giving direct instructions? Philosoraptor knows...

Re:I'm surprised.

[Anonymous Coward]

You're cool.

Re:I'm surprised.

[davev2.0]

You thought that because you are a dumbass.

Re:I'm surprised.

[Dhalka226]

No. Nor is it even as you describe just because you beg the question about his motives and imply it can't possibly be patriotism even if he thinks it is.

I see a lot of your posts, and they're almost always talking about being smart and thinking clearly -- that only applies when you're not trolling, I presume?

Re:I'm surprised.

[MichaelSmith]

British Aerospace? I wasn't aware of them being able to even half accomplish anything.

Re:I'm surprised.

[hedwards]

That's absurd. The government can't even get together enough security researchers to secure their websites. And you expect me to believe that they've been able to gather together an elite squad of script kiddies?

Re:I'm surprised.

[Kompressor]

"Who will rid me of this turbulent wikileaks?", eh?

Re:I'm surprised.

[Borland]

Well, he was motivated by "patriotism" fueled by the FUD spread by government(s)... is it them doing it if they influence people without giving direct instructions? Philosoraptor knows...

The dude was motivated by the same vigilante spark countless others have been motivated by. The court of public opinion is largely against Wikileaks and Mr. l33t jester thought he'd be applauded for taking the site down. And some will applaud him for it. But he'll still go to court because he hijacked a ton of computers and sent them at a site.

But if anything it is the common citizenry, not "government FUD" that influenced him I'll wager. I'm consistently surprised that people look too deeply into simple motivations. He patriotism might very well be limited to selecting US rather than the Taliban in the latest CoD game. But that's a lot less exotic than a government plot to DDoS wikileaks. So fsck it, maybe the dude is a CIA plant.

Re:I'm surprised.

[BobMcD]

I honestly thought it was government(s) behind the DDoS.

Well, I still do. There's zero expectation that our government is above farming this out to an idiot.

I also feel that that entire Lamo debacle was a sting operation.

Maybe that's just what I would do, so it makes perfect sense to me.

Re:I'm surprised.

[budgenator]

Personally I didn't think it was a DDOS, but a slashdotting from diplomats trying to find out what everybody else really thinks about them.

Re:I'm surprised.

[Anonymous Coward]

I honestly thought it was government(s) behind the DDoS.

Everyone knows he was 4chan's escape goat, they found a pic of lassange kicking a kitty

Re:I'm surprised.

[Anonymous Coward]

so it's patriotic as long as he thinks it is? You must have cried so much the day the great patriot (in his mind) Tim McVeigh was executed.

I don't like Scientology, but Anonymous' DDOS attack on them wasn't patriotic, it was juvenile.

Re:I'm surprised.

[tehcyder]

We are Anonymous. We believe in absolute free speech.

Except for people we disagree with.

Re:I'm surprised.

[tehcyder]

The court of public opinion is largely against Wikileaks

Not in the UK it isn't.

Re:I'm surprised.

[Coren22]

Wow, someone pissed in his Cheerios. You must have an enemy there, sad he isn't man enough to use a login.

Re:I'm surprised.

[Scrameustache]

But if anything it is the common citizenry, not "government FUD" that influenced him I'll wager.

And on what was based this "common citizenry"'s opinion, if not on government FUD? And being specific here: The Fear Uncertainty and Doubt about "lives being put in danger" that is being repeated by government spokespersons. That's not a meme that appeared out of thin air into the population, its source is a clear and conscious propaganda effort on the part of the government being annoyed by these leaks.

Don't confuse the effect (the sheeple groupthink) with the cause (the government FUD).

On a related note

[Amorymeltzer]

The Wikileaks twitter account is reporting/complaining that Amazon booted them from using their servers. Others are saying it was due to pressure from the US.

Re:On a related note

[electron sponge]

Amazon does a fair bit of business in the United States, what with it being an American corporation and all. I'm surprised Wikileaks lasted a day before getting the boot. Kudos to Amazon for knowing where their bread is buttered.

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

Kudos to Amazon for knowing where their bread is buttered.

NO.. no kudos for them - now if they where presented with a court order to shut it down then by all means.

but this is a violation of due process if not, and as far as i'm concerned places Amazon out of what could be reasonably considered a common carrier on their EC2 platform..

which means they should be liable as assisting any illegal activity that happens on their EC2 platform.

Re:On a related note

[BitZtream]

Well, its not exactly as if they weren't expecting it to be taken down, it was clearly part of the Wikileaks plan to have it go offline.

If you have material that the US doesn't want public ... and you're hosting it on Amazons' cloud ... WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HOSTING IT ON THE CLUSTERS IN THE US RATHER THAN SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRY?

Its hosted on American amazon servers so it could be used to garner more attention when it was taken down.

Either he's too stupid to be trusted or he's an attention whore using anything and everything he has access to to get attention, in which case, he can not be trusted.

Re:On a related note

[nametaken]

No doubt this somehow fell under ToS violations. Not so much a perversion of justice.

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

They may not want to deal with the DoSing. I would expect there are probably "excessive use" provisions in the hosting agreement.

Re:On a related note

[Nethead]

He's an attention whore, they get all the babes.

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

*sigh*

If they decide to boot him without a court order it is NOT a violation of due process nor an abridgment of free speech nor any other fiction that you morons keep spinning. THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT APPLY TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS, ONLY TO THE STATE!!!

Amazon cannot violate anyone's due process, as they are not the government.

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

Amazon license agreement says they can boot you if they determine that hosting you is a security concern. I am not saying there aren't more nefarious reasons, but its quite possible they were just getting sick of getting DDOSed. (Section #3.4.1)

http://aws.amazon.com/agreement/#3

Re:On a related note

[L3370]

From the article from readwriteweb--
"Senator Lieberman issued a statement saying that Amazon.com has informed his staff that the company has ceased hosting Wikileaks."

First off...go figure Joe Lieberman has anything to do with this. Second, why must Amazon.com report to Joe Lieberman and his staff for any reason? I'm not the type to boycott services for politcal views, but I'm willing to boycott Amazon for associating with such a toolbag.

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

well like app ToS's they all have the line "this can be changed at any time without notice and your bound to it" with lines like that i really don't know why they bother with the rest of the document.. just put

ToS: You will do what we say, when we say, how we say, and pay us for it.

Re:On a related note

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

If they decide to boot him without a court order it is NOT a violation of due process nor an abridgment of free speech nor any other fiction that you morons keep spinning. THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT APPLY TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS, ONLY TO THE STATE!!!

If they did it at the request of the state - rather than a court order - then yes it is a violation of due process.

Re:On a related note

[blueg3]

As a private corporation, Amazon isn't subject to due process. Only the government is subject to due process. (To be fair, that's because the government is the only one that is really allowed to take away your rights -- e.g., when imprisoning you. Amazon deciding to stop hosting your site doesn't infringe upon your rights.)

Re:On a related note

[blueg3]

That line in a ToS is widely regarded as unenforceable. Just because you write down in an agreement, "I'm allowed to change this agreement at any time," doesn't mean that you can actually legally do that. Now, if they change the agreement, you see the new agreement, and continue using the service, you've implicitly accepted the new agreement. If you don't agree with the new ToS, stop using the service, and contact them, you can often terminate your service with them without being subject to penalties (or alternately not being subject to the new ToS).

Re:On a related note

[hedwards]

It takes basically no integrity, ethics or courage to lick boot when somebody with a lot of clout asks you to. Kudos should be reserved for people and organizations that demonstrate some integrity, even if they ended up folding later.

Re:On a related note

[suprcvic]

How is it a violation of due process for a private company to do that? It's not. Private corporations are not bound by the constitution in such a manner. That's the same reason golf courses like Augusta National can exclude women from membership.

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly.

The first rule of transporting is don't open the package.

Once you know the contents, you are part of the crime.

If you never look at the contents, it is just a package you are delivering.

Re:On a related note

[Nethead]

If they did it at the request of the state - rather than a court order - then yes it is a violation of due process.

If a cop asks me to to stop talking about something, and I agree to do that there is no violation. If the cop hauls me to jail and keeps me there for more than, what is it, 72 hours without seeing a judge, that is a violation of due process.

Amazon can not, by itself, violate due process. Only the criminal justice system can.

Amazon MAY be liable under civil contract law, but that is something completely different and will be sorted out in a civil trial or by the parties reaching an agreement.

Re:On a related note

[BobMcD]

Amazon deciding to stop hosting your site doesn't infringe upon your rights.

Unless they broke their contract under duress from the government. We do have the right to enter into contracts unimpeded by undue influence.

Re:On a related note

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

If a cop asks me to to stop talking about something, and I agree to do that there is no violation.

And if a cop asks you to stop helping somebody then there is a violation.

This should be stupefyingly obvious - any request by the government to penalize a third party had better damn well be subject to the oversight process otherwise it is simple abuse of power.

Re:On a related note

[Amorymeltzer]

Just a guess, but it might be due to the fact that he is Charimen of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

To be honest, though, is Assange any less of a toolbag than Lieberman? Amazon has to look out for its best interests and, with this hullabaloo going on during holiday season, they really can't afford being seen by red-blooded, credit card-carrying Americans to be supporting what will be viewed as undermining American political efficacy. Amazon has a bottom line, and until political discourse becomes part of their mission statement, the bottom line dictates policy.

Re:On a related note

[corbettw]

My guess it was purely a pragmatic decision. Their other customers were being affected by the DDoS, too, so it makes sense to kick Wikileaks off. At least until things calm down.

Re:On a related note

[forceman130]

but this is a violation of due process if not, and as far as i'm concerned places Amazon out of what could be reasonably considered a common carrier on their EC2 platform

Doesn't due process only apply to governments? It's Amazon's service, and, generally speaking, management reserves the right to refuse service to anyone. Not to mention that hosting what are essentially stolen documents is probably against their TOS.

Re:On a related note

[Nethead]

Citation please?

Re:On a related note

[PitaBred]

That still doesn't mean they didn't just rescind their common carrier protections by doing this. I say they are legally culpable for everything illegal that is on EC2.

Re:On a related note

[xgadflyx]

Actually, not complying with pressure from the Gov't would be the fastest way for us to lose the TAX FREE perks that Amazon offers on our purchases.

Re:On a related note

[blueg3]

They've probably never had common carrier status. For one, they're not a carrier. For another, ISPs don't have common carrier status. Hell, the Wikipedia page on "common carrier" says this.

Re:On a related note

[blueg3]

That's true, unless it was in response to a court order.

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

lol! violation of due process?
What due process does any business of any kind owe you, with no kind of contract at all, before they can your shit?

Re:On a related note

[Anonymous Coward]

And if a cop asks you to stop helping somebody then there is a violation.

No there isn't.

any request by the government to penalize a third party

The government can request whatever the hell it wants.

Now, if the government demanded/threatened/coerced Amazon, then you'd have a point.

Re:On a related note

[Nyder]

Kudos to Amazon for knowing where their bread is buttered.

NO.. no kudos for them - now if they where presented with a court order to shut it down then by all means.

but this is a violation of due process if not, and as far as i'm concerned places Amazon out of what could be reasonably considered a common carrier on their EC2 platform..

which means they should be liable as assisting any illegal activity that happens on their EC2 platform.

While I'm not on amazon's side here, they run a business and if they decide that don't want to host wikileaks site, is is their right.

Re:On a related note

[exomondo]

The Wikileaks twitter account is reporting/complaining that Amazon booted them from using their servers. Others are saying it was due to pressure from the US.

I wonder what impact that has on services like their EC2 cloud. I mean if your company does something the US government doesn't like and they can put pressure on Amazon to just cut off your services then all the supposed benefits of 'cloud computing' are bullshit.

Re:On a related note

[Kittenman]

Kudos to Amazon for knowing where their bread is buttered.

NO.. no kudos for them - now if they where presented with a court order to shut it down then by all means.

Give the guys a break. They're in the making-money business, not in the open-government business. If it affects their bottom line adversely - and it will - then they're best dropping it.

Re:On a related note

[aztektum]

Same. Was about to buy a Kindle. Guess I'm buying a Nook.

Re:On a related note

[TBBle]

Second, why must Amazon.com report to Joe Lieberman and his staff for any reason?

It doesn't say they spontaneously reported to him. I read that as "someone on my staff asked Amazon.com and they informed him or her that..."

Re:On a related note

[LordLimecat]

Um, Amazon isnt a federal entity, its private-- and regardless im not sure Wikileaks is entitled to first amendment rights, as those apply to citizens iirc.

Regardless, as a private entity, Amazon is free to do business with whoever they want, and if the DDoS is costing them more trouble than its worth, theyre free to dump WL. Or would you require business to put their operations at risk in order to fight a battle that they have no interest in?

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

do you honestly believe that after they moved to EC2 that not a single person from the US government contacted Amazon and requested they stop hosting wikileaks?

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

we don't get "tax free" perks at amazon.. you are just committing tax evasion for not calming them your self as you should on your taxes.

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

but considering they are a biz - and the process for setting up any reasonable size setup on EC2 .. Amazon knew ahead of time that they where going to host Wikileaks..

which brings it down to an outside of amazon influence changing their decision.. that to me sounds most like the US government - who if they did that violated due process by not getting a court order (if they had we would have heard about that).

Re:On a related note

[Amouth]

If that was the case then sure.. but again .. it isn't trivial to set up reasonable sized setup son EC2 - Amazon knew ahead of time what it was getting into.. now i agree if hosting it was causing problems for their service that is one thing.

but i think we can all agree that at least one person from the US government requested Amazon stop hosting it.. and they did it without a court order.. that would be a violation of due process.

and while we are both holding our theories - personally i doubt that 10gbit/s bothers Amazon at any of it's locations - and am far more inclined based on the stuff we keep hearing coming out of our government that at least one of the fools placed a phone call.

Re:On a related note

[tehcyder]

Why does this fawning fascist shit get modded as interesting?

Re:On a related note

[tehcyder]

Amazon has to look out for its best interests and, with this hullabaloo going on during holiday season, they really can't afford being seen by red-blooded, credit card-carrying Americans to be supporting what will be viewed as undermining American political efficacy

So you're all for free speech, until it starts affecting profits?

Cool.

Re:On a related note

[tehcyder]

Every cloud has a silver lining., and amusingly it is that "cloud computing" has been shown to be worthless.

Deserved what he got

[Saerko]

I'm sorry, you start DOS'ing anyone whose website offends you, and it's only a matter of time before you hit a site someone actually cares about enough to take action on. This guy should know this is part of the game, and take it in stride. If they found out who he was in the first place, apparently he wasn't very good either.

Re:Deserved what he got

[cheekyjohnson]

If they found out who he was in the first place, apparently he wasn't very good either.

But... didn't you see all of those numbers in his name!? Didn't you see all of that reckless gloating!? Clearly he is a master of computers (though he's not nearly as good as Komen Bryce)!

Re:Deserved what he got

[geoffrobinson]

Well, to be fair, if Wikileaks wants to play with the big boys and engage in espionage part of the game and taking it in stride and not complain should be far worse than a DOS attack.

Re:Deserved what he got

[tehcyder]

Well, to be fair, if Wikileaks wants to play with the big boys and engage in espionage part of the game and taking it in stride and not complain should be far worse than a DOS attack.

As Wikileaks are so clearly and blatantly engaging in espionage, the US and other governments will presumably soon be prosecuting them.

.Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were just smearing shitty words around and hoping something would stick.

really??

[NetNed]

He choose this to wage a DDoS on? I can think of hundreds of sites better suited for this. How about taking down some known terrorists sites? Maybe the RIAA or MPAA?

Re:really??

[betterunixthanunix]

He did run DDOS attacks on websites that were sympathetic to terrorists. Basically, this guy is a hard-line far-right hacktivist, and I cannot say that I am surprised that he was behind the wikileaks attack.

Re:really??

[davev2.0]

I see, so it is OK to DDoS the websites of groups you personally do not like, but it is wrong for him to DDoS the websites of groups he does not like but you do like. That is what is known as hypocrisy.

Re:really??

[hedwards]

And yet, both the TSA and RNC sites go untouched. Perhaps it's somebody that's not so much going after sites that are sympathetic to terrorism as it is a fascist that's going after sites that are inconvenient to his world view.

Re:really??

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

He choose this to wage a DDoS on? I can think of hundreds of sites better suited for this. How about taking down some known terrorists sites? Maybe the RIAA or MPAA?

There really isn't anywhere that running a DDOS site is a good option. Trying to silence your opponent by yelling louder than he is - no matter how right or wrong he is - just makes you look like a child.

Re:really??

[Lanteran]

I can honestly just say that I am surprised that there are far-right hacktivists.

Re:really??

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, didn't you read the article about the DDOS on some music industry affiliated site a few days back. Some of the highest moderated comments there say that a DDOS is a form of peaceful protest and shouldn't be illegal.

Re:really??

[Anonymous Coward]

He did run DDOS attacks on websites that were sympathetic to terrorists. Basically, this guy is a hard-line far-right hacktivist, and I cannot say that I am surprised that he was behind the wikileaks attack.

Opposing websites sympathetic to TERRORISTS makes one "hard-line far-right"? I guess it's relative...

Re:really??

[sg_oneill]

I'm not even sure of that. I did some looking into some of the groups he was DDOSing , and frankly most where just dinky little muslim community groups and shit.

I honestly suspect he was seeing arabic writing and thinking "Uh, durka durka! must be planning a bombing!"

Hint for future wannabe crime fighters: Do not get your information on "terrorists" from "Team america: World police".

Re:really??

[tehcyder]

I can honestly just say that I am surprised that there are far-right hacktivists.

Why, because having a smattering of computer skills precludes someone from being a racist, sexist, bigoted, paranoid-delusional, egotistic, psycopathic fuckwit?

Personally, going by the slashdot readership, I'd be more surprised to see a far-left hacktivist.

First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[steveha]

If anyone is going to be alight in the whole Wikileaks debacle, its going to be the lawyers.

That's sort of an incendiary comment. You're playing with fire, here; you don't want to flame lawyers, they might get hot under the collar.

steveha

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

(Steve: +1 Ha)

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

If anyone is going to be alight in the whole Wikileaks debacle, its going to be the lawyers.

That's sort of an incendiary comment. You're playing with fire, here; you don't want to flame lawyers, they might get hot under the collar.

steveha

Woah woah, cool it. You don't want to get burnt, and with replies like that the whole conversation can get heated up.

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Scrameustache]

If anyone is going to be alight in the whole Wikileaks debacle, its going to be the lawyers.

That's sort of an incendiary comment. You're playing with fire, here; you don't want to flame lawyers, they might get hot under the collar.

steveha

That comment is one smoking burn! I'd be smoldering if you'd said that about me.

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Nadaka]

Well, its a good start.

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[melikamp]

You are not puny. ~Jon Stewart

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

"alright" is nonstandard usage of "all right".

"alight" means ablaze when used as an adjective.

This post courtesy of Mr. Pedantic Overly Helpful Language Person.

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

You are not puny. ~Jon Stewart

Did he actually say that? Or did he say "not punny"?

Re:First, we set fire to all the lawyers

[Anonymous Coward]

You're playing with fire, here; you don't want to flame lawyers, they might get hot under the collar.

Given where most lawyers come from, I doubt they feel that sort of heat.

Leetness and the individual...

[The Pirou]

I fail to see how being an 'individual' and acquiring a moniker for one's self that 'might' not have been used to any gainful notoriety by someone else prior to this point justifies having their computer confiscated.

Alphanumeric's are practically forced down our throat at every turn, whether it's in new capture images, password requirements on a banking site or when registering with any of the other myriad companies you might be required to have a login for these days. Is it so strange for that to translate into a name that transcends the King's English?

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[Anonymous Coward]

Alphanumeric's are practically forced down our throat at every turn, whether it's in new capture images, password requirements on a banking site or when registering with any of the other myriad companies you might be required to have a login for these days. Is it so strange for that to translate into a name that transcends the King's English?

Transcends is certainly an odd word choice.

s/transcends/looks idiotic in/g

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[Anonymous Coward]

i think you'll find that the king is dead old fellah, his daughter has been queen for some time now.

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[Coolhand2120]

new capture images

I think you mean CAPTCHA or ""Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart."

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[SheeEttin]

Dunno about the rest of Slashdot, but if I try for a nickname and it's taken, I'll come up with a new one rather than append a number. (Of course, this was back in the '90s, I eventually settled on SheeEttin, and I've never seen it taken anywhere.)
I guess I did that because I would pride myself on the creativity of a unique nickname, and as such, I guess I also looked down on someone who just appended numbers.

In any case, when you use leet, you look like this guy.

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[webmistressrachel]

Or he may be referring to the generated image filenames from digital cameras and scanner software.

Rach

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[penguinchris]

I always disliked numbers in user names too, and "back in the day" I had some more creative ones. I think that if your "clever" or "cool" username was already taken, then it clearly wasn't actually clever or cool (or it is, but you copied it from somewhere else).

However, at one point I decided on "penguinchris". Wasn't trying to be clever or anything, it just seemed good at the time. My name is Chris and I like penguins. There is someone else out there who uses or has used this username, but not prolifically and never on anything I use regularly (it was taken on Yahoo, and something else I've forgotten). I feel now that it's clever in that it's rather generic-sounding (doesn't call attention to itself), yet not indiscreetly anonymous, fairly memorable, and not something that anyone else would normally try to register.

I am telling you how clever I am because actually I think the same is true for yours - despite being apparent gibberish, most everything I said above applies to yours too :)

Re:Leetness and the individual...

[tehcyder]

I eventually settled on SheeEttin, and I've never seen it taken anywhere.)

You might want to think of possible reasons for that...

Fast response time...

[Omniscientist]

It only took two days since the attack occurred for the perpetrator to be tracked down and arrested? I can't say I've ever heard of such a fast response time to a computer crime. I'm quite surprised.

Is this typical these days?

Re:Fast response time...

[SEWilco]

It only took two days since the attack occurred for the perpetrator to be tracked down and arrested? I can't say I've ever heard of such a fast response time to a computer crime. I'm quite surprised.

Is this typical these days?

I don't know. Let's see if Wikileaks has reports on the typical computer crime response.

Re:Fast response time...

[grcumb]

It only took two days since the attack occurred for the perpetrator to be tracked down and arrested? I can't say I've ever heard of such a fast response time to a computer crime. I'm quite surprised.

Is this typical these days?

Nah, not hardly. Let me demonstrate.

I'll just fire up my handy-dandy scrypto-rama botnet infestor... there... and point it at Amazon... like that. And - hang on, there's someone at the doo%$^&%&*+++NO CARRIER

Re:Fast response time...

[KClaisse]

Its typical when you brag on a public site about your crimes.

Re:Fast response time...

[benjamindees]

These days, half of everyone works for the government in some capacity, and mostly spend their time tracking or actively harassing the other half.

This guy was apparently an active botnet herder, so was probably being watched by one government agency or five.

And, given that Wikileaks is a great advertisement for growth of the police-state info-dragnet apparatus, it's likely that they all wanted Wikileaks to succeed in bringing as much attention to the "dangers" of uncontrolled internet speech as possible.

So, yes.

Re:Fast response time...

[Anonymous Coward]

It only took two days since the attack occurred for the perpetrator to be tracked down and arrested? I can't say I've ever heard of such a fast response time to a computer crime. I'm quite surprised.

Is this typical these days?

No, it's not typical.

Just FYI, you still have not heard of such a fast response- the article is a hoax.

Re:Fast response time...

[tehcyder]

And, given that Wikileaks is a great advertisement for growth of the police-state info-dragnet apparatus, it's likely that they all wanted Wikileaks to succeed in bringing as much attention to the "dangers" of uncontrolled internet speech as possible.

So, yes.

So exercising your right to free speech s responsible for the growth of the police state?

Re:Fast response time...

[benjamindees]

So exercising your right to free speech is responsible for the growth of the police state?

Does it not seem that way to you, at least in the short term?

Julian Assange's picture is on "Wanted: Dead or Alive" posters and most Americans seem to think he should be prosecuted for one thing or another.

Real vigilantes do not

[losttoy]

1. Attack Amazon's infrastructure from their home computer
2. Post about it on twitter
3. Make videos of the attack and blog
4. Try to recruit sidekicks
5. Brag about it on IRC and the interwebs

You do any or all of the above, and you are not a vigilante or a cracker. You are just another idiot you got his/her paws on a computer.

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[Anonymous Coward]

This "jester" guy is a farce. Wikileaks is run by the government, and now that they've released the data they wanted (namely that Iran got missiles from North Korea) they are wrapping up the operation by "arresting" Assange and creating this ridiculous "jester" character.

Everyone goes home, WL goes dormant, and they have the excuse they wanted for war.

(It's probably true that missiles were transferred, but who really knows....)

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[rcamans]

not idiot, mentally challenged. like anyone posting or written about on /.
oh, wait a minute....

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[Anonymous Coward]

Dammit, that almost makes sense. Stop that.

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[Deus.1.01]

Hello John.

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[Anonymous Coward]

You just lost the game.

Re:Real vigilantes do not

[rcamans]

Oops. Doh...

S(r3w u!

[turing_m]

1 \/\/4$ 4B4|\|D0|\|3D 4$ 4 (|-|1LD 4|\|D r41$3D b'/ |-|4>0r3r$, j00Z 1|\|$3|\|$171\/3 (L0D!

Re:S(r3w u!

[PRMan]

Sadly, I could read that...

Re:S(r3w u!

[Colonel Korn]

1 \/\/4$ 4B4|\|D0|\|3D 4$ 4 (|-|1LD 4|\|D r41$3D b'/ |-|4>0r3r$, j00Z 1|\|$3|\|$171\/3 (L0D!

Please, please, please mod this up.

Re:S(r3w u!

[FrootLoops]

(Translation: I was abandoned as a child and raised by haxorers, yooz insensitive clod!)

Re:S(r3w u!

[Anonymous Coward]

Clearly the script kiddies who raised you had higher opinions of themselves than did those whom they would consider peers (obviously not vice-versa).

Re:S(r3w u!

[Anonymous Coward]

See? this is why phones need a num-lock LED.

Re:S(r3w u!

[Anonymous Coward]

1 \/\/4$ 4B4|\|D0|\|3D 4$ 4 (|-|1LD 4|\|D r41$3D b'/ |-|4>0r3r$, j00Z 1|\|$3|\|$171\/3 (L0D!

Please, please, please mod this up.

posting as AC so I can come back when I get mod points...still wiping tears from my eyes...;)

Re:S(r3w u!

[Anonymous Coward]

| |.|.|4$ 4[34|\|[)0|\|3[) /\5 4 (|-||1[) /\|\|[) |24|53[) [3'/ |-|/\>0|23|25, ,|()()'/, ||\|$[-|\|$|7|\/[- (1()[)

FTFY

Re:S(r3w u!

[reson8]

I shame that I could as well. Does that make me an insensitive clod?

Re:S(r3w u!

[Rich0]

You left off the required #!/usr/bin/perl at the start.

Re:S(r3w u!

[Anonymous Coward]

If I had mod points, you'd get them! toss a good perl slam in there whenever possible!

Re:S(r3w u!

[mqduck]

My thoughts exactly.

Re:S(r3w u!

[tehcyder]

Hey, thanks for that. Everyone here on Slashdot 4 Kidz was really puzzled until you translated it for us.

Re:S(r3w u!

[blueocean43]

Hey, thanks for that. Everyone here on Slashdot 4 Kidz was really puzzled until you translated it for us.

Thankyou for your sarcasm. All those who could not in fact translate this really wanted to feel stupid.

Well, now I know how to spell 'fall guy'

[Anonymous Coward]

It is spelled in the manner of incoherent 13 year old l33t-speak.

good!

[Anonymous Coward]

they need to throw the book at him and than bury him under the jail.
If the guy was a patriot, they would be helping wikileaks instead of DDOSing it.

you missed...

[Geoffrey.landis]

1. Attack Amazon's infrastructure from their home computer
2. Post about it on twitter
3. Make videos of the attack and blog
4. Try to recruit sidekicks
5. Brag about it on IRC and the interwebs .

...
6. ???
7. Profit!

Re:you missed...

[H0p313ss]

1. Attack Amazon's infrastructure from their home computer
2. Post about it on twitter
3. Make videos of the attack and blog
4. Try to recruit sidekicks
5. Brag about it on IRC and the interwebs .

...
6. Sign up with Fox to make a reality show about it.
7. Profit!

Re:Sh

[Anonymous Coward]

SLASHDOT shame on you... in your rush to try to "scoop" everyone else you posted what is more than likely a hoax storey.

Be careful everyone before you help to "donate" $10,000 to his attorney fees. This is more than likely a scam. There is no confirmation from ANY reputable site, news or otherwise, that police actually kicked his door in today and confiscated anything.

Of course Slashdot won't post this comment because ...

1) It's a little critical of them and...

2) It's from "anonymouse"

Like I said

[MonsterTrimble]

This guy is an idiot. Wikileak's owner is on the Interpol's most wanted list and half the U.S. calling for your head. The issue is so hot right now, doing anything remotely involved with the Wikileak site - good or bad - is going to get your ass hunted by SOMEBODY.

Numbers in your handle?

[seyyah]

I think someone who uses the letter "k" instead of the letter "c" in their nickname to look kool deserves to have their komputer konfiscated. I'm looking at you kaptink.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[H0p313ss]

I think someone who uses the letter "k" instead of the letter "c" in their nickname to look kool deserves to have their komputer konfiscated. I'm looking at you kaptink.

If you could manage to convince the KDE crowd that I'd appreciate it. If I see one more sophomoric 1980s video game knock-off written as a student exercise in the package repo I swear I'll go postal.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[snspdaarf]

Seriously? "kaptink" is so much cooler than "kaptinc", it's not funny.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[kaptink]

Its not a substitute. But then you dont know where my nick is from so I wont call you a twat. Just off-topic :)

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[men0s]

If you could manage to convince the KDE crowd that I'd appreciate it.

I Konquer.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Anonymous Coward]

and kde

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[synaptik]

Skrew you. :)=

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Existential Wombat]

Yeah. What a silly bunt.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah right, funny how you don't even mention where it's from... Just for you

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, I guess that means all those KDE projects are fucked!

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Anonymous Coward]

konqueror?

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[webmistressrachel]

This is the crappest troll I've ever seen, and mine are pretty lame. Sorry Anon, you're definitely getting tired towards the end of the article here.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[eriqk]

I think someone who uses the letter "k" instead of the letter "c" in their nickname to look kool deserves to have their komputer konfiscated.

I resemble that remarqk.

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[Anonymous Coward]

And Kubuntu!

Re:Numbers in your handle?

[HeckRuler]

Really? You're NOT going for "Captain K." ?
Well then, how about you inform us just what exactly you were going for, so we just don't assume that you're a pretentious twat?

He broke the law...

[FatSean]

...to stop others from breaking the law.

He is a man of genius.

Re:He broke the law...

[TooMuchToDo]

Publishing confidential/secret information isn't illegal unless you're the one with the clearance who got the docs, or you got the docs illegally. If someone hands you the docs to publish, that's not illegal whatsoever.

Re:He broke the law...

[Anonymous Coward]

Who broke the law to expose the law breaking of others... who broke the law to kill people who broke the law who told other people to break the law to kill people they thought responsible for breaking laws.

I ... I ... I need to sit down. This is really deep.

Re:He broke the law...

[jeff4747]

This is incorrect.

Under US law, at least, it's illegal to possess classified information without the appropriate security clearance.

If you happen to work for the press, you've got the first amendment to protect you. If you do not work for the press, you don't.

(and like virtually everyone on Slashdot, IANAL)

Re:He broke the law...

[tehcyder]

Please list all the laws that Wikipedia have broken, then forward them to the relevant authorities for investigation and prosecution.

Re:He broke the law...

[FatSean]

Sorry, it was sarcasm on two levels. One that this douche thought wikileaks was breaking the law and thought that breaking other laws to "Stop" them was legit.

And, as you mentioned, wikileaks didn't break any laws in the first place.

This just in

[countSudoku()]

The initial list of equipment seized is as follows:
1 Kaypro 386
1 box of 1.4MB floppy disks
1 VBS Scripting for Dummies
1 box of Star Wars Kleenex
1 bag of Peanut M&Ms
1 high-back executive desk chair with two missing casters
1 copy of Penthouse Forum from April 1986
1 Wal*Mart computer desk
4 Star Wars Attack of the Clones action figures
1 spring-loaded Star Wars Light Saber (Mace Windu model)

Please post more items when they become known/available through the press.
Thank you.

Re:This just in

[SpeedBump0619]

In that case give that dude a cookie and make Apple hire him. It's nothing short of magical that he could push a 10Gbps DDoS from a single 386 and a VB script, I don't care what his mitichlorian count is.

Re:This just in

[horza]

No reason a 386 with VB script couldn't orchestrate a 10Gbps DDoS attack, as long as his IRC link to the botnet remains intact.

Phillip.

Stupid is as Palin does

[TiggertheMad]

Yeah, there is nobody that would be stupid and misguided enough to step up and help with this guy's defense......

five bucks says the bimbo calls him a 'patriot'.

This story can't be right

[Huntr]

I read in the comments for every story about WikiLeaks here on /. that the evil American gov't was obviously behind these attacks. Someone really needs to recheck this submission.

Re:This story can't be right

[horza]

Did you not read the first couple of posts explaining that the supposed arrest is a hoax?

Phillip.

I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

Will

The Jester

have to face

The Nozzle...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8yQhXDquII

Even Master Billy Quizboy was no match...

FUD more intersting than facts anyways

[Anonymous Coward]

You got to love a story that purports reality is some video game where the participants are identified by nicks such as "th3j35t3r" and nothing else.
What's Assange? "m4v3r1ck"?
I understand "d33pthr04t" wants "m4v3r1ck" hunted down from an earlier post.

Insurance file?

[dysfunct]

That "th3j35t3" guy appears to be a major idiot, admitting to various DDoS attacks and being very public about his actions and convictions.

He's even gone so far as to develop his own pretty DoS tool with green fonts on black background with twitter integration that exploits uber-secret knowledge, like opening many connections that slowly feed http headers to apache, thereby using up all available children.

What will be interesting, though, is his own encrypted insurance file, that supposedly contains various information about the people behind wikileaks, although - like the wikileaks insurance file - you can't really prove it contains anything but random garbage. I rather choose to believe that the guy is a bored, stupid teen who read too many articles about the fantasy anarcho-hacking world of the 90s...

Re:Insurance file?

[Kagura]

Personally, I don't think Jester's encrypted insurance file contains anything but random garbage.

Re:Insurance file?

[santax]

Doesn't quite fit his big-mouth. If he had something he would be screaming in from the top of mountains in the hope anyone would care and give him his 15 minutes of fame. Ah well, I guess he got those 15 minutes, he got on slashdot.

Re:Insurance file?

[Anonymous Coward]

His DoS tool is just a modified slowloris. He really does seem to be a bit of a monkey who learnt to type.

Over and out

[Anonymous Coward]

JESTER TANGO DOWN

Never invite the man into your life...

[Anonymous Coward]

Never invite the man into your life. That's like going full reetard, dude.

seems like a conspiracy

[Joe The Dragon]

seems like a conspiracy

The Jester is about to be molested

[drwhite]

Seriously, He's stupid for claiming responsibilty for the Ddos attack. And he gets arrested and wants our donations for legal fees? Moron...

Bad Summary

[h4rr4r]

Some of us made up our usernames when we were children, think of the children!

Is there a way...

[Anonymous Coward]

...We can send money to the prosecution? Haha. :p

Is this the same jester...

[Anonymous Coward]

... that hacked Halo 3?

obligatory joke for president

[epine]

To all those proposing that Palin is too stupid to be electable, what about the obligatory joke that Assange will be as hard to root out as Osama? Does that pass Palin muster?

Where does he go to blend into thousands of like-minded jihadists in the crags of the Misty Mountains? How does Assange appeal to the duplicity of Pakistan to mire the Americans in a memo generator of vanishing horizons? I'm guessing Assange has already pissed off the Royal Scimitar in half a dozen swarthy havens. Oh well, he wouldn't have blended without spending far too much dangerous time on a beach.

But have no fear, Julian, Ecuador wants you. No wait, offer rescinded. Too bad. Quito is rife with easy Swedes, and the CIA is afraid of heights. It would have been paradise.

Palin is doing a fair job of flicking the yo-yo of evil at any convenient thorn while dressed to sell with a rusty plug of tobacco in the cheek pouch of grammar. What other qualification does a republican candidate need? It's not like you have to debate Ralph Nader to become elected. He's not even allowed to enter the room.

Re:obligatory joke for president

[panda]

You my good sir, or madame, are a poet!

no

[unity100]

there is one proxy to rule them all.

Re:no

[Sulphur]

We loves the Proxious.

Re:Sh

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course Slashdot won't post this comment because ...

1) It's a little critical of them and...

2) It's from "anonymouse"

Brrrrtt!

1337

[lysdexia]

Man, I wish now I'd have spelled my nick "1y5d3x1a" back in the day. I'm really kind of sick of this computer.

Re:1337

[webmistressrachel]

What does the computer you're using have to do with your choice of nick? Did you mean "sick of this computer lark"?

Or are you referring to slashdot's servers, which will forever remember your original nick? Or is there something else I'm not getting - this could, of course, be way over my head, as you do seem to have an ultra-low UID thing going on there...

Re:1337

[shish]

I presume he means "If only I was that much of a 'tard, maybe I could get my computer confiscated too, and I'd finally have a solid reason to buy a new one"

you spelled 1337 wrong d00d

[ctataryn]

:D

IANAL

[Anonymous Coward]

but this is a violation of due process if not

How would Amazon canceling an account on their own be a violation of due process?

common carrier

Common Carrier has never applied to websites nor ISPs.
Maybe you meant Safe Harbor ? -- which only applies to copyright.

Or maybe Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which only seems to cover civil matters (slander, defamation, etc).
Section 230's coverage is not complete: it excepts federal criminal liability and intellectual property law. 47 U.S.C. 230(e)(1) (criminal) and (e)(2) (intellectual property)

In any case, Amazon choosing not to carry WikiLeaks material is not a violation of Amazon's rights.

From Amazon's ToS:
We may suspend your right and license to use any individual Service or any set of Services, or terminate this Agreement in its entirety [...] if we otherwise determine that your use of the Services or the Amazon Properties [...] may subject us or any third party to liability, damages or danger

Yet another bragger...

[cdrguru]

How did this guy get caught? It sounds like he was bragging.

It isn't like there is an obvious way to trace this sort of attack, so if you keep your mouth shut you are home free. Of course, for this scale individual that seems to be an impossible challenge. Have to brag, have to get caught.

Re:Sh

[unjedai]

I see you've invoked the dual powers of slashdot-shame-on-you and I-dare-you-to-mod-down, a virtually undefeatable combination. Well played.

kaptink....

[ArundelCastle]

Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated.

\/\/hy s0 s3r10us?

Why not +5 troll ?

[formfeed]

Once in a while there are posts that are so exceptional good textbook cases of trolldom, that you feel they trump everything any other troll could ever write. For these cases there should be a +1 troll. Maybe not as part of the regular rating, but as an exception mod one could give once a year.

Also, for these rare posts -that should be made visible for everyone- I'd like to see:
+1 perfect strawman
+1 this is what's wrong with humanity
+1 clinically insane
+1 so dumb, I almost rated it funny

and now ...

[Anonymous Coward]

He will write the word 'ouch' on the wall of the shower with a bar of soap

Re:Bush League

[CapOblivious2010]

why would the FBI comment on the arrest of a bush-league hacker

We had a Bush League President for a while.

Wow, 5 whole posts before someone said that... I expected the very next one to mention Bush... you guys are falling down on the job!

Re:Sh

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd mod him down but his misspellings are hilarious! Trip powers right there.

Sh be quite!

that message was from an impostor

[Anonymous Coward]

wrong, http://twitter.com/th3j35t3r is the real guy, the one asking for money (http://twitter.com/th3j3st3r) is an impostor.

Is it just me, or. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

Is it just me, or does this story make No Damned Sense Whatsoever?

I mean. . , what the hell?

The governments all want Wikileaks dead, so clearly the obvious tack is to arrest and punish those who, um, support the government?

I guess vigilantism, people displaying any kind of power or initiative rather than staying meekly inside their little assigned boxes, is an even bigger crime than leaking state secrets. -Even IF you're doing it with your own Bat Computer and a snappy Gotham City identity handle.

And seriously? "The Jester" spelled with numbers? That's like my grandma's perception of computer hacking. Which is appropriate, as this whole performance is being put on for the benefit of retarded people. That's why it plays out like something from a (very) badly written Bruce Willis script. -As was the entirety of 9/11. (Planes into skyscrapers? Come on.) I suppose the trailer park Americans just won't accept anything as real if it doesn't feel like a WWF match.

And this latest twist is like the reality TV version of one of those extra Oswalds running around to confuse and complicate the issue; a favorite tactic of the creeps who organize this kind of psychological warfare bullshit. (And yes, this whole Wikileaks thing utterly stinks to me of psyops, through and through).

So please, after all this jumping up and down is over with, can we all still try to remember that this is about Israel looking to manipulate other countries into destroying the Arab populations for them?

After all is said and done, when you clear out all of the bullshit from these "Leaks", we note that nothing being touted in the media as significant is anything we didn't already know, but that in amongst the driftwood, the "New" intelligence happens to paint Iran and Pakistan and the various other people on Israel's hit-list in a bad light. It's the lie seeded in with the truth. People are being played like an entire string section to love and trust Wikileaks, so that when the warmongers who want to "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb. . , Bomb, Bomb, Iran" (Remember that sick little Bushism?) want to offer up proof, they need only point to any of the lies being included in the Wikileaks fiasco which people will simply assume are part of the pre-existing landscape of established fact. That's what Israel does. The American Army School of Advanced Military Studies in a study drafted to examine the Palestinian/Israeli problem noted of the Mossad: "Wildcard. Ruthless and cunning. Has capablility to target U.S. forces and make it look like a Palestinian/Arab act."

THAT is what is going on with all of this shit.

The simple surface movie-reality we've been trained to accept is totally script driven. It's a lie.

Thank-you.

-FL

jester is not going to meet Angelina Jolie

[Dan667]

or roller skate. Someone should tell him that the movie Hackers was just for entertainment. Hope he takes it ok.

Re:Sh

[Kagura]

SLASHDOT shame on you... in your rush to try to "scoop" everyone else you posted what is more than likely a hoax storey.

Be careful everyone before you help to "donate" $10,000 to his attorney fees. This is more than likely a scam. There is no confirmation from ANY reputable site, news or otherwise, that police actually kicked his door in today and confiscated anything.

Of course Slashdot won't post this comment because ...

1) It's a little critical of them and...

2) It's from "anonymouse"

Slashdot is a news aggregator, not a news source... at least it's supposed to be.

Yee-HAW!

[Moonrazor]

Someone needs to say it, so.......... YEE-HAW! Jester's Dead!

1337 user names

[Cassander]

It isn't "leet" unless you spelled it something like c10n3. Just tacking numbers on the end of a normal word isn't the same thing at all.

Also, this is the internet. Somebody always cares.

Did Lamo Rat on Him Too?

[garompeta]

Just kicking the dead horse :P

I saw Lamo in person and he certainly seems to be pretty lame.

That Would Be

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be "l33t", hipster.

Re:Bush League

[The Master Control P]

The nation and the world are slowly getting over the trauma and damage caused by that administartion.

Give it a while.

Ha, $10,000 in Legal Fees?

[the.house]

$10,000 for legal fees isn't going to go very far... it would cover about 2 DWIs... maybe a few days in federal court. Must be a scam.

Hoax.

[Anonymous Coward]

Real Jester twitter: http://twitter.com/th3j35t3r
Fake Jester twitter: http://twitter.com/th3j3st3r

The real Jester uses a 5 in place of an 's', the fake one does not.

Check the follower counts and earliest tweets on each. Earliest message on the newer account is about WikiLeaks.
The fake Jester's twitter used to have a fake Jester website with a graphic saying "Sorry! This website is unavailable" (Google cache of site), but it now redirects to the real Jester's wordpress blog.
Hoax.

Good

[mr100percent]

Good. What an idiot. His twitter stream brags about taking down websites he thinks are "jihadist" but if you actually use google translate on the links they're nothing more than Free Qurans or a Muslim Dialogue BBforum or scholarly discussion on the proper etiquettes of prayer. Seems like a vigilante islamophobe to me, let the idiot get the book thrown at him.

Fine be that way.

[xclr8r]

Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their computer confiscated

Don't judge a book by it's cover.

Re:Fine be that way.

[xclr8r]

its not it's.. dang I just proved your point.. sigh, I'll go sit in a corner with out a computer now.

This story is crap

[Anonymous Coward]

First of all, the real guy nukes TERRORIST sites. Secondly, he's smarter than you. If he's taking out jihadists, he's thought through a few Eric Holder degenerates.

Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[identity0]

I may be a bit late to this discussion, but I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on the technical side of Wikileaks, instead of the politics.

- Why is it called Wikileaks when it's not a wiki?
- How do they ensure confidentiality of leaker's identities?
- I know they have a group of volunteers working around the world, how do they communicate securely?
- How hard would it be for the US/Other .gov to compromise wikileaks, and ferret out the informers/insert wrong data/track down Julian?

Re:Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[jeff4747]

- Because Wiki was the hot, new technology word when they started. It's the same reason JavaScript has "Java" in it's name.
- By allowing anonymous upload
- Last time it was mentioned in the press, encrypted IRC channels.
- Well, the guy who leaked this recent information is in jail awaiting trial. Considering Julian is holding press conferences, I'm pretty sure he's easy to find.

Re:Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[HeckRuler]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they could nab him if they wanted. But what exactly would they charge him with?
Other then, you know, character assassination?

Re:Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[jeff4747]

I do believe the laws against espionage have not been repealed...

Re:Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[HeckRuler]

So they have some sort of evidence that Jullian Assange broke into sensitive military databases?
And NOT Bradley Manning, the guy they ARE charging for that exact action?

So should they also charge the New York Times as well? Because they too are releasing this information.

Re:Actual setup of Wikileaks?

[jeff4747]

Espionage does not mean getting the information. That's covered with laws such as breaking an entering, unauthorized access, etc.

Espionage is about disseminating the information and who you disseminate it to.

As for the NY Times, they'd be in legal difficulty except that they are protected by the first amendment's "freedom of the press", since that overrides laws against espionage. It is not clear that Assange is a member of the press, and would probably be the big issue to be determined at any trial.

Re:Sh

[Spad]

Yes, Slashdot, well known for its up-to-the-minute coverage of breaking events...

Nick?

[Porchroof]

"Personally I think anyone who spells their nick with numbers in an effort to look 'leet' deserves to have their [sic] computer confiscated."

Personally I think anyone who uses the word "nick" instead of "nickname" deserves to have his computer confiscated.

Re:Bush League

[tehcyder]

Frankly, I'm disappointed nobody's made a bush/pubic hair joke.

Re:Sh

[tehcyder]

I see you've invoked the dual powers of slashdot-shame-on-you and I-dare-you-to-mod-down, a virtually undefeatable combination. Well played.

Hmmm...shame on you slashdot for daring to mod me down for something.

stupid scriptkiddie

[proudhawk]

this guy was't a "haockavist", he was nothing more than a script kiddie or a "bot herder"
Also, I'd really like to see his credentials as an IT security expert. I find it rather amusing
that he was caught so fast (it usually takes out government months to find someone like this).

so, there are three primary possibilities here:
1. he was incredibly stupid and bragged to everyone about it
2. our government suffenly got a lot smarter
3. this is a diversion (unlikely).

in any case, it appears out government views the wikileaks scandal as more of a first amendment issue than anything else
(note that the wikileaks founder is only wanted on a sex charge).

Re:Sh

[mcgrew]

Even better played since he's an AC, and seems ignorant of how /. works -- "Of course Slashdot won't post this comment because"

Of course it'll be posted. Post a comment and it's posted. Now, it may start at -1 for an AC, and nobody will see it unless they're browsing /. at -1, but it's posted.

Story is a hoax

[REALMAN]

http://current.com/1kuq54c

"UPDATES: Reports of the raid and confiscation of equipment are most likely a hoax or an elaborate social engineering scheme to capitalize on current news events.

Details are still few, and sympathizers should exercise caution before donating funds allegedly for "attorney fees".

The original text requesting donations, as quoted below, and the corresponding link have been deleted from the "suspect" site.

The "suspect" site is no longer available for viewing at the URL provided - but the "suspect" Twitter account is still active.

More Details to follow as soon as they are available. "

*Content copied from website*

Did WikiLeaks Hacker The Jester Pull Police Raid H

[Anonymous Coward]

Did WikiLeaks Hacker The Jester Pull Police Raid Hoax?

The Jester was angry enough with militants recruiting for jihad and about the WikiLeaks disclosures to launch a DoS attacks on their sites, so why was he not very peeved about an impostor using his name to scam money? The logical conclusion might be that The Jester himself is the hoaxer...

https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/9970-Did-WikiLeaks-Hacker-The-Jester-Pull-Police-Raid-Hoax.html

What makes you think the gov't didn't hire him?

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject (the government subcontracts to companies for all kinds of jobs, especially when they themselves either 1.) Lack the know-how OR 2.) Don't want to get implicated).

I think he was hired because of what you say

[Anonymous Coward]

Or, because of what you said in your estimation profile of he, he makes the perfect "for hire" patsy/fallguy (because he has the appearance of a "hard-line far-right hacktivist" as you say - groom him for years so he appears that way and then hire him on to cover the bullshit you (gov't. and "KORPORATE AMERIKA") pull, and nobody is the wiser). One thing the government *thinks* they're "good at" is cover-up bullshit and smoke screens, and personally (after looking at trying to frame this guy up as a rapist (talk about obvious) and then threatening gov't. employees to not read any of the leaked cables that wikileaks will have ready? Too damned obvious). My guess is he was "for hire" and hired by government to pull this crap and was paid well enough to be the fall guy. So he does some time, at worst. All the while, the payment is earning interest somewhere under some other person's name or someone he trusts. Pretty simple.