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Hacker Group LulzSec Challenges FBI
Tiek00n writes "Hacker Group 'LulzSec' has gained some attention recently for their hacks of PBS and Sony. Their most recent target: FBI affiliate Infragard. The group claims, 'It has come to our unfortunate attention that NATO and our good friend Barrack Osama-Llama 24th-century Obama have recently upped the stakes with regard to hacking. They now treat hacking as an act of war. So, we just hacked an FBI affiliated website (Infragard, specifically the Atlanta chapter) and leaked its user base. We also took complete control over the site and defaced it...'"
So it's clear from the emails leaked that the US of A just started a war with Libya.
Well of course. That's what these groups do (LulzSec, Anonymous, etc.). They aren't heroic crusaders against "the man". They are immature idiots who happen to know how to use hacking tools (and I'm sure some of them are experts). It doesn't make them people to admire or emulate. Hopefully these tools will get caught.
I mean, right?
Let's say a citizen, or many citizens, are shot. If it's done by another US citizen, it's murder, a crime, and not an 'act of war.' If it's done by some organization, it's homebrew terrorism. If it's done by another country, it's an act of war. That doesn't seem like a wholly unreasonable stance to hold, although it certainly can be debated, I guess.
I don't know, are these people going for the "That's a ridiculous stance on hacking, what are you gonna do, declare war on US?? How ludicrous! See, hacking is not an act of war" angle to this whole thing?
If so.....lulz.
You haven't read 1984? The government need the excuse of a permanent war against an unspecified enemy in order to get away with most anything, making it easy to approve tax hikes, keeping operations secret in the name of state security, and keeping the citizens in place. A few decades ago you had the "Communists". Up until recently you had the "Terrorists". In a decade you'll have the "Hackers". Since they do not really exist in any tangible or organized way they can not be beaten and they are no real threat, but they are useful for scaring the population.
c++;
Yaknow, a lot of people can--and did--defend the Sony hacks. Some could probably defend the "FBI" hack, though when I hear words like "FBI-affiliated" I just cringe at what they're hiding behind that term.
But how do you defend hacking PBS? These people are obviously just scumbags with too much time on their hands, and articles like this are exactly what they want. Ignore them. They're not worth the attention.
For what is worth. As I recall correctly from my youth, in a battle between bullies, kicking them while they are down seems like a right approach. You shouldn't give them the chance to stand back up, because you know they will be really pissed.