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Federal Prosecutors Charge Man With Hiring Hackers To Sabotage Former Employer (apnews.com)
According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors have charged a man with paying computer hackers to sabotage websites affiliated with his former employer. From the report: The FBI says the case represents a growing form of cybercrime in which professional hackers are paid to inflict damage on individuals, businesses and others who rely on digital devices connected to the web. Prosecutors say 46-year-old John Kelsey Gammell hired hackers to bring down Washburn Computer Group in Monticello, but also made monthly payments between July 2015 and September 2016 to damage web networks connected to the Minnesota Judicial Branch, Hennepin County and several banks. The Star Tribune reports Gammell's attorney, Rachel Paulose, has argued her client didn't personally attack Washburn. Paulose has asked a federal magistrate to throw out evidence the FBI obtained from an unnamed researcher because that data could have been obtained by hacking.
... paid to hack HIM, in anticipation of the hack-back law that's pending.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
So, he paid hackers to hack his former company and the evidence against him from the FBI may have been obtained by further hacking. So this makes it a crime solved by another crime? That's a mess I wouldn't want as a prosecutor.
"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
Asking for a friend. That's it, a friend.
Weinstein pays Israel intelligence to hack stories by former rape victims and their stories, but hey, money talks and shit walks.
Their website http://www.washburngrp.com/ is a total retro blast from the early 2000s. What I don't understand is :
a) based on Joomla
b) has copyright markings in some of the source files from 2014
c) has advertising which screams "1980's Computer Shopper Magazine!"
d) They're using a legacy web hosting company called LiquidWeb. Which means :
- They paid someone to make the website
- Whoever made it used the hosting service with built in Joomla support
- They really overcharged haha
- It took 2 minutes and didn't even have to use tools to start finding security holes in their site and hosting provider. Not even a Google search.
So... I don't know. If this business manages their business and customers as well as they manage their web presence... something which in 2017 isn't that important (right?) they're almost certainly screwed.
On the other hand, the guy sounded like he was an ass. Who does this kind of stuff?
These people, Washburn Computer Group, look like a pretty interesting shop, apparently they buy a lot of dead POS equipment and referb it. Started in some guys home and built it into a monster. http://www.washburngrp.com/abo...
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
It was "hacking". And it involved "computers". Therefore "computer hacking". See?
And there's a law against "computer hacking". Whatever that is, the law doesn't know or care, whoever these people are, that's really not necessary to convict this guy, in fact they could be FBI-agents and it'd be all good. As soon as you call these unknowns "hackers" and you can prove at least one "computer" was involved, there's your case. Slam-dunk, I say.
Stupid? Yes. Not less so the "reporting" here. You might as well say "guy hired cyber-bogeymen", whatever that entails. It'd be at least more honest and not less meaningful than saying "computer hackers". You don't know who they are or what they do exactly, but it's not important because these magic words enable us all to be breathlessly amazed at the unseen dangers in the cyber spaces. Not to be confused with safe spaces. The former are full of bogeymen called "hackers", the latter is full of inclusivity blankets of agreeable opinions. But I digress.
Bottom line: Shout "hackers hacked with hacking hacks" enough and your case is slam-dunk closed. If he didn't did any "computer hacking", well, he's the mastermind behind a criminal organisation since he was hiring these "computer hacker" bogeymen. So that's a RICO, see? It's not difficult at all.
And the FBI? They can do anything they please, including hiring "computer hackers" because they're the government, so they are the law, and no sane judge will question them. So, not a problem. Just another easy conviction.
The FBI will be knocking on your door shortly, my hacker friend.
I've not had to hack in at all. Just let thing take their natural course and watch with amusement. For example on place had a MySQL 4 server that would just lock up every few months. The solution was to restart the service and then repair the table and all was good for three more months. I documented it, let everyone know and departed the company.
Couple months later it was claimed they were hacked. I knew what the real problem was. They weren't hacked just bad SQL causing MySQL 4 o freak out.
Interesting ...
Looks like a typical fedgov persecution: crucify a pleb and ruin his life, while letting the bigger & harder to catch criminals walk free.
Their victim refused to cooperate with coerced false confession, so now they are going on a fishing expedition to find more unrelated and victimless "offences" he may have committed.
But hey boys & girls, it's all okay, 'cuz it's DUH LAW.