The FBI has a legion of reformed hackers working to stop cybercriminals, a new report claims.
According to the Guardian, 25 percent of all the hackers in the U.S. are actually informants for the federal government. The reason for that, the U.K. publication reports, citing Eric Corley, the publisher of hacker quarterly 2600, is that hackers have become quite easy to break when they’re faced with threats of long prison sentences for their alleged crimes. In fact, Corley told the Guardian that hackers “are rather susceptible to intimidation.” So rather than face those long stretches in jail, they secretly provide information to the authorities.
Just like all the other criminals who get off because they’re more important than others!
Of course, maybe we should just lock up everyone who’s guilty and offer no free rides for informers…
That 25% would be the wannabes providing useless information.
Nobody who works as an informer is “reformed”. Informing is a despicable thing to do and it helps many bungling criminals survive while they perfect their criminal skills. It pays well precisely because it is a criminally despicable thing to do and one should not rat out his neighbor to an incredibly corrupt and oppressive government.
Bernie Madoff got to live the life of a billionaire for longer than he’ll ever get to serve in jail.
He’s even respected by the other inmates and, since nobody got physically hurt while he was puling in the money, he’s treated well by the prison community.
He did all of this while ratting out nobody.
Informers are losers ratting out other losers.
It took the entire economy going south to pull down a Ponzi scheme like Madhoff’s.
Report: 99% of statics are totally made up.
George Orwell would be proud.
-s
(nice, this allows for all sorts infiltration and unaccountable “surveillance” -and perfect patzis when things go “wrong” -and the fbi is famous for for their love of patzis)
NOT that this is anything new, just same old tactics applied to new political agendas and propaganda. The problem with this, and cyber-anything in general, is that it is far to easy to fabricate and spoof any and all data you need to frame and/or coerce anyone (or thing) for the desired effect. (esp when “more funding” is needed)
I imagine the new up and coming “cyberwars” will be the one the most profitable wars ever (not) fought. Simulated attacks requiring “real” digi-dollars. i’m sure there are some bankers and meglomaniacal power brokers somewhere foaming at the mouth over the potential.. never mind the politicians.
-this is also in part, why touting DNA evidence as the end-all of proof, is technically worthless in our current corrupt and moral-less judicial system. anything run through a computer can be forged or altered for the desired “illusion”. ever watch avatar?
its human/morals problem, is all.
time to take the red pill people.
-s
Just like half the “Communists” were FBI Informers !!!
In # 5 Rider said: Report: 99% of statics are totally made up.
Ahhh, you’re just pulling that number outta your ass. 🙂
I would seriously doubt if we know who has been incorporated as informants or why but Ruby Ridge and other events make it clear the FBI is not above framing people who haven’t broken the law if they can’t get them to break the law so they can threaten them with prison time in order to gain their cooperation.
I wish that this were not so but law enforcement has its own kind of corruption even among those who see themselves as righteous. It boils down to I’m a good guy serving a worthy cause and because my cause is just the despicable things I’m doing are justified. Once you hit that point you’re pretty much just another terrorist.
“The Guardian” is making spouting bullshit.
In #11 The Pirate said: an incomplete sentence.
What the fuck did you mean?
Damn, its the English language. Try using it some times.
Every plea bargain gets a new slave for the FBI.
number nine so far is the best response.
In fact, Corley told the Guardian that hackers “are rather susceptible to intimidation.”
of course they are. every computer nerd who wanted to hack heard the story about the friend of the friend of the friend who almost nuked the world but instead of throwing him in jail made him the president of the hacking universe.
we were taught that there were no consequences when it came to breaking the law on the internet; if the fbi would always hire you.
A whole 25% in the USA? Hacking is outsourced, Fedbabies. You better learn Russian or Chinese.
How many hackers are in the US? I didn’t see any number in the underlying article.
Has US hacking been outsourced like everything else?
>> msbpodcast said, on June 7th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
>> In #11 The Pirate said: an incomplete sentence.
I think he made the same error I often do.
He wrote the original phrase (“…making up B.S.”) but thought “spouting” was better. He then didn’t backspace enough to erase all the original phrase. I hate that I do it but, for some reason, I often do.
How would you call a hacker in prison? An easy rape.
I guess the FBI is working towards 100% US hacker informancy. But what good is that, if the worst ones are all safe in foreign countries that both harbor and protect them, from any reprisals? These countries, and their governments (you know who), are merely using their higher quality educational standards. So compensate for the Free World’s technological and financial advantages. Leveling the playing field, as it were. What can the West do? Hack a billion or so, farmers’ PCs? They’re probably still using Abacuses and ledger books. The most that Free World hackers could do is, make things a bit troublesome for the far fewer rich officials, of eastern block countries. As long as they’re an economical imbalance, in the world. The lesser will find a way to take some of it back from the greater. In the old days, they had pirate ships. Not its hackers, on the internet seas.