

Hacker Takes Responsibility for Wikileaks Takedown - tyng
http://mashable.com/2010/11/29/hacker-wikileaks/
11/29/10 by Stan Schroeder
======
raganwald
_obstructing the lines of communication for terrorists, sympathizers, fixers,
facilitators, oppressive regimes and other general bad guys_

And there, in plain sight, is the entire problem with his(?) approach. The
terrorists say that the US is an oppressive regime and that they're the ones
obstructing the bad guys. The Chinese government employs hackers to break into
computers. Hacktivist vandalism blurs the distinctions and makes it harder for
people to sympathize with your aims, not easier.

This especially true of Wikileaks. I will keep my own counsel of what I think
about Assange's activities, but I will point out the obvious: That
extrajudicial attempts to quash Wikileaks give the _appearance_ of attacks on
freedom of information and freedom of speech. This appearance is at odds with
the freedoms that the US used to champion.

Vigilante efforts like this do more harm than good even if you sympathize with
Jester's appraisal of who is a good guy and who is a bad guy.

------
Udo
" _While it is entirely possible for one experienced and resourceful hacker to
take down a site — even a fairly large one — by a DDoS attack on his own, it’s
not easy to prove whether the Jester is really behind the attack and, if he
is, whether he was working on his own or if he had help._ "

Pretty much any moron with a credit card can buy access to a botnet and take
anything down, it's not a big accomplishment. Also, there are some hints of a
nice personality disorder here in his/her mission statement:

" _obstructing the lines of communication for terrorists, sympathizers,
fixers, facilitators, oppressive regimes and other general bad guys._ "

...and again with the self-aggrandizing me-too agenda:

" _The Jester hints of having obtained some sensitive information about
Wikileaks itself, but said he decided not to upload it on Wikileaks as he
doesn’t believe the information would see the light of day. He then provides
an encrypted file of his own, claiming the information is contained within —
again, as “insurance.”_ "

That might impress media types, but somehow I just _know_ this is merely a
lonely guy sitting in his basement who hasn't been taking his medication for a
while and somehow believes himself a righteous paladin fighting the forces of
evil at the front lines in an international game of mystery and intrigue.

~~~
ratombim
"That might impress media types, but somehow I just know this is merely a
lonely guy"

You sure have a lot of certainties. You seem like an individual with deluded
self-aggrandizing views about his psychological insight aptitude. Seek
professional mental help fast.

~~~
loewenskind
You're certainly confident at your own pop psychological analyses. Perhaps
_you_ should seek professional mental help. See? We can all play this game.

~~~
ratombim
The difference is that I'm a psychiatrist and you judging from your comment
most likely aren't.

This means I actually know what I'm talking about.

~~~
shadowfox
> I'm a psychiatrist

And that too with incredible skill in analysing mental issues from a single
forum post

