
Inside Anonymous: ‘Topiary’ talks hacking and life after LulzSec - fraqed
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/10/22/inside-anonymous-former-topiary-jake-davis/
======
PhasmaFelis
Who would have thought that defacing websites could get you arrested? What
sort of world have we made when honest citizens aren't allowed to insert fake
news stories about Tupac and Biggie Smalls living together in New Zealand into
PBS' newsfeed? 1984! 1984!

Seriously, doofuses like Topiary give the legit hacking community a bad name
and obfuscate genuine governmental and corporate abuse. They'd like to make
this into a big call-to-arms message (and I can see an argument that his
sentence was excessive), but the only real lesson I'm seeing is "don't do
crimes, you'll go to jail."

~~~
phaus
There are many sides to the cracking community, and the nefarious side of it
is just as "legit" as the law-abiding side. They've been at it just as long
and many of them are just as skilled as their legal counterparts. Note that
when I say "legit" I'm not condoning their actions, I just recognize that they
are a part of our history, and that many of them are good at what they do.

Sure, there are things that Anonymous and Lulzsec have done that weren't very
impressive (like the DDoS attacks) but at times both groups have pulled of
some pretty impressive stuff.

Practical jokes conducted via technology have a long and storied history in
the hacker community, its disingenuous to act like Lulzsec's continuation of
this tradition somehow maligns everyone else's reputation.

Also, unless you can prove that he was just a mouthpiece, there isn't really
any way that you can argue his sentence was excessive when he only spent 37
days in prison. Sabu became an FBI informant, and I bet that even with his
deal, he's going to end up getting anywhere from several years to a few
decades when he's finally sentenced.

~~~
moocowduckquack
Is worth remembering that it was the nefarious side who created the
technology. Computers were initially invented for cracking and surveillance,
everything else is just a bonus.

~~~
OvidNaso
Don't forget weaving.

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oatmealsnap
It's pretty cool to see him talking about his experiences now.

Shameless plug:My friend is choreographing a ballet that covers some of these
events, and she's been able to talk a bit with Jake. Check out this great
Daily Dot article on the project:

    
    
        http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/anonymous-ballet-director-interview/

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codeulike
_Ultimately, Davis was denied bail because he was deemed to be more dangerous
than nuclear warfare._

...

 _“The most interesting restriction at the moment is that I’m legally banned
from communicating with anyone associated to, or formally associated to,
Anonymous,” says Davis. “But I guess the whole idea of Anonymous is that
everyone is anonymous.”_

Worth reading.

~~~
aspensmonster
Huh. Some of the folks who were busted stateside had the condition that they
were not permitted to _knowingly_ communicate or associate with Anonymous in
their supervised release agreements. A small but important distinction, I
suppose, if someone wants to get you to unwittingly break the terms.

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rlp10
Does this mean that Topiary has done a Frank Abagnale?

~~~
knieveltech
Almost certainly the case.

