
 The story behind the Palin e-mail hacking - brk
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/17/the-story-behind-the-palin-e-mail-hacking/
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hugh
Ordinarily I wouldn't approve of postings coming from a political site such as
michellemalkin, but the message she quotes actually probably contains the best
summary I've seen of what actually happened.

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unalone
Yeah. I think it helps that she didn't actually WRITE this. She put it up
without commentary. The result is that we actually get the story directly from
a reliable source, without any coloring.

~~~
silentbicycle
The quoted post is also pretty insightful, all things considered:

"Anonymous is not a group of hackers. Anonymous is more like gremlins. They
are hyperactive adolescents in search of amusement and joy, which they often
get by upsetting people and making messes. That’s what was happening here."

Which applies to script kiddies in general, really. (Maybe some day the media
will understand this.) I think "gremlins" is a good term - they're not
necessarily kids (or using scripts, these days), and it doesn't imply
competence: they're just acting destructive because they're bored.

~~~
froo
For those who know anything about the Warhammer "Universe"... I find Anonymous
are basically like the Ork Race.

They will continually fight amongst themselves until something riles them up
or a someone suggests an idea (like a very temporary leader), then they will
and go off to mess with something (Waaaagggh!) until they finally get bored of
that and go back to fighting amongst each other.

I find that's the best way to think about it.

There is no real motivation for doing what they do apart from the relief of
boredom, it's just a swirling maelstrom of conflict. The only thing you would
want to do is not give them a reason to direct it anywhere.

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silentbicycle
I don't know the game, but I follow...

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waitwhatwhoa
Just remember, someone could've posted "DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS" as the
first reply to that message using the same credentials and it would be just as
verifiable.

As ars points out ([http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080918-alleged-1st-
pe...](http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080918-alleged-1st-person-tale-
of-palin-e-mail-hack-comes-and-goes.html)): While the account is plausible
enough on its face—and, if true, highlights the special vulnerability of such
password reset mechanisms for public figures—there are also some reasons for
skepticism. The post was made under the handle "rubico," and linked to a
similar e-mail address. Through a bit of Google searching, it is trivial to
link that handle and e-mail to a real person—a student with ties to state-
level Democratic politics. And while it is not entirely out of the realm of
possibility, it does strain credibility somewhat to think that, after
committing the most publicized computer intrusion in recent memory, the
perpetrator would effectively return to the scene to deliver a signed
confession. Equally possible, then, is that either the real hacker oran
unrelated party with an active imagination decided to play a prank on the
student in question.

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froo
Umm, someone I know who frequents 4chan just IM'd me, there might be something
brewing.

Apparently someone just uploaded "full emails on rapidshare" with 3 passwords
on it, first 2 passwords work but last one is currently unknown.

Will be interesting to see if it's real or fake.

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ld50
<http://img.4chan.org/b/res/86012008.html>

~~~
froo
longer thread including files + first 2 passwords is here apparently.

<http://img.4chan.org/b/res/86000654.html>

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ld50
..and they're down :(

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froo
I have copies.

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s810
Level1: 4tehlulz Level2: ebaumsworld Level3: AnonyMouSisLegioN

~~~
ld50
n1 thx

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biohacker42
HN getting the back story from Michelle Malkin?

Tea and crumpets what's next!

~~~
dfranke
Guys, at -5 I think we can stop piling on now. It wasn't that stupid a
comment.

~~~
jrockway
But... he made fun of Our Sacred Relic! THE ONLY SUITABLE PUNISHMENT IS DEATH
BY DOWNMODDING.

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snorkel
I picture a teenager using a Tina Fey as Sarah Palin soundboard to talk to
Yahoo Support... "I can see Russia from my house!"

