> The operation is now seen as largely a public-relations stunt
There was some fun speculation about what, exactly, they were after.
One story I was always fond of involved Donald Rumsfeld finding something unpleasant has been slipped into a classified presentation and flipping his lid; which resulted in the Sundevil raids as well as a general tightening of government and contractor security. Some of the holes Cliff Stoll mentioned in "Cuckoo's Egg" had been unaddressed until then.
The wild, flailing nature of their targeting certainly seems to match with someone being told "Go catch some hackers right now!" and having to ask "WTF is a 'hacker'?"
There was some fun speculation about what, exactly, they were after.
One story I was always fond of involved Donald Rumsfeld finding something unpleasant has been slipped into a classified presentation and flipping his lid; which resulted in the Sundevil raids as well as a general tightening of government and contractor security. Some of the holes Cliff Stoll mentioned in "Cuckoo's Egg" had been unaddressed until then.
The wild, flailing nature of their targeting certainly seems to match with someone being told "Go catch some hackers right now!" and having to ask "WTF is a 'hacker'?"