A Vigilante Hacker Took Down North Korea’s Internet. Now He’s Taking Off His Mask (www.wired.com)
from Lanky_Pomegranate530@midwest.social to cybersecurity@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 15:43
https://midwest.social/post/10710662

#cybersecurity

threaded - newest

cyborganism@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 16:07 next collapse

Vigilante hacker attacks foreign nation internet infrastructure on behalf of the U.S. without the U.S.'s consent and wants to encourage the U.S. to perform more similar cyber attacks, but witout the approval of the chain of command, without thinking of the repercussions on international relations.

I don’t know, but this doesn’t sond likea good idea.

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 16:49 next collapse

.

cyborganism@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 17:42 next collapse

Yeah good point on the anger glasses. He sounds like an agressive type of dude. Says he worked for Blackwater? The mercenaries company known for their crimes against humanity in Iraq, if I’m not mistaken? What normal person would want to work there?

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 17:59 collapse

.

Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Apr 2024 20:38 next collapse

I generally agree with you but isn’t the n Korean internet only used by the government and whatever rich people can afford it? I say fuck em.

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 20:56 next collapse

.

Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 04 Apr 2024 21:16 next collapse

I might need to go back and find sources but I could have sworn I read a thing that had Kim directly saying that it isn’t allowed among the general populace because it’s full of US propaganda. Same reason why jeans aren’t allowed.

Edit: I want to clarify that I would prefer the general populace had the internet so they could more easily educate themselves but AFAIK they don’t.

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 21:41 collapse

.

zaph@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 21:55 next collapse

Not trying to change your mind but if the general public has internet it’s definitely just intranet. There’s no way they’re getting anything close to what we would recognize as the internet. Maybe I’m buying propaganda but I just can’t fathom the possibility.

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 22:19 collapse

.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 10:05 collapse

they aren’t random people, NK users of the internet have explicit ties to scams and hacking. The rest never get to access the WWW.

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 13:24 collapse

.

jaemo@sh.itjust.works on 05 Apr 2024 14:46 next collapse

No more than you are to assert the opposite, sir.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 22:43 collapse

lol, it’d undermine my argument if I was, wouldn’t it? Not sure if you’re being intentionally dense or just… obtuse. But here’s some further reading for you, you do you budnik.

csoonline.com/…/north-koreas-state-hacking-progra…

…senate.gov/…/icymi-at-hearing-warren-warns-of-th…

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 22:45 collapse

.

AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 22:39 collapse

Yes.

Internet access is available in North Korea, but is only permitted with special authorization. It is primarily used for government purposes, and also by foreigners … Online services for most individuals and institutions are provided through a free domestic-only network known as Kwangmyong, with access to the global Internet limited to a much smaller group.

Wikipedia

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 13:28 collapse

.

jaemo@sh.itjust.works on 05 Apr 2024 04:31 next collapse

Are you laboring under the false impression that the average citizens of North Korea have, forget regular, but ANY access to the internet? Carpet bombing doesn’t work if you’re already a ghost.

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 13:20 collapse

.

jaemo@sh.itjust.works on 05 Apr 2024 14:04 collapse

No. No I’m just calling out that this particular cyberattack was not as impactful to the everyman of North Korea as it would fit any other, more modernized country. Your point gains more validity the more networked a country is.

The article is paywalled. Did you read all of it? Does it specifically quote the author as saying “I want the same baseline response. Doesn’t matter who I attack”? Because I didn’t see that, but I didn’t bother to bypass the paywall. If you did and it’s in there, cool, guys a weirdo. If not, quit making up shit to fill out your narrative. You don’t know any better than anyone else unless you asked him or are him.

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 15:54 collapse

.

jaemo@sh.itjust.works on 06 Apr 2024 06:04 collapse

I’ll have you know I’m fully baked, and don’t have any reason not to express myself here, so naturally, I’ma gonna.

[deleted] on 06 Apr 2024 20:09 collapse

.

jaemo@sh.itjust.works on 07 Apr 2024 16:24 collapse

Well, bless your heart. I can remember when I used to mistake stuff like this as the want for people to talk with me; we’re not so different after all.

[deleted] on 07 Apr 2024 18:35 collapse

.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 10:03 collapse

DDoS’ing a nation is effectively carpet bombing citizenry for government actions when you should be taking a scapular approach to threat actor countermeasures.

my understanding is that the only NK citizens that have access to the actual internet is microscopic and concentrated in information warfare / scams.

[deleted] on 05 Apr 2024 13:23 collapse

.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 22:41 collapse

I do love me some links to read after a nice pithy comment :D

tias@discuss.tchncs.de on 04 Apr 2024 16:51 collapse

It sounds like a Hollywood movie. “Hacker tattoos”? Single person took on an entire country? I dunno, something about this is off, like it’s too juicy of a story for Wired to scrutinize it properly and there’s really more (or less) to the story.

cyborganism@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 17:39 next collapse

Yeah, especially since the NSA or FBI or CIA has never accepted the dude’s methods. And he’s the only one giving his own testimoy about all of this. It’s weird.

Socsa@sh.itjust.works on 05 Apr 2024 11:48 collapse

Are you saying you don’t keep your pgp key tattooed on your face? How do people know if they are actually talking to you then?

protozoan_ninja@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 16:11 next collapse

Something tells me the last thing the world needs from a cybersecurity standpoint is a leaner, meaner Pentagon that can launch cyberattacks faster than they can assess the likely impact

pastermil@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 16:29 collapse

You’re saying it like they don’t exist.

protozoan_ninja@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 16:57 collapse

In the article it states the average lead time for a Pentagon-organized cyberattack is six months.

The main point of the article is that this guy is basically trying to push the Pentagon to be more like him, a guy who took personal offense when a North Korean hacker tried to drive-by hack him then took the entire country offline without first considering whether or not they might retaliate against an actual lone wolf attacker, or whether this is a rational response as an individual to the existence of organized nation-state attackers.

Basically, he’s lucky the Pentagon took an interest in him. The article points out that the officials he shared his attack with were well aware the main reason they couldn’t do something similar is literally just bureaucracy. He’s not offering anything new on a technical level, he just wants the Pentagon to shoot from the hip more often and worry less about the consequences of their actions.

TBH, probably everybody in the world would prefer the slower, less aggressive Pentagon we have now rather than one that goes around picking fights with every nation-state and group that pisses it off for like, any reason.

[deleted] on 04 Apr 2024 17:14 collapse

.

merthyr1831@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 16:12 next collapse

I’m sure this had absolutely no benefit beyond pissing off the few DPRK citizens who have intranet access. What a dick

mx_smith@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 16:21 next collapse

“cybersecurity entrepreneur with hacker tattoos on both arms“ what’s a hacker tattoo? Your IP address? This article was really short on how he did it.

kamenlady@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 16:26 next collapse

Everyone knows that hacker tattoos enable their wearer to be able to do sick hacks. The better the tattoo, the better the hacker skill.

SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 16:54 next collapse

Goatse qr code

sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 17:03 next collapse

Nah, the Kali Linux logo. Everyone knows using Kali makes you a hacker, and getting a kali tat gives you immediate hacker xp.

Scrappy@feddit.nl on 05 Apr 2024 14:28 collapse

There is a picture in the article. Its his previous handle and a what looks like a md5 hash along his entire left arm from hand to shoulder.

PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 17:30 next collapse

DPRK has a reputation for using assassination and kidnapping on foreign soil. It’s probably not as bad as taking on a Mexican drug cartel, organized crime, or Donald Trump, but it’s still something I’d probably want to keep on the DL.

pop@lemmy.ml on 05 Apr 2024 03:33 collapse

DPRK has a reputation for using assassination and kidnapping on foreign soil.

US has a history of that with a lot more deaths, so we should thank hackers who attack US infrastructure.

PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 09:28 collapse

Do you just enjoy doing hot takes or trolling?

Nowhere did I imply that the DPRK’s practices justify the attack - that’s left to individuals to think about for themselves. I was saying that their tendency to engage in covert ops against individuals outside of their own borders means that, if I were the hacker, I wouldn’t want my name publicly known. The same goes for the US - even more so. I would expect that someone who managed to disable significant parts of the US internet infrastructure not to then immediately publish their identity.

CryptoKitten@sh.itjust.works on 04 Apr 2024 18:54 next collapse

He took down all of it, like the whole three computers?

Vigilante@lemmy.today on 04 Apr 2024 19:10 next collapse

Wait north korea has internet ? Is it all used by kim lol ?

Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 19:32 next collapse

North Korea has a lot…just none of the citizens can use or know about it.

boyi@lemmy.sdf.org on 04 Apr 2024 22:20 collapse

how do you think they conducted their state-sponsored hacks then?

burrito@sh.itjust.works on 05 Apr 2024 23:41 next collapse

Their IP address range is hilariously small at 1024 addresses total (175.45.176.0/22). That’s about one IP address for every 24,400 people.

bizarrocullen@lemmy.world on 06 Apr 2024 06:27 collapse

Tiday, he’s a healthy young man, next week he’ll die of a sudden and mysterious heart attack.