'Gay furry hackers' disband after Project 2025 data theft (www.theregister.com)
from theangriestbird@beehaw.org to technology@beehaw.org on 13 Jul 2024 18:58
https://beehaw.org/post/14974550

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theangriestbird@beehaw.org on 13 Jul 2024 18:59 next collapse

A bonus meme for all my homies who comment:

<img alt="" src="https://beehaw.org/pictrs/image/cd0c19a0-ce36-4c7e-a981-2214c1327c1b.webp">

autotldr@lemmings.world on 13 Jul 2024 19:00 next collapse

🤖 I’m a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:

Click here to see the summary

But before breaking up the band, the politically motivated and self-described “gay furry hackers” published a bunch of furious messages that SiegedSec claims were sent to them by Mike Howell, the executive director of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. The feud began on July 9 after SiegedSec said it obtained usernames, passwords, logs and “other juicy info” belonging to the Heritage Foundation, and then leaked that private data online in response to the org producing and promoting Project 2025. Project 2025 is a lengthy and fairly detailed blueprint that outlines how a future conservative president – such as, say, Donald Trump should he win the election again – could overhaul the federal government and public policy to enact a far-Right agenda and give huge powers to the executive branch. And ultimately, it seeks to expand the executive branch’s power, ensure that federal agencies and their leaders and rank-and-file fall heavily in line with the president’s agenda and “push back against woke policies in corporate America” [PDF]. SiegedSec, whose previous targets have included America’s biggest nuclear power lab’s computer systems and NATO (on multiple occasions), said it took issue with Project 2025’s “authoritarian Christian nationalist plan to reform the United States government.” From there the messages said to have been sent from Howell become increasingly dark, lecturing the crew on beastiality and how it’s a “weird sin,” calling them perverts," and then telling vio “you won’t be able to wear a furry tiger costume when you’re getting pounded in the ass in the federal prison I put you in next year.” — Saved 56% of original text.

Ultragramps@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 14 Jul 2024 10:44 collapse

Good bot. ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

14th_cylon@lemm.ee on 13 Jul 2024 19:45 next collapse

Mike Howell:

Ok listen to me closely

We are in the process of identifying and outting members of your group

Reputations and lives will be destroyed

Closeted Furries will be presented to the world for the degenerate perverts they are

You cannot hide

Your means are miniscule compared to mine. You now can either turn yourself in or you can cooperate

Oh I so hope that reputations will be destroyed…

MajorHavoc@programming.dev on 13 Jul 2024 20:18 next collapse

Lol. The gay furry Cybersecurity activist’s reputations are already established.

We like them.

I appreciate what they’re doing, and hope they keep a strong eye on where their ethical boundaries are, and keep out of anything too hot for their opsec to handle.

But Mike Howell needs to watch Ocean’s 13.

“I know all the guys you would send after me. They like me more than they like you!”

[deleted] on 14 Jul 2024 11:30 collapse

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prole@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 11:40 next collapse

but cybercrime is a big no-no when it comes to actual employment.

Depends on what field you’re in. There are entire sectors of tech that seek out skilled hackers for things like pen testing.

[deleted] on 14 Jul 2024 12:00 next collapse

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prole@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 12:36 collapse

Again, it depends. Some of the most notorious hackers of all time literally had their prison sentences commuted so that they can work for the NSA (or US Gov’t in some capacity).

MajorHavoc@programming.dev on 14 Jul 2024 13:00 collapse

They have a good point though. Pen testing is a vanishingly small corner of our field, and I haven’t seen anyone with a past conviction get hired for those roles, in a long time. (Edit: Of course, I work with privacy respecting folks, so there could be, and their conviction just isn’t famous.)

I’ve seen too many hacker kids think their hacker reputation is going to get them out of trouble, and it didn’t.

prole@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 13:17 collapse

I’ll defer to you on this as I’m by no means an expert. I suppose I thought there was more demand for young people who have that specific skillset than there actually is.

MajorHavoc@programming.dev on 14 Jul 2024 14:01 collapse

Yeah. The demand for red team skills is complicated.

There’s plenty of work to do. But there’s a lot of anxiety, and in some cases laws, that make hiring managers cautious.

When a team member is going to sometimes physically break into a data center, things are much simpler if they have an unimpeachable reputation.

And that, itself, is unfair, since everyone’s definition of “unimpeachable reputation” is going to be a bit different. I’m inclined to factor in motives, but not everyone can.

So it’s not the end of the world for a young hacker with a conviction, but they definitely have a more difficult time.

MajorHavoc@programming.dev on 14 Jul 2024 12:58 collapse

doubt the furries will care much about being outed as furries, but cybercrime is a big no-no when it comes to actual employment

Absolutely.

I would prefer our gay furry hackers keep things fully legal, for their own sakes.

That said, Mike needs help from folks like me to catch these kids, and as long as they’re sticking to ethical hacking, I’m not motivated.

Also, I don’t like Mike.

His claim that he actually has my kind of help, actually on his side, is… overconfident, I think.

I can’t guarantee that, though, so I’m glad to hear our ethical hackers have decided to lay low.

In any case, everyone has a slightly different perspective on what counts as ethical, so I hope they’ll stick to legal as much as their conscience will allow, from here out.

floofloof@lemmy.ca on 13 Jul 2024 20:35 next collapse

From there the messages said to have been sent from Howell become increasingly dark, lecturing the crew on beastiality and how it’s a “weird sin,” calling them perverts," and then telling vio “you won’t be able to wear a furry tiger costume when you’re getting pounded in the ass in the federal prison I put you in next year.”

Overall, not a good look for an organization touting Christian value

Conservatives and especially conservative Christians have some very particular obsessions.

minnix@lemux.minnix.dev on 13 Jul 2024 22:00 next collapse

Consequences will never be the same

prole@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 11:39 collapse

Lol what a loser. Trying so hard to sound badass.

LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 00:17 collapse

Given the slant of the article, it really feels like The Register missed an opportunity for a spicier headline like “Mike Howell, Heritage Foundation executive, reportedly discloses gay furry prison sex fantasies”

Midnitte@beehaw.org on 14 Jul 2024 10:20 collapse

Or “Mike Howell destroyed by Gay Furries”