5 ms·

These days I'd be worried about CFAA or otherwise getting V& for this. In the "good old days", it was possible to get away with and laugh about this type of vig

These days I'd be worried about CFAA or otherwise getting V& for this. In the "good old days", it was possible to get away with and laugh about this type of vigilante justice. These days though, you're more likely to wind up in prison. No longer worth it for lulz. Sad times now, but good memories.

meowface 10y ago
What they did at the time would still have definitely been illegal. Probably not any more illegal than it is now. I doubt they'd be prosecuted, but breaking into any system is illegal.
- itslennysfault 10y ago
  I'd just be afraid I'd have rotten luck and wind up on the wrong person's computer (government, big business, etc) because they happened to be part of a bot net. (I'm not ready to move to Moscow quite yet)
  - iopq 10y ago
    > I'm not ready to move to Moscow quite yet Me neither, it's damn expensive
    - SEJeff 10y ago
      Well I'm sure they'll let you vacation for free... In the Siberian Gulags :)
      - ambivalence 10y ago
        Watch out. You laugh at this as if it's some Marvel Universe pop culture thing. In fact, some of the readers here have families that were sent to Siberia during or shortly after WW2. You wouldn't joke about concentration camps. I hope.
        nicolas_t 10y ago
        Yes, this needs to be said. I've read stories about Siberian Gulags and they are really not something to joke about.
        siculars 10y ago
        My grandfather. 1936.
        SEJeff 10y ago
        Uggg sorry if I offended anyone.
        justin66 10y ago
        People are being overly sensitive. Don't worry about it.
        reitanqild 10y ago
        I don't think he was offended, just pointed out that it happened. That said I found the original joke quite un-amusing and I think it didn't add much
        fennecfoxen 10y ago
        Technically, my grandmother went to a camp that was west of proper Siberia. (Something about being family of a war hero in what they called the Polish-Bolshevik war.)
- aquadrop 10y ago
  Hitting people in the face is illegal; hitting people in the face in self-defense is legal. So... It would be interesting court case :)
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    Following them back to their house, picking the lock on their door, walking into their bedroom and hitting them in their face is not legal.
jcrawfordor 10y ago
Honestly, my bigger concern would be motivating a retaliatory attack. A lot of the people who run botnets have big egos and respond poorly to this kind of challenge, especially when it can mean serious lost money for them. I've caused a retaliatory attack against a system I was responsible for once (thankfully not an important one) and I know at least one other security professional with a similar story - and in his case it was an important network and it stayed down due to retaliatory DDoS for long enough to generate a lot of upset people. Any kind of active and specific pushback to malicious actors is poking a hornet's nest, and if done on the behalf of an employer, there should be serious discussion and acceptance of the risk of retaliation. Particularly with people running DDoS operations who, in my experience, tend to be a little immature.
- fapjacks 10y ago
  I have had the opposite experience. What the author did here is something I've been doing for years (I've got quite a collection of crapware and have published a couple of articles about operating honeypots and honeynets). I occasionally drop in on the people running botnets and surprise them in their C&C channels. More often than not, the person is surprised and quiet and suspicious, and then curious. I get the sense there is some respect coming back the other way for whatever reason. I do spend time cataloging the botnet and its inventory and features, though I don't always present that information to the person running it. The worst reaction I've ever had was just having people hang up on me immediately after I reveal myself to them. They must think I'm law enforcement. Perhaps it's because I don't confront these guys in public, or that I don't antagonize them. I'm not sure. But I have never had anyone retaliate against me, and I have done this quite a lot over the years.

meowface 10y ago

What they did at the time would still have definitely been illegal. Probably not any more illegal than it is now. I doubt they'd be prosecuted, but breaking into any system is illegal.

itslennysfault 10y ago
I'd just be afraid I'd have rotten luck and wind up on the wrong person's computer (government, big business, etc) because they happened to be part of a bot net. (I'm not ready to move to Moscow quite yet)
- iopq 10y ago
  > I'm not ready to move to Moscow quite yet Me neither, it's damn expensive
  - SEJeff 10y ago
    Well I'm sure they'll let you vacation for free... In the Siberian Gulags :)
    - ambivalence 10y ago
      Watch out. You laugh at this as if it's some Marvel Universe pop culture thing. In fact, some of the readers here have families that were sent to Siberia during or shortly after WW2. You wouldn't joke about concentration camps. I hope.
      - nicolas_t 10y ago
        Yes, this needs to be said. I've read stories about Siberian Gulags and they are really not something to joke about.
      - siculars 10y ago
        My grandfather. 1936.
        SEJeff 10y ago
        Uggg sorry if I offended anyone.
        justin66 10y ago
        People are being overly sensitive. Don't worry about it.
        reitanqild 10y ago
        I don't think he was offended, just pointed out that it happened. That said I found the original joke quite un-amusing and I think it didn't add much
      - fennecfoxen 10y ago
        Technically, my grandmother went to a camp that was west of proper Siberia. (Something about being family of a war hero in what they called the Polish-Bolshevik war.)
aquadrop 10y ago
Hitting people in the face is illegal; hitting people in the face in self-defense is legal. So... It would be interesting court case :)
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  Following them back to their house, picking the lock on their door, walking into their bedroom and hitting them in their face is not legal.

jcrawfordor 10y ago

Honestly, my bigger concern would be motivating a retaliatory attack. A lot of the people who run botnets have big egos and respond poorly to this kind of challenge, especially when it can mean serious lost money for them. I've caused a retaliatory attack against a system I was responsible for once (thankfully not an important one) and I know at least one other security professional with a similar story - and in his case it was an important network and it stayed down due to retaliatory DDoS for long enough to generate a lot of upset people. Any kind of active and specific pushback to malicious actors is poking a hornet's nest, and if done on the behalf of an employer, there should be serious discussion and acceptance of the risk of retaliation. Particularly with people running DDoS operations who, in my experience, tend to be a little immature.

fapjacks 10y ago
I have had the opposite experience. What the author did here is something I've been doing for years (I've got quite a collection of crapware and have published a couple of articles about operating honeypots and honeynets). I occasionally drop in on the people running botnets and surprise them in their C&C channels. More often than not, the person is surprised and quiet and suspicious, and then curious. I get the sense there is some respect coming back the other way for whatever reason. I do spend time cataloging the botnet and its inventory and features, though I don't always present that information to the person running it. The worst reaction I've ever had was just having people hang up on me immediately after I reveal myself to them. They must think I'm law enforcement. Perhaps it's because I don't confront these guys in public, or that I don't antagonize them. I'm not sure. But I have never had anyone retaliate against me, and I have done this quite a lot over the years.