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Ask HN: Compromised computers / accounts and blackmailed; advice?
Hi HN,
So a friend of mine (let's call her L) has had her personal computers and phones compromised.
We know exactly who the hacker is (let's call him H), but H has blackmailed L.
H knows details of L's phone conversations (H has somehow been eavesdropping) and sensitive documents on L's personal computers.
L has changed her phone and computer multiple times, but the problem persists; we are baffled on how H is able to do this.
H is quite wealthy and is known to be in a circle that hires people to hack computers (H's friends have been kicked out of school for hacking professors' computers).
H is a sociopath. After strongly cluing into his own actions through direct text messages to L,
H has since stopped all direct communication and lets L know of his actions through an alumni forum he is a webmaster of by subtle hints in all posts he makes.
We suspect H has done this through emailed media files and/or logging into an alumni forum he is a webmaster of (of course, we no longer entertain these).
Even after changing computers and phones, the hacking continued.
As I said before, H has blackmailed L. H claims to have a lot of sensitive information and webcam recordings.
If I were L, I would pursue legal action no matter the cost. But L is afraid. L started a police report, but hasn't followed through.
We also might need a lot more evidence, as I would think we only have strong circumstantial evidence (H is very intelligent).
The reason I am posting to HN is that I would really like to know if there is a way to tie the hacking to H.
Perhaps even by intentionally letting him compromise a device.
This experience has been a dark cloud over the both of us, and I would really appreciate your input.
Thank you.
- hackedperson 9y agoI am happy to answer any questions for details.
- danielvf 9y agoSorry to hear this. First, a side thought that's probably not the case. Has all your information about this come through L? I've known cases where the "victim" was the one doing actually doing the abuse, and roping lots of people in against the real victim with stories that were not true. Just something to always look out for. With that out of the way... Even if you had proof, would your friend actually do something with it? I've met people who have been so victimized that they will not do anything in their own defense, even when the proof they needs is already on file in court documents and a three sentence letter to the court would be all it would take. I'd really recommend reading the late Peter Hintjens book, free PDF here: https://www.gitbook.com/download/pdf/book/hintjens/psychopathcode https://www.gitbook.com/download/pdf/book/hintjens/psychopat...
- hackedperson 9y agoThanks for taking the time. I can understand you raising the first point. She has confided with me about this since it started so I have seen it unfold. I have been a close friend of L for 6 years. There is absolutely no motive for her to do this. In addition, there have been friends of hers who have said this guy asks them for mailing addresses (claiming he needs to ship a package near their location for a visit) and even SSNs (I don't know how he explains that). We only now find out about this because L has told her story. H seems extremely creepy and sociopathic. At the very least, if H follows through with his blackmail, we don't want to be totally powerless. I plan to convince her to be on the offense legally.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- bubblethink 9y ago>Even after changing computers and phones, the hacking continued At least this part should be tractable to avoid any future leaks. What sort of hacking are you dealing with ? Is it actually hacking, or more like social engineering ? What OS, devices etc. ? There will be a lot of advice on hardening the security of devices that people will be able to offer.
- hackedperson 9y agoThanks for your input. I am not sure what you mean by social engineering (I cannot imagine an example), but it is "real" hacking. He references specific things in her conversations and sensitive legal documents stored on her personal computers. All of her devices are Apple iphones and laptops. We suspect the avenues for hacking could have been: 1. pictures, video, and music files emailed to L from H 2. L logging into an alumni website that H is a webmaster of (where he posts and drops his hints) 3. KakaoTalk messaging app He is a law student with rich parents, so we suspect he has hired someone to hack L's devices for him. L and I know nothing about security. Is it possible to infect a router, internet service provider, apple icloud, or any of Google's services (gmail, etc.)? These sound unlikely, but we considered them after L was continually hacked after getting new hardware. One time, she was trying to compose a text message to find a pretyped message where it is supposed to be blank -- this message was obviously from H. This was on an Android phone (one that she had switched to from 2 previous iphones; every other device was an Apple product). I don't even know if I may be hacked at this very moment (since H knows I am a close friend of L and L has used my computer on several occasions), and that H is watching me type this.