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I guarantee the FBI did further surveillance before sending the raids. They didn't just pick a random IP and then send a team. They picked the IP, sniffed the

I guarantee the FBI did further surveillance before sending the raids. They didn't just pick a random IP and then send a team. They picked the IP, sniffed their traffic, monitored their internet behaviour, read their forum posts, and then finally selected them to be an example. By performing surveillance like this you can be 99% sure who is a real voluntary participant and who is just a stooge. A voluntary participant will talk about it on forums for example, brag on IRC, etc etc. These will be the ones selected by the FBI for dramatic home visits.

derefr 16y ago
> A voluntary participant will talk about it on forums for example, brag on IRC, etc etc. So it's like assassination, then: all you have to do to get away clean is to execute only on others' commands, making no plans of your own, and not discussing, bragging, or asking questions. Historically, this leads quickly to a two-level military structure: officers to point, and enlistedmen to shoot. The only question is whether any sort of hierarchy is possible within a completely decentralized system of mutually non-trusting agents, who are nonetheless driven by either status or belonging. That sounds like it should have a mathematical answer...
- ZachPruckowski 16y ago
  Well, if they're snooping your net traffic, then you don't have to say anything on those forums or sites, simply hitting them on port 80 more than a handful of times is probably sufficient. They're trying to differentiate "guy who got botted" from "guy who's doing this manually", and even visiting those sites is probably differentiation enough to establish the probable cause or reasonable suspicion they need for a search warrant.