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Anyone else remember when Colonial Pipeline was attacked? The "ransomware as a service" platform[0] stepped in to say "oops, sorry, never mind" when they realiz
by lkbm 3y ago
Anyone else remember when Colonial Pipeline was attacked? The "ransomware as a service" platform[0] stepped in to say "oops, sorry, never mind" when they realized they'd attracted more attention than they were prepared for[1]:
> We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics, do not need to tie us with a defined government and look for other our motives.
> Our goal is to make money and not creating problems for society.
> From today, we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future.
This one isn't causing immediate disruptions to regular people in the US, but it's still geopolitical-level meddling. If you want to run around mugging people, it's best to avoid robbing the police chief's best friend.
[0] https://www.state.gov/darkside-ransomware-as-a-service-raas/ https://www.state.gov/darkside-ransomware-as-a-service-raas/
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/10/22428996/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-apology-investigation https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/10/22428996/colonial-pipelin...
- yborg 3y agoLockBit is Russian, they don't care about any of that, they are immune to external pressure as long as the current conflict is ongoing.
- wang_li 3y agoTSMC gets on the phone. Calls Vlad. Says, “It will be three hundred years before we sell an integrated circuit to any Russian entity unless you deliver to us the decryption keys, a complete description of everything on our network that was touched, and the thumbs of everyone involved. Hurry. If we recover from backups we’ll never need Russian language staff again, if you catch my drift.”
- newsclues 3y agoThey don’t care. They will source chips from China or other states they can use as puppets.
- rdsubhas 3y agoTarget and sanction the foreign assets and business channels of some politicians, and _they_ will react internally. Don't link everything to one ongoing conflict. Business interests continue unabated even in the darkest of times.
- specialp 3y agoThey do when it leaves the law enforcement world and goes to shadowy government agencies as in Colonial pipeline that have a lot more resources and don't have to play by many rules when dealing with hostile foreign based attacks. If LockBit suddenly crippled the US electric grid or stock market it would be the end of them. So these groups try to extract as much money as they can without getting that heat.
- flangola7 3y agoIf the operators are in Russia how would the US touch them?
- QuadmasterXLII 3y agoPolonium in their tea?
- whinenot 3y agoAs long as they never leave Russia, they're fine... for now. But even Snowden knows Putin's imminent fall from power could upend his extradition protection.
- specialp 3y agoRussia could touch anyone in the US that they really wanted to, and vice versa. There is just this understanding that whatever you do, they are going to know it was you most likely, and something is coming back. So Russia turning a blind eye to cybercriminals extorting the USA and others is their way at annoying the USA just as the USA does to them in various ways. But when that annoyance turns into something more than annoying, and verges on an act of war, there will be a response. That is why you don't really see foreign acts of assassination. Because other parties can do the same thing.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- cvs268 3y agoThey will probably contact the real-life folks that were the basis for the character played by Liam Neeson in Taken. "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you." - Liam Neeson, Taken.
- Waterluvian 3y ago“We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics” is something I’ve heard literally dozens of times from Russian civilian interviews over the war. It’s kind of amazing that some groups genuinely think that’s a valid explanation for any state sponsored/condoned/overlooked aggression, cyber or otherwise.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y agoCowards, don't want go to prison for 15 years. As opposed to chair warriors, who will die on their keyboards fighting for the right cause.