4 ms·

If more than one person was involved, it'd presumably fall under criminal conspiracy. Clearly this was an overt act in furtherance of a crime (unauthorized acce

If more than one person was involved, it'd presumably fall under criminal conspiracy. Clearly this was an overt act in furtherance of a crime (unauthorized access under CFAA, at the least).

sneak 3y ago
The criminal conspiracy laws don’t apply to the organizations that write this kind of code, just like murder laws don’t.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  Sure they do. Getting the perpetrator into your jurisdiction is the tough part. Putin is, for example, unlikely to go anywhere willing to execute an ICC arrest warrant.
  - sneak 3y ago
    Nah, the CIA assassinates people in MLAT zones all the time. The laws that apply to you and I don’t apply to the privileged operators of the state’s prerogatives. We don’t even know that this specific backdoor wasn’t the NSA or CIA. Assuming it was a foreign intelligence service because the fake name was asian-sounding is a bit silly. The people who wrote this code might be sitting in Virginia or Maryland already.
    - ceejayoz 3y ago
      > The people who wrote this code might be sitting in Virginia or Maryland already. Sure, that’s possible. They will as a result probably avoid traveling to unfriendly jurisdictions without a diplomatic passport.
      - rl3 3y ago
        >They will as a result probably avoid traveling to unfriendly jurisdictions without a diplomatic passport. First of all, it's not like their individual identities would ever be known. Second, they would already know that traveling to a hostile country is a great way to catch bullshit espionage charges, maybe end up tortured, and certainly be used as a political pawn. Third, this is too sloppy to have originated from there anyways—however clever it was.
    - tomoyoirl 3y ago
      > Virginia or Maryland Eastern Europe, suggest the timestamp / holiday analysts. https://rheaeve.substack.com/p/xz-backdoor-times-damned-times-and https://rheaeve.substack.com/p/xz-backdoor-times-damned-time...
      - WesolyKubeczek 3y ago
        Note that while “Eastern Europe” has firm connotations with countries of which some are known for having corrupt autocracies, booming shady businesses, and organized crime and cybercrime gangs in varying proportions, the time zone mentioned also covers Finland, from which the other author is supposed to be.
      - daurentius523 3y ago
        Eastern Europe - 25th? Not 24th?

If more than one person was involved, it'd presumably fall under criminal conspiracy. Clearly this was an overt act in furtherance of a crime (unauthorized access under CFAA, at the least).

sneak 3y ago

The criminal conspiracy laws don’t apply to the organizations that write this kind of code, just like murder laws don’t.

ceejayoz 3y ago
Sure they do. Getting the perpetrator into your jurisdiction is the tough part. Putin is, for example, unlikely to go anywhere willing to execute an ICC arrest warrant.
- sneak 3y ago
  Nah, the CIA assassinates people in MLAT zones all the time. The laws that apply to you and I don’t apply to the privileged operators of the state’s prerogatives. We don’t even know that this specific backdoor wasn’t the NSA or CIA. Assuming it was a foreign intelligence service because the fake name was asian-sounding is a bit silly. The people who wrote this code might be sitting in Virginia or Maryland already.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    > The people who wrote this code might be sitting in Virginia or Maryland already. Sure, that’s possible. They will as a result probably avoid traveling to unfriendly jurisdictions without a diplomatic passport.
    - rl3 3y ago
      >They will as a result probably avoid traveling to unfriendly jurisdictions without a diplomatic passport. First of all, it's not like their individual identities would ever be known. Second, they would already know that traveling to a hostile country is a great way to catch bullshit espionage charges, maybe end up tortured, and certainly be used as a political pawn. Third, this is too sloppy to have originated from there anyways—however clever it was.
  - tomoyoirl 3y ago
    > Virginia or Maryland Eastern Europe, suggest the timestamp / holiday analysts. https://rheaeve.substack.com/p/xz-backdoor-times-damned-times-and https://rheaeve.substack.com/p/xz-backdoor-times-damned-time...
    - WesolyKubeczek 3y ago
      Note that while “Eastern Europe” has firm connotations with countries of which some are known for having corrupt autocracies, booming shady businesses, and organized crime and cybercrime gangs in varying proportions, the time zone mentioned also covers Finland, from which the other author is supposed to be.
    - daurentius523 3y ago
      Eastern Europe - 25th? Not 24th?