4 ms·

Maybe it's a form of advertising certain capabilities and services.

by dxdm 2y ago

neilv 2y ago
IIUC, that's always a good theory for unexplained DDoS. Though, even if they have only profit motivations, I'm a little surprised when they don't seem to let ideology influence their selection of targets for demos. For the sake of argument (maybe not true), let's say that all techies are aware of archive.org, and consider it beneficial, probably using it themselves. Why don't they instead demo against a target that will be proof of capability, and one that someone won't pay them to do (no freebies), yet one that they perceive as bad or deserving in some way? Probably improper to suggest "better" targets here, but I really wonder what's going on when some relative do-gooder gets attacked. Similarly, ransomware attack on a children's hospital, of all places? Doesn't that get you uninvited to criminal mastermind dinner parties? As Omar of "The Wire" told us, a man's gotta have a code.
- floam 2y ago
  One thing to keep in mind m about LockBit ransomeware was it was SaaS — errr RaaS — and there is a good chance the target was picked by an insider there, or it was at least some opportunistic hacker not really associated with those who provided the service, besides signing up as an affiliate. LockBit was so successful partly because they didn’t have to hack anyone themselves. It was basically something advertised “Got SSH or RDP access? Let’s make a bunch of money.” This attracted hackers who might not trust themselves to do the extortion part safely, as well as people who didn’t actually hack anything but hated their boss, wanted a payday.
- fmajid 2y ago
  Extortion is usually the motive. “Nice porn/gambling/crypto website you’ve got here. Shame if something happened to it”.
- aniviacat 2y ago
  Perhaps cruelty is the point. Perhaps they intentionally attack targets that are generally seen in a positive light, to prove to potential customers that morale is not an issue. Oh, you want me to DDOS a children's hospital? No problem.
  - jachee 2y ago
    Thus is the power of The Dark Side^W^W^W late-stage capitalism.

Maybe it's a form of advertising certain capabilities and services.

by dxdm 2y ago

Maybe it's a form of advertising certain capabilities and services.

IIUC, that's always a good theory for unexplained DDoS. Though, even if they have only profit motivations, I'm a little surprised when they don't seem to let ideology influence their selection of targets for demos. For the sake of argument (maybe not true), let's say that all techies are aware of archive.org, and consider it beneficial, probably using it themselves. Why don't they instead demo against a target that will be proof of capability, and one that someone won't pay them to do (no freebies), yet one that they perceive as bad or deserving in some way? Probably improper to suggest "better" targets here, but I really wonder what's going on when some relative do-gooder gets attacked. Similarly, ransomware attack on a children's hospital, of all places? Doesn't that get you uninvited to criminal mastermind dinner parties? As Omar of "The Wire" told us, a man's gotta have a code.

floam 2y ago
One thing to keep in mind m about LockBit ransomeware was it was SaaS — errr RaaS — and there is a good chance the target was picked by an insider there, or it was at least some opportunistic hacker not really associated with those who provided the service, besides signing up as an affiliate. LockBit was so successful partly because they didn’t have to hack anyone themselves. It was basically something advertised “Got SSH or RDP access? Let’s make a bunch of money.” This attracted hackers who might not trust themselves to do the extortion part safely, as well as people who didn’t actually hack anything but hated their boss, wanted a payday.
fmajid 2y ago
Extortion is usually the motive. “Nice porn/gambling/crypto website you’ve got here. Shame if something happened to it”.
aniviacat 2y ago
Perhaps cruelty is the point. Perhaps they intentionally attack targets that are generally seen in a positive light, to prove to potential customers that morale is not an issue. Oh, you want me to DDOS a children's hospital? No problem.
- jachee 2y ago
  Thus is the power of The Dark Side^W^W^W late-stage capitalism.