Propaganda Campaign Against Vigilante Hacking Groups: Gov't Officials Warn That The KGB Could Infiltrate Lulzsec

from the for-the-lulz dept

Tue, Jul 26th 2011 3:45pm — Mike Masnick

Things just keep getting more ridiculous with the reaction of governments to things like Anonymous and LulzSec. The latest is that Simon Moores, a UK government "advisor" on online crime issues, is warning that the KGB might "infiltrate" LulzSec:

�If you have a LulzSec or an Anonymous that is perhaps being manipulated by a foreign actor, it takes us back to the days of the Stasi and the KGB, which were manipulating [anti-nulear campaign group] CND quite easily from Moscow,� he said, referring to reports that the anti-nuclear peace movement was unwittingly compromised and manipulated by Kremlin machinations.

According to Moores, mustering popular support for an issue through online hacktivist groups and forums could be used as a tool to drive policy to perform actions that furthered a country's interests.

This is based on... what? It appears absolutely nothing. It appears to be pure conjecture of what could happen, even though it's extremely unlikely. While it could be argued that some members of these groups can be influenced and pushed in certain directions, it goes pretty far to then assume that leads to an effective infiltration and use by foreign powers.

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Filed Under: anonymous, hacking, lulzsec, propaganda

49 Comments

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The eejit (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 2:55pm

Hang on....
...didn't the KGB go the way of the public domain?
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xenomancer (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 3:16pm

http://www.kgbanswers.com/

I suppose when you REALLY need the answers...
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- FBI Agent, 26 Jul 2011 @ 8:10pm
  
  Re:
  Knocks on door *
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Hephaestus (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 3:35pm

With the general mentality of Anonymous being that of Goku from dragon ball Z mixed with a little rebellion ...

"Goku's speach - "I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth. Ally to good! Nightmare to you!""

This seems like a propaganda piece mean't to scare people away from groups like Lulzsec and anonymous. Even if foreign intelligence types did infiltrate these groups, they would have to be mirror the mob's goals and find it is almost impossible to control it.

All in all, the original article is a total fail.
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:51pm
  
  Re: Total Fail
  "All in all, the original article is a total fail."
  
  Correct. The quoted "expert", Simon Moores, is clearly displaying bureaucratic incompetence. He has no understanding of present day reality or history. The poor old taxpayer does not need to pay for the ranting of nincompoops. Ranting is available for free 24/7 on the internet. The guy should be sacked.
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  - Hephaestus (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 10:57pm
    
    Re: Re: Total Fail
    He isn't very bright. When you are dealing with mobs, online or IRL, they are impossible to control. They splinter, they merge, and they have a life of their own. In the case of Anonymous and Lulzsec, they have ideals which are hard to overcome, no matter how many sock puppets you are running. Expect more of these FUD articles in the future as they try their best to control the uncontrollable.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 3:51pm

Obviously
The gov is distracting the public with a little sleight of hand... fact is, a good number of 'hackers' either work for the FBI or CIA after having been "caught", or have always worked for the FBI/CIA.

So, yeah, of course they've been infiltrated; the only question is to what extent?
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- akp (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:12pm
  
  Re: Obviously
  Is it really "infiltration" if the hacking groups welcome them with open arms (as I believe they would)?
  
  "Ohai guyz. I'm a hax0r like you! I'm KGB! What's up today?" -KGBHax0r
  
  "Hai KGBHax0r! Today we're taking down [random organization X]'s website and stealing some logins!" -Lulz
  
  "Sweet, I'm in" -KGBHax0r
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 6:05pm
  
  Re: Obviously
  and how effectively.
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- Chargone (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 12:40am
  
  Re: Obviously
  indeed. i suspect it's quite easy to take advantage of what such groups do, quite hard to make them do specifically what you want...
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 3:55pm

What if LulzSec or Anonymous is being manipulated by...
...the FBI, the CIA or NSA? How would we know the difference?
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- xenomancer (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 8:03pm
  
  Re: What if LulzSec or Anonymous is being manipulated by...
  Three letters.
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  - Chargone (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 12:41am
    
    Re: Re: What if LulzSec or Anonymous is being manipulated by...
    alphabet soup:
    the USA has far too much of it.
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Kirion, 26 Jul 2011 @ 3:59pm

It's very popular in Russia for officials to say that activists and various NGO are funded by "foreign elements", Department of State is most popular, although Foreign Office also has it's part in this kind of rhetoric.

Kinda funny that officials from supposedly democratic country uses same arguments. Except it's not.
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2011 @ 2:52am
  
  It's not just Russian officials. It's a problem for NGOs all over the world.
  
  Like the CIA using vaccine shots to hunt down Osama. Partial vaccination and a blood check to test for DNA to see if they're is a blood relation. That made the news a couple weeks ago. Idiotic crap like that just fuels the fire that kooks who are scared of vaccinations want. It's a legitimate problem at knocking out diseases. Maybe it's just crazy ramblings after "They" put fluoride in our water.
  
  Craziness isn't just limited to the KGB.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:01pm

The spies are real...
...they're hiding under his bed, whispering things to him in his sleep.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:04pm

I've heard of this before but it was McCarthy and commies in government.

It reminds of my the commercials that stated drugs fuel terrorism. If its such a problem, legalize the drugs.
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Kaden (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:04pm

Simon Moores bills himself as a "futurist, strategic thinker, speaker, entrepreneur and special advisor", does risk analysis based on a mid-60's infiltration model, and people actually listen to him.

He is, in reality, a master marketer.

Free market at work folks...
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Richard (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:11pm

KGB could also
Infiltrate our intelligence service - you know like they did with Kim Philby

I suppose this could be a kind of double bluff - how do we know that Moores isn't a KGB double agent himself?
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- Someantimalwareguy, 27 Jul 2011 @ 8:11am
  
  Re: KGB could also
  Truly you have a dizzying intellect
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MrWilson, 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:14pm

This sounds as credible as the claim that copyright violations fund terrorism.

Sure, anyone could infiltrate non-group groups.

While we're speculating...

The FBI could fund hackers to make the situation worse so they have more demonstrable cause for funding.

The RIAA could seed their own content on peer-to-peer networks in order to have people to sue.

A Dark Lord of the Sith could infiltrate the Galactic Senate and start a war in order to gain unchecked political power.

Well, I guess that stuff couldn't really happen...
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- Chargone (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 12:43am
  
  Re:
  "Well, I guess that stuff couldn't really happen..."
  
  for given values of every single one of those words...
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:34pm

James Bond 007 could infiltrate LULZSEC
James Bond 007 could infiltrate LULZSEC.

And then discover the KGB^W SMERSH infiltration.

But there must be special effects...
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- Marcel de Jong (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 3:46am
  
  Re: James Bond 007 could infiltrate LULZSEC
  Scene 147
  
  James Bond is hogtied on a metal slab while a deadly laser is slowly burning its way towards his nether region.
  
  Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
  
  Anon: No, Mr. Bond, we just do this for teh lulz!
  
  Anon remains where he is, leaving Bond no possible way of escape.
  
  The End.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 4:55pm

According to Moores, mustering popular support for an issue through online hacktivist groups and forums could be used as a tool to drive policy to perform actions that furthered a country's interests.

Good. At least then policies would be furthering a country's interests, instead of a company's.
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That Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:20pm

ZOMG THE RED MENACE RISES AGAIN!
QUICK DIG MCCARTHY BACK UP!

*giggles hysterically*

So considering Aaron Barr had his whole world implode for threatening to name "members", I wonder how many red things are going to get delivered to this guys house.

That or he is secretly hoping they will have done goofed. And he will have the cyberpolice backtracing them because the consequences will never be the same.

Advisers like this could be why the world is so screwed up right now. We have terrorism "experts" who treat terrorists like a foriegn nation, rather than the loose grouping they are. We have comptuer "experts" who claim we need stronger security laws, while they themselves practice the worst possible security practices.

The internets is serious business, and I really wish people would learn to ignore the experts and get educated themselves, rather than just enjoy cute cat pictures.
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jonvaljon, 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:21pm

wow...
I've also heard that trey parker and matt stone could possibly infiltrate lulsec and use it to further their ideals.

We have all been sheep for not considering the possibility.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:35pm

Government is getting boring. they should all be replaced by people younger than 50years old.
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 6:42pm
  
  Re:
  Those of us over 50 suggest that all elected and appointed officials should be subject to intelligence and literacy testing. Any that cannot (let's say) name all 50 states, state the Pythagorean theorem, convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and explain why "Yalta" was a very important word in the late 40's should be demoted...whether they're 60 or 20.
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  - Chargone (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 12:45am
    
    Re: Re:
    problem being that that only proves the ability to memorise trivia. not exactly a useless skill if properly applied, but hardly indicative of intelligence. just free time.
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    - Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 5:24am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      They have to be able to play Portal the entire way threw without dying. That shows basic understanding of computers and creative problem solving all in one test.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 27 Jul 2011 @ 8:48am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      problem being that that only proves the ability to memorise trivia. not exactly a useless skill if properly applied, but hardly indicative of intelligence. just free time.
      
      "Rain man" being a good example that knowing stuff isn't the same same as being intelligent.
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  - Nicedoggy, 27 Jul 2011 @ 3:22am
    
    Re: Re:
    Does it matter?
    
    The problem is not that there are no intelligent people in there, there is, the problem is the culture inside that system, that override the individual intelligence and put everybody on the dumb-mob-mode also there is the problem of legal-bribes called lobbying, no politico will go against those who fund his campaign that is a structural problem with the system not the people in it.
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aikiwolfie (profile), 26 Jul 2011 @ 5:42pm

The KGB? Did we just time warp back to 1950? Oh wait science has declared time travel impossible. Science must be wrong!
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Travicane, 26 Jul 2011 @ 6:02pm

So How Come He Did Not Advise His Govt Client
.....how to do this infiltrate for the good guys and gain an edge! (if it was in any way true).
Sounds like he totally fails as a useful consultant (possible oxymoron) on almost all counts.
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- That Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 6:31pm
  
  Re: So How Come He Did Not Advise His Govt Client
  because teh hackers is bad peoples, and we never use bad peoples to do good things.
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  - Chargone (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 1:15am
    
    Re: Re: So How Come He Did Not Advise His Govt Client
    this is clearly true, but not in the way you meant it :)
    
    (for those getting a 'woosh'ing sound from this comment: shift the emphasis from 'never' to 'good')
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 6:57pm

Wait... how do we know Anon and LulzSec are actually people? Could "they" be Skynet getting ready to take down the Internet so we'll all be helpless when the Machines take over?

I'ld better go into my bunker and check my gas, food stores and guns now...
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LyleD, 26 Jul 2011 @ 7:34pm

What a moron... Complete FUD.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 7:40pm

"It appears to be pure conjecture of what could happen, even though it's extremely unlikely"

ROFLOL, this coming from the king of conjecture.
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danR, 26 Jul 2011 @ 8:17pm

KGB no lulz jargon
They could never master the talk and its references and cultural allusions to fool core Anon/Lulz actors for more than a few days.

"We make Lulz, yo ho ho and bottle Vodka, I mean..."
"We sink CIA sputnik..."

Sabu:

"Hi Igor! Wanna do an Aaron Barr next?"

[disclaimer: Sabu no say that. I make it up. No hack me.]
.
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danR, 26 Jul 2011 @ 8:18pm

KGB no lulz jargon
They could never master the talk and its references and cultural allusions to fool core Anon/Lulz actors for more than a few days.

"We make Lulz, yo ho ho and bottle Vodka, I mean..."
"We sink CIA sputnik..."

Sabu:

"Hi Igor! Wanna do an Aaron Barr next?"

[disclaimer: Sabu no say that. I make it up. No hack me.]
.
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Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2011 @ 11:45pm

What if the KGB infiltrated the IP industry?
They could lobby for ever increasing and innovation-stifling IP laws in order to weaken the US. That sure would explain a lot.
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abc gum, 27 Jul 2011 @ 4:52am

"Gov't Officials Warn That The KGB Could Infiltrate Lulzsec"

That's funny - a tla infiltrating the false flag of another tla.

I'm guessing this fear mongering is aimed at the congressional level rather than the general public.
ZOMG - hacker commies!
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chris, 27 Jul 2011 @ 7:32am

Why does the government care after they have admitted to doing this exact same type of astroturfing.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/client/229219056
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BongoBern (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 8:54am

Manipulate?
I just don't see Anonymous or WikiLeaks being manipulated by anybody. That's the whole point, isn't it?
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PT, 27 Jul 2011 @ 9:29am

Positioning
Simon Moores isn't an idiot, nor does he believe his own statement, which was undoubtedly prepared for him. It's just standard Government tactics, the kind the British government does all the time. He's setting up a defensive position from behind which the Government can refuse to listen to - let alone concede - anything the group has to say, no matter how much public support they have.
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Keroberos (profile), 27 Jul 2011 @ 3:20pm

How do you infiltrate?
How do you infiltrate something that isn't even an organized group? And manipulating them would be like herding cats, you can get a few to do what you want, but eventually you're gonna run out of tuna.
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ethorad (profile), 28 Jul 2011 @ 2:32am

So the US gov wants to attack/shut down Anon and LulzSec because they might be infiltrated by foreign actors?

I think Russell Crowe has better things to do than hack paypal ...
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