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United States Government Privacy Security

Leaked Docs Reveal List of 30 Countries Hacked On Orders of FBI Informant Sabu 78

blottsie writes A Federal Bureau of Investigation informant targeted more than two dozen countries in a series of high-profile cyberattacks in 2012. The names of many of those countries have remained secret, under seal by a court order—until now. A cache of leaked IRC chat logs and other documents obtained by the Daily Dot reveals the 30 countries—including U.S. partners, such as the United Kingdom and Australia—tied to cyberattacks carried out under the direction of Hector Xavier Monsegur, better known as Sabu, who served as an FBI informant at the time of the attacks.
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Leaked Docs Reveal List of 30 Countries Hacked On Orders of FBI Informant Sabu

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  • FBI hidden agenda (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lucm ( 889690 ) on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @07:10PM (#48043115)

    They can spin this any way they want, but the only explanation that makes sense is that they were hoping that this operation would at some point lead them to Assange (who had prior contacts with Sabu). Shame on them.

    • Follow the press and PR. The US was finding and stopping computer issues around the world in public.
      The US was finding out about computer networks around the world.
      Information was flowing back to the US using consumer grade networks and tools found in the wild using the pubic as cover.
      Recall Operation CHAOS (or Operation MHCHAOS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] and COINTELPRO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
      Just like now domestic groups where needed with liaison services.
    • by Charliemopps ( 1157495 ) on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @08:16PM (#48043527)

      They can spin this any way they want, but the only explanation that makes sense is that they were hoping that this operation would at some point lead them to Assange (who had prior contacts with Sabu). Shame on them.

      What's really astonishing is they needed to resort to this despite the billions they've sunk into the NSA and their obvious and complete disregard for even the fundamental principles of law and the constitution.

    • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      The reality is was all about FBI agents with delusions of grandeur of pursuing 'Anonymous' and breaking open of global network of tens of thousands cyber activists. One giant global 'criminal' fishing expedition, with agents so blinded by the idea of becoming special agent super heroes then ended up breaking laws all over the planet without the permission or legal authority of those countries networks they were hacking.

      This brings to mind the recent US proesecution of four individuals and the claims of h

      • One giant global 'criminal' fishing expedition, with agents so blinded by the idea of becoming special agent super heroes then ended up breaking laws all over the planet without the permission or legal authority of those countries networks they were hacking.

        HAHAHAHA. There's no way that this went down without the blessing of the superiors. None. They knew what they were doing, and they did it on purpose.

        • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          Keep in mind wrinkly old scroat types with no idea at all what computers do, how they work, what networks are, just signing off on crap to make it look like they know what they are doing and why they are doing it. The only really actively corrupt department head looking to create his own power base of extortion and blackmail was the NSA guy and that particular delusion was fully expressed in his egoistic startrek command centre. The rest are just peter principle types who have been promoted beyond their ca

    • @lucm: "the only explanation that makes sense is that they were hoping that this operation would at some point lead them to Assange (who had prior contacts with Sabu)"

      The only other explanation being yet another attempt to discredit Assange by linking him to alleged attempts to 'hack' the Icelandic Ministry of Finance.
      • by lucm ( 889690 )

        The only other explanation being yet another attempt to discredit Assange by linking him to alleged attempts to 'hack' the Icelandic Ministry of Finance.

        I would believe that Icelandic matters interest the FSB more than the FBI...

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Sabutage? Was the title of this Slashdot post hacked by the FBI as well? :-/

    • by torsmo ( 1301691 )
      Ha! The irc logs make it look like it was the work of some 16-year olds:

      (10:05:05 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: @danawhite ceo of ufc.com basically challenging us to hack ufc again
      (10:05:12 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: saying we are terrorists
      (10:05:15 PM) yohoho@jabber.ccc.de: lol
      (10:05:16 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: and we can't hack his shit
      (10:05:20 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
      q=cache:wpl8k-4wsVMJ:bars.ufc.com/bar/jbs-sports-bar/fl/us/5560/ufc-rio-/%3Frelease%3D1%26profile%3DiPhone+site:ufc.com+mysql&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
      (10:05:27 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: bars.ufc.com got some sqli
      (10:05:30 PM) yohoho@jabber.ccc.de: hack it again? what's the point
      (10:05:43 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: we didn't hack it in the first place
      (10:05:50 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: t was a dns hijack by some other niggas
      (10:05:58 PM) leondavidson@jabber.org/a12dcd98a30c36c2: the point would be the lulz
      (10:06:30 PM) yohoho@jabber.ccc.de: oh right hah

  • What about Israel? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @07:19PM (#48043177)

    Considering that Israel spies on the United States more than any other ally [mondoweiss.net], I'm surprised they are not on the list.

    • by msauve ( 701917 )
      All aid to Israel should have been stopped the first time we caught them red-handed.
      • by plover ( 150551 )

        All governments spy on each other, and they have since the invention of espionage. And they all know they all spy on each other, too. They just need to exercise the good sense to not get publicly caught. Not getting caught is getting harder in the digital age, as everyone from airports, customs, trucking, retail, and city infrastructure is beefing up their security. They may suck at it, but it makes hiding invisibly that much harder.

        • by msauve ( 701917 )
          Your point is that if all your friends jump off a bridge into shallow water, you should too? Or is it that breaking the rules is fine as long as you don't get caught?
          • by Anonymous Coward

            Your point is that if all your friends jump off a bridge into shallow water, you should too?

            Well, yes [xkcd.com]

            .

      • The sad fact is the government of the USA doesn't have any principles. They always do what's in their short term benefit regardless of long term effects. (ex. the overthrow of the democratic governments of Iran and Iraq, abandoning their ally Syria) So long as Israel can pay off the Americans they upset long enough for them to forget the whole mess the Americans will continue to support them.
    • Considering that Israel spies on the United States more than any other ally, I'm surprised they are not on the list.

      Israel is our extra special hand puppet^W^Wfriend and we would never hack them because we own them and we don't need to hack them. They're doing precisely what we pay them for.

  • What, wait?! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jd ( 1658 ) <imipakNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @07:33PM (#48043267) Homepage Journal

    You mean to tell me that the US doesn't even trust the other Five Eyes nations' spy agencies to be able to do this?*

    *Yes, I know, to get round legal restrictions, it was very normal for the US to spy on the citizens of the other four and to exchange that data for information collected on US citizens by other members of Five Eyes. However, we now know all the agencies DO spy on their own citizens, routinely. So the US can ask GCHQ to wiretap British citizens in Britain, it doesn't need to spy on Britain itself. This behaviour suggests wheels within wheels.

    You mean to tell me that the US isn't all caught up in the US-UK "Special Relationship" stuff?**

    **Most Americans were unaware there even was one and get horribly confused when the British talk about it.

    • RE 'US doesn't even trust the other Five Eyes nations' spy agencies to be able to do this?*"
      Some data is kept private for 5 Eye political leaders and policy formation over decades or longer.
      Some information needs to be laundered in public in the short term to ensure good public relations spin, good news for sock puppets on social media or new public funding for gov/mil.
      The press finds a new story.
  • by Jim Sadler ( 3430529 ) on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @10:11PM (#48043941)
    Grovel you worthless peasants. The King does what you are not allowed to do! We call that freedom. Seems like government for and by the people is total bullshit.

Someday somebody has got to decide whether the typewriter is the machine, or the person who operates it.

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