American hacker Jester warns Russia to stop interfering with U.S. election

[Krank]

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/jester-hacks-russian-ministry/

[Catonahottinroof]

I wouldn't threaten the Russians about much of anything if I was him. They don't settle scores the politically correct way.
And no matter how they come to light, if it was the Russians or not, it still doesn't change what the content of the emails is. It would be nice to have the Trump dirt too.

[Krank]

To me, it is less important (although certainly important, nonetheless), whose dirt gets exposed, but more so that the Russians have hacked into US so often.

I posted it because I found it interesting that this guy is taking such chances and that he has apparently been able to help OUR government be aware of what the Russians are doing, but also in his efforts to expose online terrorist stuff.

The whole rogue nature of such a hacker is fascinating, if not a bit disturbing, simply because it would seem he is one of the good ones, concerned about the USA, etc., but it also reminds that there are also not so good ones. What THEY might do strikes a cautionary note.

[CitizenBBN]

I have very serious doubts that the Russians are trying to get Trump elected over Hillary. Putin has a direct financial relationship with the Clintons and even if he thought HRC would be more likely to push the cold war, he could surely come to some accommodation with them.

It's more likely that this is the work of Russian BASED hackers more than Russian hackers working on behalf of the Russian government. There's a lot of that sort of thing going on there and in China.

If they are and Putin is behind it then something has gone sideways in their deals. Personally I really doubt it. Putin is a guy who plays ball, the Clintons play ball. Putin is trying to build a global natural resources base of influence and the Clintons played ball with it. The only reason he would change is if they fell out over some deal or he fears the Clintons will pose a threat to his moves by making those moves themselves.

[Doc]

To me, it is less important (although certainly important, nonetheless), whose dirt gets exposed, but more so that the Russians have hacked into US so often.

I posted it because I found it interesting that this guy is taking such chances and that he has apparently been able to help OUR government be aware of what the Russians are doing, but also in his efforts to expose online terrorist stuff.

The whole rogue nature of such a hacker is fascinating, if not a bit disturbing, simply because it would seem he is one of the good ones, concerned about the USA, etc., but it also reminds that there are also not so good ones. What THEY might do strikes a cautionary note.

I'm concerned on several levels. First and foremost, I'm concerned about national security. Foreign governments ability to hack into our system concerns me. I DO NOT BLAME THE RUSSIANS FOR DOING SO. Heck, if the USA is able to hack into Russia then we by all means should! We would be foolish not to. The issue of hacking into our files, mail, etc falls on us. That is why we have security measures, including protocols for handling classified material. The purpose is to prevent hacking. We have agencies within our government who are designed to do exactly what Russia is accused of doing so let's not have any faux outrage against them for something we do as part of our national security.

As for the content of the mail, I find that less concerning because it no shock or surprise. Was I surprised that the Democrats sent thugs to Trump rallies to instigate violence so they could blame Trump? Not in the least. All it did was confirm want was suspected. Am I shocked at any of the other revelations? Not even slightly.

[KeithKSR]

If the Russians had a preference it would be for Hillary, there world presence has grown exponentially since the US-Russian relations were reset by Hillary and Obama.

[CGWildcat]

I've followed Jester on Twitter for a couple years now. Whomever he is, he appears to be no joke by any means. What's more, by all appearances he is one of the Good guys in the hacker world.

[Krank]

I've followed Jester on Twitter for a couple years now. Whomever he is, he appears to be no joke by any means. What's more, by all appearances he is one of the Good guys in the hacker world.

That's good to hear. I was hoping that was the case, which is the primary reason I started this thread.

You ever worry about a hacker with just as much ability, but being NOT one of the good guys?

[PedroDaGr8]

That's good to hear. I was hoping that was the case, which is the primary reason I started this thread.

You ever worry about a hacker with just as much ability, but being NOT one of the good guys?

They exist, China has an exceptional set of hackers that make some really incredible hacks. They tend to be very business focused, committing industrial espionage for well connected Chinese companies. That being said, make no mistake they are damn good. China has been doing a good job of updating their creativity game. The industrial center of Shenzen is one of the most creative places in the world; where a neo-capitoan-archist style of culture exists when it comes to businesses. Everyone steals from everyone, everyone works damn hard to be creative and people help each other out incredibly hard. Nobody owns a design, you grab parts from anywhere and build what you can to do what you want. It takes on many ultra-capitalist and libertarian aspects while at the same time combining them with the beneficial social aspects of communism and Confuciusism. I have many friends who live there and it is basically Silicon Valley in the 1960s-80s but times 100x. I really regret that I don't know Chinese, much of the modern electronics hobby stuff is going HEAVY on chinese boards like bbs.38hot.net. Make no mistake, these are not kids tinkering around (though some are), we are talking about people involved on the cutting edge of creativity and their hobby. Often times now, instead of stuff migrating from western inventors over to chinese sites, the reverse is happening. People are translating important discoveries and inventions from sites like bbs.38hot and bringing them over to the western sites. This is a HUGE fundamental shift and one that does not bode well for western superiority in STEM fields.

That being said, the best hackers appear to work for the USA and/or Israel. The group that made the Stuxnet, Flame. Duqu, etc. Was doing stuff that other nation states are just starting to do now and was doing them a decade or more ago. It is mind-blowing how advanced their hacking ability is and how creative their programs are and those are just the ones that you can detect. One of the recent programs that was discovered will actually trash itself, if it detects that it is discovered. Any attempt at discovery and it just disappears from the machine. So there is no telling how many undiscovered programs that there are.

[Krank]

They exist, China has an exceptional set of hackers that make some really incredible hacks. They tend to be very business focused, committing industrial espionage for well connected Chinese companies. That being said, make no mistake they are damn good. China has been doing a good job of updating their creativity game. The industrial center of Shenzen is one of the most creative places in the world; where a neo-capitoan-archist style of culture exists when it comes to businesses. Everyone steals from everyone, everyone works damn hard to be creative and people help each other out incredibly hard. Nobody owns a design, you grab parts from anywhere and build what you can to do what you want. It takes on many ultra-capitalist and libertarian aspects while at the same time combining them with the beneficial social aspects of communism and Confuciusism. I have many friends who live there and it is basically Silicon Valley in the 1960s-80s but times 100x. I really regret that I don't know Chinese, much of the modern electronics hobby stuff is going HEAVY on chinese boards like bbs.38hot.net. Make no mistake, these are not kids tinkering around (though some are), we are talking about people involved on the cutting edge of creativity and their hobby. Often times now, instead of stuff migrating from western inventors over to chinese sites, the reverse is happening. People are translating important discoveries and inventions from sites like bbs.38hot and bringing them over to the western sites. This is a HUGE fundamental shift and one that does not bode well for western superiority in STEM fields.

That being said, the best hackers appear to work for the USA and/or Israel. The group that made the Stuxnet, Flame. Duqu, etc. Was doing stuff that other nation states are just starting to do now and was doing them a decade or more ago. It is mind-blowing how advanced their hacking ability is and how creative their programs are and those are just the ones that you can detect. One of the recent programs that was discovered will actually trash itself, if it detects that it is discovered. Any attempt at discovery and it just disappears from the machine. So there is no telling how many undiscovered programs that there are.

Thanks a ton for the perspective, info, and opinion, Pedro.

It's all fairly hard for me to relate to, but fascinating.