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Hacker Admits To Scientology DDoS Attack
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Oct 18, 2008 10:19 AM
from the may-xenu-protect-you dept.
from the may-xenu-protect-you dept.
lbwbl writes with news that a New Jersey man will plead guilty to one felony count of 'unauthorized impairment of a protected computer' for his distributed denial of service attacks on Scientology websites as part of 'Anonymous' earlier this year. From Wired:
"He faces a likely sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison based on stipulations in his plea agreement, which also obliges him to pay $37,500 in restitution. ... Friday's case, in US District Court in Los Angeles, marks the first prosecution of an Anonymous member for a series of attacks against the Church of Scientology that began in mid-January. The secretive religious group strayed into Anonymous' sights after trying to suppress the publication of a creepy Tom Cruise video produced for Scientology members."
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Internet Group Declares War on Scientology 891 comments
Darkman, Walkin Dude writes "An internet group calling itself Anonymous has declared war on the Church of Scientology, in the form of an ominous posting to the YouTube site. 'In the statement, the group explained their goal as safeguarding the right to freedom of speech. "A spokesperson said that the group's goals include bringing an end to the financial exploitation of Church members and protecting the right to free speech, a right which they claim was consistently violated by the Church of Scientology in pursuit of its opponents." The press release also claimed that the Church of Scientology misused copyright and trademark law in order to remove criticism from websites including Digg and YouTube. The statement goes on to assert that the attacks from the group "will continue until the Church of Scientology reacts, at which point they will change strategy".' It should be noted that Slashdot users have had interactions with Scientology in the past as well."
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scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Funny)
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Interesting)
Will someone help protect me against the free-trade exploit tool (DMCA takedown notice) that I'm told the church would use against me if/when I try to sell my E-meter on Ebay?
The E-meter isn't a fake or an unauthorized copy.
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember a chapter in a text for a health class in junior high school. The topic was "Quacks," and the direction was to "beware of them." I remember being interested in the first view of doctors I'd seen that didn't portray them as completely trustworthy and somehow authoritarian.
One section described a particularly heinous form of quackery that involved "gizmos purported to measure the electrical charge on the surface of the skin." This seemed outrageous to me. Electricity on the skin??? Obviously this was a big-time scam. These gizmos were obviously fakes; I could tell just by reading the damning text and staring at the weird black and white photos.
I thought about this from time to time as I grew up, especially when I learned about the vast array of electrical charges and how ubiquitous electricity is. I still held onto this strange form of pity for those who had fallen for the scams of these quacks and their bogus gizmos. Something about the tone of the textbook made the whole thing seem very dangerous, e.g., there were people spending all of their money on something that couldn't possibly work. And what if they had a serious ailment which was being ignored in favor of the, the ... quackery !!!
Well, a few years ago, when the Scientology documents were exposed to the public, I perused them out of curiosity. Even though I knew about Xenu, I was still surprised to see it all there in print. Then I ran across the man's story of getting to some advanced Thetan level, and he described the self-auditing with the e-meter. Something in his narrative caused the neurons in my own brain to fire just so, and I realized that this was what was being described in the textbook.
I think it would be interesting to research how detectable electrical currents in the human body relate to physical, mental, even emotional processes. I believe it's dangerous to toss around half-baked notions of the same, in exchange for money and time, based on the ramblings of a science fiction author on alcohol and barbiturates.
I mean, the guy should have been on psilocybin, or mescaline. Alcohol and other depressants are cruel drugs.
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:4, Informative)
Well, a few years ago, when the Scientology documents were exposed to the public, I perused them out of curiosity. Even though I knew about Xenu, I was still surprised to see it all there in print. Then I ran across the man's story of getting to some advanced Thetan level, and he described the self-auditing with the e-meter. Something in his narrative caused the neurons in my own brain to fire just so, and I realized that this was what was being described in the textbook.
I think it would be interesting to research how detectable electrical currents in the human body relate to physical, mental, even emotional processes.
The E-meter isn't about anything as weird as trying to pick up signal currents in the body (at least not the model I have from about 30 years ago). It's just a resistance bridge, a device with a meter that can show small changes in resistance (inverse of conductivity). One puts a juice can in each hand and tensing of the grip and/or changes in perspiration cause a measurable shift as one responds to questions etc. It's basically doing just one of the things a so-called lie-detector does.
I was never a member of the church. I guess I should dig out the various booklets that are with the E-meter to see just how they used it. It's probably helpful in telling if someone has been successfully brainwashed or is holding back during questioning LOL.
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Funny)
Sample E-meter questioning:
Holden: You're in a desert, walking along in the sand when all of the sudden-
Leon: Is this the test now?
Holden: Yes. You're in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down-
Leon: What one?
Holden: What?
Leon: What desert?
Holden: It doesn't make any difference what desert, it's completely hypothetical.
Leon: But how come I'd be there?
Holden: Maybe you're fed up, maybe you want to be by yourself, who knows? You look down and you see a tortoise, Leon, it's crawling toward you-
Leon: Tortoise, what's that?
Holden: Know what a turtle is?
Leon: Of course.
Holden: Same thing.
Leon: I've never seen a turtle. (pause) But I understand what you mean.
Holden: You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back Leon.
Leon: Do you make up these questions, Mr. Holden, or do they write them down for you?
Holden: The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun beating its legs trying to turn itself over but it can't, not without your help, but you're not helping.
Leon: What do you mean I'm not helping?
Holden: I mean, you're not helping. Why is that Leon? (pause) They're just questions, Leon. In answer to your query, they're written down for me. It's a test, designed to provoke an emotional response. (pause) Shall we continue? Describe in single words, only the good things that come in to your mind about: your mother.
Leon: My mother?
Holden: Yeah.
Leon: Let me tell you about my mother. (shot fired)
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Informative)
The major technical difference between the earlier models and later models is the introduction of the transistor vs the use of vacuum tubes.
Patents by Mathison
Patent number: 2684670
Filing date: Aug 1, 1951
http://www.google.com/patents?id=L7tDAAAAEBAJ [google.com]
Patent number: 2810383
Filing date: Sep 1, 1954
http://www.google.com/patents?id=mXVLAAAAEBAJ [google.com]
Patent number: 2799269
Filing date: Feb 7, 1956
http://www.google.com/patents?id=wxNbAAAAEBAJ [google.com]
Patents by Hubbard
Patent number: 3290589
Filing date: Jun 7, 1965
http://www.google.com/patents?id=OVpxAAAAEBAJ& [google.com]
Patent number: D264877
Filing date: Mar 8, 1979
http://www.google.com/patents?id=pAMqAAAAEBAJ [google.com]
Patent number: 4459995
Filing date: Sep 22, 1981
http://www.google.com/patents?id=YYsxAAAAEBAJ [google.com]
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:5, Informative)
This is happening. http://www.whyweprotest.net. DO IT NOW.
Parent
Re:scientology needs a worldwide campaign launched (Score:4, Funny)
Good deal. That Anonymous guy has been all over slashdot for years. He's a total racist.
Parent
Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
But what counts as "Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer"?
DRM that stops your OS or drives from working properly?
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
But what counts as "Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer"?
DRM that stops your OS or drives from working properly?
No, because DRM is installed by corporations, not a person.
Parent
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Don't be silly, corporations ain't no people, there are some minimal requirements like a heart and minimal morality.
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
maybe corporate crimes should be prosecuted using the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act.
people use corporations to protect themselves against legal liability in case they are sued or otherwise break the law. this is similar to how mafia bosses distance themselves from the criminal activities they profit from in an attempt to buffer themselves from potential legal repercussions.
the military chain of command and other hierarchical organizations also have a similar effect of absolving personal responsibility. but when people are not held accountable for their own actions (including ordering unethical actions or authorizing criminal activities) this encourages corruption and has facilitated many injustices and atrocities in human history.
Parent
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:4, Informative)
Which wasn't the original idea behind a "Limited Liability Corporation" in the first place. That was that investors would have their financial liability limited to amount they had invested. Whilst they might end up with stock/share certificates which were effectivly worthless they would have no financial liability. Shareholders would be last on the list of creditors. Which whilst this might mean they would lose their money in the case of a failed business they could still get their money back (even make a profit) where one to cease trading whilst profitable.
The idea that a corporation must exist for a long period of time, together with the idea of a corporation protecting its executives from their actions are more recent "innovations".
Parent
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:4, Insightful)
Corporations are persons in the legal sense.
No they aren't; corporations cannot vote and they have an unlimited lifespan. They cannot be jailed.
The corporation is a legal entity to shield shareholders from some liability (both criminally and from civilly), and provide a common entity to direct. Nothing more.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Suffrage isn't intrinsic to legal personhood. Many people have been and are denied the right to vote. If you're in the United States, then corporations are extended many constitutional protections that "persons" enjoy. If you're in a different country, it varies. Generally, corporations can own property, be party to contracts, initiate lawsuits, and are required to pay taxes. All of these are common to your garden-variety person (except women, children, or minorities in various places and times.)
See als
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
1~1.5 YEARS in prison for a relatively minor script kiddie DDOS? Thats way way WAY too harsh. He would have got less if he went their climbed up the pole and manually cut their connection. Thats WITH a plea. Totally not fair.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
If you honestly believe a person deserves 1.5 years in prison for this you're damaged. It was some kid doing what amounts to vandalism. ANY amount of prison is overkill and more damaging to society then helpful. He should get probation at worst, a fine and community service.
You honestly have no grasp of justice if a year and a half of your life is the price to pay for shutting down a website for a day. I'm guessing you're the kind who would put a highschool kid in jail for a year for taking a bat to a mailbox too eh?
Punishment must fit the crime.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Regardless of if it is a "minor script kiddie DDOS" or not, it was disruptive. Let's take out who the actual recipient of the DDOS was and put in another organization, such as Amnesty International, just for the sake of argument. Would it have been ok to DDOS Amnesty for whatever purpose? Remember, if you don't treat everyone the same (allowing for due processes and the court of law) you don't have justice.
Now to take a look at the "script kiddie" aspect of the argument. Spammers are not that sophisticated,
Re:Unauthorized impairment of a protected computer (Score:5, Insightful)
Script kiddies are still script kiddies. I don't feel any sympathy for him just because it was Scientology he attacked. It's good to see that anonymous have put their initial tactics behind them (ie. attacking websites) in favor of organised protests instead. Global protests with hundreds of people holding placards is both more effective *and* lets them keep the moral highground.
Parent
Anonymous (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess they're not as anonymous as they thought. This anti-scientology campaign is well meant, but they should really try harder not to get caught.
Re:Anonymous (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, and sues all too.
Parent
Re:Anonymous (Score:5, Insightful)
Or they could just stay on the legal side of the line. I know a guy who protested outside of a scientology center and as far as I'm concerned there's nothing illegal about that. You could go around handing out flyers explaining to people who you view Scientology as dangerous and still not get arrested. Encourage televised debates about it in a public forum and take it to them there.
You don't need to try and not get caught if you're not doing anything illegal to start with. If the CoS tries to get you arrested for peaceful protesting they'll be the ones that end up looking like assholes.
Parent
Re:Anonymous (Score:4, Insightful)
If the CoS tries to get you arrested for peaceful protesting they'll be the ones that end up looking like assholes.
Judging from their past behavior, I'd say they don't give a damn if they look like assholes.
Parent
Re:Anonymous (Score:5, Informative)
You don't need to try and not get caught if you're not doing anything illegal to start with. If the CoS tries to get you arrested for peaceful protesting they'll be the ones that end up looking like assholes.
Keith Henson [wikipedia.org] wasn't that lucky.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You must not be familiar with the XenuTV channel on Youtube. People stage protests around Scientology facilities all the time, and because Scientolog has such deep pockets, they've paid off the local cops to not enforce laws when the Scientology thugs start fucking with the protesters.
The entire police force for the city of Clearwater is owned by the church. They've got video of Scientologists destroying video cameras, and the cops just say things like, "Your camera collided with his fist, that's not a cr
Actually... (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually, I doubt that any campaign needs this kind of an asshat in the first place. It just creates the image of Scientology being the innocent victims, and their opponents being a bunch of criminals. We can do without that kind of making martyrs.
E.g., no offense, but you seem to do that generalization yourself when you paint the whole campaign as needing to try to not get caught. I'm not saying that to pick on you, but just to illustrate the kind of association that gets made. If even you, presumably a smart guy, fall for that kind of guilt by association, imagine how much easier that is for someone who understands computers and scientology even less.
Seriously, read any advocacy FAQ (e.g., start with the Linux one) and you'll see that all progress is actually made by the people who keep a professional and helpful attitude about it. Rabid zealots and asshat script kiddies are the kind you _don't_ want your movement to be associated with, because it ruins your whole credibility. That kind of "friends" are literally worse than your enemies.
And in this case it also ruins the whole moral high ground aspect. This guy infected (or help create a market for infecting) a bunch of innocent people's computers, and stuffed their internet connection to do his DDOS attack. That's actual harm done to innocents. It's an evil act. Once you show that kind of lack of morals or of respect for your fellow human, you just don't have a high ground from which to look down upon scientology.
If you will, it's a bit like reading about Mao denouncing the Soviet Union leaders. You're not inclined to rally on his side, because he's an evil fuck himself. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is still a sociopathic prick.
Parent
Re:This anti-scientology campaign is well meant (Score:5, Insightful)
Erm last time i checked anonymous didnt:
*use copyright law to prevent any embaresing details being released about them
*get its members to discomuniacte from others who disagree with their teaching/methods
*get tax discounts for being a registerd church
*break into federal offices
*get people arrested for crimes they didn't commit
*not have cake
Infact while anonymous may act like a bunch of twats (although they often use the slogan "one of us, isn't as dumb as all of us" or something like that to cover there asses) other than breaking the law they are nothing like Scientology.
Parent
Re:This anti-scientology campaign is well meant (Score:5, Funny)
Just tryin' to help out.
Parent
Re:This anti-scientology campaign is well meant (Score:4, Funny)
'a registurd church'.
I would've went with 'a registard church'.
Parent
Re:This anti-scientology campaign is well meant (Score:5, Insightful)
Some members of Anonymous are just assholes this guy is one example. allot of asshats are jumping on the Anonymous bandwagon just to do things like this.
As an enemy of this vicious cult im glad this asshole got caught, You can't say you oppose something due to it's opposition of free-speech, morals, illegal activity ect by committing the exact same offences against it.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What are the results from my Bayesian troll filter:
* lie, they "do not hurt anyone" - check
* contradiction, they are a "group nobody pays attention to" but they have "grown in ridiculous numbers" - check
* straw man argument, citing Heavens Gate and gang warfare - check
* invoking Godwins Law by mentioning Nazis - check
* mentioning vi or emacs - negative
Troll rating 4/5 - post rejected.
Phillip.
Re:This anti-scientology campaign is well meant (Score:5, Insightful)
i guess you could say Joe McCarthy meant well in the same sense that the church meant well during the Spanish Inquisition or Salem witch trials.
Parent
Your Rights Online? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Your Rights Online? (Score:4, Interesting)
You can also be arrested for creating a public nuisance.
Parent
my take on anonymous vs scientology (Score:3, Insightful)
a bunch of foolish kids with nothing better to do than form a mob, and be outraged at the freedom to be foolish and join another mob.
irony floats off, unnoticed.
Re:my take on anonymous vs scientology (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, but if you don't have the freedom to give up your freedom, then that's not freedom!
Anonymous Script Kiddies (Score:5, Interesting)
business practices (Score:5, Funny)
Join the just founded Roflology. we believe that God, who actually DID create the earth, was in turn created by a being named GLaDOS, an artificial intelligence from the future which traveled back in time, to the moment before time was about to be created. since then, many men are being born with a device attached to the inside of their noses called the Super-Human-Inhibition-Transponder, which, as the name suggests, inhibits superhuman abilities that men actually possess, like reading minds, seeing into the future and doing the dishes. This device powers itself from the resonant properties of metal threads in paper sheets, which come disguised as dollar or euro bills.
Roflology promises to help you regain your superhuman abilities. The first step is to store your money in a safe place, where it can't hurt you. The second step is a 120 years training process, which helps you to achieve immortality. Once you can no longer die, there follows another 50 years of training (piece of cake for an immortal), until superhuman qualities emerge. As a finale, you will receive a certificate and a little present.
Do one of our tests today to find out whether you are full of S.H.I.T.!
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:business practices (Score:4, Insightful)
> scientology is not a religion, it's a business. if you want to drive them out of
> business, compete with them. make up a story that is even crazier...
How about one that involves priests who can magically transform cookies into human flesh which the followers then eat? Think that would fly?
Parent
Alternate Methods (Score:4, Informative)
To the best of my knowledge, the DDOS attacks stopped in January. The people who are currently protesting are not using those methods.
You can check out what they are up to at
http://forums.scientology-exposed.com/ [scientology-exposed.com]
http://forums.whyweprotest.net/ [whyweprotest.net]
To find out why people are still protesting start reading the stories here
http://www.forum.exscn.net/forumdisplay.php?f=2 [exscn.net]
http://www.exscientologykids.com/voicesinunison.html [exscientologykids.com]
Former scientologists are finally starting to have the courage to speak out and need to be supported.
In my home town alone, a former scientologist's apartment has been broken into & had file boxes stolen (left the TV, DVDs & laptop), slashed her car tires, cut the wires in her car (including the brake lights), ran her off the road, stalked her at the neighborhood swimming pool & tried to intimidate her there with her kids, have been trying to mentally fuck with her by turning off her circuit breakers for her apartment, have had vans & PIs staking out her home & following her.
These are not nice people. They need to be exposed.
cruel and unusual? (Score:4, Insightful)
Meh. (Score:3, Interesting)
Aside from the obvious fact that Scientology is a cult, I really wish they'd stop referring to fucking packet kiddies as 'hackers'. Most of them (and I'll bet this kid is no different) don't even fall in line with the definition of cracker or hacker. They're just children with buttons.
Re:Link to creepy Tom Cruise video (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Link to creepy Tom Cruise video (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone have a link to the creepy Tom Cruise video?
You're going to have to be more specific.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Scientology is bad compared to...?
Sanity.