US Charges Duo Behind 'Anonymous Sudan' For Over 35,000 DDoS Attacks (hackread.com) 33
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Hackread: The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted two Sudanese nationals for their alleged role in operating the hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan. The group claimed fame for conducting "tens of thousands" of large-scale and crippling Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS attacks) targeting critical infrastructure, corporate networks, and government agencies globally. Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, stand accused of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah faces additional charges for damaging protected computers. The duo is believed to have controlled Anonymous Sudan, which, since early 2023, launched attacks on high-profile entities such as ChatGPT, UAE's Flydubai Airline, London Internet Exchange, Microsoft, and the Israeli BAZAN Group.
The group and its clients also utilized the Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT) to conduct over 35,000 DDoS attacks. These attacks targeted sensitive government and critical infrastructure in the U.S. and globally, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, FBI, State Department, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The attacks, which sometimes lasted days, reportedly caused major damage, often crippling websites and networks. For instance, the attack on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center forced the redirection of incoming patients for eight hours, causing over $10 million in damages to U.S. victims.
The group and its clients also utilized the Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT) to conduct over 35,000 DDoS attacks. These attacks targeted sensitive government and critical infrastructure in the U.S. and globally, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, FBI, State Department, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The attacks, which sometimes lasted days, reportedly caused major damage, often crippling websites and networks. For instance, the attack on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center forced the redirection of incoming patients for eight hours, causing over $10 million in damages to U.S. victims.
I get that this is 'regressive' (Score:3)
...but you understand that until the consequence of this is extreme and brutal, these won't stop - right?
I'm talking about something more than just killing them. I'm talking about very much older school levels of punishment before they're ~allowed~ to die.
If we're too civilized to do that, understand that I"m fine with that!
The consequence is that we have to accept that with the internet we simply will eternally have vital infrastructure exposed to assault from awful people around the world. People who have otherwise very little to lose and who are just as smart as the people defending these services.
Re:I get that this is 'regressive' (Score:5, Informative)
Hanging, drawing & quartering or boiling in oil didn't end treason.
And there's a pretty good chance that you'd trigger reprisals from suicide bombers
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Does the US actually have any form of access to them? The US has charged people in Russia and several other countries with cybercrimes, but it is not as though Russia is actually going to extradite them.
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Not directly. But if they leave the country and just happen to appear in a country friendly to the U.S., let's say France, they could be arrested then extradited.
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But it 100% prevents recidivism.
And I don't care about the "but it will cause suicide bombers" threat, that's an excuse for inaction. There always have been and always will be unhappy people that hate us.
Giving them leverage because you're afraid just gives them leverage. It doesn't make them go away. It doesn't make them happy. It certainly won't protect you.
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Giving them a reason to hit back won't protect anyone.
As for "inaction", it's too late, I guess.
The inaction would have been to not meddle in other people's business but for too many Western nations, that ship sailed, crashed, burned & sank a very long time ago.
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Re: I get that this is 'regressive' (Score:4, Insightful)
Kind of hard to. For anybody who wonders why most internet services are highly centralized across just a few providers...well...this is the exact reason. Unless you have access to big expensive data pipes and powerful network hardware, forget about hosting anything.
No matter what your content is, no matter how harmless, big or small, somebody is going to be offended by it. A big lesson from kiwifarms is that hacktivists want -- nay, demand -- that ISPs and infrastructure providers -- or big corporate entities -- act as content police, because ensuring that these services just work and letting the democratically elected government do the policing just isn't enough.
That's exactly what we got. And people wonder why I loathe hacktivism.
That isn't just regressive, it's ineffective (Score:1)
I guess you could use something like the pain ray to keep them in a constant state of agony via medical torture. But again, you'll have people just trying to commit more ex
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multiple studies show harsher punishments don't work. They just make more hardened criminals.
Indeed. America has the world's highest incarceration rate by far. It also has the world's highest recidivism rate.
Within America, there are big variations in incarceration rates between states. Those with harsher sentencing have higher recidivism rates.
There's only one way to stop crime: take care of everyone. Federal jobs, housing and healthcare guarantees.
That has worked nowhere. "The projects" of the 1960s created festering SHs of crime. If giving people free stuff without accountability worked, then Detroit would be the best city in America.
Anyway go watch Trading Places.
You shouldn't try to support your hypothesis by citing works of fic
A lot of it is just voter suppression (Score:3)
In Florida if you lose your voting rights it's basically impossible to get them back. The few people who have have direct co
Re: That isn't just regressive, it's ineffective (Score:2)
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For example, and easily caught crime- petty theft - might have a light sentence because most people know the odds of getting caught are quite high. The odds themselves keep people from doing it.
For crimes that are much harder to catch - think a
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Any time I mention we should be executing rapists, child molesters, animal abusers, and murders, all I hear are excuses from people how that won't work. "We tried it before and nothing happened." "You need to get to the root cause of why they're doing this." "Removing one person won't make a difference."
What makes you think this would be any different?
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"Removing one person won't make a difference."
It will to that person.
And every journey starts with a single step.
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Being on the internet means you are essentially as if you were going for a walk in the worst part of the world's worst city. You are exposing yourself to those with no morals and nothing but time to attack you. Even worse is how little risk it entails on their part. They don't have to worry about you punching back at them, you are completely on the defensive.
Re: I get that this is 'regressive' (Score:2)
Being on the internet means you are essentially as if you were going for a walk in the worst part of the world's worst city.
The internet is more than one place.
You are exposing yourself to those with no morals
You're talking to a guy who believes shoplifting is no big deal even though it's a major cause of food deserts and that the government should be allowed to take anything it wants from anybody without just compensation. He's about as morally bankrupt as the average goon.
and nothing but time to attack you.
He's unemployed, he has more time than anybody else.
Even worse is how little risk it entails on their part. They don't have to worry about you punching back at them, you are completely on the defensive.
There's no actual punching here on slashdot. It's a game of wit, and he comes into it unarmed.
Re: I get that this is 'regressive' (Score:2)
"you understand that until the consequence of this is extreme and brutal, these won't stop - right?"
No, what I understand is that the system of the world which allows some to be massive winners on a scale even they cannot appreciate since they cannot spend their winnings before their deaths also creates losers who lash out against it, and that their only plan (and yours) is for the beatings to continue until morale improves.
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That is bullshit and just an expression of your desire for revenge. Harsher penalties do not prevent crime. The Science is solid on that one.
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Capital punishment 100% prevents recidivism, logic is even MORE solid on that.
Want more?
https://www.americanexperiment... [americanexperiment.org]
"...The reality is that much of the stateâ(TM)s crime is committed by a handful of repeat offenders. "
A small handful sounds like a cullable number to me.
An officer of MN's Bureau of criminal apprehension told me about a dozen years ago that 8 families in MN were responsible for 80% of the crime.
Keep making excuses. That's why we are where we are.
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I'm talking about something more than just killing them. I'm talking about very much older school levels of punishment before they're ~allowed~ to die.
Force them to watch CSPAN?
You clearly don't. (Score:2)
...but you understand that until the consequence of this is extreme and brutal, these won't stop - right?
I'm talking about something more than just killing them. I'm talking about very much older school levels of punishment before they're ~allowed~ to die.
I found the fascist that unironically calls other people fascists.
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FWIW, the effectiveness of punishment for a crime is linked much less to the severity of the punishment than to the probability of being punished. Caught quickly is even more important.
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I fully believe that, I'm assuming that we are already doing the best we can at catching them.
Got confused there for a sec (Score:2)
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It sounds like they targetted hospitals (Score:3)
Either way that's *stupid* and regardless of their intentions yeah, we're gonna have to throw the book at them (assuming they got the right guys, again, don't trust cops, especially when they arrest kids, and 22 is still a kid to us old codgers).
I don't believe in using prison to deter crime, but I do believe in using it to lock up people who can be a genuine danger to the community and this counts.
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The cops are saying terrorists
"Terrorist" means "someone I don't like".
All other meaning has been diluted.
I don't believe in using prison to deter crime, but I do believe in using it to lock up people who can be a genuine danger to the community and this counts.
It was not a violent crime. Just keep them away from computers. Put ankle trackers on them and assign them to clean bedpans in nursing homes for 60 hours per week.
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Current prisons are very poor at reducing crime, because they don't disrupt the social groups that foster it. I'm in favor of greatly reduced sentences, but sentences served in TOTAL isolation (including from the guards). No phones, no internet. Give them an ebook loaded with everything from Project Gutenberg. A deck of cards. That kind of stuff. This, of course, with disrupt "prison industries".
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OK, but podcasts are still something I'd prohibit...unless they were over a decade or so old. The point is (largely) to disrupt current social connections, not to allow existing ones to be continued.
The bots (Score:2)
Those who don't maintain their systems and let them be used as bots should be held accountable also. ISPs that let their customers broadcast ddos attacks should also be held accountable.