• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

It is indeed unfortunate and not at all uncommon for the words “former hacker” to be used to describe hackers who have gone on to something else. We understand why a publisher might insist on this in order to dispel any image of criminals being rewarded with book deals. But it should be noted and resisted when they do.

Dear 2600:

I don't know if you can help me, but you released an article by the LoU, so I thought you might know someone who can help. I'm not a hacker - in fact, I'm pretty busy raising my kid - but something has to be done.

In my home state of Arizona, our legislature, governor, and law enforcement have been overrun by neo-Nazi Mormon whack jobs who I am sure are up to no good. Our media has consistently backed off when getting to the dirt. So now our state has become the most backward - even behind Mississippi (no offense) - in the statistics and eyes of the world.

Some items and players: NewTimes newspaper started researching the Maricopa County Sheriff about his financial dealings and, after years of legal battles, the Sheriff ultimately arrested the publisher and suddenly the paper wasn't looking into the issue anymore.

Now the Sheriff's number two guy, Russell Pearce, is our State Senate President. He is the one who enacted SB1070 and is beholden to the LDS, private prison corporations, and is trying to turn anyone who cannot prove their citizenship in this state into a ghost. They won't be able to work, drive, rent, buy, etc.

And, of course, our governor is a puppet to these groups. All of this is available online.

Please help. They need to be hacked!

William

Where do we begin? Well, first off, back in 1999 we joined with various hacker organizations to condemn the idea of hackers being used to wage war against another nation (China, in this case), following some statements by member of the Legions of the Underground (LoU). Not exactly the same as releasing an article by them and sort of the exact opposite. But whatever.

We’re aware of the problems in your state. The case of the newspaper owners being arrested back in 2007 was truly shocking and received a good degree of attention at the time. The newspaper has filed a lawsuit and you can still find many articles challenging the actions of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been condemned globally for everything from human rights abuses to misuse of funds. Meanwhile, the overzealous pursuit and prosecution of those suspected of not having the proper papers is indeed cause for concern. It’s not fair and doesn’t do much for your case to blame this on Mormons, however, as these issues have been points of contention within that community as much as any other. The responsibility lies with all citizens, those who instill such policies along with those who don’t do enough to stop them.

So now we arrive at your final point: that these folks all need to be hacked. Where do people get the idea that this is how problems are solved? Putting a clever slogan on one of their web pages and getting some attention is all fine and good, provided that existing content isn’t destroyed in the process. We’re certainly not opposed to people who know what they’re doing digging in computer systems for evidence of corruption or for those already in the establishment to leak such information to the public. (Of course, there already is ample evidence that’s been exposed, so we have to wonder how much more is needed to turn things around.) But we fear that what you mean (based on your initial reference to the LoU) is a denial of service attack, an action that has got nothing at all to do with hacking and simply is a method of silencing an opponent. This is the best way to gain sympathy for these people. Since their own words tend to come back to haunt them, is it really wise to shut them up? From your perspective, the more they say, the better the chances of people seeing them for who they really are, rather than just making hackers into scapegoats yet again.

Dear 2600:

Sometimes a New York Times web page will load but it will display an annoying pop-up. Often