Normally when I confront a notorious hacker with connections to their real-life identity, I get fed a bunch of unlikely explanations for why those connections are there ("I was hacked" or "someone stole my account"). But this big-time access broker I profiled in today's story flat out admitted who he was. How refreshing. From the piece: "Most accomplished cybercriminals go out of their way to separate their real names from their hacker handles. But among certain old-school Russian hackers it is not uncommon to find major players who have done little to prevent people from figuring out who they are in real life. A case study in this phenomenon is "x999xx," the nickname chosen by a venerated Russian hacker who specializes in providing the initial network access to various ransomware groups." https://lnkd.in/eGMYeTAu
The reality is that cybercrime is the new warfare. If there were a hacker in the US focused on Russian targets, do we think the FBI or CIA would be helping or hindering their work? The real travesty is that US war machine is so driven by weapons manufacturers that it is spending more money on killing people than cyber counter terrorism.
"On the Russian crime forums, x999xx said he never targets anything or anyone in Russia, and that he has little to fear from domestic law enforcement agencies provided he remains focused on foreign adversaries." Russia has been attacking the U.S. for decades. Time to wake up folks.
Peter Ashley
6d
Hackers are making millions and billions in our information and economic systems, and yet they are making no money in our political system. The contrast seems odd.
Yes, that's why I keep, all my devices safe with Norton lifelock 360 24/7
x999xx has the "freedom" to live his best life out in the open. He is living under the protection of a despot who funds any nation-state that collaborates with Russian security agencies. The value that a blue-chip hacker brings to Putin's coffers is many times worth the cover (i.e. will never be renditioned/extradited, possibly has a security detail) provided by the Russian state.
Max Solonski
6d
Out of the way? He left traces everywhere.
Amy Chaney
6d
As a hacker-tracker; it is easier to be recognizable when your government 🐻 provides aircover in the form of willful blindness or appreciation 👏 of the craft. 💣
Fascinating read! Transparency in the world of hacking is a rare find. Authenticity is key, even in unexpected places. Brian Krebs
My Ph.D. reimagines the process space to increase security 10x. If you're into Intel's Software Guard Extensions (SGX), cybersecurity, secure computing, trusted enclaves, I'd love to connect.
6dGreat article Brian Krebs. A quote from an important passage…. “On the Russian crime forums, x999xx said he never targets anything or anyone in Russia, and that he has little to fear from domestic law enforcement agencies provided he remains focused on foreign adversaries.”