Kimberlin Unmasked Suffers DDOS Attack: "Team Kimberlin" Suspected

Yesterday Kimberlin Unmasked (KU) emailed me, saying he couldn't log onto his site, Kimberlinunmasked.com.  I tried, and couldn't log on either.  I immediately suspected a DDOS attack.  KU contacted his web host and they confirmed it was indeed a DDOS attack (a "distributed denial of service" attack).  In a couple of hours, the web host was able to terminate the DDOS attack and service was restored.

A DDOS attack is when hackers direct many computers (and/or special programs) at a targeted website, all of them requesting to log on to that site.  The website is overwhelmed with these requests and traffic either slows noticeably or just shuts down.  Hackers create "bot nets" by infecting computers all over the world with trojan programs, without the knowledge of the computer owners.  Those infected computers can then be directed to send service requests to the target, knocking it off line.

The purpose of a DDOS attack is to shut down the targeted website, so that no one can log on or view the site.  The group of cyber-goons known as "Anonymous" have used DDOS attacks against banks and other commercial websites, costing the owners millions of dollars in lost revenue.  DDOS attacks are illegal, of course, and perpetrators have been sentenced to prison terms.

Brett Kimberlin, the convicted Speedway bomber, perjurer and drug kingpin, is the subject of Kimberlinunmasked.com.  All it does is reveal Kimberlin's criminal past and current unethical behavior, e.g., filing frivolous lawsuits against critics to cost them time and money defending such suits.  KU also criticizes and satirizes Kimberlin's supporters and yes-men, like Bill Schmalfeldt and Neal Rauhauser.  However, the KU site greatly angers Brett Kimberlin and his followers and fans.  The fact that KU's blogger is anonymous and unknown is particularly galling to Brett Kimberlin, as it has prevented him from serving that blogger with Kimberlin's latest lawsuit.  According to KU, the deadline for serving KU in Brett's RICO lawsuit expired yesterday.

Kimberlin, of course, has plausible denial of any knowledge of the DDOS attack, as it could have been initiated by one of his fans acting on his own and without Kimberlin's knowledge or approval.  Kimberlin's involvement in the crime cannot be assumed.

Kimberlin Unmasked has suffered aggressive and ruthless tactics by Kimberlin's minions, including an unwarranted take-down of the KU blogger blog site and the closing of KU twitter accounts, all based on false and phony accusations -- both Blogger and Twitter simply take a complainant's word for it when they accuse a site of Terms of Service violations, without any attempt to confirm the accuracy of the charges.  It then becomes the site owner's obligation to prove the accusations are false, while his site or Twitter account remain offline for weeks at a time.

These tactics are ruthless, unethical, probably illegal, and might qualify as harassment in any legal proceedings against the accusers.

I suppose the only good thing in the harassment directed against Kimberlin Unmasked, is that it proves his effectivemenss in exposing Kimberlin's unsavory practices and past.

Disclosures:
1.  Photoshopped photo of Brett Kimberlin found on the web; Fair Use Claimed under US Copyright Laws
2.  The term "Team Kimberlin" is short hand for certain fans and followers of Brett Kimberlin who may act on Kimberlin's behalf, with or without his knowledge or permission.
3.  Only a court of law can determine the guilt or innocence of any person, and guilt for any crime can not be assumed.  Every suspect of a crime is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
4.  I do not know the identity, gender or location of the blogger known as "Kimberlin Unmasked," nor do I wish to know, for his or her protection.

I Finish Parmy Olson's Book on "Anonymous"; Some Observations

"Anonymous" Logo

Parmy Olson's book on "Anonymous" and "Lulzsec" is an excellent piece of research, expertly written and very entertaining as well as educational.  The full title and Amazon link are here:  We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency.

The myth of "Anonymous" is that they are without a leadership or an organizational structure, but for most of their huge, well-publicized cyber-crimes, they did indeed have a leadership and a structure.  Such things naturally evolve in any undertaking, and there were six top hackers who selected targets and planned operations.  All but one of these top hackers is now in the penal system, which destroys another "Anonymous" myth, that they are unstoppable and untraceable.

The top echelon of "Anonymous" met in online IRC channels, often hosted on a server owned by one of the six.  The minions supporting Anonymous were thousands of wannabe hackers of various skills, unknown nerds in chat rooms and IRC channels who were made to feel that they were part of the big cyber insurgency, by supporting operations against targeted websites, personalities, organizations and companies.  The cyber-peasantry were advised to use downloadable programs like LOIC, or "Low Orbit Ion Cannon," an open-source, free program that is allegedly designed for stress-testing websites.  LOIC is used to send large numbers of packets of information to websites, overloading their ability to receive such information and slowing or stopping online access to the website, effectively shutting out users who want to log on.  This kind of attack is called a "Denial of Service" (DOS) attack, and can deny commercial websites customer traffic, resulting in lost revenues, sometimes in the millions of dollars.  (The "Anonymous" DOS attacks relied mainly on the use of botnets -- the LOIC users contributed only marginally to the efforts.)

I attempted to download LOIC to see what it was all about, but my virus checker warned me away, stating that the program contains a trojan.  Don't download it.

The Anonymous wannabes who used the program to join in Anonymous DOS attacks were told that their use of the program couldn't be traced back to them.  That information was wrong, and around 15 of these followers were subsequently traced and arrested.  One of them, who participated in the attack on Scientology web servers, was ordered to pay $15,000 in damages and serve a year in jail.  So much for being "anonymous."

DOS attacks are only one form of cyber-crime.  The top six hackers received information from other hackers advising them of vulnerabilities in the websites of companies and government.  Using a method called "SQL Insertion," hackers could take over entire websites with administrator capabilities, downloading databases containing credit card numbers, user passwords, and private emails containing sensitive and private information.  The hackers would then either sell the information, or simply post it for public view, using the website pastebin, or a website for bit torrent downloads like Pirate Bay.

Finally, after stealing this valuable information, the targeted websites were defaced, with a message page substituted for the website's main page, containing images and slogans from "Anonymous."  The ultimate final step was to delete all other contents of the website, destroying it completely.  These various tactics were used against major websites like Visa, MasterCard, Paypal, Sony and even an entity of the FBI.

There is no higher purpose for this destruction, no grand design, no noble ideal, no core ideology or philosophy.  These cyber-thugs seek the destruction of both individuals and organizations simply for thrills, for the feeling of power it gives, and for recognition from their sick peer group.  They are like graffiti taggers, defacing property for recognition and respect from fellow criminals, or in the worst case, like gang members who murder random individuals to prove their worth to the group.  "Anonymous" didn't murder anyone, but they delight in the ruthless destruction of individual lives and reputations.

"Anonymous" members like to brag about their "hive mind," in which thousands of similarly deluded individuals are committed to a massive act of destruction.  The description is apt.  An anonymous bunch of thugs take on the well-known psychology of the mob, the group-think, the veil of anonymity that allows the worst aspects of human nature to emerge without fear of retribution:  cruelty, viciousness, a complete lack of empathy for other human beings.  Whatever "Anonymous" members think of themselves, "heroes" they are not.

Blog Break: Devouring a Great Book

Sorry for the lack of posting recently.

For the past three days I have been immersing myself in Parmy Olson's great book, We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency.

The book is all about computer hackers and "hactivists" (hackers who are activists), their crimes, their methods, their websites, their software tools.  There are cyber world villains (Anonymous) as well as heroes, e.g. Jennifer Emick and The Jester, "white hat" hackers who have worked hard to discover the identities of cyber-criminals and bring them to justice.  Some of the top echelon of "Anonymous" are now cooling their heels in the Graybar Hotel thanks to Emick and her firm, Backtrace Security.

I am creating bookmarks to websites, forums and news articles that deal with the criminal hackers and have made a new goal for myself, to learn as much as I can about them for the purpose of fighting them.

So I am sitting here enjoying a warm cup of coffee, looking through the sliding glass doors into my damp backyard.  It is an overcast, rainy day -- a great day for reading a great book.

SMASH ANONYMOUS (twitter feed #anonymous)

"Anonymous" is an international network of anarchist computer hackers who hate western civilization, capitalism and Israel.  Like most leftists, they instinctively side with whatever evil exists in the world and oppose justice and the rule of law.  In short, they are cyber criminals who, like any organized crime syndicate, must be taken down.

Currently, this loosely-knit group have targeted the State of Israel, opposing Israel's defensive efforts against unending warfare directed against it by Hamas and other followers of the anti-Semitic death cult known as Islam.

For conservatives, "Anonymous" is a natural enemy and we should oppose it vigorously.  We need to develop our own computer hacker force, not to create crime, but to uncover it.  We must constantly track and trace this evil force, identify its members, methods and websites, and bring them to justice.

I have created the above graphic, "Smash Anonymous."  Feel free to use it on your blogs and websites.

"Anonymous" has a slogan.  It goes:

We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.

To which I reply:

Anonymous:  You are scum.  You are criminals.  Expect a counter thrust.  We are coming for you.  Expect us.

Note:  A related hacker group, similar to Anonymous, was known as LulzSec.  It was started by the top hackers in Anonymous and can be viewed as merely another arm of same.  It was taken down by authorities after an indicted member revealed the identities of the other members in a plea deal. Although difficult, it is not impossible to track, identify and prosecute criminal hackers.  It has been done and the efforts to identify these criminals are increasingly effective.

Bitch-Slapping "Anonymous"

I have been enjoying myself this morning, fighting with "Anonymous" punks at the Other McCain's post on that same creepshow.  Check out the messages at "Thugs of a Feather:  #Anonymous Supports Hamas Terrorists Against Israel."

My comments to these do-rag wearing trash are not intended to be sagacious, insightful political analysis.  They are merely intended to insult, belittle and wound the Anonymous commenters.  Bitch-slapping can be fun!

Why did I bother?  Because it's fun.  Because I am so mentally superior to these purveyors of evil and it is fun to prove it.  I like making damn fools look like damn fools.  Also, there is absolutely no chance that these human canker-sores are amenable to reason or facts.  So I torture them instead.

Screw "Anonymous."

Update:  It appears the mama's-basement dwelling scum have launched a "denial of service" attack against The Other McCain.  Right now I cannot log onto that site as a result.

We need build our own team of hackers, to track down, disclose and prosecute these scum.

Update:  Wombat, one of McCain's assistants, deleted most of Anonymous's comments so now you can't see what I was replying to.  Too bad, the verbal fight was a lot of fun.  (I like McCain but am not crazy about his P.C. assistants.)

Update:  I received a nastygram from an Anonymous supporter (see messages below).  Her email address is dixiechicks1@yahoo.com and she lives in Grigio Tempe Town Lake apartments in Tempe, Arizona.  I am publishing her email address here so Nigerian scammers can fill up her inbox with offers for great rewards and riches.  If anyone out there has any info on this commenter, please relay it to me so I can post it here online.  Meanwhile, I will continue my online search for her identity so I can turn it over to the FBI and the Israeli Defense Force.