Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: chemdog on November 14, 2012, 11:00 am

Title: Googling Usernames
Post by: chemdog on November 14, 2012, 11:00 am
Watching the forums over the last few days and seeing its previous cultural form disintegrate with the influx of, well, however you'd describe the argumentative mob that appeared, I decided to have a little look around.

And sure enough, if you start Googleing their forum username and then cross reference some of the things this influx have said, you end up with the FULL NAME, MUGSHOT and even LOCATION of said Silk Road users.

If you have done this - EDIT/DELETE YOUR POSTS AND/OR CHANGE YOUR ACCOUNT NAMES. NOW.

If you have done this - YOU ARE A RISK TO YOURSELF AND TO US. PROCEED NO FURTHER THAN THE SECURITY SECTION AND STAY THERE UNTIL YOU FEEL YOU CAN ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN RISK TO A RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONER.

This is basic stuff. Yet, you all feel the need to drag your identity, your ego, your story into the equation, because of the cool factor. You are part of SR, and it is part of you, the worlds largest underground illegal drug sales and smuggling site. Wow. Shine on you crazy diamond. You must really be cool if you are on there. Let me grant you all the shiny feelings your bullshit enclosed sense of social standing demands from the world.

If you want this place to keep going, separate your digital identities and insulate them. Stop talking about Fight Club.

(Oh, but doesn't it feel so good to talk about things you shouldn't? If you are swayed by this statement significantly, then perhaps you are also taking drugs purely because the law is telling you you shouldn't. This is rebellion for rebellions sake. You are dangerous because you are so caught up in the emotion of it, even if you wouldn't describe it as such, and you HAVE to express it. You are probably still in school. Actually, I know for a fact that some of you are from the photos.)

I say this publicly in the hope that some of the demanding new peeps will actually start to think about what they are doing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: complacency is one of your biggest enemies.

Follow secure procedure each and every time you don't need to, and it won't be a ball ache when you do need to.

Sort it out.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Stray Cat on November 14, 2012, 11:14 am
Please buy this man a beer, or a pint ... or whatever you call that elixir in your country
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: oneiroi on November 14, 2012, 11:28 am
Have you checked mine?
 ;)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: chemdog on November 14, 2012, 01:59 pm
Please buy this man a beer, or a pint ... or whatever you call that elixir in your country

Why, thank you kind sir. I'll have a Guinness. :-)

Have you checked mine?
 ;)

I must confess, I didn't. From memory, I *think* it has something to do with Greek mythology? :-s

In fact, I should probably say that this is not something I do generally. I'm simply not that interested and I probably wouldn't have bothered too much, except for the fact I scored results with the first user name I checked. Striking gold on the first shot demanded further exploration.

Really, I just didn't expect people to be so dumb, but I guess Einstein might be right about the limitlessness of human stupidity.

You can guarantee that LEO have, are and will continue to do this on a far grander scale than my half-arsed data mining. Give it a couple of years and I'd place money on these same individuals being caught in a coordinated international swoop.

And those of us whose sense of value, identity and social status weren't tied up in our need for people to identify us with SR, weed or a revolution?

We'll keep trading and enjoying what we enjoy because we value it above and beyond the angst ridden emotional neediness that demands that members of our culture be seen.

Society has convinced itself that celebrity and spotlight is one of the pinnacles of human achievement. What many people have failed to noticed is that once celebrity status has been achieved, many then spend their time trying very hard to be anonymous.

Worked really well for Ryan Giggs...

So, with that view from the supposed top of society, what is it that they know that means that they are trying to do the very opposite of what people clambering for fame are doing?

As we progress through the 21st century, privacy and anonymity will become valuable commodities in themselves, in the same way that location independence is a widely accepted definition of freedom.

Freedom won't just be about your ability to go to a certain place - it has and will continue to develop overtones of freedom being as much about what other people know about your location and activities.

The stupid thing is... We hand it all over so readily. In heaping fistfuls.

Exchanging what liberty we have in the hope that someone will notice us in the seven billion strong sea of humanity.

It bugs the hell out of me. These people are a greater threat over time than any law enforcement agency, because they are feeding them with the very information that any NGO/LEO/TLA would use in a sting.

/timetochillax
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: bigdaddy5150 on November 14, 2012, 02:20 pm
I've never used this username for anything else and it has nothing to do with my personal information.

I just googled myself and all of the results that I saw were other random bigdaddy5150's at random sites like stickam and XBL.

I have made an effort to dissociate my real identity from my aliases on here but I have no idea how to check that thoroughly.

Basically, I want you to tell me if I'm part of the problem.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: shitwassocash on November 14, 2012, 02:27 pm
Wow. Thanks for this post, though I feel like the majority of the people it's aimed at will disregard it.

No one is immune to their ego, sometimes we all feel tempted to tell friends the cool shit we do, or let the forums know more about our lives than we should. This is a great reminder to be mindful.





"Stop talking about Fight Club"

Fucking brilliant.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: gracevan3569 on November 14, 2012, 03:07 pm
Interesting - I searched for my handle, which I am smart enough to have never used anywhere else but here, and found that Google spiders seem to be indexing the forum.  I had a forum post come up. I used a clearnet browser to do the search and it came up with the onion address.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: nwportlandguy on November 14, 2012, 03:23 pm
Appparently there's a guy with my name looking for a submissive bottom boy for hot sexual encounters! LOL.  I, as well, never use this name anywhere in clearnet and it describes nothing of my irl location or anything else.  I got a friendly message from thcrackhead warning me about this.  I also remember when Anonymous broke up that child porn ring, they were surprised how many of those sickos actually used their clearnet handles..... unless they were like my situation and innocent clearnet users are being accussed of being perverts because of a coincidence.   People will think the guy with my handle on clearnet is a junky!  LOL
oh well, better than a CP enthusiast any day!   Those motherfuckers are the most likely reason I have drug problems.  Long story, which doesn't belong here, but had to vent.

Be safe and smart everybody!
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Moon Fried on November 14, 2012, 03:26 pm
Nice tip, fortunately my username isn't connected to me.

I remember seeing a thread just like this a long while ago, did you create that one too?
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: FBI on November 14, 2012, 03:45 pm
Using an username that you've used everywhere else on the Internet just seems like a Darwinian level of stupidity.   
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: MaebyFunke on November 14, 2012, 04:36 pm
google mine and you'll find a character  from an awesome tv show that everyone should be watching  :)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: E on November 14, 2012, 04:41 pm
Great post. I hope people read it and heed this information VERY carefully.  My forum username is a lowercase letter that isn't anywhere close connected to me.  My main SR name isn't connected to me or my country for that matter. If you google that name I'm either a king or a cartoon character. Really depends on if Google corrects the spelling or not. :D
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: sorasgaze on November 14, 2012, 05:05 pm
I've done this too, seen some pretty popular vendors on other regular sites, guess they don't realize how big of a risk it is. I've even found videos of the vendors' children, on regular sites, using their vendor name. How smart is that? Ah.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: WalMart on November 14, 2012, 05:10 pm
I wonder if my username would yield usable results within the first 100 google pages?
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: g7455mk2 on November 14, 2012, 05:16 pm
Using an username that you've used everywhere else on the Internet just seems like a Darwinian level of stupidity.

Amen.

The influx of idiocy these past few days has been far more unsettling to me than the fact that SR was down.  I have growing concerns over the precautions taken by a large number of both vendors and users.

They bring a risk to all of us that should not be underestimated.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: that1guy on November 14, 2012, 06:24 pm
I wonder if my username would yield usable results within the first 100 google pages?

We all know where to find you WalMart!! And your picture is plastered all over the clearweb... Maybe take a few sick days and come back as something less noticable.. maybe KMart... sorry, had to do it..lol
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: TheEmeraldTriangle on November 14, 2012, 07:53 pm
Chemdog old boy/girl (:P) I had no idea you were such a philosopher!

Cool!
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: ronswanson77 on November 14, 2012, 08:33 pm
Google ronswanson and you'll find plenty of hilarious youtube videos about a character from a show that everyone should be watching.  Also if you can find his pyramid of greatness it's worth a chuckle or two.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: The Mustard Walrus on November 14, 2012, 08:48 pm
If you google that name I'm either a king or a cartoon character.

Based on this hint, I think I have a pretty good guess as to what your SR username is :)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: OzFreelancer on November 14, 2012, 09:14 pm
I had someone PM me to tell me he had "worked out" that I am 'AdamFreelancer' (the Australian dick who posts YouTube videos of how to access the Road) and that I should change my username before others "figured it out".

I guess the genius saw the 'freelance' in my name and put two and two together.  Never mind that I'm fully identifiable - and a chick. :D

But, yeah, some people have been very sloppy separating themselves from their clearweb activity.  Good warning.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: ZenAndTheArt on November 14, 2012, 10:27 pm
I didn't realize the ridiculous levels of stupidity of some people on this site until Vlad1m1r was identified. ::)

He may as well just have used his real name for his username, he'd been using Vlad1m1r on the clear-web for years (Youtube vids, Facebook etc.).
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: redbox on November 14, 2012, 10:47 pm
I love my username, would have made an awesome seller's acct name if only i saved it for that.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: topia on November 15, 2012, 12:00 am
let le have the low hanging fruit
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: ukmonkey on November 15, 2012, 12:32 am
I can't believe people create usernames which even mirror their real-life interests, never mind ones they've used elsewhere. You should be giving LE as little to work on as possible.

Lets say your username is a character from a TV show, and you happen to mention something in a thread which gives an inkling towards your location - perhaps you mention a sports team you follow. Then elsewhere you might mention you've taken X drug to help you study, and Y drug because you think it makes you a more creative painter.

Now LE knows you're a fan of The Golden Girls, you likely live in Ghana, and so you're probably going to Ghana National University studying art. Finding you would be a simple case of cooperating with your university's IT department to find out who's downloading Golden Girls episodes, and filtering out the art students. Your 'potential identity' can be easily narrowed from potentially millions, to a couple, based of only a few snippets of info. And if you're worth chasing, the job just got a load easier.

(Admittedly my username has UK in it, but then I'm retarded)

Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: MaRyLaMb on November 15, 2012, 03:40 am
Awesome post!  Wishing you much good Karma!
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: smeghead on November 15, 2012, 04:12 am
Pretty sure I'm clean....

Good post..

 8) 8)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: oban_18 on November 15, 2012, 04:14 am
I can't believe people create usernames which even mirror their real-life interests, never mind ones they've used elsewhere. You should be giving LE as little to work on as possible.


Google my username and you'll find my favorite whisky, and that's about it. :)  Other than that, nothing I've written is a dead giveaway for who I am.  And besides, I live in a city area with over 15 million population - that's not really going to narrow down much for anything I may reveal.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: John Humphreys on November 15, 2012, 04:44 am
This is  good (and obvious) advice to anybody here for trade.

In contrast... I'm a tourist. My login name is my actual name, and it's easy to verify because I link you to my website which has my e-mail address and phone number. Feel free to call or e-mail if you want to check.

I do this very intentionally, as my reason for being on SR is research, and by using my real identity that makes it easier for you anon people to trust me. If anybody is interested, my research is related to "emergent market institutions" which basically looks at the degree to which we can trust other people in trade when there is no official enforcement. You can see how SR would be relevant for me.

I don't think I am putting anybody else at risk.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 15, 2012, 09:02 am
Try mine. Ive got a Wikipedia page and even a documentary about me
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: mickymisseri on November 15, 2012, 09:19 am
Can someone be so stupid to have the same nickname on this forum and elsewhere? By the way I hopes this post get some credit and helps some little foolish guys.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: andrew.wiles on November 15, 2012, 09:22 am
i hope there are some Fermat lovers here...
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Odio on November 15, 2012, 10:38 am
My user name is so common googling it wont get you anywhere :D
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: smeghead on November 16, 2012, 04:47 am
Can someone be so stupid to have the same nickname on this forum and elsewhere?

There are borderline simpletons in every herd. 
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: eurobilly on November 16, 2012, 06:26 am
Inconceivable!

When I first joined and was doing my initial security homework, my computer pants went crazy for a nerd named Pine, freakin' hot pic! It then took me about 4 seconds before I thought to myself that someone this smart is  probably suppressing their identity far beyond the capacity of PGP.

(But my computer pants still go crazy over that avatar.)

-eb  8)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 16, 2012, 07:05 am
I had someone PM me to tell me he had "worked out" that I am 'AdamFreelancer' (the Australian dick who posts YouTube videos of how to access the Road) and that I should change my username before others "figured it out".

I guess the genius saw the 'freelance' in my name and put two and two together.  Never mind that I'm fully identifiable - and a chick. :D

But, yeah, some people have been very sloppy separating themselves from their clearweb activity.  Good warning.

I wonder what that Dickhead posts under here and if he realizes how much of a dickhead everyone thinks he is here
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: MaebyFunke on November 16, 2012, 09:41 pm
I wonder if my username would yield usable results within the first 100 google pages?

are you rivals with SR vendor Costco?  :D
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: brianbertz on November 17, 2012, 02:38 am
i made my user name based off someone elses username on a clearnet forum lol
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: modziw on November 17, 2012, 03:18 am
Watching the forums over the last few days and seeing its previous cultural form disintegrate with the influx of, well, however you'd describe the argumentative mob that appeared, I decided to have a little look around.

And sure enough, if you start Googleing their forum username and then cross reference some of the things this influx have said, you end up with the FULL NAME, MUGSHOT and even LOCATION of said Silk Road users.

If you have done this - EDIT/DELETE YOUR POSTS AND/OR CHANGE YOUR ACCOUNT NAMES. NOW.

If you have done this - YOU ARE A RISK TO YOURSELF AND TO US. PROCEED NO FURTHER THAN THE SECURITY SECTION AND STAY THERE UNTIL YOU FEEL YOU CAN ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN RISK TO A RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONER.

This is basic stuff. Yet, you all feel the need to drag your identity, your ego, your story into the equation, because of the cool factor. You are part of SR, and it is part of you, the worlds largest underground illegal drug sales and smuggling site. Wow. Shine on you crazy diamond. You must really be cool if you are on there. Let me grant you all the shiny feelings your bullshit enclosed sense of social standing demands from the world.

If you want this place to keep going, separate your digital identities and insulate them. Stop talking about Fight Club.

(Oh, but doesn't it feel so good to talk about things you shouldn't? If you are swayed by this statement significantly, then perhaps you are also taking drugs purely because the law is telling you you shouldn't. This is rebellion for rebellions sake. You are dangerous because you are so caught up in the emotion of it, even if you wouldn't describe it as such, and you HAVE to express it. You are probably still in school. Actually, I know for a fact that some of you are from the photos.)

I say this publicly in the hope that some of the demanding new peeps will actually start to think about what they are doing.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: complacency is one of your biggest enemies.

Follow secure procedure each and every time you don't need to, and it won't be a ball ache when you do need to.

Sort it out.

Killer post.

What do you suppose the ramifications of selling to such a Darwinian failure would be?

Modzi
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: elivance on November 17, 2012, 03:28 am
Holy shit!  I had no idea.  Killed by a Combine Advisor.  Damn.

Wait, I'm black?!?!?
</sarcasm>

Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: lordofcourage on November 17, 2012, 03:32 am
Best part is inventing what you think to be a totally unique ID (as per yours truly), then finding a suspect person on clearnet sporting the same name
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: James Hardens Beard on November 17, 2012, 03:42 am
I think I'm clear...
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: nwportlandguy on November 19, 2012, 12:37 pm
LOL...  I was contacted by thecrackhead a few days agao and he was like "if your name is phillip so and so, delete this acct right now".  Of course, that's not my name... tnis is the 1st forum that I ever signed up for, and tbh, I thought I was being so clever and original, but apparantly a few people use this name on clearnet LOL.    bth, sup elevance?  where you been?
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: shitwassocash on November 19, 2012, 01:18 pm
LOL...  I was contacted by thecrackhead a few days agao and he was like "if your name is phillip so and so, delete this acct right now".  Of course, that's not my name... tnis is the 1st forum that I ever signed up for, and tbh, I thought I was being so clever and original, but apparantly a few people use this name on clearnet LOL.    bth, sup elevance?  where you been?


lolol.


 is it possible that LE would ever interrogate phillip? or anyone whose username here has an identity attached to it on clearnet?


both my names have been utter nonsense.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 19, 2012, 01:28 pm
LOL...  I was contacted by thecrackhead a few days agao and he was like "if your name is phillip so and so, delete this acct right now".  Of course, that's not my name... tnis is the 1st forum that I ever signed up for, and tbh, I thought I was being so clever and original, but apparantly a few people use this name on clearnet LOL.    bth, sup elevance?  where you been?


lolol.


 is it possible that LE would ever interrogate phillip? or anyone whose username here has an identity attached to it on clearnet?


both my names have been utter nonsense.

you really think they would bother?
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: nwportlandguy on November 19, 2012, 02:50 pm
LOL...  I was contacted by thecrackhead a few days agao and he was like "if your name is phillip so and so, delete this acct right now".  Of course, that's not my name... tnis is the 1st forum that I ever signed up for, and tbh, I thought I was being so clever and original, but apparantly a few people use this name on clearnet LOL.    bth, sup elevance?  where you been?


lolol.


 is it possible that LE would ever interrogate phillip? or anyone whose username here has an identity attached to it on clearnet?


both my names have been utter nonsense.

you really think they would bother?

I seriously doubt they have the time!  I really hope they look around nwportland for me, seeing as I haven't seen the place in over 2 decades... oops, have I given away too much?    I think many people around this forum don't understand how the DEA operates.  Being born into a family of farmers (so to speak), I've seen the faggots in action! (no offence to our lgbt bros and sis's).  They are looking for headlines and if you think they're on to you, you're being paranoid.  Those fuckers grab you when you don't see it coming.  If you're ordering less than an ounce of anything here, you have little to worry about... especially if you never sign for a package.  They know better than we do, how hard it would be to convict with the SR system in any way except a controlled delivery.  Not to mention their budget is getting smaller and smaller,,, thanks Obama! ;D
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: echoman on November 19, 2012, 03:10 pm
Thanks for the advice!
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: paulsmith on November 19, 2012, 07:35 pm
I didn't really think people could be so stupid, but then I'm honestly not surprised.

Should be ok with my username.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Moon Fried on November 19, 2012, 09:37 pm
I didn't really think people could be so stupid, but then I'm honestly not surprised.

Should be ok with my username.

It gets worse, lol. Once in a while you'll see someone completely new to SR using their full name in their username or forum profile.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: dirtybiscuitzz718 on November 20, 2012, 01:04 am
Great post. I googled mine, and it produced two hits, one was a post of mine here, and like the previous member said, it had the onion address. Second was a B grade social networking site, that when i clicked it it had a user profile with my username as a freind. This certainly isnt me, and what made me crazy is that the user with my handle did not have a profile picture & the person whos profile it is , happens to be from my old neighborhood. It kinda bugged me out when i seen it, but im not too worried about it, bottom line stands, ive never heard of that site before this and certainly never made a profile there. Strange never the less .lol
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: rangerfire33 on November 20, 2012, 01:18 am
My old account has a username which I used once, so I got a new one. Kinda disappointing after 6 months, but oh well. I stole this name from someone else.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 20, 2012, 02:00 am
I didn't really think people could be so stupid, but then I'm honestly not surprised.

Should be ok with my username.

It gets worse, lol. Once in a while you'll see someone completely new to SR using their full name in their username or forum profile.

yeah i did that nut who cares really i cbf changing it and its not like everyone doesnt already know im on drugs anyway
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: anonman88 on November 20, 2012, 03:18 am
so, i just googled my username, as its something i made up for here, and 2 of the results were links to here, to the forum . . . isn't there a code that can be put in to prevent the forum from being listed by google's results?
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 20, 2012, 03:37 am
so, i just googled my username, as its something i made up for here, and 2 of the results were links to here, to the forum . . . isn't there a code that can be put in to prevent the forum from being listed by google's results?

your residential location and what it looks like cant be prettected from google search so i highly doubt we could be
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: anonman88 on November 20, 2012, 04:06 am
here is a *** warning clearnet link*** http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/creating/noindex.html *** warning clearnet link*** about it that shows how you can do it :)
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: yourman on November 20, 2012, 04:30 am
Wow, I really can't believe there's such stupidity here...

Well +1 for informing the uninformed, I suppose...
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: BenCousins on November 20, 2012, 04:50 am
the ****clearnet warning**      **cleatnet warning**** is the some of the biggest stupidity around because if your opening a link posted on these forums with a clearnet browser your asking to get trapped
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Delta11 on November 20, 2012, 09:51 am
I wish I could go back in time and pick a more badass sounding username  :'(
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: thyme on December 15, 2012, 12:40 am
In addition to the 'googling usernames,' note the reference to 'internet artefacts.'

hxxp://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/14/uk_anon_investigation/

Quote
UK cops: How we sniffed out convicted AnonOps admin 'Nerdo'
By John Leyden
14th December 2012 10:04 GMT

Analysis of IRC logs and open source intelligence played a key role in the successful police prosecution that led up the conviction of a member of Anonymous for conspiracy to launch denial of service attacks against PayPal and other firms.

Christopher "Nerdo" Weatherhead, 22, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to impair the operation of computers following a guilty verdict by a jury at Southwark Crown court last week.

Weatherhead, 22, was studying at Northampton University when he allegedly took part in "Operation Payback", the DDoS campaign launched by the hacktivists in defence of whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks. Targets included the entertainment industry and later financial services firms that had suspended payment processing of donations to WikiLeaks after it controversially published leaked US diplomatic cables in late 2010.

Ashley Rhodes, 27, from Camberwell, south London; Peter Gibson, 24, from Hartlepool; and an 18-year-old male had already pleaded guilty to the same charge, relating to offences that took place between August 2010 and January 2011.

Payback's a bitch
Sandip Patel, prosecuting, said that attacks by various Anonymous hacktivists had cost PayPal £3.5m ($5.5m) and forced it to call in 100 staff from parent firm eBay in order to keep its website up and running over the course of a series of DDoS assaults that spanned several weeks.

The attacks were launched using the Low Orbit Ion Canon (LOIC) packet-flooding tool widely used by Anonymous at the time. LOIC spills the IP addresses of those taking part in attacks. However evidence from IRC channels where the hacktivists hung out and planned attacks was the more important evidence in the police investigation.

Operation Payback attacks began against firms known to oppose copyright piracy (such as those of the Ministry of Sound nightclub, the British Recorded Music Industry and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) before the hacktivists switched targets to concentrate packet-slamming assaults on payment-processing firms including PayPal and MasterCard - which had angered Anonymous by choking off a source of income to WikiLeaks.

Sniffing around in AnonOps' channel
Weatherhead (Nerdo) was a network administrator and among a small group of leaders on an AnonOps IRC channel that became the focus of a police investigation, spearheaded by members of Scotland Yard's Police Central eCrime Unit.

Former Detective Constable Trevor Dickey, who has left the Met and found work in the private sector since the successful conclusion of the investigation, explained: "In a nutshell we identified Weatherhead via the IRC network."

"We identified their IRC channels and captured several weeks of chat. During that time we looked at the status of NICs such as admins and operators," he added.

"We then did some keyword searching and spent a lot of time looking social leakage. Combining all these elements we then identified the NICs of interest and did open source research on them. Weatherhead was easy to identify as he had been using the NIC of 'Nerdo' for quite some time," he concluded.

Ray Massie, a self-employed computer forensic and open-source training consultant who served as a detective sergeant with the Met Police and led the investigation, explained that UK police decided to target the administrators of Anonymous-run channels, focusing on instigators of attacks rather than Anonymous "foot soldiers" otherwise involved in DDoS assaults. This is contrast to US law enforcement clampdowns, which also targeted simple participants in hacktivist actions who had played no part in selecting targets or planning attacks.

"We went after organisers and facilitators rather than foot soldiers. US authorities went after a mix," Massie explained.

The police operation began in October 2010 with attacks on the Ministry of Sound and the BPI. "It was quickly clear that Anonymous was running similar attacks against different anti-piracy organisations in the USA, Germany, France, Spain and elsewhere. They would select a target, post the named of a target online along with dates and times of an attack and, in some cases, a countdown clock. Everything from signposted from IRC channels."

Massie explained that over time, hacktivists made more use of Facebook and Twitter but this was mainly for promotion and propaganda. "Would-be participants were directed to IRC channels, where plans were all laid out," he said. Links provided on IRC provided advice on how to use LOIC (the favoured DDoS attack tool of Anonymous at the time), how to cover their tracks, and other hacker trade-craft tips.

Leaderless collective? I don't think so...
"The wider collective might claim to be leaderless," Massie explained. "But the IRC channel had a power structure and hierarchy that was clear from looking at what was going on."

"There might be a debate on targets and whether to continue an attack against Mastercard, for example, was put to a vote. But when we arrested suspects we discovered private channels for ops and admins."

Analysis of copious volumes of IRC logs allowed police to identify leaders who suggested and organised attacks, shouted down dissenting voices, and directed discussions. Individuals who set up and maintained these channels were also of interest to police. Hundreds of thousands of lines of IRC chat log were presented as evidence in the eventual prosecution of suspects believed to be instigators and organisers of DDoS attacks.

At least a few of the individuals whom police investigated had made full use of TrueCrypt (for encryption) and TOR for anonymity, said the computer expert. However, Massie said, others erred in providing snippets of clues about their location and other information in idle chit-chat on the channel and, more particularly, by using well-established nicknames that they'd also used as XBox gaming tags or elsewhere on the 'net when they were still kids.

"We were able to tie their digital identities to real life identities," Massie explained. "Now that the suspects are in their 20s, they are security conscious, but they were using the same nick when they were a kid on gaming forums or elsewhere. They made mistakes."

Once individuals appeared to have links to an online identity, traditional methods of policing took over - including surveillance leading up to arrests at several residences when computer equipment was seized. Several suspects were later interviewed under caution. Meanwhile the painstaking work of computer forensics continued.

Weatherhead (Nerdo) said nothing except "no comment" during police interviews. He also made extensive used of TrueCrypt on his computers.

However innovative computer forensics work by Detective Constable Urooje Sheikh at the PCeU uncovered key fragments of evidence that became key in the subsequent prosecution.

"Nerdo made full us of TrueCrypt but DC Sheikh managed to identify what was going on, uncovering evidence a lot of people would have missed," Massie said, praising the expertise of his former colleague.

Among this evidence was a cease and desist letter sent to a Russian ISP called Heihachi, which offers so-called bullet-proof hosting. This allowed the prosecution to present evidence in court that Weatherhead had contracted services on behalf of the AnonOps group from Heihachi, which the prosecutor described as a "safe haven" for cybercrime.

Specifically Sheikh found "internet artefacts" relating to a cease and desist letter sent to Heihachi to its customers in data stored on one of Weatherhead's computers.

The jury accepted prosecution arguments that Weatherhead had served as the network administrator for the AnonOps group when it convicted him of conspiracy to organise DDoS attacks. It rejected defence arguments that although Weatherhead might have created the AnonOps channel, he was merely an observer who played no part in organising or participating in attacks.

Massie said those tempted to take part in so-called hacktivist actions needed to understand that there are "real life consequences to online actions" both to the organisations targeted as well as themselves.

While early cybercrime prosecutions in the UK were hindered by the unwillingness of victims to testify, or - in the case of viral outbreaks - the difficulty of identifying possible victims, police have adapted their procedures to cover this issue. Financial harm caused by attacks and the number of victims plays a key part in allowing judges to apply sentencing guidelines designed for conventional crimes to offences committed in cyberspace.

"Finding real world victims and estimating financial harm is very important in investigations," Massie concluded.

Judge Peter Testar warned [1] Weatherhead to prepare for a possible jail sentence. Weatherhead and his three co-accused, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, face a sentencing hearing in January at a date yet to be determined.
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: ch0sen on December 15, 2012, 01:48 am
I am gonna change my forum username to 'the'.

--
Title: Re: Googling Usernames
Post by: Shroomeister on December 15, 2012, 03:02 am
+1 to the OP!

Great info. Keep the masses informed!

I didnt read all the other posts. +1 chemdog!!