The Rise of Hacktivism – RSA2012

 February 29, 2012, RSA Conference, San Francisco—A panel looked at the changing dynamics of hacking and the new drives for these activities.

Jeffery Brown from PBS News Hour performed the moderation duties for the panel which included Misha Glenny an author, Eric Strom from the FBI, and Grady Summers from Mandient.

Strom lead off with a set of limits for law enforcement action; they have to respect freedom of assembly and speech, including from groups, unless some criminal activity takes place.
Summers added hactivism is the practice of using technology to effect social and political changes. This activity had a positive connotation for over 15 years, and we still give kudos to the people outside this country who are gather strength in the Arab states.
Glenny amplified this by noting that these groups are mostly from a political background, with groups like Anonymous, that focus on some ideology. The political idealists are being hijacked by some criminal groups for other ends. The criminals are recruiting the younger people to do their web work and frame it as a way to express political views. This gives the crime rings some cover and provides vehicles for different intents.

Intent?
Strom stated that hacking into something may be a crime if there is intent to do something other than expose an issue. If you take something then you have crossed the line from civil disobedience to crime.

So we need to be aware of limits?
Strom responded that yes, but it depends upon the movement goals and the age of the attackers.
Summers considered that these activities have always been a part of the political landscape. It usually is legitimate as a us of protest rights.
Glenny offered that we have to also look at the positive side. The efforts of hacktivists in Syria and Nigeria helped to circumvent the incumbent regimes. One problem is that the Anonymous name is removing all accountability from any actions and is easily misdirected into bad areas.

Somebody named Anonymous?
Glenny defined this as part of the overall group. A small number of members have very good technological skills and knowledge and are the leaders. The rest of the group are script kiddies who just run the apps the leaders create. One challenge for the larger groups is the affiliation of minors with the group, leaving them open to other criminal charges.

Anonymous as a brand?
Strom commented on the iconography and symbolism of the group. These aspects are attractive to younger users who share the basic anti-statist philosophies. The liberating functions is always good, but the leaders don’t defend property rights. They are a general ally to other groups like Wikileaks, and Occupy, etc. This is a political movement, but there is no clear leadership. Their message resonates with the younger constituency and the groups are key players for dissemination of information.
Summers rejoined that it is hard to handle the message without a leader.

What to do to be public?
Glenny observed that hacktivism is personal, visceral, and public. These activities raise the urgency for increased security and drive the boardroom people to become involved.

What does the FBI and other law enforcement agencies do to address the issues?
Strom offered that the FBI on the positive side is working with companies, distributing alerts, developing intelligence, and informing companies of political targets. Other agencies around the world are getting involved with information exchanges, because the world is getting smaller.
Summers appended that they receive information and are impressed with the closing of the information gap.

Sources of information and other hackers?
Strom noted that the cyber underground is very hard to crack, but the hackvistists are much more open.
Glenny noted that the medium is the message. The goals of getting the messages out to all people is what makes the propaganda effective. Unfortunately, the groups cross the legal line sometimes. The hacktivist groups are entertaining and try to be sensational.

Changing levels of attack?
Glenny answered that members are identifying with Wikileaks and Occupy and associate with their peers to get kudos form the community for their exploits. In the UK, there is no sign that the leaders are winding down. Now we are seeing increased international and regional efforts from the hackvistists especially in Germany and the UK.

Age of arrestees?
Strom responded that the ages vary. Some have a track record or a legal record and all are looking for notoriety.

Leadership?
Glenny said that the leaders are very fluid. All are very bright, but may be in the group only for the short term. One disincentive is the advent of family responsibilities, which reduces the time available for hacking. The members move from group to group. Now, some are being recruited by the crime organizations for their computer skills. All of the people are in the same forums.
Summers added that other groups come under the cover of Anonymous.

How should companies respond?
Summers stated that people know what to do, they just don’t implement the proper structures. The basic attack modes are SQL input, DDOS, Apache mis-setup and most have known solutions.

The public nature of hacktivists changes other hacker responses on other levels?
Summers offered that information security is now an issue for board rooms. It is a surprise because in most cases, it is the first time anyone has to deal with the problem. There is a growing gap between the (security) practitioners and boards.

Mistakes?
Strom observer that most companies are taking the issue too lightly. This is not just a bunch of kids goofing around. The FBI is increasing resources to address the problems and companies should match these efforts. The whole industry needs to help connect prior victims with the potential targets.

Corporate sector information. Who at a company gets the information, what information do they get?
Strom posited that past victims have developed mitigation responses, so they can help new victims with the responses. There needs to be an information exchange forum and a roadmap to work across all industries.
Glenny appended that Anonymous identifies their targets, so companies know if they will be attacked. Anonymous will announce their targets and use social medial for coordination. The sensational nature of a public hack is directed towards definable sectors. On the other hand, criminals try to take a lower profile.

Company understanding?
Summers said that speed is an issue. Surprisingly, the greatest detection mechanism is Twitter, and the allowed response time is essentially zero.

PR issue versus security?
Summers said that a breach is inevitable. Companies need a well rehearsed response plan and need a lot of practice on that response plan.

Know of breach?
Strom noted that response depends upon your ability to provide resources and know how to define legal limits.
Summers asked about companies getting into hack sites
Strom responded ok, if you can get in.

How to prevent hackers get into company?
Glenny offered that young impressionable people are pulled in to the “dark side”, so it makes sense to try to change them towards “white hat” objectives.

NGO and charities have low resources and no defenses?
Summers suggested that young hackers be given on opportunity to perform community service by working for these type of organizations.
Glenny the organizations have a dearth of applicable skills in their volunteer base, so the justice system can offer rehabilitation to the younger hackers by persuading them to use their skills for good.
Summers reacted by noting the problem is a dearth of will. We need to identify what we have and comply.
Strom noted that Max Ray-Butler was sucked back into hacking after working for a while as a security consultant
Glenny stated that most of the people arrested are teens who have no moral compass. Therefore, we have to start to develop methods to explore the Web with (preemptory) incentives to move to good. Kids assume that they can download anything for free. The Megaupload case is an opportunity to talk to kids about repression.

Openness of the Web versus civil disobedience?
Glenny commented that the criminal underground ignores the laws. Hacktivists try to provoke non-criminal people to action.
Strom thought that most hackers don’t have the will to stay in the space for a long time.
Summers demurred that the hacktivists are here to stay, and now everyone can be a target.

Public understanding?
Summers wondered if we have a long way to go. We need a lot of education.
Glenny observed that Anonymous gives very simple stories and perspectives. In fact, they are helping with the education just because they have no story for themselves.

So this is a public issue?
Strom considered that pubic service announcements and other formats will help. Much more education is needed.

Role of government in regulation?
Glenny forecast that Web regulation is developing. The issue is how to regulate without alienating the users.