Hackers Say They Hacked NSA-Linked Group, Want 1 Million Bitcoins to Share More by Lorenzo Franceschi-Biccierai.
From the post:
A mysterious hacker or hackers going by the name “The Shadow Brokers” claims to have hacked a group linked to the NSA and dumped a bunch of its hacking tools. In a bizarre twist, the hackers are also asking for 1 million bitcoin (around $568 million) in an auction to release more files.
“Attention government sponsors of cyber warfare and those who profit from it!!!!” the hackers wrote in a manifesto posted on Pastebin, on GitHub, and on a dedicated Tumblr. “How much you pay for enemies cyber weapons? […] We find cyber weapons made by creators of stuxnet, duqu, flame.”
The hackers referred to their victims as the Equation Group, a codename for a government hacking group widely believed to be the NSA.
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What is the first thing that strikes you as dodgy about this claimed hack?
If you had a hacking weapons from the NSA, wouldn’t you first approach other national governments?
The NSA would still hear about it but the buyers would be doing their best to keep sale and hack secret as well.
Here? The alleged hackers have painted a target on their backs and “chump” on anyone who parts with any bitcoins for a release of the alleged weapons.
The best to hope for is the alleged hackers aren’t prosecuted for fraud as a result of any online auction.
They shouldn’t be. Buying allegedly stolen property and being cheated isn’t a crime, it’s a valuable lesson.