Anonymous, HBGary, and the Feds

It was wickedly funny when Anonymous hacked the computer system of HBGary after the CEO of subsidiary HBGary Federal, Aaron Barr, boasted that he “pwned” Anonymous and was going to expose their identities. Barr, it appears, was a publicity-seeking, fed-contract-seeking fool who got a grand comeuppance, and parent company HBGary was exposed as being the most laughably insecure “security” company on the planet. (So far.)

But since Anonymous put its captured HBGary documents online, the story has gotten thicker and stranger, and the links revealed between the various Gary companies, the feds, and other powerful DC organizations are downright sinister.

Among other things:

Anonymous claims it captured a copy of the infamous Stuxnet Virus from HBGary. You know Stuxnet is no ordinary virus, worm, or trojan. It’s almost certainly the work of “a nation state,” with the hottest speculation calling it a joint U.S.-Israeli project.

Then, as Brad at WendyMcElroy.com reported, it turns out HBGary Federal was nearly broke and trying to sell serious “anti-terrorism” services — that is, offers to infiltrate enemies — to mega-corps and well-connected lobbying groups (e.g. Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce). And who were these “enemies” HBGary was so eager to spy on? Ordinary citizen activists. Beyond that, the links between firms like HBGary and government snoop agencies get more and more complex.

Now, as Brad further reports, HBGary has long been in the business of making and selling malware — the very sorts of things that would be illegal if your or I made, used, or sold them. But hey, when you’re hand-in-pocket with the fedgov, you don’t have to worry about being prosecuted for any crime against the mere people. Brad’s got a warning for any of us who might be “on a list” and using Windows computers: The cyberwar has begun, and we’re combatants whether we want to be or not. “We know now that the law will not defend you. Your only choice is to defend yourself.”