ClingingMars
05-08-2009, 01:13 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/44571812.html
This was brought up on another forum. I instantly thought of you guys. Also, THE GAME.
By Guillermo X. Garcia - Express-News
Adolfo Segura, a self-described computer hacker, rates his chances at creating “worldwide mayhem” on the Internet greater than upsetting incumbent Philip Cortez in their District 4 council race Saturday.
He decided to challenge Cortez, who is seeking a second term representing the Southwest Side district, as a last-minute lark to prevent the incumbent from running unopposed.
But days before the election, Segura landed in controversy when he spoke on a Christian radio talk show about his personal life and his forays into the world of computer hacking.
During the KSLR 630 radio interview earlier this week, Segura, a 31-year-old self-employed network administrator, indicated intimate knowledge of several recent significant hacks.
According to various media reports, one occurred last year against the Church of Scientology; another was last month against Time Magazine's online vote to identify the world's 100 most influential figures.
In both instances, the Web sites were breached and altered by individuals associated with “marblecake” — the code name for members of an Internet relay chat room.
The group's founder, Christopher Poole, known as “moot,” also founded 4chan.org., an online bulletin board.
Although at the time no one knew who “moot” was, he logged more than 16 million votes last month to land at the top of Time's list of the world's most influential people.
Segura said he has never personally met Poole, but indicated an extensive knowledge of both the “war against Scientology,” which is also called “Project Chanology,” and with the Time survey.
Time acknowledged it was duped.
According to an ABC.org blog, “not only did they hack the ballot, but in a dazzling display of virtuosity, these online Rembrandts were able to” spell the word “marblecake” using the first letter of the first name of each of the top 10 finishers.
Segura, acknowledged being a hacker and “breaking into something, like a Web site, and making it conform to your will,” but denied he has ever broken the law.
He declined to specifically comment on either of the hacks, even as he spoke about them in detail. His comments came during an interview Thursday as he was pressed to expand on comments he made during the radio interview.
On the show, Segura said he was “an actual member of a group of hackers who manipulated a Fox News survey about the future of the Republican Party.”
He justified his actions as being within the rules of the game.
“If by gaming the survey I could help push the Republican Party over the cliff and into extinction, it would be something I'd be proud of,” he said.
But he said that now he is a “gray hat” hacker who operates legally and with a defined code of ethics.
He said his business now includes assisting “those whose computers are locked and who can't remember the password. As long as they own it and I have their permission, I can hack it and crack the code.”
This was brought up on another forum. I instantly thought of you guys. Also, THE GAME.
By Guillermo X. Garcia - Express-News
Adolfo Segura, a self-described computer hacker, rates his chances at creating “worldwide mayhem” on the Internet greater than upsetting incumbent Philip Cortez in their District 4 council race Saturday.
He decided to challenge Cortez, who is seeking a second term representing the Southwest Side district, as a last-minute lark to prevent the incumbent from running unopposed.
But days before the election, Segura landed in controversy when he spoke on a Christian radio talk show about his personal life and his forays into the world of computer hacking.
During the KSLR 630 radio interview earlier this week, Segura, a 31-year-old self-employed network administrator, indicated intimate knowledge of several recent significant hacks.
According to various media reports, one occurred last year against the Church of Scientology; another was last month against Time Magazine's online vote to identify the world's 100 most influential figures.
In both instances, the Web sites were breached and altered by individuals associated with “marblecake” — the code name for members of an Internet relay chat room.
The group's founder, Christopher Poole, known as “moot,” also founded 4chan.org., an online bulletin board.
Although at the time no one knew who “moot” was, he logged more than 16 million votes last month to land at the top of Time's list of the world's most influential people.
Segura said he has never personally met Poole, but indicated an extensive knowledge of both the “war against Scientology,” which is also called “Project Chanology,” and with the Time survey.
Time acknowledged it was duped.
According to an ABC.org blog, “not only did they hack the ballot, but in a dazzling display of virtuosity, these online Rembrandts were able to” spell the word “marblecake” using the first letter of the first name of each of the top 10 finishers.
Segura, acknowledged being a hacker and “breaking into something, like a Web site, and making it conform to your will,” but denied he has ever broken the law.
He declined to specifically comment on either of the hacks, even as he spoke about them in detail. His comments came during an interview Thursday as he was pressed to expand on comments he made during the radio interview.
On the show, Segura said he was “an actual member of a group of hackers who manipulated a Fox News survey about the future of the Republican Party.”
He justified his actions as being within the rules of the game.
“If by gaming the survey I could help push the Republican Party over the cliff and into extinction, it would be something I'd be proud of,” he said.
But he said that now he is a “gray hat” hacker who operates legally and with a defined code of ethics.
He said his business now includes assisting “those whose computers are locked and who can't remember the password. As long as they own it and I have their permission, I can hack it and crack the code.”