The *Official* and ONLY Adrian Lamo Thread for these forums

[ch0l0man]

this is the offical freelamo.com banner

[renderman]

Most of these "great" hacks are simply exploiting network machines, that are not getting the proper updates and patches.

Mis-configured proxies were his favorite. He was using proxyhunter for gods sake, There was not much special about his technical ability or methods

His ability to know where to look was more interesting. He found holes in strange places that many would not think to check (read up on his Excite@home adventure)

Keith Ward should be more concerned that someone without any overly special skills or ability was able to do this. How many people are doing the same thing as him, but *not* coming forward to fix the holes? That's the scary part.

[Shatter]

Man... Keith Ward seems to be an idiot. That article sounds like sensationalism at its greatest evolution.
I agree with what renderman was saying(without the assistance of 7 beers...so i may not be in such a clear state of mental nervana.). It seems like alot of the hacks that Lamo did where not of excellant technical ability from what i've read, but they don't have to be to still show that company's need to keep an eye on their security, and Lamo definatly did something to that effect. that picture is hilarious.

Most of these "great" hacks are simply exploiting network machines, that are not getting the proper updates and patches.

Case in point: I got an email across my screen with teh security sweep of machines that are still vulnerable to many of the recent alerts form MS. Now, we have the domain login patched so that wen people login, they are automatically scanned and patched.

Problem is: People who arn't logging into the domin.

Mind you, there have numerous mails, alerts, etc, and people STILL don't update their systems. Then some guy who downloads ascripts find a machine that somebody hasn't patches, and likes to leave on al day logged in as Admin with no pass (yes, it happens) and gains info, andbrags about what a wonderful hacker they are, looking out for the greater good.

It's a hell of a lot easier to run some exploit and hijack a machine than it is to manually walk around a rather large corporate HQ and look at every little machine to see if it's GUID matches the scan report.

It's one thing to find new vulnerailities, it's another to just copy cat the work of other people.

[Xodia]

Man... Keith Ward seems to be an idiot. That article sounds like sensationalism at its greatest evolution.
I agree with what renderman was saying(without the assistance of 7 beers...so i may not be in such a clear state of mental nervana.). It seems like alot of the hacks that Lamo did where not of excellant technical ability from what i've read, but they don't have to be to still show that company's need to keep an eye on their security, and Lamo definatly did something to that effect. that picture is hilarious.

[renderman]

I found a pic online of Lamo, Mitnick, and Poulson....i find that very ammusing. I know techtv did a piece on him, and showed him getting arrested, It would have been funny if I had gone down to Sacramento today, and accidently was in the coffee shop :D

That pic is at http://www.wired.com/news/photo/0,1860,50811,00.html

if your curious

[renderman]

This is in no way my opinion, actually i find the author rather biased and an ignorant moron. Also the "hacker" Lamo sounds crazy to me too. what do you think?

Having followed Lamo's 'career' for the last couple years I can attest that his methods were very risky. Breaking in, snooping around and then alerting the admins, while his ends were honorable, the method (the actual penetration) was definatly on the wrong side of law. However, the results he got (in terms of action) were huge.

It just boils down to the whole idea of 'greater good'. It's obvious that anyone could have gotten into the networks he has gotten into, I think that the fact he spoke up (before being discovered) in order to correct the problems goes a long way. Case in point, his worldcom hack. He was able to see some pretty scary shit while inside. With the whole of American society hunting for 'terrorists', They should feel better that he found the problem first (you hope) and was of enough moral fortitude enough to speak up to get it corrected.

I agree with Lamo's sentiments that the feds could have spent thier time ALOT better than to hassle him and get the people who pose a REAL danger (Remember Skylarov's arrest at DC9 for writing software).

The New York times is just trying to save face and point a finger at someone other than thier own screw up.

Keith Ward can sit on a power drill and twirl for all I care. He just feels bad because he bought some of the emperors new clothes as well. He'd rather that truely important stuff remain unsecure unless he can get PAID to secure it, rather than protecting what should be protected for the greater good (essential services, communications, privacy, etc).

Lamo should be charged for the crime, but significantly credited for his assistance.

It's amazing how deep your thoughts get after 7 beers.

Just my $0.02 (CAN)

[ck3k]

he's an inspiration for more people to become homeless... yeah! I believe in you Lamo!

or Drifters and Grifters....oh my

[converge]

he's an inspiration for more people to become homeless... yeah! I believe in you Lamo!

[bobaxos]

**Opinion: Insider the Hacker Mindset By Keith Ward

This is in no way my opinion, actually i find the author rather biased and an ignorant moron. Also the "hacker" Lamo sounds crazy to me too. what do you think?

**Opinion: Insider the Hacker Mindset
By Keith Ward

Adrian Lamo can't figure out why he's being prosecuted by the federal
government for his hacking. And that, my friends, tells you all you
need to know about hackers, their twisted subculture, and why they need
to be viewed as the villains in the cat-and-mouse world of computer
security.

Lamo's more famous exploits include hacking WorldCom, Microsoft and
Yahoo! His greatest claim to fame is hacking into the New York Times
network and getting confidential information, including Social Security
Numbers, of some 3,000 columnists.

Following his recent appearance before a Manhattan district court,
CNET's News.com published a very revealing interview with him (find it
at http://news.com.com/2008-1014_3-5076942.html). It showed a 22-year- old without remorse, who thinks that as long as you don't erase hard
drives or sell your ill-gotten information to the Chinese, you haven't
really done anything wrong. And it should serve as a warning to the
rest of the public that thinks these people are nothing more than merry
pranksters.

Lamo told reporter Declan McCullagh that his arrest and prosecution is
a waste. "I don't think it to be a reasonable response...I believe it
has been a waste of resources. The sheer number of agents it took to
stake out my parents' neighborhood could have been doing many, many
better things at that point in time," he's quoted as saying.

A waste of resources, to arrest and prosecute lawbreakers? Hmmm, I
thought that's why law enforcement existed. He says later, when asked
if there's a lesson in his case for others, "I like to think that
nobody would see me as a role model (hey, something we agree on!)
because I don't think there's necessarily value in repeating what's
already been done. They should do something that's not been done
before." Hear that, hackers-in-training? Find more original ways to
invade others' networks. That's the secret to fame and status in this
shadowy world of bit-level breaking and entering.

When asked whether his parents have asked him to stop, since it's
severely impacted their lives and finances, Lamo gives the scariest
answer of all. "My parents support me. They want me to stay out of
jail. But they also understand that all the things I've done with my
life are things that were important to me. And they support me in my
happiness, and they understand the value of what I do."

Wow. Double Wow. This megalomaniac thinks he can do whatever he wants,
never mind who else it hurts. His victims apparently never even cross
his mind. Not only that, some of his victims –- in this case, his own
parents –- actually support and encourage his criminal acts. In his
warped view of the world, he's a white knight, helping administrators
in distress secure their networks by infiltrating them. See, if I cut
the brake lines in your Chevy and tell you I did it, I'm really helping
you. Can't you see that?

But what's even more disturbing than Lamo's self-promoting rantings
is that so many hackers share his outlook. In their "black is white"
worldview, hacking isn't a crime: It's philanthropy. This is how they
think. That, combined with a natural egocentrism and, quite often,
socially ostracized lifestyle, is a dangerous brew. We need to go after
hackers like the criminals they surely are. Hacking by its nature –-
almost by definition -- is illegal. They need to know that what they're
doing isn't cool, isn't harmless fun. The message must be sent as loud
and clear as the hurricane that knocked out power to my home for four
days last week: You are a felon, and we will look at you, and treat
you, as one.

Good luck in jail, Adrian. Hope you're there for a long time, and that
you have many of your peers for company in the coming years.

--Keith Ward, Editor, Security Watch
keith.ward@mcpmag.com

[TwinVega]

Where in reality, if you know me..err the person in question, it is otherwise

I'm telling

[blackwave]

Lamo denies $300,000 database hack
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6934

[ck3k]

Yeah...TechTV DID do a piece on him...hence the link, you can watch his interview and when he turned himself in. Lamo reminds me of something that happened to a certain two forum members in high school.

It does have that flair, but the people in question at the high school, didnt have a fedral defender...

best question asked by High School

"Do you have any wireless ability?"

the person answered

"Yeah I got one wifi card, I use it at home"

Where in reality, if you know me..err the person in question, it is otherwise

[TwinVega]

I found a pic online of Lamo, Mitnick, and Poulson....i find that very ammusing. I know techtv did a piece on him, and showed him getting arrested, It would have been funny if I had gone down to Sacramento today, and accidently was in the coffee shop :D

Yeah...TechTV DID do a piece on him...hence the link, you can watch his interview and when he turned himself in. Lamo reminds me of something that happened to a certain two forum members in high school.

[ck3k]

sounds like lamo is trying to be the next mitnick or polusen. Was this NY Times thing a REAL unknown exploit - exploited, or did he script kiddy the job? Anyone know the non newspaper story to this guy?

I found a pic online of Lamo, Mitnick, and Poulson....i find that very ammusing. I know techtv did a piece on him, and showed him getting arrested, It would have been funny if I had gone down to Sacramento today, and accidently was in the coffee shop :D

[hackajar]

sounds like lamo is trying to be the next mitnick or polusen. Was this NY Times thing a REAL unknown exploit - exploited, or did he script kiddy the job? Anyone know the non newspaper story to this guy?