Anonymous Annihilates Infiltrator: Full Story

 from ars technica:

It has been an embarrassing week for security firm HBGary and its HBGary Federal offshoot. HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr thought he had unmasked the hacker hordes of Anonymous and was preparing to name and shame those responsible for co-ordinating the group's actions, including the denial-of-service attacks that hit MasterCard, Visa, and other perceived enemies of WikiLeaks late last year.

When Barr told one of those he believed to be an Anonymous ringleader about his forthcoming exposé, the Anonymous response was swift and humiliating. HBGary's servers were broken into, its e-mails pillaged and published to the world, its data destroyed, and its website defaced. As an added bonus, a second site owned and operated by Greg Hoglund, owner of HBGary, was taken offline and the user registration database published.

Over the last week, I've talked to some of those who participated in the HBGary hack to learn in detail how they penetrated HBGary's defenses and gave the company such a stunning black eye—and what the HBGary example means for the rest of us mere mortals who use the Internet.

Anonymous: more than kids

HBGary and HBGary Federal position themselves as experts in computer security. The companies offer both software and services to both the public and private sectors. On the software side, HBGary has a range of computer forensics and malware analysis tools to enable the detection, isolation, and analysis of worms, viruses, and trojans. On the services side, it offers expertise in implementing intrusion detection systems and secure networking, and performs vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of systems and software. A variety of three letter agencies, including the NSA, appeared to be in regular contact with the HBGary companies, as did Interpol, and HBGary also worked with well-known security firm McAfee. At one time, even Apple expressed an interest in the company's products or services.

Another UK Snitch - Mark "Marco" Jacobs

from UK Indymedia:

A third undercover police officer has today been revealed by the Guardian. Mark Jacobs, known as 'Marco', operated in Cardiff for four years, infiltrating the Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) and other groups including international anti-globalisation networks, No Borders, and the early Climate Camps.

His former girlfriend is reported as saying "I was doing nothing wrong, I was not breaking the law at all. So for him to come along and lie to us and get that deep into our lives was a colossal, colossal betrayal."

Other activists have claimed that as well as disrupting activities and gathering information, he created and nurtured disagreement and division within the group, turning members of the group against each other.

Snitch Mark Kennedy Fears For His Life

More info (and pictures of) on Mark (aka Flash, aka Mark Stone) Kennedy here. More analysis and information coming soon.

from The Guardian via Anarchist News:

The former policeman who spent seven years undercover among environmental activists has denied being an agent provocateur, saying that his superiors knew exactly what he was doing at all times and approved his activities.

Mark Kennedy, a Metropolitan police officer who infiltrated green and anarchist groups under the alias Mark Stone and fled to America after his cover was blown, said he fears for his safety following threats from activists. The 41-year-old said he believed that his former police superiors were looking for him too.

"I can't sleep. I have lost weight and am constantly on edge. I barricade the door with chairs at night. I am in genuine fear for my life," said Kennedy, who sold his story to the Mail on Sunday. "People like to think of things in terms of black and white. But the world of undercover policing is grey and murky. There is some bad stuff going on. Really bad stuff."

Simon Brenner - German Snitch in Antifa Scene

from Athens Indymedia:

German undercover agent also at NoBorder Camp 2010 in Bruxelles

On Sunday the 12th of December 2010 a undercover agent working for the Landeskriminalamt (LKA) Baden-Württemberg was uncovered in Heidelberg, Germany. His aim was to make contact with the Antifa scene via open left structures and to gather information about individuals as well as group structures to be presented directly to the LKA and the local state security division.

After three days of research and reconstruction the following has emerged:

Legend

The LKA informer had a German national identity card under the name of "Simon Brenner" (Nr.: 6920333978D-8604138-1511088), with the date of birth stated as 13.04.1986, born in the town of Leimen (Germany). Allegedly he formerly lived in Bad Säckingen in the Waldshut (Baden-Württemberg) area, which coheres with the license plate of his silver Nissan estate car (WT-??-???).

He used a mobile with the number 0049 (0) 151 20727114 0049 (0) 151 20727114 and the email addresses simonbrenner@ymail.com and californication@riseup.net, the latter has already been blocked. Under the user name 'californiaction' ha also wrote articles on Indymedia.

Teen Popped for Torching Cop Car in '08

A bummer from Albany:

COLONIE -- Police say they've made an arrest in a two-year investigation into the torching of a Colonie Police Department patrol vehicle.

Jacob Lester, 19, of Cohoes was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the patrol car on Aug. 25, 2008. An off-duty Colonie Police traffic investigator discovered the marked 2005 Ford Crown Victoria on fire in front of his home in the Boght Corners section of town at about 2 a.m., according to Lt. Robert Winn.

A confidential informant told police in November 2008 that Lester was connected to the incident, but it took two years of following up on leads and conducting interviews to corroborate the informant's tip, according to Lt. Winn.

There was no apparent motive in the arson. Lt. Winn said Lester set out to torch the vehicle but was not targeting the officer.

Lester was charged with felony third-degree arson and felony second-degree criminal mischief. He was released from jail on $15,000 bail.

Loose lips sink ships! Keep your mouth shut!

Britain Stop Snitching

A pretty sickening report from the other side of the Atlantic after the November 10th occupation and improvisational demolition of Tory Party Headquarters in London earlier this week has surfaced. The media in the UK is assisting the State in tracking down rioters (that's why you mask up you silly geese! Say what you want about the "black bloc" set of tactics, but if there's a throw down with a bunch of media snapping pictures all over, I'd rather look like a mob of ninjas. ESPECIALLY in the most heavy surveillance state in the world. Fuck.), just as Big Media typically ends up being a perfect engine for repression.

Luckily, some kind of badass legalese underground railroad is forming up to help anyone presently splayed up on a wanted poster or likely waiting patiently to be identified by some software program. Check out the November 10th Defense Campaign, which is a really excellent idea:

"2. DO NOT say anything to anyone

You have the right to silence and the right not to incriminate yourself. So we recommend you do NOT. SAY NOTHING TO NO-ONE ONLINE OR OFFLINE, ON THE PHONE OR IN PERSON about the events. These are valuable resources for the Police to find you via internet trawling and phone tapping in order to pin a prosecution on you.

DO NOT SAY ANYTHING TO THE POLICE even if they say “it is in your best interests”. The Police are the arm of the State and a bureaucratic military organisation NEVER to be trusted. Even if the Police put your name and photo in the newspaper, arrest you, take your photo request a solicitor (see Christian Khan below) and demand your Solicitor advises you to say nothing. That way you can say the Solicitor advised you to say nothing in the event the State tries to infer guilty from the fact you said nothing!

Even if they have your picture, and say you committed an offence it does not mean you committed THAT offence or any offence at all. A picture of you holding an item that could cause damage to property does not amount to evidence of you causing damage with that item. So on these matters, like everything else, SAY NOTHING!"

Terrific advice!

CSIS/Counter-Terrorism Spy Unveiled in Fredericton, New Brunswick

UPDATE 11/22/10: Comments from the author of this reveal more information: "Follow up: More research reveals that the man's name is "Stuart Bradshaw". He is on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1036935674&v=info

Spread far and wide.
Saint Schmidt."

Other links of interest
http://atlanticsg.org/

http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/stuart-bradshaw/23/b97/51a
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From Anarchist News:

"I was sitting at a cafe in downtown Fredericton (The Second Cup) and overheard a conversation between two well dressed men. The one man said to the other, "I just moved from the UK. I used to work for counter-terrorism out there and in the United States. My wife wanted me to move here to little Fredericton. Not much work for a person like me here. Now I am working for CSIS. I document anti-capitalist and anarchist groups. There are at least two groups that I am researching lately and we plan to eventually infiltrate these groups. Strax and RAAN, the Red and Anarchist Action Network."

At this point I picked up my laptop spit on his table and said: "You are disgusting, what you are saying is disgusting."

Pictures and Video follow.

While walking away from the cafe, outside, the man yelled out to me and requested that I get my picture taken with him. Instead, I turned on my camera and asked the man a few questions. He changed his tone and denied working for CSIS and denied having a problem with Strax.




I have decided, for the safety of my family and friends, that I will be taking some time away from the Red & Anarchist Action Network. I stay in groundless solidarity with all of my comrades. If members of Strax or RAAN, or any other "group", want to reach me for more information, they know how to do so."

-Saint Schmidt