cDc Helps FBI!

This article is from vnunet.com I thought that if any orginization would exploit this attempt to make another copy of magic lantern for malicous purposus it would be cDc... guess I was wrong. :(
Here's the story:

Infamous hacker group helps the Feds
By James Middleton [12-12-2001]
The controversy, rumours and speculation surrounding the FBI's Magic Lantern tool has attracted ridicule from the internet underground.
Not only has one virus writer constructed a piece of malware under the same name, but now infamous hacker group the Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) has offered a helping hand to the Feds.

Evidently still grizzled about the fact that its notorious Back Orifice 2K remote control tool was labelled as a malicious program, the cDc is offering its expertise in the area to help the FBI build what would be an almost identical tool.

Reid Fleming, a cDc member, said: "Never before has the US faced a more troublesome enemy. To meet this growing challenge, the FBI has announced an ongoing effort to create and deploy best-of-breed electronic surveillance software.

"While we applaud the innovation and drive of the federal law enforcement agency, those of us who are US citizens would be remiss if we did not offer our expertise in this area."

A tongue in cheek announcement from the group claims that cDc "has more targeted experience than anyone else in this field".

And they're right. Back Orifice would do the Magic Lantern job beautifully. Although the hackers are quite confident that the FBI's Engineering Research Facility is more than capable, cDc intends to re-architect Back Orifice from the ground up.

"There will be absolutely no shared code between the two projects, in order to skirt detection by commercial antivirus packages. The code will remain totally secret. The software will never surface publicly. And it will be far more stealthy than anything we have ever released, demonstrated or publicly discussed," the group said.

Indeed, the central design principle of Magic Lantern and this new breed of Back Orifice could easily be interpreted as "an artificial witness which is capable of intercepting any and all relevant activity during, after and even leading up to the commission of a computer crime", it added.

The cDc concluded that the project would deliver "the ultimate intelligence gathering tool. And we intend to construct it, at no cost, exclusively for the use of the federal government," said Fleming.

"We are confident that the government will limit the use of this technology only to targets relevant to legitimate investigations," he added, further underscoring the cult's faith in federal law enforcement organisations. "The FBI has a long history of following Title 18 to the letter."


Remote_Access_

I feel sick... cDc have done so many good things.... I wonder what made them wanna help the "enemy"... they can't possibly believe that the feds aren't gonna abuse a thing like Magic Lantern

Yea, I read about this a couple weeks ago on CDC'c web site. I was really steamed about it. I still hope it is a joke. That last comment about not abusing title 18 is what pissed me off the most. Here is a link to CDC's press release:

http://cultdeadcow.com/details.php3?listing_id=425

****ing wankers!! If I was a sk I´d DOS the bastards.
There goes their credibility as hacktivists in my eyes. Bloody turncoats is the nicest I have to say about them. What are they, old LoD's?

Another one has joined the dark side...

This is the trend for hackers when they get older-I hope I don't do anything like that when I get older!

they get old. and what? brainwashed? hit in the head with a heavy object? stuck in a trip?
How can there be an excuse for turncoats?

Yeah....I saw the story...that is TOTAL BULLSHIT!!!! As far as I'm concerned, the members of the CdC all belong in jail....not helping the FBI make MORE TROJANS.....I may get flamed for this, but I know ALL TOO WELL the ravages that RAT's can cause. The CdC wote a program responsible for causing pain to thousands of infected people....and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON SOME OF THESE "SECURITY COMPANIES" LIKE @STAKE AND KROLL O'GARA.

the fbi must have something mighty big on them, or their getting payed a lot of money. either way their true colors are shown.

isn't that what so called security companys do? wreak havoc so they can defend against it for bucks.

There must be an ulterior motive! A hidden message! It can't be true! No-o-o! Tell me it's not true!

Oh oh! Maybe cDc just wants government approval to build a better, stealthier Back Orifice? No! Wait! Why should they care about getting government approval?

Or maybe it's April Fools Day! No, dammit, it's December 21! This is supposed to be a happy holiday time!

OR maybe they just want to let the FBI know that they intend to build a BETTER program then Magic Lantern, and the FBI can just kiss their ass.


Ratman: Yes it's true that BO was used maliciously, but no person should ever sell out and join the dark side (or is the FBI the good side...no, wait, that has to be impossible.) And besides every story needs a villain. Where would Superman be if he and Lex Luthor became the best of buds?