Now available widely, both downloadable in torrent form and online as a readme.txt file, is a huge amount of information stolen from Gawker Media by the Gnosis group. The file includes the user names, email addresses and passwords of Gawker commenters, writers, editors, photographers, business people and so on. As originally threatened, the information appears to come from the Gawker flagship site, Lifehacker and Gizmodo, with sites like Jezebel and Deadpsin spared, though that has not been confirmed. Additional information includes everything from chats to emails to Gawker's log-in for the Wall Street Journal website and beyond. Complex server information is also included amid the mess of text, which features threats, epithets, jokes and typos. At the end, Gnosis signs off with the following message:
You would think a site that likes to mock people, such as gawker, would have better security and actually have a clue what they are doing. But as we've proven ,those who think they are beyond our reach aren't as safe as they would like to think! We've not done yet, we have other targets in our sights, you will all soon realise that nothing is sacred on the internet, we can get to each and every one of you and expose your so called "security" and expose you for the faggots you are! Shouts to all the crew at #gnosis! Hello to everyone at 4chan and #operationpayback
Gawker arrogantly mocks hackers, so hackers arrogantly mock Gawker with database dump. Sounds logical, although I am a believer that if someone kills a loved one of yours, you have full right to get back and kill them.
Gawker deserves it. They represent all that is wrong with online journalism. After what Gizmodo did with the leaked iphone, karma comes full circle and tenfold.
" Why would people be concerned about this? Aren't Kotaku accounts just used for commenting on stories? Excuse my ignorance, I don't have an account on the site. "
Because many people use the same password accross accounts, and that list also has emails. So if you use the same email and password combo for say, Kotaku and MSN or email or gmail or Battle.net or whatever, that info is also compromised.
@CptBedlam: Aw shit. Well what use is having an encrypted password when the one on the site has changed? When they get it decrypted it won't let them into the site, so how will they know they did it right?
@LunarAura said:
" Gawker deserves it. They represent all that is wrong with online journalism. After what Gizmodo did with the leaked iphone, karma comes full circle and tenfold. "
But people who had accounts there don't. The sites are not major entities being hurt here.
" Why would people be concerned about this? Aren't Kotaku accounts just used for commenting on stories? Excuse my ignorance, I don't have an account on the site. "
Because many people use the same password accross accounts, and that list also has emails. So if you use the same email and password combo for say, Kotaku and MSN or email or gmail or Battle.net or whatever, that info is also compromised. "
To be fair, people like that shouldn't even be using the internet.
"@CptBedlam: Aw shit. Well what use is having an encrypted password when the one on the site has changed? When they get it decrypted it won't let them into the site, so how will they know they did it right?
@LunarAura said:
" Gawker deserves it. They represent all that is wrong with online journalism. After what Gizmodo did with the leaked iphone, karma comes full circle and tenfold. "
But people who had accounts there don't. The sites are not major entities being hurt here.
"
The Gawker sites will get hurt by this and their arrogance knows no bounds. Even after their weak security is compromised, they continue to condescend users and try to save their pathetic face by suggesting a password change because of possible brute force attack. Brute force wasn't the method for this attack, the fault was entirely on Gawker media's end. They fucked up and should suffer the consequences of a nullified readership and lost advertisement revenue.
@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"
That's correct. I don't care about Gawker media's internet userbase and sure as hell don't care about the ones who share that password with their email address or other personal logons. I'm not sorry or empathetic in the least. Gawker can die and anybody stupid or uninformed enough to not implement decade-old internet common sense deserves to follow suit.
"@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"
That's correct. I don't care about Gawker media's internet userbase and sure as hell don't care about the ones who share that password with their email address or other personal logons. I'm not sorry or empathetic in the least. Gawker can die and anybody stupid or uninformed enough to not implement decade-old internet common sense deserves to follow suit. "
"@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"
That's correct. I don't care about Gawker media's internet userbase and sure as hell don't care about the ones who share that password with their email address or other personal logons. I'm not sorry or empathetic in the least. Gawker can die and anybody stupid or uninformed enough to not implement decade-old internet common sense deserves to follow suit. "
YEAH. FUCK INNOCENT PEOPLE. NO ONE IS INNOCENT IN INTERNET WAR. HARD AS FUCK
"@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"
That's correct. I don't care about Gawker media's internet userbase and sure as hell don't care about the ones who share that password with their email address or other personal logons. I'm not sorry or empathetic in the least. Gawker can die and anybody stupid or uninformed enough to not implement decade-old internet common sense deserves to follow suit. "
I'm sure it's liberating to be soulless.
"
It's liberating to know how to use the internet at a basic level to which I can't be compromised from having shared an email I routinely depend on with the registration for a site focused on sensationalist tabloid horse manure. I rely on my soullessness on survival rather than liberation. :)
"@LunarAura: LOL. So all you see is Gawker? All the users (even ex-ones) don't exist to you? Like I said NOBODY gives a shit about Gawker surviving this. They only give a shit about their accounts and passwords surviving this without having funds or identity stolen.
"
That's correct. I don't care about Gawker media's internet userbase and sure as hell don't care about the ones who share that password with their email address or other personal logons. I'm not sorry or empathetic in the least. Gawker can die and anybody stupid or uninformed enough to not implement decade-old internet common sense deserves to follow suit. "
YEAH. FUCK INNOCENT PEOPLE. NO ONE IS INNOCENT IN INTERNET WAR. HARD AS FUCK
" Has a series of sites this big ever been so badly attacked? "
AOL, MySpace, MSN, Gmail, DOD (before wikileaks); but also the major credit card companies (on a regular basis), online banking and insurance companies (not just in the US - but you don't hear/read about them in the mainstream - or any - media for a reason. You can buy DVDs with legit credit card and/or login/passwords at anytime worldwide for a not very high price in hours.) Usually the hacks have a purpose: exploit for profit. Crackers and the puppetmasters behind them don't seek publicity. This Gawker exploit seems to be a rather unusual, vain 'gotcha' attack. FDC and FBI might be able to find this person, IMHO, thanks to the publicity (email-exchange) he seeked. "
Ahh so this stuff happens, but it's not posted on Pirate Bay, it's sold? And that's why we don't hear about it until it's too late and we get a call from our bank saying that they think our credit card details have been stolen?
" Gawker deserves it. They represent all that is wrong with online journalism. After what Gizmodo did with the leaked iphone, karma comes full circle and tenfold. "
What about the people who just had an account there (like me) who are now in danger of having their identity stolen? I agree that Gawker has some pretty shitty practices but that doesn't mean the hackers had the right to give away personal information of the users. Sure I used a fake name a fake email and a password I never use for Kotaku but still, I fucking hate hackers. Identity theft should carry the death penalty.
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