The 2019 cyber privateer or bounty hunter is under no such compunction. They don't identify themselves and their victims rarely know who hit them. In fact, when they do identify themselves, it's just to gloat. They do it in a setting that implies the message that needs to get across without confessions that would hold up in a court.
If this sounds wordy, cutesy, or alarmist, private contractors have interrupted the power grid in Venezuela and hacked into Iran's nuclear infrastructure. They are penetrating the power grid in Russia. This is an ongoing problem that's exasperated by the fact legislators rely on the terrorists to draft the laws to protect them from everyone else.
Think of it this way, if Joey, going by the cool hacker name HedCh33z3, decides he doesn't like Latvia, can he disrupt their electrical infrastructure, medical infrastructure, or elections?
The fact is they move in and out of government service so often, they never bother to switch hats or status. Think of it this way, Joey works for the NSA for a week under a subcontractor and picks up a ton of tools to stalk his Ex and sadistically destroy her life piece by piece. This is what happens when people assume the right to government powers without the authority or responsibility to use them.
Are you willing to send your kid to war or go yourself because Joey HedCh33z3's ex-girlfriend's family thinks he's a creep and they are from XXX country? Yet, we are now snugly very close to being put in this horrific position by politically and emotionally stunted people.
Privateers are Terrorists
So, where do they get the right to do this? Starting right after September 11, 2001, OSINT and cyber started as a serious money-making cottage industry. In the last article, we closed with the DOD actively hiring cyber Bounty Hunters to hack into foreign countries infrastructure.
This practice didn't just start yesterday. Since 2001, there have been many attempts to codify US hiring of cyber privateers or bounty hunters into law. What this has done is enshrine it in US cyber-policy. The DOD use of subcontractors says a lot.
What are cyber bounty hunters and cyber privateers and what do they actually do?
* Work with direct action military subcontractors
* Work for NGOs, corporations, lobby groups
* Work for US government agencies like the FBI, CIA, DIA, DOD, DNI
* Work for political parties and causes
* Work for foreign governments like Ukraine as shown in this series against the interests of the American people
* Work for themselves
They provide Intel through OSINT and hacking. They provide direct action through hacking and Information Operations. Today, they are taking on inherently governmental responsibilities and making decisions they don't have the authority to make and they make decisions that belong to State agencies.
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