Of course. But it also kinda points at peculiar Anon cowardice -- going after the society open enough not to execute anyone even suspected of being anti-establishment. Seriously, when Anon dumps out some big dirt on the Chinese or Russians, mocking them with their usual flair, in a sustained campaign I'll be impressed: Assuming they survive.

True, we act like dicks with Gitmo, but I don't think any anons have been sent there lately. The fact that we are lower on the douche scale doesn't excuse us, but it does raise some questions about the courage of the attackers.

And probably gotten away with it because they didn't announce it to the world.

I'm not going to quote logical fallacies to you or use odd home/car/bank analogies. Nope. I'll adapt an old cliche: "If all your friends act like dicks and steal personal information, should you?"

And what the fsck have they accomplished anyway? Do I know what's going on in Area 51 or what the Chinese Premier's secret world domination plans are? No, I know that the Neverwinter Nights forum and a shit-ton of secondary servers aren't well protected. Mein Gott! Who knew that many systems, some important, aren't locked down tighter than a virgin at a promise-ring concert.

Heh, it didn't really go over my head so much as I worded my response improperly. Blame, as I apply the word, can only be assigned to a party that deliberately left themselves open. They've got to know better first. It remains to be seen if that is the case for all the targets we've been reading about.

Even my own statement has limits though. I don't care if my bank didn't know better; they have a responsibility above and beyond an ordinary business to keep my information and finances secure. Sony falls under this aegis. The Neverwinter Nights forum though? Not so much.

My workstation has a big assed red banner when I log on saying "DO NOT STICK A USB IN ME YOU FUCKING MORON"*. So if this study was conducted at my site, or was malicious, I'd wager they'd have a few things to say to me.

"Just look at how people have reacted to this spring's exploits of web sites and services...they don't blame themselves for choosing idiot passwords or not cancelling services they no longer use."

Really, do people believe that the ends justify the means as long as we're showing vulnerabilities lulzsec style? I mean even following that logic doesn't give you props. Exploiting stupid, or simply thoughtless, behavior just means you aren't clever enough to crack effective solutions and are targeting low hanging fruit like a gimped monkey.

*Color is correct, but the wording might be paraphrased

"In the UK we managed to get rid of slavery without a war, as did most other places...ex-colony countries that became independent without war."

I apologize for being harsh, but that's because your broke-ass empire couldn't afford to keep the repression game going and slavery was never profitable for you. I'm not quite sure where Britain, Kings and Queens of the White Man's Burden, can really get all high and mighty on the United States. Civil rights in the UK evolved almost by accident as one group with power tried to take it from another group. Do you think the Magna Carta was all about the poor? F'sck no.

And I believe starting a war with Napoleon DID work out for you as did wiping out the Spanish Armada. Until then you were the bitch of any seafaring nation that wanted your little island (Romans, Dutch, French, etc).

Yes Virginia, the companies generally know when they've been compromised. Really, it's only lack of integrity when you don't hear about it on the news.

Now if only they could have highlighted incompetent security with courage and integrity. Instead, I consider the good outcomes of their actions a beneficial side-effect of criminal actions. And not the kind of Robin Hood or Jean Val Jean criminal...more the Joker dickhead criminal that few will mourn.

It's been obvious from the beginning that Lulzsec might be fickle in their targeting like anons, but that they are a coordinated group. That lends them a bit more power, but also means that despite their bravado they are connected. And since they're not thinking like terrorists, I doubt they have formed "cells" like any organization which doesn't want to fall quickly to a coordinated assault.

Maybe I don't give them enough credit and the IRC operator was careful to shield everyone and knows no one by name. But despite the publicity, and the fact that they have more skill than I, somehow I doubt they are true black hat masters. Braggarts are the most likely criminals to land in jail.

It takes years to take down a ring of any type; I'm sure when they go after the heavies they want plenty of evidence to nail them to the wall with. I'm pretty sure the governments of the world are not going to advertise when they find people of more importance.

Meanwhile you take down some piddly low hanging fruit to keep the public happy and keep the important people secure in the knowledge that 7 proxies have shielded them.

I'm going to have to remember that excuse when I start having online sexy chats with ladies.

"But darling, this one dude on the internet said it's just moving bits around!"

And if my wife doesn't understand, I'm sure her divorce attorney will.

"Frankly, with the latest series of indiscriminate attacks it's starting to look less like griefers run amok and more like false-flag psyops run to reduce support for hacktivism through guilt-by-association and create fertile grounds for some new draconian legislation."

Actually, your post is more of a false-flag psyops designed to discredit the fact that they are petty dickhead hackers with too much time and lulz. Jeebus, the government does some pretty bad shit, but pissing off gamers and hitting a few minor govt sites isn't going to have the same effect as say...hitting the stock market servers.

So if you're going to engage in paranoid delusion, at least ramp it up 9/11 truther style to something that causes FEAR. Take it to an 11 man.

"Rail against it if you like, but you'll have to shout: Nintendo are way down there at the deep end of their Olympic sized pool full of cash, blow and hookers."

Actually, the pool has sprung a leak and they're trying to desperately have the Wii U fill the pool again before the hookers get bored and they have no more money for blow.

The most drastic change occurs by revolution, but I'd say the best change occurs by evolution. And good outcomes certainly don't come from idealists without a real plan for replacing the establishment. Crap, that's just asking for the guillotine.

You underestimate the laziness of the public. How many logged back onto the PSN and saw the requirement to change their password as a chore? And if they somehow miraculously stop trusting the company, then how many will assume that the lax PSN security was just a fluke? Nah, if anything the benefit is to prod companies into bolstering their defenses to shield their own asses -- for a time at least.

As for releasing the data publicly I think that would have been as well received as the RIAA lawsuits. Besides, if you want to think evil then realize that *not* knowing what criminals have their hands on is far worse mentally.

Such bland classifications are only useful in fantasy where you can pigeonhole intentions so clearly. Or if you're just doing that for the lulz.