After a Kidnapping, Hackers Take on a Ruthless Mexican Crime Syndicate

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

The hackers’ message, delivered via YouTube by a man wearing a red tie and a Guy Fawkes mask, was as bold and risky as anything produced by the Zetas, Mexico’s most ruthless crime syndicate. But this time, the Zetas were the target.

They had kidnapped a geek with backup — a respected member of the hackers collective known as Anonymous.

“You have made a great mistake by taking one of us,” said the video’s masked figure. “Release him.”

Or else, the message said, the names of government officials, taxi drivers and journalists who worked with the Zetas would be published online. The goal, they said, was the arrest of these suspected collaborators, but was there a possibility they might be killed by a rival cartel? Yes, said self-identified members of Anonymous, acknowledging the danger. Beyond that, might the hackers also be targeted? Were they afraid?

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/world/americas/hackers-challenge-mexican-crime-syndicate.html

[saras]

1. Either the rubber hits the road or the shit hits the fan. We'll see.

[FreeBillClinton]

2. Do the Zetas have a website that they can take down for 5 minutes?

I hope they're not bluffing, but lately Anonymous seems to be more about announcements than action.

[boppers]

3. This is a dox op, not a ddos op.

There are interesting ethical and security issues involved.

...and by "interesting", I mean "potentially lethal".

[leftyohiolib]

7. well thanks for clearing that up cause, see, i thought it was clearly ddos

that's where all the signs pointed to, but now that you mention dox, well then, i guess i was wrong.

[Tunkamerica]

4. That's the funniest kidnapping/murder joke i've heard all day

[SkyDaddy7]

6. I agree! They are very good at announcements...

They might get their friend killed...Well, they probably will get their friend killed & perhaps themselves.

[Little Tich]

5. The Mexicans are fed up with the criminal gangs.

If Anonymous releases those names, it will create quite a stir and generate a lot of goodwill for the group. This is something new and exciting - information vs guns. The scary thing though, is that these gangs don't think twice about killing people.

[a la izquierda]

8. People in Mexico can be fed up all they want...

but unfortunately for them, they don't have guns. The cartels do. Unless the government starts arming everyone en masse, there's not much to be done. Besides, if Mexican citizens got guns, they might just turn on the government.

I am so sad that the country I love as my second home deals with this insanity on a daily basis.

[Remmah2]

9. People should arm themselves and have the freedom to do it.

Government should not arm people, people should have the freedom to make their own decisions. What the government gives, it can regulate and take away. It's not a gun issue, it's a micro management issue.

[a la izquierda]

11. Look, I don't have the patience for gun arguments.

Edited- The bottom line is the Mexican government does not allow its citizens to own guns. My point was that if regular folks were allowed guns, we'd probably end up with a bloodbath that nobody in either the US or Mexico wants (except maybe the cartels).

[formercia]

10. This is what sometimes happens

when the authorities take away the ability of people to defend themselves.

All it would take is a stroke of a pen to put the illegal drug business, out of business.

[a la izquierda]

12. No, you're right...

but I don't think allowing Mexicans to bear arms, and turning them loose amongst the cartels would be a very good thing. I don't care who owns guns, but I simply don't think this would be a strategy for anything other than horrific death and destruction.
If by a stroke of the pen you mean legalizing drugs, well, it's certainly a start.