Zero Day

Ryan Naraine, Emil Protalinski and Dancho Danchev

HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

By Ryan Naraine | February 15, 2011, 6:19pm PST

Summary: Security start-up HBGary has withdrawn from the RSA Conference here after the recent hacking attack that included the release of 20,000 e-mails.

SAN FRANCISCO — Security start-up HBGary has withdrawn from the RSA Conference here after the recent hacking attack that included the release of 20,000 e-mails.

HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr was quoted in a news article as planning reveal the names of members of the notorious ‘Anonymous’ collective but after the hacking attack and subsequent threats, the company decided to pull the plug on its participation at the security conferences.

On the RSA Conference show floor, HBGary’s booth was replaced with this sign explaining the circumstances.

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Ryan Naraine is a journalist and social media enthusiast specializing in Internet and computer security issues.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Tommy S. 17th Feb 2011

CHAPTER 11 !!!

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I guess...

james347 15th Feb 2011

...they don't know security. Pack it up and shut it down.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Th2shay 15th Feb 2011

So when the shoe is on the other foot this is how HBGary behaves, how pathetic. With a bit of luck they will dig a hole big enough to bury themselves in.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Ablesugar 15th Feb 2011

Apparently they were not ready for the big time. I would have at least been willing to stand there behind the sign (the sign would have been made out of plate armor) to answer questions.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

ALISON SMOCK 15th Feb 2011

What "continued support?"

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

tsiu marpo 15th Feb 2011

Whoever is affiliated with HBGary and the Anonymous attack has moved into this phase now. Check out the comments re. the Stuxnet virus. I think a better question, right now, is why did HBGary have that virus. Clearly Anonymous could create a virus if they wanted to. To say otherwise, is preposterous. What infrastructure should we now be hysterical over? Perhaps the people in Intelligence running this joke propaganda garbage would like to include that in their cry baby exposure stories. Operation Payback turned out to be a *****. And, they were ***** slapped. Are we all supposed to sit home crying over the fact that billions in taxpayer dollars are used to shore up our Infrastructure and it's vulnerable? Is that considered a patriotic act now? Fine. I'm getting out my kleenex and crying over the fact that our national intelligence have moved onto the next phase.

The three security service companies proposed the following tactics for going after WikiLeaks: ?Create concern over the security of the infrastructure. Create exposure stories."

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Lilputing 16th Feb 2011

Bwahahahahahaahahahahahahahaha. I'd never heard of anything about physical violence before is there any proof of that? Definitely surprised to see a sign thanking for support, they're a security company with terrible security and the company has no future in the security community. Hiring them would be like hiring a plumbing company famous for leaky pipes.

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The Hunton and Williams Lawyer at the center of these plots

HollywoodDog 16th Feb 2011

@Lilputing ... is one John. W. Woods. His office phone number is (202) 955-1513.

Greenwald: "Despite being at the center of this increasingly disturbing scandal, Woods and H&W steadfastly refuse to comment to anyone. As The New York Times noted on Saturday when reporting this story: "A Hunton & Williams spokesman did not comment." For a lawyer to be at the center of an odious and quite possibly illegal scheme to target progressive activists and their families, threaten the careers of journalists as a means of silencing them, and fabricate forged documents intended for public consumption -- and then steadfastly refuse to comment -- is just inexcusable. Perhaps some polite email and telephone encouragement from the public is needed for Woods to account for what he and his firm have done. In exchange for the privileges lawyers receive (including the exclusive right to furnish legal advice, represent others, and act as officers of the court), members of the Bar have particular ethical obligations to the public. At the very least, the spirit -- if not the letter -- of those obligations is being seriously breached by a lawyer who appears to be at the center of these kinds of pernicious, lawless plots and then refuses to account to the public for what he did."

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Progeressive activists?

AllKnowingAllSeeing 16th Feb 2011

@HollywoodDog
So when "progeressive activists" like Anonymous decide to threaten the very lives of family members and their neighbors for no other reason then the threat of being named (funny, they want everone else named except but themselves) do they remain activists, or graduate up to terrorist?

Isn't a terrorist someone who repetedly threatens and kills others unless their demands are met?

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Progressive activists

HollywoodDog 16th Feb 2011

@HollywoodDog ... refers to people like Glenn Greenwald who has done nothing unlawful and is only exercising his constitutional right to free speech. The plot by these companies was to threaten an intimidate him and people like him in to silence. That happens to be a federal crime.

From the FBI's web site: :
"Title 18, U.S.C., Section 241
Conspiracy Against Rights

This statute makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person of any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, (or because of his/her having exercised the same)."

If this conspiracy is being entered in to by corporations which have federal contracts (Palantir, I'm looking in your direction) then they not only risk going to prison, but also losing their federal contracts.

Hunton & Williams was not retained by Chamber of Commerce and B of A to go after Anonymous. It was retained to go after Glenn Greenwald, among others, and a reporter at the NY Times. And watchdog groups suspected by B of A of being involved with unions.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Rdonham@... 16th Feb 2011

@AllKnowingAllSeeing

Nobody was threatened , especially in such a public environment. HBGary got its covers pulled and were embarrassed to show up.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

upandgone Updated - 16th Feb 2011

@Lilputing YES AND LEAKING BADLY!! HA!! HA!!

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Wired ThreatLevel mercelessly skewers Aaron Barr

HollywoodDog Updated - 16th Feb 2011

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/02/spy/

While waiting to see if his proposals would result in work for HBGary Federal, Barr turned in January to unmask the leadership of the hacker collective Anonymous. This part of the story is well known by now (read our investigative feature): when Barr went public with his findings, Anonymous took down his website, stole his e-mails, deleted the company?s backup data, trashed Barr?s Twitter account and remotely wiped his iPad.

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And odd that you back them up, dude.

AllKnowingAllSeeing 16th Feb 2011

@HollywoodDog you're one of the biggest hypocrites here.

I'm just going to take a stab here: You're all for the killing of abortion doctors and their families as a way to "save the lives of the unborn" and feel that no repercussions should result from said murders.

Am I close?
(Disclaimer: I'm personally against abortion myself)

So because you deemed Anonymous as "freedom fighters" you feel they should have carte blanche to threaten, even kill anyone who dare expose them, even though this is what they claim they are for? That those thay go after have to "play by the rules", while they don't?

Yeah, you're one the biggest hypocrites on this ite, and it shows in every post you make.

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You're entitled to whatever opinion you choose to have

HollywoodDog 16th Feb 2011

@AllKnowingAllSeeing ... but I have said nothing about any other issue.

If you want to know my personal opinion, Anonymous committed crimes in what they did. But they did expose a nest of criminal conduct which is partially financed by our tax dollars, and I find those crimes more threatening.

Kinda reminds me of Batman. He shows up, stops a robbery, ties up the culprits and leaves before the police get there - then the police vow to find him and arrest him, etc.

In this particular case, Anonymous did not break in to a company to steal money or cause malicious damage. They exposed criminal conduct (and unethical conduct by lawyers who have to answer to the bar association of Virginia), and I'm interested in seeing the real wrongdoers punished.

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Besides, it's just plain funny

HollywoodDog 16th Feb 2011

@AllKnowingAllSeeing ... this guy was going around billing himself as a digital intelligence service, and HBGary as security experts. Would you hire a security expert that was easily hacked the way HBGary was? If you're going to swagger down main street looking for a fight, you better be able to draw.

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Sadder than you think.....

chrisbranning557@... 16th Feb 2011

Go to Ars Technica (today) and read the VERY detailed way that Anonymous hacked their systems. It was super-easy for them due to the enormous holes and very avoidable openings that were left open by a SECURITY firm.

Aaron Barr is squarely to blame for all of this. As CEO he should have been on top of his own organization's security and he displayed extremely poor judgement in the way that he handled the whole Anonymous affair.

It does look like the company will likely cease to exist very soon.

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Threats?

stv@... 16th Feb 2011

I think the threats of bodily harm were probably all from Bank of America and their other customers, right? I'd be hidin' too.

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

upandgone 16th Feb 2011

OH POOR LITTLE OLE ..HB..!! GET A BOX OF TISSUES OUT AND CRY...WA..A....A..A... AA...

IF THE KITCHEN IS TO HOT THEN GET OUT HB!! ANON SMOKED YR ARSE!! HA...HA....!!

YOU CAN CREATE SUBTRIFUGE AND TRY TO BLACKEN AND TAR FOLKS REPS... WELL YOU CAN DISH IT OUT BUT CANT TAKE IT!! TYPICAL..NO BALLS!!

GLENNS SMOKE'EN YR ARSE TOO!! BABES!! HA" HA!!

PUT A SIGN ON YR HEAD!!

DO NOT ENTER I AM A TOXIC GUY!! LOST IN MY CONFUSION!

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RE: HBGary withdraws from RSA after embarrassing 'Anonymous' hack

Rdonham@... 16th Feb 2011

I personally dont like wikileaks and believe what they are doing is wrong. That said, at least they are HONEST. Aaron Barr and HBGary seem to be the worst kind of people, liars that are no better that the people they are trying to uncover. If half of what is said in this link is true http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/the-ridiculous-plan-to-attack-wikileaks.ars then I hope the FBI arrests Aaron Barr.

As a security professional I find this case really disturbing. It really hurts the industry and shows how unethical a security "professional" can be if they absolutely have no morals.

I was at RSA Tuesday and was looking forward to talking to Aaron and was disappointed HBGary did not show up but, I understood why. I actually sympathized with them. After reading the entire story today, as a taxpayer I want to punch him in the face. The dishonesty of Aaron Barr, its company and partners is really a black eye to the IT security industry and now I know the real reason why they didnt show up. Nobody was going to attack anybody in such a public environment and they knew that, they just got their covers pulled. Companies like HBGary exist to make easy money off taxpayers providing pretty much no legit service. Its AMAZING people like Aaron Barr are in this industry. Charges should be brought upon HBGary and all its employees for trying to commit fraud.