My organization Fight for the Future was targeted by the same hacking-for-hire operation while working on net neutrality protections.<p>It was really interesting because at the time the conclusion of our security consultants was that the attack was just random commercially-motivated prospecting. Then the Citizen Lab Dark Basin report came out years later and it was clear they were after our internal comms, so they could milk a decade of emails for anything that looked bad when taken out of context. Yikes.<p>After the attack we put a 3 month retention limit on most emails and messages. I recommend this to anyone doing sensitive work! You miss the old emails sometimes but it's worth it.<p>I think it's possible we'll learn more soon about who hired our hackers, which is exciting! It was almost certainly a major American ISP, or the lobbying umbrella group they created. It's my optimistic read that blowback from this case has already eroded the practice of dirty tricks like these. More lobbyists and companies getting caught would strengthen the effect.<p>Since I left Fight for the Future I've been working on a Signal alternative that feels more like Slack, for teams facing similar threats. Hopefully something comes of that too!
Can we change to the more reliable source, on which this article is based?<a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2020/06/dark-basin-uncovering-a-massive-hack-for-hire-operation/?utm_source=www.vulnu.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inside-exxonmobil-s-alleged-hack-for-hire-campaign-targeting-climate-activists" rel="nofollow">https://citizenlab.ca/2020/06/dark-basin-uncovering-a-massiv...</a>
They bought a corrupt judge against this climate lawyer:<p><a href="https://www.freedonziger.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.freedonziger.com/</a>
If proven, this should be harshly punishable under existing aiding and abetting laws.<p>On the underlying matter of oil companies being responsible for climate change… the law and the morality is far less clear. We are essentially all complicit.
This kind of actions (alongside Chevron's treatment of Danziger for his work against their pollution in Ecuador) is why:<p>* high level executives <i>must</i> have personal responsibility. They get paid the big bucks, they should get all the responsibility that comes with it. Jail a few of the egregious human rights abusers/negligent killers, and this kind of thing will be taken seriously. Why does a Muillenburg get to walk away with tens of millions of dollars for presiding over the killing of people? Some egregious ones will be made a public example of (shot in New York), but this is not a solution to anything.<p>* A corporate death penalty should be a thing. An ExxonMobil, after all the crap they've done (the Valdez tanker, this) is obviously rotten to the core. Nationalise, sell ot the pieces, and everyone who was employed there in any decision making capacity gets a stain on their CV like the people who worked at Enron or FTX or any other scummy company.
Like other comments mentioned, this is just an AI-generated rehash of the underlying reporting that actually took place on this issue (see the “it isn't just X - it’s Y” and “- Bold Point Title: Short point contents”). Is there any way to change this link?