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Change is coming

As Bob Dylan once sang:

“The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

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The global and national landscapes are shifting. Depending on your political perspective, these changes may be for the better—or for the worse. Or perhaps, as the old adage goes:

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
“The more things change, the more they remain the same.”
~Alphonse Karr

Activism/ Hacktivism

Regardless of political preference, we are witnessing disruptions that are reshaping the global political status quo. The inevitable consequence of such upheaval is a world marked by unpredictable, unplanned change.

• Signs of a New Anti-Trump Opposition Amid Elon Musk’s Coup
• The Tasks of an Anti-Trump Coalition: Avoid progressive piety and rebuild an effective democratic majority
• We Aren’t Powerless in the Face of Trump’s Outrageous, Anti-Trans Edicts We can’t prevent all of this administration’s harms, but we can greatly diminish their impacts if we organize.

For this substack article, my focus will largely be on technology—an area where my interests lie. In the coming weeks and months, I may turn to more politically charged topics as events unfold.

By way of full disclosure: what follows is largely copied from materials I provide on my technology site (eirenicon llc).

Recent news developments indicate a resurgence in hacktivist activities, with groups like Anonymous and others engaging in various cyber operations:

• Anonymous: 9 February, 2025 Trump is making America weaker and we’ll exploit it. The international hacker community is preparing to strike against U.S. infrastructure and calls for public awareness against incoming fascism
• 39 online domains seized in hacking and fraud-enabling tools sale after Houston FBI investigation
• Hacking in the name of: In the modern era, hacktivists utilize more advanced techniques than in the past. This is partly due to technological advancements and the sharing of skills and tools in the shared economy model (albeit at times with malicious intent), and partly because state-supported hacktivists might have opportunities to tap into better resources
• Anonymous Targets Russian Website: On February 7, 2025, Anonymous defaced a Russian website in retaliation for a cyberattack against Taiwan that occurred in September. The defacement included symbols supporting Ukraine and Taiwan’s independence.
• Emergence of Funksec Ransomware Group: A new ransomware group named Funksec has recently gained attention. This group focuses on extortion through file encryption and data theft, highlighting how advanced technologies are empowering ransomware operations.
• Shift in Hacktivist Tactics: Recent reports suggest that hacktivist groups are increasingly focusing on cognitive warfare, aiming to influence public perception and discourse. Europe has been identified as a primary target for these activities.
• Legal Actions Against Hacktivists: In a notable case, two individuals associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan were charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for executing over 35,000 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on various targets, including hospitals and government agencies. This marks a significant recognition of the potential lethal impact of such attacks.

These events underscore the evolving landscape of technological activism/ hacktivism, with groups employing diverse tactics to advance their personal, national, business, and/or entertainment agendas.

What follows below are two major sections:

1. A User Caution (required to cover my six/ backside)
2. A section containing open source guides and manuals.

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Because of the nature of the open source materials provided here, I need to provide readers with the following guidance. It is your responsibility to ensure that any materials you access, on this subject, are used responsibly and in accordance with applicable laws and ethical guidelines.

1. EC-Council Code of Ethics:

The EC-Council emphasizes the importance of integrity, confidentiality, and professional conduct. Key principles include:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of information encountered during professional activities.
• Ensuring ethical conduct and professional care in all assignments.
• Avoiding association with malicious hackers or participation in illegal activities.

2. CERT Division Code of Ethics:

CERT outlines ethical guidelines for cybersecurity professionals, emphasizing:

• Protecting private and confidential information obtained during professional work.
• Refraining from unauthorized data collection or distribution.
• Conducting oneself ethically and competently when offering services or seeking employment.

3. LMG Security’s Pentester’s Code of Conduct:

LMG Security provides a code of conduct for penetration testers, focusing on:

• Ensuring all hacking activities are authorized and within legal boundaries.
• Maintaining professionalism and integrity during engagements.
• Prioritizing client safety and data protection.

What follows are Open Source Guides and Manuals

1. Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Guide by Rafay Baloch
   • This comprehensive guide introduces the steps required to complete a penetration test or ethical hack, covering tools like Backtrack Linux, Nmap, and Metasploit.
2. Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking by Ankit Fadia
   • This book provides insights into various hacking techniques and countermeasures, aimed at educating readers about the importance of cybersecurity.
3. Ethical Hacking & Countermeasures (Courseware Manual V4.1, Volume 1)
   • Developed by the EC-Council, this manual covers various aspects of ethical hacking and countermeasures, serving as official curriculum material.
4. Ethical Hacker’s Handbook
   • Part of the Comprehensive Ethical Hacking Course by EC-Council, this handbook provides practical insights and methodologies for ethical hacking.
5. Awesome Ethical Hacking Resources
   • A curated list of ethical hacking resources, including books, tutorials, and tools, compiled by the GitHub community.
6. Create Your Own Ethical Hacking Kit with a Raspberry Pi 5
   • If you started your ethical hacking journey with our recommended Raspberry Pi 3 B+ setup, it’s time to consider upgrading your beginner’s ethical hacking kit
7. How to Perform Advanced Man-in-the-Middle Attacks with Xerosploit
   • A man-in-the-middle attack, or MitM attack, is when a hacker gets on a network and forces all nearby devices to connect to their machine directly.
8. HardBreak – Hardware Hacking Wiki
   • The goal of HardBreak is to collect knowledge about Hardware Hacking / IoT hacking in one place. There are many great blogs about Hardware Hacking, but it is a rather unpleasant experience to search through multiple blogs in different formats to find the information you need. HardBreak aims to organize all information in one accessible and easy-to-use platform.

Remember, like with all of my work, I am able to provide the following assurance(s):

• It is almost certainly going to work until it breaks; although I have to admit it may never work and that would be sad.
• When/if it does break, you may keep all of the pieces.
• If you find my materials helpful, both you & I will be happy, at least for a little while.
• My advice is worth every penny you paid for it!

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