HBGary Execs Run For Cover As Hacking Scandal Escalates

Forbes.com ^ | Feb. 15 2011 | Andy Greenberg

[SubGeniusX]

Rarely in the history of the cybersecurity industry has a company become so toxic so quickly as HBGary Federal. Over the last week, many of the firm’s closest partners and largest clients have cut ties with the Sacramento startup. And now it’s cancelled all public appearances by its executives at the industry’s biggest conference in the hopes of ducking a scandal that seems to grow daily as more of its questionable practices come to light. Last week, the hacker group Anonymous released more than 40,000 of HBGary Federal’s emails, followed by another 27,000 from its sister company, HBGary, over the weekend. Those files, stolen in retaliation for an attempt by HBGary Federal CEO Aaron Barr to penetrate Anonymous and identify its members, revealed a long list of borderline illegal tactics. Ars Technica has posted a well-constructed narrative of the firm’s bad behavior. The short version: It proposed services to clients like a law firm working with Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that included cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns, phishing emails and fake social networking profiles, pressuring journalists and intimidating the financial donors to clients’ enemies including WikiLeaks, unions and non-profits that opposed the Chamber. HBGary responded Monday with a statement on its website that it’s “continuing to work intensely with law enforcement on this matter and hopes to bring those responsible to justice.” In the mean time, the firm is canceling all its executives’ talks at the RSA conference, the largest cybersecurity industry confab of the year, taking place this week in San Francisco. HBGary chief executive Greg Hoglund had planned to give two presentations at the conference. HBGary Federal CEO Barr last week canceled his talk at the simultaneous B-Sides conference, which would have focused on his expose on Anonymous.

[SubGeniusX]

This is what happens when a company like HBGary arrogantly leverages the fact that they're more computer savvy than 99% of the general population, then come face-to-face with the other 1%.

I liken it to game-hunting: stalking your prey (deer, antelope, what-have-you) only to become aware that you yourself are soon to become some mountain lion's dinner.

[SubGeniusX]

ping

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Scary that a group like the Anti-American Collective of Communists....er...the US Chamber of Commerce....would have a company go to such lengths to silence their critics

The Anti-American Collective of Communists are one of the most seditious groups in this country.....they promote Free Trade Communism Globalism and Open Borders-Illegal Alien Amnesty. In saner times to Collective of Communists would have been shut down for Treason

Bank of America...well, no surprise there. They are obviously squirming over what WikiLeaks has on them.

[kroll]

I always figured that elaborate conspiracies by the govt/corporations were unlikely and figments of Hollywood. Sad that my wonderful sense of naiveté was crushed....Considering the whole incident came out by complete accident (the idiot Barr poking the Bear), this naturally leads to the questions about how widespread such ludicrous strategies really are...

[Uncle Miltie]

I work for a major F500 Company. We wouldn’t get anywhere close to tactics like that. We bend over backwards to protect our good name, so far as to give our competitors too good a position so we don’t look “unfair”.