The FBI thread: Ive attached links where diagrams are provided throughout this 🧵.
First, a little background on my team. We started working together back in the days of P2P apps like Kazaa, BearShare, iMesh, etc. Back in those days, you could actually see who's IP address you were connecting too. And there was porn. Everywhere.
https://twitter.com/MuricanVeteran/status/1785687453652979894?
We individually started noticing that this included CP. So we posted on Exploit.in (a hacking forum we were all members of) and asking what we could do to help catch these people. This was how we formed our team. Slowly we began to learn how to hack people.
https://twitter.com/MuricanVeteran/status/1785687457796857892?
We started off running scripts that other people created to kick them offline. It was hit or miss. But eventually we started writing our own scripts. Then we started tracking them back to their homes by their IP addresses. But what could we do with this information?
https://twitter.com/MuricanVeteran/status/1785687461152301156?
We caught people from all over the country AND the world. We couldn't possible go after them all individually. So, we decided we would compile lists of these people, their IP addresses, times/dates of when they uploaded this content, and report it to the Feds.
While doing this, we noticed an onion link that was being shared in the zip files of CP. An onion link is basically a link to darkweb-site. When we first checked it out, it looked harmless and we overlooked it in our work. But one of the guys was convinced there was more there.
Turns out he was right. This site was basically a CP Amazon. You could go there and "order" CP, for a price. Not only that, some of it included torture in the descriptions. At this point, we knew we had to get the Feds involved. So we did.
We called the FBI and emailed them numerous anonymous tips. Over and over again, with no response. We wondered wtf was going on. We didn't want to expose our identities and go to a local office as we wanted to remain anonymous.
So we started doing the next best thing, and contacted local law enforcement close to where these people lived. This was also shaky at best. Cops want witnesses to crimes. To be a witness, means you cannot remain anonymous. So the struggle continued.
Then one of us was watching "to catch a Predator" and it dawned on us, the media! We could use them to be the "witness"! They could "break" the story with our information, confront them, and have them arrested! Perfect! All bases covered! That's how we started.
What does this have to do with the FBI? Well, after all the times we contacted them and got no response, we started wondering about "honey pots". We knew they existed and we wondered if the FBI was possibly running CP honey pots.
Years go by and we find a new place they are selling CP. We started researching this site and it's user base. Upon doing so, we found some rather fishy IP activity. Quantico Virginia. Wait, wtf?
I'm gonna tell you what we saw, and then I'm going to tell you the "official" version of the story. You can decide on your own, what you believe. First, you need to understand some things about TOR. TOR is the "darkweb". It's not the same as the clear web.
Sorry this🧵 is quite long so those who wish to continue reading from this point can click on this link.
https://twitter.com/MuricanVeteran/status/1785687487349956620?
Link to full 🧵 can be found at this link.
https://twitter.com/MuricanVeteran/status/1785687449383162088?
Continued Part 2.)
The clearweb is easily traceable. Everything has an IP address that traces back to a location unless you're using a VPN. TOR has a built in VPN of sorts. You enter through an entry node, use the net on a traffic node, and exit through an exit node. This is 3 separate handoffs.
However, if you open a clear web browser while on TOR, we can see you. This is what was happening. There was someone at the FBI using the clear web while on TOR. The FBI obviously uses VPN's. So now it all made sense to us.
When you connect to a VPN, there is a short "connection time" delay. What we were seeing was an FBI agent, logging into the darkweb, going to the site where CP was being sold, then opening a clear web browser. The VPN would connect, but in that small delay, we saw the connection.
"Finally!" we all thought. We'd have some backup. Some REAL cops to help bring this down. However, this was in 2014. Months go by. The website is still up. It's still operational. What is going on? So we call the FBI and tell them about the site. This was a problem.
This time, we got a call back. We were using VOIP so they had no idea who they were calling. We spoke to the agent briefly about what was going on. The agent listened intently and seemed to be taking notes. FINALLY we're getting some help!
At the end of our 5 minute long conversation, he asks if he can have another agent call back that handles these cases. OF COURSE you can! 1 hour later, we got the call. This agent was not very friendly and in fact, seemed a little annoyed at us.
After explaining everything, he asks us our names. We tell him we'd prefer to stay anonymous. This is where the problems started. "We're the FBI, we can find out who you are". Ok but why would you want too? We're giving you information. Why are you treating us this way?
"How do we know you're not part of this whole operation?" Bro, we're the ones TELLING you about it. On and on this went, trying to find out more about who we are. Email address? Land line number? Business address? ANYTHING they could to try figure out who we were.
Eventually the team leader took the headset and asked why they were asking more questions about us that the CP ring we had just exposed? To which the agent said, they are the federal bureau of INVESTIGATIONS. He is INVESTIGATING. Yeah, but you're investigating US. "Yes, we are".
So we hung up. We knew that we could never work with them again. Something wasn't adding up. A year goes by and low and behold, what do we see? It happened. The website was taken down. But how? By who? Well, wouldn't you know it, it was the Feds.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/09/playpen-story-fbis-unprecedented-and-illegal-hacking-operation
The official story is that the FBI operated this website for 6 months before finally making arrests. They used a watering hole attack to trace the users accessing the site. The FBI took a TON of shit by basically operating the most prolific CP website.
So the truth from this is simple. We saw them doing this a full year before this story broke. The FBI was more interested in US than stopping CP. The FBI distributed CP on the internet. The FEDERAL GOVT distributed CP. And a Judge agreed.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/05/once-more-a-judge-rules-against-govt-in-tor-enabled-child-porn-case/
I think I have it all here for you to look over fren
Damn, that's a clusterfuck. You almost hope it's because they're being thorough, but who knows with these people.
Should be a lot of names with those IP addresses. Minus the filtered names, of course. You know, national security and sheiiit.