I suspect a lot of people have difficulty recognizing that what they believe about the world may not be representative of how the world actually behaves. I certainly do, frequently.

Like with politics, people think they need to go vote and march and stuff to effect change, but if you're willing to accept the idea that there are limits to your ability to perceive the world and your perceptions are misleading, you can pretty reliably go and see that isn't true.

You can also decipher deeper realities like you can basically put whatever you want on flat bread, or that you dadskf;'akse'wfaegqrwt;'lj'a fuck my brain. I'm asd I'm not sure what I was trying to say.

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[–] Optimus_Subprime@hexbear.net 10 points 2 years ago (3 children)

What I'm trying to say here is that you don't have to be a good hacker to be a good penetration tester and one of the most fruitful areas for "hacking" is always going to be social engineering.

That is why Kevin Mitnick was the "king" and considered "the most dangerous hacker" in the 90's. His forté was social engineering. https://www[dot]mitnicksecurity[dot]com/in-the-news/kevin-mitnick-genius-and-one-of-the-most-famous-hackers-in-history

On February 15, 1995 the FBI managed to hunt down Kevin Mitnick, considered by the New York Times as "the most wanted hacker in all cyberspace." Mitnick would end up spending five years in prison for various crimes, including eight months in an isolation cell.

Why so much time in isolation? Because someone convinced the judge that he was capable of "initiating a nuclear war by whistling on a public telephone". That decision increased the myth of a hacker who achieved much more for his ability with social engineering than for his technical ability.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago

That also happened at a time where most people in the gov and leo really didn't understand tech yet. Not that it's much better now, but the sort of people who were chasing and abusing Kevin couldn't figure out how to program their VCR. #FreeKevin

[–] NPa@hexbear.net 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Why so much time in isolation? Because someone convinced the judge that he was capable of "initiating a nuclear war by whistling on a public telephone".

nerd "Mr. Clinton, listen to this for a sec." [impossibly beautiful rendition of The Internationale performed in whistling]

billdawg "I understand. AmeriKKKa must burn."

[–] Optimus_Subprime@hexbear.net 5 points 2 years ago

sicko-jpeg

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 3 points 2 years ago

Realizing that judges are, by and large, have no qualifications at all, of any kind, whatsoever, really helps you on your way to realizing that society is silly and you shouldn't take it at face value.