The Jester, A ‘Hacktivist For Good’, Claims WikiLeaks Takedown

By on November 30, 2010 in News 65

A Jester?Sounds like a comic book villain. Richard Allen Greene & Nicola Hughes report for CNN:

A computer hacker who calls himself “The Jester” claimed responsibility for the cyber attack which took down the WikiLeaks site Sunday, shortly before it started posting hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables.

The Jester, who describes himself as a “hacktivist for good,” said he took the controversial site down “for attempting to endanger the lives of our troops, ‘other assets’ & foreign relations.”

He normally attacks Islamist websites, announcing “TANGO DOWN” on his Twitter account when claiming to have attacked a site. “Tango Down” is Special Forces jargon for having eliminated a terrorist.

The Jester describes himself as “an ex-soldier with a rather famous unit, country purposely not specified.”

“I was involved with supporting Special Forces, I have served in (and around) Afghanistan amongst other places,” he told the website threatchaos.com early this year.

Read More on CNN

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  • Hadrian999

    wait til he realizes the people he worked weren’t the good guys.

    • Andrew

      What makes you think he won’t cling to the lies he’s lived by until rigor mortis kicks in?

      • Hadrian999

        maybe he will

  • Hadrian999

    wait til he realizes the people he worked weren’t the good guys.

  • Parker Gabriel

    That “Jester” has no business signaling “Tango Down” against terrorists; he IS a terrorist himself! Moreover, those who contribute to WikiLeaks should not have anyone seeing to their punishment–we and ours should commend their courageous actions and condemn the cowardly tyrants in power who seek to silence them.

  • Parker Gabriel

    That “Jester” has no business signaling “Tango Down” against terrorists; he IS a terrorist himself! Moreover, those who contribute to WikiLeaks should not have anyone seeing to their punishment–we and ours should commend their courageous actions and condemn the cowardly tyrants in power who seek to silence them.

  • N1v3krist

    misplaced loyalties…it’s the US government that puts our troops and civilians in jeopardy.

    • Tuna Ghost

      so does releasing confidential military information. If the hacker really is ex-military and not a complete fabrication of the State Department, I can understand his motivation.

      • Hadrian999

        the great loss of life and freedom they take part in is much worse justifies the risk they face.you cant really go somewhere and kill people then cry that someone may want to kill you.

        • Tuna Ghost

          I don’t understand your first sentence. Even if it were grammatically correct I’m doubtful I would understand what you’re attempting to convey here.

          I don’t think they’re complaining about people wanting to kill them, only that some guy with no motivation to kill them is making it easier for other people to kill them. Civilians too, for that matter, as leaking military intelligence puts more than just soldiers at risk.

  • N1v3krist

    misplaced loyalties…it’s the US government that puts our troops and civilians in jeopardy.

  • Tuna Ghost

    so does releasing confidential military information. If the hacker really is ex-military and not a complete fabrication of the State Department, I can understand his motivation.

  • Strummingbabe

    fuck him, all this hacker is doing is help cover up for a bunch of dirty corrupt murderering sods.

    Show me one kid doing math thats better than a thousand soldiers killing people and terrorizing innocent people of some country we dont belong in. Shame on the CIA and Pentagon and the military shame shame shame i bet this hacker works for the pentagon cia to cover up the war crimes they are obviously hiding. the fact they have secrets that they are hiding means that SOMETHING IS WRONG. figure it out.

    • C27

      A government with so many secrets is clearly NOT interested in freedom or democracy. Only power and control…Those who speak truth to power are in the right no matter the cost.

    • Tuna Ghost

      the fact they have secrets that they are hiding means that SOMETHING IS WRONG. figure it out.

      Are you serious? You can’t really be this naive. All governments have confidential information. It’s a vital part of security for any organization. I can’t believe you need to be told this.

      • Hadrian999

        because governments keep secrets doesn’t make it moral.

        • Tuna Ghost

          No shit. Doesn’t make immoral either, which is my point.

          • Hadrian999

            but the secrets are very immoral judging by how badly the govt want them to remain hidden,
            you never have to hide something you are proud of.

          • Tuna Ghost

            Completely untrue. Troop locations, supply routes, sensitive targets, these are all things that, from a security standpoint, need to be kept secret regardless of anyone’s opinion of them. “Ashamed” and “proud” have absolutely nothing to do with information that poses a severe risk to military and civilians if given to the wrong people.

            Listen to what you’re saying here. “They’re keeping it a secret, it MUST be immoral bad stuff because they don’t want us to know!”. Really? Really? I don’t think you’re aware of the implications of that statement.

      • Andrew

        I hope you never used the “If you’ve done nothing wrong you’ve got nothing to fear” line to defend warrantless wiretapping and government spying on American citizens. If so, I’d be tempted to call you a statist.

        • Tuna Ghost

          Only on my students in particular. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a tyrant.

  • Strummingbabe

    fuck him, all this hacker is doing is help cover up for a bunch of dirty corrupt murderering sods.

    Show me one kid doing math thats better than a thousand soldiers killing people and terrorizing innocent people of some country we dont belong in. Shame on the CIA and Pentagon and the military shame shame shame i bet this hacker works for the pentagon cia to cover up the war crimes they are obviously hiding. the fact they have secrets that they are hiding means that SOMETHING IS WRONG. figure it out.

  • Fiver

    If Wikileaks were to publish a similar number of documents of similar import for every major and regional power in the world, I’d be all for it. And they didn’t (which may have only been an issue of availability). They revealed only the (seemingly low level) secrets of the United States. Sure, the USA deserves special scrutiny as the world’s only (for the moment) superpower, but regardless of power, it is only one scheming, violent nation amongst many. This will just fan the flames of anti-US (plus a few of its allies) sentiment, when the whole world needs a critical eye on it.

    • emperorreagan

      I would suspect that other countries don’t make it quite so easy to access information that a PFC was able to download thousands of state department cables in addition to the other documents he was able to obtain.

      The US, apparently, went from compartmentalizing information so tightly between agencies that no one knew what was going on between them, to allowing everyone to access whatever they want.

  • Fiver

    If Wikileaks were to publish a similar number of documents of similar import for every major and regional power in the world, I’d be all for it. And they didn’t (which may have only been an issue of availability). They revealed only the (seemingly low level) secrets of the United States. Sure, the USA deserves special scrutiny as the world’s only (for the moment) superpower, but regardless of power, it is only one scheming, violent nation amongst many. This will just fan the flames of anti-US (plus a few of its allies) sentiment, when the whole world needs a critical eye on it.

  • Andrew

    What makes you think he won’t cling to the lies he’s lived by until rigor mortis kicks in?

  • http://twitter.com/D351 D351

    Jester is a douche and possibly a racist.

  • http://twitter.com/D351 D351

    Jester is a douche and possibly a racist.

  • Sidbimbo

    jester sounds like a fucking hick, and probably still a CIA asset. don’t think we’re all a stupid as you, Jester Jarhead! Tango fuck you!

  • Sidbimbo

    jester sounds like a fucking hick, and probably still a CIA asset. don’t think we’re all a stupid as you, Jester Jarhead! Tango fuck you!

  • C27

    A government with so many secrets is clearly NOT interested in freedom or democracy. Only power and control…Those who speak truth to power are in the right no matter the cost.

  • C27

    A government with so many secrets is clearly NOT interested in freedom or democracy. Only power and control…Those who speak truth to power are in the right no matter the cost.

  • NaturalSelection

    Julian Assange is a hero and his next stop? Wall Street! I say: bring it all down, Julian-baby!!! It is about time someone put these lying/stealing/greedy/unrepentant and unwilling-to-evolve apes into their rightful place…preferably a jail-cell and/or a guillotine! Bring Wall Street crashing to a halt and destroy them all…because from the chaos of destruction comes the phoenix of rebirth and creation. Perhaps we can build something more open/honest/transparent/practical and efficient (that works for everyone – equally!) next time around. Here’s hoping :)

    http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/wikileaks-julian-assange-wants-to-spill-your-corporate-secrets/

  • NaturalSelection

    Julian Assange is a hero and his next stop? Wall Street! I say: bring it all down, Julian-baby!!! It is about time someone put these lying/stealing/greedy/unrepentant and unwilling-to-evolve apes into their rightful place…preferably a jail-cell and/or a guillotine! Bring Wall Street crashing to a halt and destroy them all…because from the chaos of destruction comes the phoenix of rebirth and creation. Perhaps we can build something more open/honest/transparent/practical and efficient (that works for everyone – equally!) next time around. Here’s hoping :)

    http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/29/wikileaks-julian-assange-wants-to-spill-your-corporate-secrets/

  • emperorreagan

    I would suspect that other countries don’t make it quite so easy to access information that a PFC was able to download thousands of state department cables in addition to the other documents he was able to obtain.

    The US, apparently, went from compartmentalizing information so tightly between agencies that no one knew what was going on between them, to allowing everyone to access whatever they want.

  • Hadrian999

    maybe he will

  • Tuna Ghost

    the fact they have secrets that they are hiding means that SOMETHING IS WRONG. figure it out.

    Are you serious? You can’t really be this naive. All governments have confidential information. It’s a vital part of security for any organization. I can’t believe you need to be told this.

  • Hadrian999

    the great lose of life and freedom they take part in is much worse justifies the risk they face.
    you cant really go somewhere and kill people then cry that someone may want to kill you.

  • Hadrian999

    because governments keep secrets doesn’t make it moral.

  • Andrew

    I hope you never used the “If you’ve done nothing wrong you’ve got nothing to fear” line to defend warrantless wiretapping and government spying on American citizens. If so, I’d be tempted to call you a statist.

  • RoscoeMG

    Doubtfull that he’s CIA, DOS attack isnt’ that sophisticated anyway. He is a douche though @D351 you took the words out of my mouth. We’ve got no way of knowing this isn’t an elaborate disinfo scam in itself, they could pay the price of humiliating a few people to slip disinfo though to sceptics, like for instance: Saudi Arabia wanting to take out Iran. Guess you never know.

  • RoscoeMG

    Doubtfull that he’s CIA, DOS attack isnt’ that sophisticated anyway. He is a douche though @D351 you took the words out of my mouth. We’ve got no way of knowing this isn’t an elaborate disinfo scam in itself, they could pay the price of humiliating a few people to slip disinfo though to sceptics, like for instance: Saudi Arabia wanting to take out Iran. Guess you never know.

  • http://voxmagi-necessarywords.blogspot.com/ VoxMagi

    Uh oh Jester…now everyone thinks you’re a fake government stooge hiding in a Pentagon basement somewhere. Tell ya what…here’s a way to get your street cred back. As long you want to punish traitors to America…why don’t round up all the data that Cheney/Rove/Bush buried and destroyed to prevent their arrest. If you were to snag all that and make them pay publicly for their crimes…then we’d all know that you were legit and a hero of the peoplez

  • http://voxmagi-necessarywords.blogspot.com/ VoxMagi

    Uh oh Jester…now everyone thinks you’re a fake government stooge hiding in a Pentagon basement somewhere. Tell ya what…here’s a way to get your street cred back. As long you want to punish traitors to America…why don’t you round up all the data that Cheney/Rove/Bush buried and destroyed to prevent their arrest. If you were to snag all that and make them pay publicly for their crimes…then we’d all know that you were legit and a hero of the peoplez

  • Tuna Ghost

    No shit. Doesn’t make immoral, either, which is my point.

  • Tuna Ghost

    Only on my students in particular. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a tyrant.

  • Tuna Ghost

    I don’t understand your first sentence. Even if it were grammatically correct I’m doubtful I would understand what you’re attempting to convey here.

    I don’t think they’re complaining about people wanting to kill them, only that some guy with no motivation to kill them is making it easier for other people to kill them. Civilians too, for that matter, as leaking military intelligence puts more than just soldiers at risk.

  • Hadrian999

    but the secrets are very immoral judging by how badly the govt want them to remain hidden,
    you never have to hide something you are proud of.

  • Tuna Ghost

    Completely untrue. Troop locations, supply routes, sensitive targets, these are all things that, from a security standpoint, need to be kept secret regardless of anyone’s opinion of them. “Ashamed” and “proud” have absolutely nothing to do with information that poses a severe risk to military and civilians if given to the wrong people.

    Listen to what you’re saying here. “They’re keeping it a secret, it MUST be immoral bad stuff because they don’t want us to know!”. Really? Really? I don’t think you’re aware of the implications of that statement.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hkers-AndBlow/100001842707357 Hkers AndBlow

    hey dumb FUCK, first of all wikileaks does INTENSIVE vetting of all documents. They haven’t even released any of the most sensitive documents. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has even stated in a letter that no lives have been lost due to wikileaks. You cocksucking pro-authoritarians deserve the nightmare hell of a fascist steel toed booted government.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hkers-AndBlow/100001842707357 Hkers AndBlow

    Yeah, a tyrant and overall CUNT.

  • JMO

    yep. Fuck you Jester, you’re just a pathetic little terrorist turd.

  • JMO

    yep. Fuck you Jester, you’re just a pathetic little terrorist turd.

  • Tuna Ghost

    I think you need to pay more attention to what people are saying, guy. Who exactly is arguing for the right to keep secrets? I couldn’t give a living fuck for the US government, but to claim that the things the military are keeping secret must be immoral because they’re being kept secret is pretty ignorant, and I’d like to think Hadrian is better than that. Furthermore, I am not at all comforted by the fact that wikileaks does “intensive vetting”. I don’t consider them competent judges, and neither does anyone else who matters. That no one has died yet is of no comfort either. I used to drive drunk, and just because I never killed anyone doesn’t mean I had the right to keep on doing so.

    But what do I know, I suck cock and am attempting to usher in a new age of steel-toed authoritarian fascism. Lucky for me I look great in black leather boots and cut a sharp figure in a uniform.

  • CinemaParadiso

    If one of your relatives lives were at risk in one of those cables I think you would say bravo jester! Protesting on the internet is the lazy man/woman’s way to get government to change. Try writing a letter, voting or even peaceful protest. Simply put there is the irony that I post this on the internet… If the goal is to decrease corruption then perhaps the “hactivist” and Assange should work together who knows what magic they could make?

  • CinemaParadiso

    If one of your relatives lives were at risk in one of those cables I think you would say bravo jester! Protesting on the internet is the lazy man/woman’s way to get government to change. Try writing a letter, voting or even peaceful protest. Simply put there is the irony that I post this on the internet… If the goal is to decrease corruption then perhaps the “hactivist” and Assange should work together who knows what magic they could make?

  • NAMELESSWON

    some one needs to take out CHRIS RYAN NOW

  • NAMELESSWON

    some one needs to take out CHRIS RYAN NOW

  • Parker Gabriel

    That evil terrorist!

  • Parker Gabriel

    That evil terrorist!

  • Edd

    Did Wikileaks actually post any info on troop locations, supply routes, sensitive targets, or ANYTHING that could actually jeopardise the safety of people in a war zone? Everything I’ve come across so far has been diplomatic correspondence, nothing that puts lives at risk.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-W-Henkel/1074814673 Stephen W. Henkel

    I won’t say anything. He’s a hacktivist. I don’t mess with people who can mess up my computer. I <3 my computer. Although I disagree with his cause, his methods were correct. Hactivism fighting hactivism. The war has begun! (let's make a movie).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-W-Henkel/1074814673 Stephen W. Henkel

    I won’t say anything. He’s a hacktivist. I don’t mess with people who can mess up my computer. I <3 my computer. Although I disagree with his cause, his methods were correct. Hactivism fighting hactivism. The war has begun! (let's make a movie).

  • Tuna Ghost

    I think you need to pay more attention to what people are saying, guy. Who exactly is arguing for the right to keep secrets? I couldn’t give a living fuck for the US government, but to claim that the things the military are keeping secret must be immoral because they’re being kept secret is pretty ignorant, and I’d like to think Hadrian is better than that. Furthermore, I am not at all comforted by the fact that wikileaks does “intensive vetting”. I don’t consider them competent judges, and neither does anyone else who matters. That no one has died yet is of no comfort either. I used to drive drunk, and just because I never killed anyone doesn’t mean I had the right to keep on doing so.

    But what do I know, I suck cock and am attempting to usher in a new age of steel-toed authoritarian fascism. Lucky for me I look great in black leather boots and cut a sharp figure in a uniform.

  • Edd

    Did Wikileaks actually post any info on troop locations, supply routes, sensitive targets, or ANYTHING that could actually jeopardise the safety of people in a war zone? Everything I’ve come across so far has been diplomatic correspondence, nothing that puts lives at risk.