Cатсн²² (in)sесuяitу / ChrisJohnRiley

Snazzy title eh… Well I thought it was apt for the story I’m about to tell. Take a seat children, this ones getting get interesting.

Now, some people in the security industry might already be aware of a company called LIGATT, run by the self proclaimed “World’s No.1 Hacker” Gregory D. Evans. If you’re not aware of him, then you’re one of the lucky ones. I’ll let you form your own opinions, because everybody should be able to make up their own minds. Still, to the point.

As part of my duties for the Eurotrash Security Podcast, I try to arrange interviews with people I think are interesting to talk to. Be that for good or bad reasons. In this case, Gregory Evans was on my list (oooh I feel like Santa) solely to address a number of questions about his recent “book” (together with the associated plagiarism claims), and a few other topics that can only be referred to as dodgy dealings, misguiding people and general nastiness. So starts the story.

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On the evening of Wednesday 16th, I called the offices of LIGATT in Atlanta and asked to speak to Gregory Evans to arrange an interview. After giving my name, I was put through to speak to Gregory to arrange the details. What followed was a short conversation where I explained who I represented (Eurotrash Security Podcast) and what we’d like… i.e. an Interview. Greg ran through what he though about the plagiarism accusations and we arrange to talk again the next evening for a full interview once the whole Eurotrash crew was assembled. When booking the final appointment with his secretary I provided her with the URL of my blog (blog.c22.cc) and she gave me Gregory’s the Skype ID (ligattsecurity) to add ready for the interview.

Less than 15 minutes later, the following comment was received on my blog under the Books (as in book reviews) section.

Now I’m usually a calm guy. People usually like me and I try to get on with everybody equally. I think I do an OK job at that personally. However I don’t like to be threatened…. and threatening my friends and family is certainly stepping across the line.

Now, some things need to be made clear. This message doesn’t give a name. However the information contained within it leaves very little to the imagination, and little doubt who the originator of the message is. This is only compounded when you look at the IP information and track back where in the world this comment originated from. Cue the WHOIS music….

So the IP Address (74.228.197.214) belongs to BellSouth in Atlanta, Georgia. Surprise, surprise, this is the same town where Gregory Evans has his head offices. The very same place I was calling not 15 minutes earlier. I’m sure that’s just a co-incidence though, right!

Anyway, lets break down these colourful words and niceties to see what’s being said.

Chris, 20Plus or what every you want to go by

I usually go by Chris… this is my name after all. It makes sense.

You dick head. I wish I had known it was you I was just on the phone with.

You did know it was me… or at least you would have if you’d a) being paying attention to your secretary, b) not been too busy raging about how you’ve been hard done by and people are wrong accusing you of plagiarism.

I see you have books listed above but you did not write any of them.

This is correct…. just like you, I’ve never written a book. I do however have a few books I’ve read and like to recommend should people want some good books to read. The CEH Study Guide isn’t on the list however. Sorry. In other news it’s also 2010!

If you think that you are better than me, then put up the money and challenge me! If not shut the fuck up! I can out hack you any day.

Sorry, I don’t have a million dollars, and to be honest if I had to sell myself to get it, I’d rather stay without. However seeing as you’ve already being taken up on your challenge by Chris Nickerson, I fail to see the issue here… that is unless you plan to dodge that response and pretend you never saw it. Here’s a screenshot incase you missed it the first few times you were told.

I will now go after you family first! You fucked up! You let me find out who you really are! Now you must go! Bitch!

Right… so by “let me find out who you really are” you mean, I told you who I was. Unlike you, I’m not hiding from things. This is my blog, I have my name on it. I also gave you my name and affiliations on the phone. You really need to concentrate more. Hacking is all about attention to detail! Feel free to use that quote on your Twitter feed… no attribution required!

I will have my friend in your home country tracked down everyone you are friends with and your family and see what you are all about!

No need for tracking me down…. here’s my GPS coordinates (48.850385,15.096588). Please let me know when you’re coming past, I’ll cook fairy cakes or something. On a side-note, we arrest people in Austria for threatening behavior. Come to think of it, I think you do that in the US too. Anyway, lets move on. There’s more!

I have more money and power than you will every have!

See how good this “nigga” is now!

I don’t see any power… all I see is the threats of a little man who’s lashing out at everything and anything he finds threatening. I pity you, really I do.

Now you might have noticed I’ve resisted saying things like “you threaten my family and my friends again and I’ll cram those words down your throat using a strangely large kitchen utensil“… not because I can’t say them, or because I’d need to waste my precious time hunting for an oversized spatula at the local flea market, but because I’m more of a man than to resort to your childish tactics and lower myself to your level.

I can accept you feeling threatened by me and others in the InfoSec community. Threatening me might have seemed like your best plan of action. Intimidate me into silence. Seems like a fair enough game to play. Still, as I said, I draw the line when it comes to my friends and my family. I suggest you think about what you’ve done, take a timeout and re-evaluate your life.