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The art of restraint: why not every system should be owned

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Dissent

Jesse William McGraw writes:

Greetings, reader! I want to talk about my former life as a blackhat hacker because it never makes any sense. Many of my rampant hacking campaigns focused on breaking into big servers across several industries but not on seizing the networks by the throat and forcing them to their knees.

I think someone once said, “Your story is a collection of ‘almost did big things.’” This is true for me because I always knew when to pull back. I was driven to maintain control over my hacking operations and my operators. If I couldn’t guarantee control over the outcome, I didn’t like to meddle with it.

Whereas the statute of limitations for these prosecutable confessions has long since expired, and the FBI is already well aware of them, I want to share some true stories. I believe it’s important to talk about these things since readers deserve a clearer understanding of the hacking landscape, the psychology, the choices, and the consequences behind it all.

Read more at CyberNews.

Category: Commentaries and AnalysesHackOf Note

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