FBI agent explains Anonymous hacker group

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Chris Tarbell: FBI Age...
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GUEST BIO:
Chris Tarbell is a former FBI special agent and cybercrime investigation specialist who brought down Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road, and Hector Monsegur (aka Sabu) of LulzSec and Anonymous.
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[@LexClips]

Full podcast episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anzMgGt9h8yqes0 Lex Fridman podcast channel: kzbin.info Guest bio: Chris Tarbell is a former FBI special agent and cybercrime investigation specialist who brought down Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road, and Hector Monsegur (aka Sabu) of LulzSec and Anonymous.

[@bradforward850]

It was a Koch Industries toilet paper company.

[@sourpoison5681]

Letting this guy sit and lie to you and your audience says a lot guy He completely forgot about the chapter with Aaron Schultz that they feds pushed to suicide, and the scientology anonymous feud, he left out how Sabu went onto become an informant and started another main "sec" or group to entrap anons, he completely forgot about the cia infiltration and the push for socialism

[@sourpoison5681]

@Kieron Mac he uploaded it in private setting 6days ago commented on it and made it public the other day. That's how that works

[@AnonInternationalOperations]

Surge runs Anonymous now.

[@randrewp]

Lex's questions feel like someone asking the police if they have any leads while they are the actual perp

[@waurbenyeger]

Lex is on that Kaiser Soze shit, in other words.

[@-Evo]

He’s a Jew, he can’t be trusted

[@jak_w515]

@@waurbenyeger I was about to say the same thing lol

[@youvandal411vm]

Sabu was an FBI Informant and Anonymous is the Feds

[@karm1834]

I been thinking the same thing wth lmao

[@Brandon-youtube]

"Just doing my job" is one of the most dangerous phrases in world history

[@ghettochicken8420]

100%

[@MrVaDelux]

I worked a 10 hour shift one time (work as a courier driver) had to drive from NC to NYC , as im finally coming back from NYC about 20 minutes from my house i decide to pull over get some water, get an ice tea, and smoke my little joint, and for my luck a cop comes out of no where parks right next to and catches me mid act. Now this is NC. So u can imagine there still pretty conservative and for my luck it was one of those cops that wears sun glass shades , has a buzz cut and a moustache, i knew for a fact i was fucked as soon as i saw the moustache, he asks me what im doing , clear as day (even though its 3am) im in my car smoking a joint , he tells me to step out of the vehicle i tell him, sir look i just got off from working a 10 hour shift i had to drive from NC to NYC, and back to NC , i just got back in town, i live down the road , i never ask for free hand outs and im the type that takes an L like a man, but this one time i beg you out of the kindness of your heart to please just let me go home, i tell him if u arrest me right now i will lose my job , and he replies with that exact statement. “Im just doing my job, you need to understand there is consequences to your actions”. So after driving 10 hours up to NYC then pretty much another 4-5 back to NC (FOR MY JOB) i get arrested for smoking a joint in the car down the road from my house, i also lost my job the following day , so here i am 21, dropped out of college, finally had a decent job i enjoyed working, staying out of trouble, saving up money, pretty much shi out of luck and back to square one all because i decided to smoke a joint and buy some green tea…. “Just doing my job” everytime i say those words i see that fat fucks moustache

[@probnot9476]

@@MrVaDelux I completely sympathize with you, the fact that marijuana is still illegal is an absolute joke. I hope you’re still here with us despite the nonsense you went through. An honest working man smoking some weed after a day of work, and getting it trouble for it is obscene to me. I hope you are doing well after such an incident, Amen

[@TheGhost0510]

@@MrVaDeluxPeople like that who have no sympathy for the working man/woman create villains. It’s people like that cop who dismiss the humanity in all of this. You were just another number to him. He didn’t see the chess move right in front of him. Not you, but he’s going to move the wrong chess piece some day and it’ll be checkmate for some unsespecting victim(s) because he didn’t see the right move in front of him. Every one has a breaking point. Life is hard enough, and I’m not saying to give out handouts, but it’s easy to see when you should or shouldn’t do certain things. That cop can read body language. He should’ve just checked your license to see your address. If you were down the street to your house, just let you go home. Bro, I hope all is well, and I hope things have/will work out for you going forward.

[@cap2205]

​@MrVaDelux hey buddy no offense but you couldn't wait the 20 minutes to just smoke in the comfort of your own home?

[@beng4647]

That man is one of our finest donut eaters.

[@kevthepoet]

But donuts are delicious to be fair.

[@jagmaster8647]

If this is what some random people with no financial support can do and not get caught imagine what countries hackers are capable of.

[@caraco655]

If you're interested, there's a great book called Sandworm that goes into the biggest cyberattack in history - caused by government agents.

[@RyukyuStyle]

the greatest hackers in the world are north koreans lol.

[@MrMuz99]

@@RyukyuStyle - You beat me to it! 😁 They train people and then send them to colleges/universities, when the 'education' is over, they go back home with all their hard-earned 'knowledge'. I want to say Thoughty2 covered this..... 🤔

[@myname-mz3lo]

@@RyukyuStyle you do know that anyone can do a cyberattack and make it look like it came from anywhere....

[@majinvegeta7777]

​@@RyukyuStyle why do you say that

[@andrewsmith1860]

“They were exposing our corruption so it pissed is off” is the biggest takeaway I got from it

[@jdmathys1]

A chance to make a splash attacking a toilet paper company? That was a top tier dad joke 😮 I’m sad it wasn’t caught by Lex.

[@mctow8554]

He papered over it

[@mctow8554]

His guest was on a roll

[@mikemehevic5292]

He wiped the joke away

[@korimus]

He also yadda yadda'd nuclear war. Top notch!

[@alrightythen1466]

@@korimus 😂😂

[@jackmanders7077]

They’ve been so quiet for the past decade . I wouldn’t be surprised if they either got eliminated and replaced by government agents. Or one by one they got arrested .

[@arcadyskoit]

They got arrested, one was caught and gave up some others :/

[@khalshubh]

He started his answer by saying that anonymous is still a decentralised hacker group.

[@youngandbearded8474]

They’re actually pretty active right now regarding the revolution happening in Iran

[@SevenHunnid]

I’m tryna make it out the hood so on my KZbin channel i do food reviews while I’m super high brotha💯💯

[@Will111ism]

A new #Anon will hit the headlines. it's in the #oven atm

[@nothingberder]

The fact that hacking ability and infrastructure gives you power in a group like anonymous is important to understand

[@myname-mz3lo]

that is true for any activism and any group organisation ... do you want the noobs to be calling the shots ??

[@SuperChrisDub]

At least Anonymius have ability in at least one area unlike a lot of organisations. Unlike QAnon. Also, they are humans after all so of course there are power dynamics. That's how our species rolls. It is what marks us as still part of the animal kingdom not apart from it. As a person, I like Lex but his questions are so soft. It is the podcast host dilemma. They want a controversial guest to get the views, but if they pushed back against the bs, no-one would agree to come on because no-one wants to look stupid.

[@italianmiltyfriedman6264]

I'm sure the FBI is here to give us just the straight facts

[@zackphilbrick8439]

Right lollll

[@myname-mz3lo]

surely ..

[@christinasuozzo]

Yes! 😂🤣🤣👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@cristianescalera5832]

LuLz

[@maiskitty]

😅

[@StreetKingzTVHD]

Love your interviews man.

[@markmccreadie6212]

My guess is most of the real hackers in the group have either been eliminated by government agencies or now work for them. Not much in between when you can cause the destruction they can.

[@thefreedomishere]

I'll be more willing to bet that most of these hackers for FBI agents. It seems like all these crazy ass things to keep happening the FBI seems to be involved. Just like January 6th we now know it was the FBI that had people there that were screaming to go into the capital and like black lives matter protests somebody was leaving bricks for them to fucking destroy shit with. And it all keeps coming back to the FBI.

[@myce-liam]

I don't think it's a matter of because they can, lots of people would be capable of similar acts, it's the willingness to pursue it that made them dangerous

[@TrackStar42]

How do people even get into hacking😂 and why

[@myce-liam]

@@TrackStar42 People get into hacking for lots of different reasons... Most people do it because they have an interest in the systems and how/why they work. However, just as in any 'circle' of people, there are people who use their abilities for positive purposes such as helping companies identify issues in their software. Then there are the "wrong'ens" who use their abilities for nefarious purposes.

[@nathanvasil7600]

My guess is that the real hackers have always been government agents, trying to entrap others, either for recruitment or to raise their budgets.

[@briankiefer1]

Hearing two grown men talk about the “lolz” is such a reminder of the times we live in

[@rev.philthyphil6839]

Lulz

[@RyukyuStyle]

I was just laughing about how we talk with a friend recently lol. no cap frfr that shit lit af blazin loud packs sipn wok

[@myname-mz3lo]

that was in 2016...

[@andrewwright.]

2.06 just doing my job....said every government employee

[@andrewwright.]

you entertaining this fool is why I have made sure you don't come up in my list to view.

[@sebsefyu]

Lex, you should have asked him about N.Korean hacker group that hacked Sony studios and keeps hacking the blockchains and steals millions of dollars. I would be very insterested on his take on this.

[@iVETAnsolini]

Hit all the bridges. The weak link

[@RyukyuStyle]

yeah i woulda liked to hear about them too, they are easily the best hackers in the world lol.

[@camstroder7174]

lizard squad

[@harrison2281]

The "yada yada yada" Seinfeld reference went right over Lex's head. Poor dude is just too young

[@judah6816]

he is almost 40

[@sweatyboaby2126]

anyone else get the vibe that Lex used to be involved with this hacking back in the day

[@silentm999]

"They went after a toilet paper company...it was an opportunity to make a splash." Unintentional poo joke

[@theWayoftheHero]

This dude just unironically said "they went after a toilet paper company... it was an opportunity to make a splash" I'm dead 😂😂😂

[@miguelalvarado2120]

“For the lolz” LOL Is there something you’re not telling us Lex?

[@Oleander_Sky]

I remember the fuck FBI Fridays on Twitter lmao!

[@myprobate1661]

I think the problem with things like "F?ck FBI Friday" is that it kind of gives the FBI something to rally around. I could see the 7th floor use it as a kind of FBI pep fest. I wish there were a way to praise the Ted Gundersons of the bureau.

[@shaqrionX]

What If Lex Is One Of These Hackers That Didn’t Get Caught 😂

[@Ricky-kh2sf]

I wish lmao

[@tosehoed123]

What if you didn't use upper case letters for every word like an idiot

[@myname-mz3lo]

could be .

[@Wayne-pr6vs]

This fed among others threatened sabu that he would lose the children if he didn't cooperate.. its no friendship when it's started on threats and intimidation

[@RollOutRory]

Older people trying to act like they understand 4chan will never get old

[@Gray-beard]

Good one kiddo...

[@acunniffe]

You do realise if you started on 4chan at age 16 when it was first launched then you'd be 38 now? 4chan is full of middle aged men pretending to be teenagers.

[@beng4647]

This shit is priceless! 🤣😭😭😭

[@Pyr0qvy]

Who is this "4Chan"?

[@jussiesmollett176]

glowie boomer energy

[@ericweeks2917]

Damn, I wondered where they disappeared to. They were really exposing corruption. No wonder they are no more.

[@malcolmportelli9059]

I thought they were never gone though. They hacked in alot of russion government websites at the beginning of the Russian invasion

[@someperson9999]

Lex: So, what is Anonymous? Fed: It's just a chat room where a bunch of guys hang out, mostly. Pretty much anyone can be in Anonymous. Lex: I'm really intrigued by the philosophy of this. Uh... okay.

[@nardwarbill6209]

Where do we get the full u edited interview?

[@harackmw]

Damn, I missed out on those Fuck FBI fridays...

[@moballardful]

Lmao.

[@StimParavane]

What about the NSA?

[@ElPhenomenon]

I don’t think they ever actually caught anyone worth while

[@thefreedomishere]

Anonymous what happened to wiping out debt. I know you guys are famous for shutting down the FBI. But I mean that's not really a hard thing to do when you're part of the FBI.

[@fredirecko]

Sounds like it was a revolving door centered around a chat room. That model is probably no longer viable now that the government has gotten a clue

[@paulloveless4122]

As someone who has /b/ and Guy Fawkes tatted on him and was part of a team that led #OpIran from 2009 to 2012 I can say this agent is extremely on point.

[@kevthepoet]

What does /b/ mean?

[@Rainingsandstone]

​@@kevthepoet4chan has boards /b/ is the board where random topics can be posted. They would get the most traffic. Not sure if it is still like this.

[@whitehorse1959]

1:46 Yes.

[@thomashopkins2609]

Body language speaks volumes.

[@adityaacharya1799]

This FBI guy looks like if jason sudeikis let himself go.

[@ck8579]

goddamn, that is very accurate🤣

[@gardener3030]

“Is your friend in the room with us right meow?”

[@gzngahrofthenorth]

plot twist: 50 days of lulz was fbi shenanigans

[@mrmagneto554]

"Set a thief to catch a thief"...Lulzsec was FBI trying to get Anonymous hackers to expose themselves. It worked too.

[@apple_m2_delight]

@@mrmagneto554 "it worked too" proof?

[@benjones1717]

Sure anonymous are acting on their own accord, but so are the powers that be, and one has done more proveable harm.

[@RyukyuStyle]

agreed.

[@theycallmebadazz4124]

It's based on a idea, a creed to serve collective justice over personal impulses. Ideas can't die the videos are still on public Internet

[@jonfairclough420]

More UFO stuff PLEASE!!

[@janinegarverick5642]

Wasn't Anons protesting in NYC at the very beginning

[@murphylhunn]

It's an expression of power. Just like people gluing themselves to rembrandts. Or gangs "keeping the hood safe." Never really about helping.

[@jondon3182]

Good examples, as they also believe that they are acting for the benefit of everyone else through their own selfish actions. Pure narcissism

[@L_E_L_0_U_P]

I remember the EFNet days on IRC lol that's one of the places where the DDos began.

[@omgvague]

#FreeKevin

[@danielgaller5151]

Hey Lex....you are a smart guy. Why didnt you examine the clear and non contradictory stream of media releases thru also the youtube Anonymous channel???? Hiw can this be a serious analysis????

[@Menaceblue3]

Yeah this is gonna be a good clip about *Anonymous* 😒

[@brainiac2482]

Should've asked him about my buddy V, and Ori Fiebush.

[@foleylione]

Doesn’t it seem like Lex is one of the anonymous hackers?

[@someperson9999]

I don't think so, personally. He kind of paints them in this altruistic brush, even though the fed he's interviewing is telling him, point blank, that this really isn't the case, and that most these hackers are usually just assholes who think everyone else is a moron or corrupted by THE SYSTEM!! I think Lex just wants them to be these noble truth seekers who have unconventional means of achieving their goals to make the cyber world a safer and more honest place, but in reality they went after a toilet paper company because they had nothing better to do that week.

[@bobbythomas6520]

@@someperson9999 bro really wrote a whole paragraph for that

[@MrRzykruski]

@@bobbythomas6520So you disagree with him but all you have to say is that he wrote too much? Sad

[@kevinolson1835]

He’s wearing the Omega Joe Rogan gave him ❤️☺️

[@jordan_izza_wolf]

What you have to understand their going after individuals based within in these companys. Most of that information will never be public bc why would it. If a toilet paper company was attacked, i would imagine people within the company were doing shady shyt. We can't assume these hackers are bullies. They are the punishers of our society. You do wrong and are someone who owns something that profits off society you will be confronted wether that be personally or in these circumstances your companies.

[@roborobert1]

Idk too much but anonymous seems pretty strong. They are iconic. The name. The word. It’s not good to hurt innocent people though.

[@janinegarverick5642]

Cyber has a great deal of hacker ability

[@michaelpark616]

Explains anonymous you cant explain an idea you cant destroy an idea

[@hexf3248]

oh no! the hacker known as anonymous!!!!

[@Pyr0qvy]

He can't keep getting away with this!

[@Pyr0qvy]

@Carl Petersson also know as "4chan"

[@rztricky]

The unspoken issue to all of it, and why we know there’s a sinister entity inside of the freedom, is curiosity. Curiosity trumps ethics and morals when they compete simply. At the very end point if a critical decision, ethics and morals are the safety. Pulling the Killswitch. Not to proceed. But what if? What would actually happen if we did it…curiosity to see a massive explosion of change and energy occurring in front of us. Because of us. Vanity.

[@Bluechews]

Damn look at lex when he says lulzsec lol he looks into the camera

[@funwithFred]

When there are no checks and balances on those in power, those that come in with a supposed philosophy of good, well......I'm your man. It is corruption that ruins everything. So.....I hope for the good as we "advance"............but expect the worst, because it's the destructive nature of some in "human nature" that can damage so much. However, you can sometimes then, become guilty of the same thing you accuse others of.

[@markchapman140]

nothing to do with av unit...The company was founded by Greg Hoglund in 2003.[1] In 2008, it joined the McAfee Security Innovation Alliance.[5] The CEO made presentations at the Black Hat Briefings, the RSA Conference, and other computer security conferences.[7][8] HBGary also analyzed the GhostNet and Operation Aurora events.[3][7] was he alive then? he knew alot

[@Blue-Hawk-Legend]

I love how cops and feds say they violated the law and needed to be arrested yet continue to let these politicians get away with crimes everyday,even though they get exposed and so do their crimes all the time and no one is ever charged. God Bless anonymous and all the hackers in that group

[@blackdreamhunk3413]

RICQ use to be a home for hackers back in those days. Didn't anonymous have one there too?

[@fredray7188]

The FBI agent looks and sounds exactly like the brother in law from breaking bad🤣🤣🤣

[@janinegarverick5642]

There's a difference in the incident scoop and then theirs just plain murder and crimes against Humanity for the loss of privacy

[@nunyabusiness9013]

Any box can be popped with the right resource. So your threat logs are worthless. Nice report. 🤣

[@janinegarverick5642]

Exactly

[@rangetpc]

We test things through play . Play tests reality and truth.

[@janinegarverick5642]

Remember the toilet paper incident at the beginning of COVID, please

[@user-po9sm9bn9m]

A bit disappointing they didn't have loftier goals. So much pure evil in the world, families and organizations that have been in power for centuries, and they go after irrelevant targets for a few laughs.

[@Jimmy8InFinity]

The whole time he is Anonymous 😳

[@NuffxSaid]

A dirty Fed telling you that the good guys are the bad guys 🤣😂

[@RC_btc]

If everything is a joke, then they surf the kali yuga

[@charconiff949]

Sec a big word in this community

[@deedoyday]

real question is, how many of them that got caught are working at the FBI now?

[@OrcinusLaryngologist]

Enough. Especially being the plea deals given. CI’s are a big part of it. If it weren’t for them they really wouldn’t be too far in the losing battle. That’s why retaining your confidentiality in circles is a big part of a lot of clans.

[@rdean150]

"Yadda yadda yadda, nuclear war. Yeah, I could see that." 😅😅😅

[@jonkoskie8587]

This man knows the truth about Anonymous, an nothing he said is the truth. The irony of what he said versus reality is, well... hilarious and pathetic.

[@_Cryptotruth_]

Overall, I’d say anyone that believes they are secure on line will one day be a victim of fraud or some other on-line crime. My experience tells me that, there are merely layers of security & like a lock on a door, it’s just a deterrent. If someone wants to get in, they will or they will go off looking for easier prey. While I appreciate the idea of self sovereignty, it is a lot of work & humans in general are lazy (or smart enough to conserve energy to run should the need arise). I’m just sayin..

[@beng4647]

We're all FBI agents dorks in highschool?

[@Ahrths]

ofcourse

[@Morningstar_Actual]

Sure, but at least they can use grammar properly…

[@beng4647]

@@Morningstar_Actual autocorrect dude...chillax

[@beng4647]

@@Morningstar_Actual I'm sorry I hurt your feelings

[@janinegarverick5642]

L9s3 of Moral Structure and Integrity to cause Numbness for acceptability in criminal activities and humanity

[@danrich6448]

Lex: "Is there no room for admiration?" FBI: "In retrospect, sure. But at the time no. It was my job. It's the law." That's a serious problem for every society right there by itself.

[@jimmygalpin6660]

Are you saying the problem is that the law does not allow admiration? Or are you saying that it is a problem that we don’t allow for admiration of the success of criminals well enforcing the law

[@TheNinjaStuff]

He's saying that there's a problem with enforcing any and every law simply because "it's the law". Law and morality are not the same. And, oftentimes, blindly enforcing laws does far more damage than good.

[@jondon3182]

Yep, gotta hate the FBI enforcing the law... Sounds a bit like cops who say they understand why a guy killed the rapist of his daughter but still have to arrest him. They are there to do their job, not to make moral judgments. Your take on this is embarrassing

[@TomZonk]

@@TheNinjaStuff I guess it should be fine to release anything related to you that's available online? If someone manages to dox everything on you, including your address, that's fine right? For the internet to swat on a daily? " blindly enforcing laws" Middle class logic at its finest.

[@michaelmyers3093]

Dane cook was in the fbi ?

[@cheddaknottz8486]

I think this whole interview is a sting to get Lex, the true leader of Anonymous.

[@sourpoison5681]

Lex is cia?

[@RajAdityaDas]

Delete this comment right now

[@Nostradumbass420]

This ought to be good.

[@GP-ff8en]

They went after a toilet paper company......it was an opportunity to make a splash

[@beng4647]

Bring back fuck FBI Friday!

[@zeronyne]

Lex: is there no room for admiration? FED: …in retrospect, sure. Lex: oh, thank you! Uhhh….I mean…

[@Youngy]

Hey

[@jonhall2274]

No.

[@jessicarobinson4563]

I’m all for giving the man the finger just saying…

[@smxthcast]

Somehow..... I don t know why.... but I'm not sure I want to believe the FBI's description of anon.

[@jamesianv]

I hear that he said TWITTER followers, MSM are saying social media posts no longer saying Twitter watch that . get in line Lex

[@kevthepoet]

Wait a minute... Lex wears a black suit and tie just like the Anonymous logo.

[@hammerfist8763]

Ok, firmly established that Anonymous has slightly better ethics than the FBI. Not sure that's a win.

[@Danny-zg5gn]

what happened to lizard squad

[@goldamazing1547]

You should talk to a death row inmate

[@zambasp]

the toilet paper company thing is weird. You don't understand what a toilet paper company did? I'm a young adult and I recall just a year or two ago when toilet paper was like selling off shelves as if we were going to be in an Apocalypse. That alone makes me think one if not all the toilet paper companies were involved or just got super lucky....Either way pointing out something that doesn't seem right about these companies seems extremely viable.

[@janinegarverick5642]

Privacy is utmost and the loss of it has caused mass murder on an extremely large scale

[@adamdavis7314]

This guy is a Dunkin Donuts specialists

[@amishhackerlul3731]

Lets talk about aaron swartz murder ???

[@josephandreuccetti7270]

They sent lex the questions lol

[@blackdreamhunk3413]

When you're so cyberpunk🙄 you seen some 1 anonymous member claim that the anonymous hacker group. At the time of when Sabu was around. That person claimed they almost derailed a train. What city I do not know. Sabu know who is really hecktor Monsegur was right about anonymous and agree what he said about anonymous at spa castle. Oh wasn't Sabu was into credit cards at the time? He also had kids I do believe. Also wasn't the original leader of anonymous from Canada 🤔 anonymous start off as trolling group or something 🤔.

[@janinegarverick5642]

They might be attacking Corporstions but their actually attacking their own citizens. It's very sad

[@onlyfanofslots5677]

Remember remember tha 5th of November

[@TestTackle]

Don’t sleep on the toilet paper companies! Why are we the only species that need to wipe our butts?!? #TP Gate

[@JB-ls5pq]

Because Our cheeks be clappin