Whoever Hacked Stratfor Hacked Again. What Do They Want?

Pepper foam for sale at SpecialForces.com

While it’s still not clear who the perpetrators were of the first Stratfor hack, that same group is now claiming responsibility for a system breach of Special Forces Gear, a somewhat, um, intense website, founded by a Special Forces veteran, that sells military and law enforcement gear as well as stupid T-shirts. The website describes the business this way:

Ltc Dave Thomas, the founder of Special Forces Gear, … served as a member of the Special Forces (Green Berets) and Airborne Rangers (1st Ranger Bn.), two of the most elite fighting forces in the world. He is offically retired but still active in the Special Operations Community.

Dave explains his purpose: “Completing the mission and surviving is always the goal. Revising and improving my equipment makes my goals more reachable. I started Special Forces Gear to give others the benefits of my experience.

All of Dave’s designs are based on equipment developed and modified by and for the Special Forces fighting forces and actually used and tested on missions. Dave recognized the need in civilian life for some of these superior designs and improved on their utility, comfort and appearance.

A lot of the merchandise is clearly for civilians who fetishize military life or who just think some of this stuff is cool. Much of it is the typical stuff you’d find in any Army/Navy store.

Also, Special Forces donates 25 percent of the purchase price of certain items to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), which provides college scholarship grants, financial aid and educational counseling to children of Special Operations personnel who are killed.

This is how the hackers chose to explain targeting Special Forces:

Continuing the week long celebration of wreaking utter havoc on global financial systems, militaries, and governments, we are announcing our next target: the online piggie supply store SpecialForces.com. Their customer base is comprised primarily of military and law enforcement affiliated individuals, who have for too long enjoyed purchasing tactical combat equipment from their slick and “professional” looking website. What’s that, officer? You get a kick out of pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in public parks? You like to recreationally taser kids? You have a fetish for putting people in plastic zip ties?

As far as larger goals,

We’ll continue to have ourselves a merry LulzXmas at the expense of capitalist pigs, corrupt public officials and all those third parties who cater to the continued oligarchic elite worldwide. We are your secretaries, your janitors, your babysitters, your IT guys, your bus drivers, your maids, your hard-working, driven and determined fellow humans. We could be sitting next to you in a coffee shop, scanning your goods at a department store or even fixing your busted-ass computer. We are here to stay, and by now, you had better damn well expect us, cause the time for simple “lulz” is long past.

Oh, and by the way: Did Bradley Manning get his fancy holiday meal yet? Might want to hurry up before we hit even more targets.

Bradley Manning, whose mental health has deteriorated as a result of the inhumane conditions of his captivity, needs a hell of a lot more than a fancy holiday meal. A new defense would do nicely too.

I wish I had a sense this hacking binge was going to bring about some kind of real change. I’m not sure it will.