KISS's Gene Simmons website DDoS attack: Suspected Anonymous hacker charged

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/12/14/kisss-gene-simmons-website-ddos-attack-suspected-anonymous-hacker-charged/

by Graham Cluley on December 14, 2011 | Comments (4)

Filed Under: Featured, Law & order, Vulnerability

Gene Simmons from KissWhen the website of rock star Gene Simmons fell victim to a denial-of-service attack for five days in October 2010, the legendary KISS front man vowed revenge.

Yesterday, a 24-year-old man suspected of being linked to the Anonymous hacktivist group was arrested by the FBI in relation to the attack.

Kevin George Poe, of Manchester, Connecticut, was charged with conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer.

Gene Simmons became the focus of hacktivists' attention after he spoke on a panel about building entertainment brands at the MIPCOM convention in Cannes:

"Make sure your brand is protected. Make sure there are no incursions. Be litigious. Sue everybody. Take their homes, their cars. Don't let anybody cross that line, The music industry was asleep at the wheel, and didn't have the balls to sue every fresh-faced, freckle-faced college kid who downloaded material. And so now we're left with hundreds of thousands of people without jobs. There's no industry."


The KISS star's opinions didn't go down too well with many fans of P2P file-sharing, and his website genesimmons.com was brought down by the denial-of-service attack, before ultimately being redirected to the controversial Pirate Bay torrent site.

According to prosecutors, Poe - using the online handle of 'spydr101' - and others used the Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) to overload Simmons's website and shut it down.

Gaining control over his website again, Gene Simmons published a statement in typically uncompromising, macho style:

Some of you may have heard a few popcorn farts re: our sites being threatened by hackers.

Our legal team and the FBI have been on the case and we have found a few, shall we say "adventurous" young people, who feel they are above the law.

And, as stated in my MIPCOM speech, we will sue their pants off.

First, they will be punished.

Second, they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who's been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend.

We will soon be printing their names and pictures.
We will find you.
You cannot hide.

Stay tuned

If convicted, Poe could face up to 15 years in federal prison.

Anyone considering participating in a denial-of-service attack might be wise to remember that it is against the law, and punishments can be severe.

Good for Gene. This is one place where I agree with his actions.

Don't mess with the Demon!!!

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

I rarely applaud things Gene says or does, but I'll give him props on this one. Teach 'em a lesson, Gene-O.

Good for him, sadly for him the rest of industry is filled with sackless wonders, who will not follow suit

I think ripping these people balls off would be a better punishment.

Good for him. Go,Gene,Go !

cant wait to see what they do to him in retaliation...

i don't care about gene, after he supported the israeli deadly attacks on my country in 2006.

shame...

Gene has a right to defend his website, so more power to him.

Though personally I think he's as low as toxic pond scum.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

Which is not illegal, therefore has nothing to do with what he did here. Which was awesome.

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

Which is not illegal, therefore has nothing to do with what he did here. Which was awesome.

Fathers with daughters and owning shotguns beg to differ.

mlotek wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

Which is not illegal, therefore has nothing to do with what he did here. Which was awesome.

Fathers with daughters and owning shotguns beg to differ.

Only losers beg.

Eyesore wrote:

mlotek wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

Which is not illegal, therefore has nothing to do with what he did here. Which was awesome.

Fathers with daughters and owning shotguns beg to differ.

Only losers beg.

but they shoot pretty straight...

Eyesore wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

Which is not illegal, therefore has nothing to do with what he did here. Which was awesome.

Where did I mention the word illegal? I never used that word. Moral high ground goes beyond illegal activities, therefore what I stated was 100% applicable!

metalinmyveins wrote:

Gene is totally right for going balls to the wall after this organization, but I still laugh when Gene takes the moral high ground on issues. Here's a guy who was a full on misogynist for the better part of his life.

He's not only a misogynist he's a complete sfincter and a sad loser who will never experience true love, but even though i hate him (but like KISS) that's one time where he does a right thing. Especially if it is against that virgin-nerd loser troop Anonymous group who annoys everyone, because they watched Matrix too much and think with DDOS-attacks they can change the planet.

Good. Gene is right on this. Way to go for sticking to it and getting to the bottom of it.

old news, but might as well update why this thread was started

February 5, 2013
Plea Deal Struck Over Attack On Kiss Web Sites
Assault prompted by Gene Simmons comments
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/gene-simmons-ddos-plea-587912

FEBRUARY 5--A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to participating in a coordinated online attack on Kiss frontman Gene Simmons, whose web sites were targeted in retaliation for comments the rock star made about Internet piracy.

The October 2010 denial of service attack against genesimmons.com and two other sites--which were knocked offline--was spearheaded by the online collective “Anonymous,” which dubbed its Simmons assault “Operation Payback.”

The musician, 63, upset “Anonymous” and its various sympathizers when he advised entertainment industry figures to “sue everybody, take their houses, their cars. The music industry was asleep at the wheel and didn't have the balls to sue every freckle-faced kid who downloaded tracks.”

The FBI opened a criminal probe after a Simmons lawyer, Barry Mallen, reported the denial of service attack to federal investigators.

During a hearing last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Kevin George Poe, 25, pleaded guilty to his role in the Simmons attack. Poe, known online as “spydr101,” copped to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. FBI agents determined that Poe’s computer swamped the genesimmons.com web site with 69,000 requests during the denial of service attack.

Poe, pictured in the above mug shot, was originally indicted last year on two felony charges--conspiracy and computer impairment--that carried a combined maximum of 15 years in prison. However, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Poe was named in a superseding criminal information that only charged him with the reduced impairment count.

The plea deal notes that prosecutors will not oppose Poe’s request at sentencing--set for June 10--that he receive probation instead of incarceration. Government lawyers could, however, ask that a probation term include a maximum of six months of home detention. The misdemeanor to which Poe pleaded carries a maximum one-year prison term.

While Poe’s indictment alleges that he conspired with “others known and unknown” to a federal grand jury, Poe appears to be the only individual charged with participating in the Simmons attack.

The only other suspect to be identified was a Washington State boy whose home was searched by FBI agents in April 2011. The high school student, who was 15 when his residence was raided, was a 4chan habitué whose Facebook page carried the nickname “herpderpity” and listed “Trolling” as the teen’s favorite sport.

herpdipity??????? Geeze, these teens today are even dumber then when I was one!!!!

Yeah, because confining a hacker to his house for six months is punishment. Haha.

A decade plus and rape-wishing doesn't fit the crime, sorry 'Murica.