,
21 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
While I was on my epic vacation of a lifetime down in New Zealand, there was a motherboard article that came out describing a Facebook group that posted misogynistic and hateful things towards targeted women and allies of said women. (Con)
motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/…
motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/…
This happened on the same day as my keynote speech at LCA. That's why I tweeted that it was a great day. Because my keynote went great and these horrible people were finally being ousted.
I've known about this group for a very long time. Years even. I've had multiple "spies" if you will, sending me information. I stayed silent, kind of like a snake waiting for that moment to strike.
In that time, I've made calls to a few lawyers and discussed with the FBI.
In that time, I've made calls to a few lawyers and discussed with the FBI.
My decision on what to do legally is still pending, so I don't have news on that front. But of course I thought to myself, "what if the courts don't want to help, even though a lot of what they're doing is illegal, and the ring leader has a criminal history?"
A criminal history that, for what it's worth, is much longer than one case of hacking. Don't ask me how I know.
"ah! I'll oust of them!"
Well, I didn't need to.
Well, I didn't need to.
Tip: since I knew multiple people in that Facebook group, I have more screenshots than what was posted. I haven't curated my list since I'm still catching up from NZ. Give it time.
My friends are everywhere. It pays to be kind to people and give back.
My friends are everywhere. It pays to be kind to people and give back.
My friend, and someone I've looked up to for years, ever since we interviewed her @georgiaweidman joined this podcast to talk about the shit going down, since she's been targeted to a much more extreme than I have: cyberscoop.com/derbycon-illmo…
You'd think the groups leaders would apologize, but they haven't. They still think they're in the right, and these women they're calling out are shams who shouldn't be in the industry. It's sad, really, that they're so threatened by us that they stoop so low.
My friend @deviantollam posted a thoughtful post about what's going on here:
Many in the Facebook group think they shouldn't be ousted, because that's not what we do. They think they should be able to hide in this group, which had 400+ members, and say horrible things about people, all the while playing victims.
So, btw, it's a Facebook group, probably the worst place to do that given Facebook's never ending controversies in light of security and privacy. (But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't know that. They probably don't watch ThreatWire after all 🤣).
But also: everything that gets on the internet, stays on the internet, even those private DMs. I wrote a blog post on my website about just this thing. snubsie.com/blog/2015/6/11…
But here's the difference between us and them:
While they hate and devour themselves...
We love & cherish our community. We don't aim to strike down or belittle those that they think are "less". We motivate. We write books. We make free videos. We do keynotes and technical talks
While they hate and devour themselves...
We love & cherish our community. We don't aim to strike down or belittle those that they think are "less". We motivate. We write books. We make free videos. We do keynotes and technical talks
We contribute our time. We volunteer. We treat others like we want to be treated. With respect. And value. We mentor. We teach classes. We donate. We do everything we can to grow this hacker and infosec community.
Because we understand that in no way will we win as a whole if we sit there and shit on each other. And while I am glad that this terrible group is being ousted, I'm also sad that it's come to this. Its sad that they couldn't see how their negativity has divided us.
While we've seen conventions grow because of their ability to adapt to changing times and needs, they look at it as an attack on an "all boys club".
And that's so sad!
If it weren't for the work of women generations before me, I wouldn't be doing what I do now.
And that's so sad!
If it weren't for the work of women generations before me, I wouldn't be doing what I do now.
So, rise up, ladies. Let's continue to support each other. I respect each of you and your amazing careers.
My goal, and my dream, is to see more women in infosec. But that can't happen if we don't hold each other accountable and motivate. We need to.
My goal, and my dream, is to see more women in infosec. But that can't happen if we don't hold each other accountable and motivate. We need to.
Because as we've seen during the past few weeks, there's still a lot more work to do.
And while we shouldn't be the ones to bear that burden, I am damn sure I'd rather this trash fire target me than a young woman just getting into infosec.
And while we shouldn't be the ones to bear that burden, I am damn sure I'd rather this trash fire target me than a young woman just getting into infosec.
I love you all (even the haters who are actually helping my analytics every time they interact with my posts😘).
Here's a cat:
