Jester, Self-Proclaimed Hacktivist, Claims He Took Down WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks has been hit by repeated cyber attacks in recent days, and at least one individual is thought to be at the center of those attacks: the "Jester."

The Jester, known as @th3j35t3r on Twitter, posted a series of tweets on Sunday claiming he brought down WikiLeaks.org and planned to keep it down "INDEFINITELY."

According to his Twitter bio, the Jester is a "Hacktivist for good."

Fox News reports that in the past he has taken down a series of Islamic jihad-related websites:

Over the past year, he's developed a reputation within the tech community as a cybervigilante who targets Al Qaeda and jihadist websites, temporarily taking them offline using an attack tool called XerXes that he says he developed. He claims that one his better known targets is Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Jester is believed to be a U.S. citizen and said he's targeting WikiLeaks "for attempting to endanger the lives of our troops and 'other assets.'"

InformationWeek quoted him as saying, "PS for me personally WL is a sideshow target. I am more interested in the big jihad recruiting and training sites."

After repeated attacks, wikileaks.org's host pulled the plug on its domain name. It also took down a second domain name today: wikileaks.ch.

Comments

[zelduh]

01:18 PM on 12/10/2010

Wikileaks.ch has been up every time I have tried it, including a few seconds ago. Is this a recycled article with no new information?

[John Stuart]

12:39 PM on 12/07/2010

Hes stopped doing anything after the 28th of nov. I think it was a stunt to be honest.

[sockma]

12:13 PM on 12/06/2010

A "hacker" against freedom of information. That's a new one.

[bt5good]

01:08 AM on 12/10/2010

not new at all.

[zelduh]

01:19 PM on 12/10/2010

He's a tea partier. What do you expect?

[rjmiller]

10:03 AM on 12/06/2010

Great, some script kiddie can pay the $15/hour to get a botnet to run a DDoS. What a hero.

[bt5good]

01:08 AM on 12/10/2010

not a ddos. get teh facts

[Counterglow]

09:00 AM on 12/06/2010

So if "Jester" is successful in taking down Wikileaks, he'll wind up triggering the release of all the encrypted, unredacted data thousands of sources currently possess. That raw data might very well cause the death of US troops. So nice work, Mr. Jester. What kind of body count would be acceptable to you?

[bt5good]

01:10 AM on 12/10/2010

I guess teh blood would be on the hands of the people who made the documents available, not the sole one who tried to prevent it from happening. your argument is like blaming a negotiator when a hostage is executed

[Vetinari]

08:43 AM on 12/06/2010

So now illegal hacking is a good thing. Lol, conservatards never ceases to amuse me.

[James Croteau]

08:42 AM on 12/06/2010

Ya, right, he must work for the NSA. Strange thing is that all the mirrors are up and running.

[JohnUSA]

06:06 AM on 12/06/2010

The Jester needs to be arrested for engaging in illegal activities. He already confessed, so easy case.

[bt5good]

01:11 AM on 12/10/2010

that's how it works on the streets. not in the intertubes

[zelduh]

01:20 PM on 12/10/2010

Try to find The Jester. Next to impossible.

[Miltonjr]

11:23 PM on 12/05/2010

DAMN GOOD JOB JESTER, PLEASE KEEP THAT SUCKER DOWN AND ANYONE ELSE WHO HELPS HIM. WAY TO GO !!!!!!!!

[Counterglow]

09:03 AM on 12/06/2010

The mirrors are all doing fine. And are you aware that if Wikileaks actually does go down, any one of thousands of sources will get an encryption key, and hundreds of thousands of completely unedited data will be released. Would that please you?

[zelduh]

01:21 PM on 12/10/2010

Milton:

Lemme guess; you are a Republican. Am I right?

[Anne Mccormick]

11:03 PM on 12/05/2010

i don't know as much about computers as other people so i have to ask. is what this man says possible? i can understand shutting down a website for a short while but wouldn't the owners of the site be able to take steps to get rid of the hacker.

[Acert]

01:01 AM on 12/06/2010

He's using a DDoS. The only way for a lone hacker to do that is if he's created a botnet; meaning he's infected thousands if not millions of computers with malware (commonly called virus's) so he can control them from his personal computer. Then he tells the computers to visit the website, and the sheer volume overloads the servers.

[edejan]

05:18 PM on 12/06/2010

Sounds illegal. Let's get an interpol warrant out on him right away!

[bt5good]

01:12 AM on 12/10/2010

not a ddos. his attack is application-layer, not network-layer. uses minimal attacking pc's, no botnet and low bandwidth. you need the facts brro

[jaslyn]

10:03 PM on 12/05/2010

apparently, this Jester doesn't know which side is the 'good' side. What a dweeb.

[zelduh]

01:23 PM on 12/10/2010

Precisely. He is a low information type who watches too much Fox.

[norby413]

09:59 PM on 12/05/2010

Another nerd in desperate need of a BJ....

[QuietNetworker]

01:25 AM on 12/06/2010

I'd volunteer especially if it means I could talk to him about WikiLeaks and it's role as Hacktivism as well.

[zelduh]

01:23 PM on 12/10/2010

Better you than me.

[bt5good]

01:12 AM on 12/10/2010

lol truest comment on this board so far

[Vangennep]

09:38 PM on 12/05/2010

Didn't someone in American government promise "transparency in government"? A Brit provided it, and now our panties are bunched over it.

Count me as a Julian supporter.

[edejan]

05:19 PM on 12/06/2010

He's Australian. Just want to give credit where credit is due. F & F.

[zelduh]

01:24 PM on 12/10/2010

I believe I am your 16th fan.

[xdiesp]

08:25 PM on 12/05/2010

Poor guy achieved nothing. It was actually a phone call from the DOD, that took em down.

[zelduh]

01:24 PM on 12/10/2010

They're still up!

http://www.wikileaks.ch/

[Tobby2k9]

07:51 PM on 12/05/2010

Hmm wikileaks.ch still up I just checked.

Anyway this guy is gonna get it from other REAL hackers.

Remember those who celebrate early celebrate last so dude don't go out and celebrate specially on faux noise.

Also just because you're an American you shouldn't be aware of what our country is doing behind our backs or been secretive specially when thousand of civilians are dying.