The Revelations of Alejandro Caceres: how to hack the North Korean Internet without leaving your home.
More than two years ago, Alejandro Caceres, known in cyberspace under the pseudonym P4x, launched his solo cyber war. Working from his home on the Florida coast, he launched a series of his own programs from a laptop and cloud servers, thanks to which he regularly disabled all available North Korean websites for more than a week. This action was in response to attempts by North Korean spies to steal his personal work tools.
Caceres, a 38-year-old Colombian-American entrepreneur, decided on his own to punish Kim Jong-un's regime for aggressive actions against American hackers. According to him, it was "the right decision". Being at odds with his own government, which did not provide him with support after contacting the FBI, he expected possible charges, but instead encountered interest from US government agencies that offered him cooperation.
Over the next year, Caceres participated in secret projects of US military agencies, presenting his methods to high-ranking defense and intelligence officials.
Early in his career, Caceres worked for a Pentagon contractor and was involved in various cyberspace exploration projects. He developed several programs to scan the dark corners of the Internet, which became part of Darpa's Memex program. These skills and experience allowed him to later create Hyperion Gray, a company that also worked with both public and private clients. Caceres actively participated in hacker conferences like Defcon, making reports on how to use cloud technologies to increase the power of attacks.
In the end, after several meetings with representatives of various departments, Caceres proposed a model of fast and targeted campaigns, comparable to special forces operations. His idea was to create special special forces in cyberspace: small, flexible groups that can quickly and efficiently perform various tasks. Each member of such a team could act similarly to 16 ordinary soldiers on a cyber battlefield, increasing the effectiveness of attacks by hundreds of times compared to conventional methods.
The idea, although met with interest, remained on paper due to internal bureaucratic obstacles and conservative views of officials.
Frustrated by his experience working with the government, Caceres is now openly speaking out under his real name, calling for greater use of U.S. cyber power to protect national security. He argues that America must demonstrate its determination and readiness to take action to defend itself against attacks by foreign Powers and espionage.
Looking back, Caceres says he doesn't regret his actions. He believes that his attacks served not only as revenge, but also as a lesson for international aggressors and fellow citizens.
More than two years ago, Alejandro Caceres, known in cyberspace under the pseudonym P4x, launched his solo cyber war. Working from his home on the Florida coast, he launched a series of his own programs from a laptop and cloud servers, thanks to which he regularly disabled all available North Korean websites for more than a week. This action was in response to attempts by North Korean spies to steal his personal work tools.
Caceres, a 38-year-old Colombian-American entrepreneur, decided on his own to punish Kim Jong-un's regime for aggressive actions against American hackers. According to him, it was "the right decision". Being at odds with his own government, which did not provide him with support after contacting the FBI, he expected possible charges, but instead encountered interest from US government agencies that offered him cooperation.
Over the next year, Caceres participated in secret projects of US military agencies, presenting his methods to high-ranking defense and intelligence officials.
Early in his career, Caceres worked for a Pentagon contractor and was involved in various cyberspace exploration projects. He developed several programs to scan the dark corners of the Internet, which became part of Darpa's Memex program. These skills and experience allowed him to later create Hyperion Gray, a company that also worked with both public and private clients. Caceres actively participated in hacker conferences like Defcon, making reports on how to use cloud technologies to increase the power of attacks.
In the end, after several meetings with representatives of various departments, Caceres proposed a model of fast and targeted campaigns, comparable to special forces operations. His idea was to create special special forces in cyberspace: small, flexible groups that can quickly and efficiently perform various tasks. Each member of such a team could act similarly to 16 ordinary soldiers on a cyber battlefield, increasing the effectiveness of attacks by hundreds of times compared to conventional methods.
The idea, although met with interest, remained on paper due to internal bureaucratic obstacles and conservative views of officials.
Frustrated by his experience working with the government, Caceres is now openly speaking out under his real name, calling for greater use of U.S. cyber power to protect national security. He argues that America must demonstrate its determination and readiness to take action to defend itself against attacks by foreign Powers and espionage.
Looking back, Caceres says he doesn't regret his actions. He believes that his attacks served not only as revenge, but also as a lesson for international aggressors and fellow citizens.
