Operation ODEX Rising (a military assessment): These weren't the IPs they were looking for

An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia has demonstrated a weakness in the battle station, but the approach will not be easy…

So yeah a good friend of mine got one of them ODEX cease and desist letters, and I am 100% sure that ODEX addressed it to the wrong guy, how I know is any body’s guess and none of your concern. In short the poor bloke has complied in a way since he never had that stuff to begin with. Seeing as how ODEX overstepped their legal authority few outside Singapore will comply unless ODEX decides to follow correct protocol and procedure when attempting to project their powers beyond paradise. After all how many divisions does ODEX have any way? If nothing else their sloppy operation and poor execution has revealed a bit of useful intelligence for the curious…

(Disclaimer: I am not advocating that any of you try to imitate what what my paranoid friend did to perpetuate piracy and have tried to make sure to leave out details. I merely wish to point our that like anything else ODEX does there are flaws and in all honesty I am sure BayTSP is not the best service to tracking this stuff. By now ODEX probably would have changed tactics if they were smart.)

Perhaps this is by no means new but given that the bloke ODEX has falsely accused was decidedly paranoid his logs revealed some rather interesting stuff. It seems that BayTSP not only fails miserably at sorting IP addresses but the system can also be fooled. Turns out that creative use of a router’s functions can form a significant obstacle to BayTSP actually getting the real offending IP. Tinkering with routers is nothing new but if ODEX can’t tell this opens the door for a lot of false accusations to be made. In fact it seems that BayTSP is better at identifying the NAM port equivalent than getting the correct IP, not much of a problem if that NAM port isn’t yours.

ODEX will be in range of za wouldo in 5 minutes.

Another piece of counter intelligence is that BayTSP uses IP probes that are reasonably consistent in my studied case and suffice to say nothing stops any one from blocking the probe once this information gets leaked through other channels as they invariably will. I think that given how many other ways there are to dance around ODEX’s efforts, escalating to DEFCON3 and tactical usage of a router will prove to be a thorn in BayTSP’s side for the immediate future as any one they falsely accuse can easily cry foul and produce a router as evidence to cast doubt on any of ODEX’s claims.

Again this weakness will not always be there, however it costs nothing for pirates to escalate to a higher DEFCON, but it will cost ODEX and BayTSP something to cover their asses by investing in better technology. Besides I fully expect that such feints on the part of pirates every where will make things that much more risky for ODEX to throw out letters and e-mail left and right. Such is the war on piracy that companies who underestimate pirates are bound to fail. Like any war nothing is ever static and new techniques are being thought of every day. ODEX’s misfortune now is that they have to play catch up with pirates as I am sure such logs have been made else where.

Whoever that hacker was that counterattacked, either that bloke is very brave, or very stupid. Given that the hacker was able to pull it off in the first place let us hope that it was a defiant act based upon a careful weighing of risks and benefits. I personally hope the guy slips through ODEX’s fingers since the bloke had the audacity to do it, an attribute most people can begrudgingly admire. False allegations without proper evidence is considered defamation in the US, and seeing how ODEX has accused an innocent I say they fully deserve it for their laziness and poor choice of allies. Besides if the hacker is caught no doubt ODEX will push for cruel and unusual punishment or lean towards extortion claiming lost profits in the billions. If any thing they are a victim of their own laxity and ineptitude. Clearly the fact that a person with less than perfect English can wreak havoc upon them is a sign the ODEX is not as smart as they think they are.

What good are a bunch of kids against that thing you ask?

While this is a tactical stalemate, it is a strategic victory for the Pirate Princes and Princesses. ODEX not only acted foolishly and arrogantly but tried to become a great world power. While, they technically have the SINGAPOREAN law on their side they only have it so long as they can pay for it. Seeing as how they can’t pay for a better tracking method I can only wonder how they plan to bankroll this campaign continuously. However this incident has revealed that ODEX’s offensive operations are based upon a faulty system that can be fooled simply by playing around with a router. They also divulged their most recent probes in a fruitless exercise in extraterritoriality like some upstart colonial power. While they might be able to claim hegemony over Singapore, the government of paradise has no rights over those who don’t live there.

I am no fan of ODEX and their bully boy tactics, however I absolutely abhor sloppy execution and laziness. So unless ODEX gets their shit together I have nothing but contempt to spare for them. Sorry, but they were incredibly lazy this time, and no one likes a slacker. Thank goodness these Neanderthals left the army otherwise I am more than certain that such sloths would have gotten many killed through preventable mishaps and dropping a few too many live artillery shells. It is nothing short of a happy hiccup of fate that such laziness could have survived in a company. Just goes to show that having a monopoly sucks ass and why competition is needed to weed out the inept.

Oh shit the filter was off!