LulzSec Disbands

“Live Fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse” was first uttered by actor John Derek in Knock on any Door,a 1949 film also staring Humphrey Bogart. This irresistible catchphrase has inspired generations of rebels from film to music to out-of-control teenagers. It also seems to have been taken to heart by the hacker collective LulzSec, which after a spectacular 50-day blitz across the Internet, is dissolving back into the shadowy back alleys from which it appeared. And just as James Dean—another famous adherent to the formula—did for film, so too have LulzSec changed the face of IT security and left an inspirational challenge for hacking’s next generation.

What is interesting about LulzSec isn’t necessarily their technique but their PR. The group appeared on the heels of high profile hacks by Anonymous and fed masterfully into a media-fueled hack-steria, feeding a public imagination over-stimulated with big audacious exploits that make great copy. LulzSec was the perfectly-timed counterpoint to Anonymous—gang fights equaling news that writes itself, whether the conflict is between thugs, dancers, graffiti writers, or hackers. And slipping away before being caught (sans one alleged member) ties this story up neatly into a narrative made to entertain. I’ve no doubt the movie rights will be bid sky-high.

If LulzSec can make claim to a legacy, then surely it is that effective marketing is just as important as the hack itself. LulzSec went from zero to global brand in a scant 50 days—a success that most marketing gurus can only dream of. In its wake, the collective leaves a somewhat heightened awareness of the terrible cost of security breaches among the general public. Their means to this end, of course, remain dubious; most hackers claim the same as a knee-jerk justification of their actions, though few are as wildly successful as LulzSec has been.

Nevertheless, no CEO wants to be subject to the negative publicity endured by Sony, which has suffered wave-after-wave of successful cyber attack. It is safe to say that LulzSec has dragged Internet security back into the executive suite, something which seemed almost unthinkable only a few months ago. The intelligent response to this new attention should be an increased emphasis on basic IT security foundations.