Germany Doxes “UNKN,” Head of RU Ransomware Gangs REvil, GandCrab – Krebs on Security

Feels odd for an infosec blog to use 'doxxing' this way. Doxxing is generally considered to be unethical exposure of personal information.

Identifying a criminal is ethical.

>Identifying a criminal is ethical.

This outsourcing of one's morals to the state is excessive even by already high western white collar internet standards.

Now, make no mistake, these guys are up to no good and probably should be identified and prosecuted, but to just declare that a bad thing is now good because government is doing it is basically an abdication of one's moral compass. At best this is still a bad thing but a necessary one because all the other options are worse. Like shooting someone in self defense, or putting someone in a cage for doing sufficiently bad things.

Edit: I'll admit I played too loose with ethics vs morality here, but still the point stands.

Certainly, criminals also have a right to privacy. However, the limited publication of personal data of criminals by law enforcement is generally a legally legitimate measure. Doxxing, on the other hand, is generally a process that violates the fundamental right to privacy.

>criminals

>law

>legally

You keep using these words but it causes circular logic as those are all defined by the same entity that is acting unilaterally.

The action the government took was not a "good" action by any moral standard. But it was perhaps the least worse auction. Can't just whisk people off the street in a foreign country or drone them over such matters, those options would be worse.

Is it your position that privacy is a right regardless of any action you take? Many rights are dependent on circumstance and in tension with other rights. In this case I think you can make the case that their right to privacy is lost.
Running a ransomware gang is immoral. Catching someone running a ransomware gang is good. If publishing their name helps catch them, it's also good. Not sure where do you see the gap between legality and morality in this case

> You keep using these words but it causes circular logic as those are all defined by the same entity that is acting unilaterally.

It's not, in Germany we have separation of powers.

> The action the government took was not a "good" action by any moral standard.

Morals aren't binary. Morals have context.

> Doxxing, on the other hand, is generally a process that violates the fundamental right to privacy.

It historically was used for this exact case: revealing someone hiding behind a pseudonym for purposes of law enforcement. The term dates back to the 90s, if not earlier.

This isn't something Gen Z made up. It's a Gen X term. "Hack the gibson" era. Wargames era.