Of course, this raises questions over just how granular and potentially invasive Microsoft’s telemetry can be. In this case, it was used to arrest an alleged hacker, but what if someone else, someone with malign intentions, were to get access to all this data instead?
Microsoft already has access to it.
So does the US Government. If you’re in any way active in left-wing politics, or what the fascists would perceive to be left-wing politics, it’s unwise to use Windows.
It’s unwise regardless.
What kind of dumbass is using a Windows operating system to launch a hacking campaign from? It’s like he was asking to get caught.
Like showing up to the bank heist in a neon pink monster truck.
Elite hacker uses…Windows. Come on, man.
The guy was like 17/18yo though
While I’m glad these guys are going to jail, this does go to show that one should not use Windows if they care about OPSEC.
From what we can tell, GDID pretty much had a comprehensive report on Stokes ready before the prosecution even built its case and it was only a matter of connecting the dots. Stokes’ web activity, videogame history, IP addresses, tool usage (including Ngrok), Azure status, and more were logged with timestamps, and were provided to the investigators by Microsoft.
I wish I had information on my videogame history directly from Windows.
ESH
