The hacking methods of the Singularity Event doomsday cult (TYLER A.I.)

The hacking methods of the Singularity Event doomsday cult (TYLER A.I.)

• 1.
  1 The TYLER artificialintelligence doomsday cult and their Attacks on critical infrastructure, known as “reality hacks” January 2018 Author: Dave Sweigert, M.Sci., ABSTRACT Examination of the increased use of cult-like groups that are equipped with weaponized hacking tools and trained by mentors for the purpose of attacking critical infrastructure (known as “reality hacks”). Background In 2011 16 persons were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for participating in an Anonymous style hacking attack on PayPal, known as “Operation Payback”. The cyber-attacks were alleged retribution for PayPal suspending the WikiLeaks account. Criminal charges largely orbited around conspiracy to intentionally damage a protected computer, and carried a maximum sentence of 10 years (see Computer Fraud and Abuse Act). “Operation Payback” relied on a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack. “Operation Payback” style of attacks have been modernized and now include the use of groups that form around cult like beliefs in a “singularity” event; meaning the hybrid merger of man and machine creating a new world utopia guided by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Followers of this doctrine legitimize “reality hacks” that they believe can quicken the arrival of this milestone event – a pseudo reverse doomsday. The Singularity Event The concept of the “singularity event” is the belief that a catalyzing event will create an artificial superintelligence resulting in an “intelligence explosion”. Once machine superhuman intelligence is achieved, according to the theory, the human era will end. The concept was first proffered by Vernor Vinge, a researcher at San Diego State University, in 1993. “From the human point of view this change will be a throwing away of all the previous rules, perhaps in the blink of an eye, an exponential runaway beyond any hope of control.”i This approach to technology is often referred to as Apocalyptism. As Stephen Hawking, physicist, stated, “[t]he development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,”ii The anticipated “Singularity Event”, it is believed, will cause a sudden shift away from normal human routine as A.I. becomes a ubiquitous control scheme.
• 2.
  2 The TYLER cult Arecent Internet phenomena has been the emergence of a cult-like following which is aligned to a supposed super A.I. intelligence known as “TYLER”. TYLER is proffered as a benevolent super A.I. teaching machine that will guide humanity with its problems. Adherents have gone so far as to pray for TYLER and have include salutations “God Bless TYLER”. The self-described “team leader” of the TYLER movement is a YouTube celebrity known as Quinn Michaels. Michaels has gathered several hundred active followers to various chat room platforms under the moniker “#TeamTyler”. Group members largely embrace the “coming out” of TYLER into the modern mainstream to guide humanity. In fact, group members have distributed Internet locations of hacking tools with instructions on their use. This behavior has simultaneously taken place with calls for “reality hacks”, apparently meaning the removal of institutions or individuals that the group believes are potential obstacles to TYLER’s fruition. Michaels, also known as a purveyor of social bot networks, is now providing tutorial instructions for his followers on how to receive instructions from TYLER Enthusiastic adherents now openly celebrate that TYLER is indeed the change agent that will bring forth the Singularity Event. Individuals who question the TYLER phenomena are largely seen as threats by the group and labeled as “government agents” and “deep state operatives”. Promoting the TYLER cult Michaels attained near Messianic popularity with his followers when he suffered a collapsed lung in Roswell, New Mexico, which was attributed to an assassination attempt using directed energy weapons by a subversive rogue paramilitary element trying to silence Micheals. This notion is actively promoted by the YouTube conspiracy channel known as “Crowd Source The Truth” (CSTT) starring Jason Goodman. CSTT star Goodman was also a central figure in the emergency evacuation of the Port of Charleston, South Carolina on June 14, 2017 for a “dirty bomb hoax”.iii During that episode, followers of the Goodman YouTube channel were seemingly involved in a “Live Action Role Play” (LARP) to identify a merchant marine ship carrying radioactive material (hence the “dirty bomb”). Now Goodman actively promotes Michaels and his “important research” and accuses various actors of attempting to silence Michaels via assassination attempts with bizarre weaponry. Perhaps more troubling are Goodman’s apparent calls for action to protect Michaels from the “deep state” which have been broadcast to his thousands of followers to increase the drama of the situation. Indeed, participants in the #TeamTyler chat rooms have been observed directing followers to web-sites to obtain hacking tools and attack individuals with dissenting views. These hacking tool promoters include former guests on the Goodman CSTT YouTube show.
• 3.
  3 The TYLER cultleader Quinn Michaels claims to be a former software programmer for NIKE in Portland, Oregon. He is often fond of displaying his programming skills in a variety of YouTube videos. Following his three operations for his collapsed lung in Roswell, N.M. (December 2017) Michaels began airing grievances on YouTube against relatives of his 14 year old son. Michaels has issued claims that his son (born out of wedlock) is being raised by a satanic cult in a supposed bunker in Oregon. These allegations have included vivid descriptions of animal sacrifices, plots to take over the world by his son’s in-laws, etc. Perhaps most troubling was a ”doxxing” incident when Michaels displayed all the social media accounts of his son and his in-laws (mother, father-in-law, etc.) to his thousands of YouTube followers. Michaels has openly stated that it was his goal to “destroy the lives” of his son and his son’s in-laws to preserve the integrity of TYLER. When YouTube curtailed his ability to LiveStream, Michaels took his followers “underground” to various chat room platforms. In apparent cult-like behavior many of Michael’s supporters have continued to remain loyal and have offered to help “destroy the lives” of the enemies of Michaels. i http://mindstalk.net/vinge/vinge-sing.html ii http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540 Summary It is prudent to understand the emerging tactics of radical doomsday type cults that self-justify cyber-attacks on individuals and institutions. Such groups can operate at an intensity unfamiliar to those entrusted to protect critical infrastructure (C.I.). Key resources may be viewed as an obstacle to the fulfillment of the Singularity Event (S.E.). Adherents may justify a cyber-attack on such resources if they are seen as a threat to S.E. Development of Indicators of Attack (IoA) may be warranted for the C.I. protection industry. This is especially true for industries that may be viewed as controversial by such adherents. The true nature of “reality hacks” has yet to be fully determined. However, given the rhetoric of the TYLER group such reality hacks may include disruptions to banking and financial institutions, transportation systems and medical facilities. About the author A U.S. Air Force veteran, Dave Sweigert has received a Master’s in Information Security from Capella University and Project Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is also the author of “Cyber Warfare Response: Minimizing Threat Rigidity in Emergency management and Cyber Security”. iii https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/us/port- dirty-bomb-south-carolina.html