From the thread of the original story (now closed for cleanup)...
A hacker CLAIMS they got the info off an unprotected laptop, and an FBI one at that.
And you buy it hook line and sinker, just like they wanted.
Now you'll go to their website to check you UDID and give them who knows what info. Which might be their real game
After all, the best hacks are social
What they said. But it does make for a good story.
However, I'm certainly not saying the FBI is incapable of having such a list and that it was hacked. I'm just saying this social hack theory is also a real possibility, and I don't trust the hacker(s) either.
My first impulse was to go a website linked from the nbcnews.com article(kimosabe.net) site to see if I was on the list and plug in my UDID on a form. But then I caught myself and thought, "Well, SOMEBODY would be 100% guaranteed to have my UDID if I did this, now wouldn't they? I'm not that stupid." Maybe it's legit, maybe it isn't. I'm not taking the chance.
Then I thought, why didn't the hackers simply post the entire list unencrypted if it's that easy to crack? Instead, you download the encrypted file, and then they lead you to go and download/install some open-source software for decrypting it. I don't have time right now it research further and I don't know enough about which open-source software is safe/legit. Seemed kinda suspicious to me. I don't know if this open-source software they want you to use isn't the real danger in disguise or not. Just saying. My personal motto on things like this: If I am not well-informed about something, I err on suspicion until I am.
