It was these more openly chaotic expressions and instances that provoked the most concern of late. In some ways, these flash mobs could do more damage (or have greater impact) than more lawful adversaries. Financially driven criminals know not to threaten the revenue streams. Nation states may plan more in their execution and/or seek to avoid attention. A truly wild dog (and points in between) may be more brazen, more emboldened over time, more reckless, more capricious, more unrestrained, and therefore more dangerous. For example, in the attacks on HBGary Federal and its then-CEO Aaron Barr, Anonymous proved to be more ruthless, intense and extensive in its punishment than many of us in the industry had seen before.

Loose collectives may operate more like starfish cells than like crime families. A mob can be taken down, but an ideological movement might live forever. This isn't meant to suggest that centralized/decentralized organizational models are isolated to one camp or the other, but it seems thus far that the chaotic end is more starfish than spider. However, this also means chaotic adversaries may disband, splinter or move on -- whereas lawful evil adversaries may be more longstanding. Hopefully, you can see how this attribute can open up the field of understanding and discussion.

Nosce te ipsum(Which are you? Both as an individual -- and as a security professional or vendor? Many security professionals qualified their answers with things like: "I used to be an XY early in my career, but I've put that behind me and am trending more YY these days." More than a few said something like "There is still a 17-year-old anarchist in me that wants to join Anonymous, but on the whole, I see them as a dangerous, criminal menace." What is less interesting is the individual judgments. What is more interesting is the cognitive dissonance toward many of these recent public developments. There is evidence that security vendors may be migrating into darker and less 'lawful' places (literally and figuratively). Such an alignment chart may be more timely than we realize. As one CSO said to me, "Don't forget, how you place yourself on this alignment chart may be less important (or accurate) than how others place you. Worse, how will the media or the court of public opinion see you?" Do you know where you stand?