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Comment by dmitrygr

7 hours ago

> This has absolutely not ever been the case.

I think it was. Eg: on most russian warez forums in the 2000s, it was a bannable offense to crack russian-authored software.

I was just exaggerating for effect. Obviously I wouldn't seriously claim nobody ever did something, just that it wasn't what I would consider common behavior.

That being said, I think the particular example you provided is kind of weak. It's my understanding that the behavior you speak of was driven primarily by the Russian government's unofficial policy of ignoring cybercrimes committed by their citizens so long as the targets were not domestic. They were ensuring their ability to continue operation by banning discussion of targeting Russians. This is how groups like the Russian Business Network have been able to flourish.