hackers

U.S. charges 8 in $45M global cybercrime scheme

A global cybercime ring stole $45 million from banks around the world in a matter of hours by hacking a database of prepaid debit cards, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Seven people are in U.S. custody in connection with the case, which prosecutors said involved thousands of thefts from ATMs using bogus magnetic strip cards. Data stolen during two separate intrusions at credit card processors was used to make more than 40,500 withdrawals in 27 countries during two separate incidents in December and February, prosecutors said.

Eight people in New York have been charged with participating in the conspiracy … Read more

U.S. says Chinese government behind cyberespionage

The Chinese government and military have engaged in widespread cyberespionage targeting U.S. government and business computer networks, the Pentagon said Monday.

China maintained a steady campaign of computer intrusions in 2012 that were designed to acquire information about the U.S. government's foreign policy and military plans, according to the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military.

"China is using its computer network exploitation capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support U.S. national defense programs," according to the 83-page 2013 "… Read more

Here's why Bitcoin is the future of money

The interesting thing about Bitcoin isn't what it is today. What's interesting is that this experiment is turning into a serious proving ground for the idea of "crypto-currency," digitally created currency protected by powerful cryptography.

Crypto-currency is traceable, more portable than paper money, and harder to steal. If the Bitcoin experiment proves successful, how soon will a government or other regime develop, back, and distribute crypto-currency as a true alternative currency?

My money, paper or virtual, says that day is coming.

A particularly evolved regime could officially back a crypto-currency, issue some basic standards and regulations … Read more

Australian police arrest alleged leader of LulzSec hacking group

The Australian Federal Police has reportedly arrested a man who describes himself as the "leader" of the LulzSec hacking group.

The 24-year-old man was arrested on hacking charges Tuesday in the coastal town of Point Clare, according to ABC News Australia, which first reported the arrest. The report did not reveal that man's identity.

The arrest comes two weeks after three members of hacker group pleaded guilty in a British court to carrying out cyberattacks against various media and entertainment companies and the U.K. National Health Service.

LulzSec emerged on the hacking scene in 2011, claiming … Read more

DDoS cripples Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox after trading resumes

Update at 6:15 a.m. PT Friday: Bitcoin's tumble continued after trading resumed. As of now, the digital currency is trading at $69.

Less than two hours after the resumption of Bitcoin trades following a lengthy suspension, currency exchange Mt. Gox is offline, the apparent victim of a distributed-denial-of-service attack.

"We are experiencing a stronger than usual DDoS," the Tokyo-based exchange said tonight in a Google+ post. "We are working in it."

Mt. Gox, which handles three-quarters of the trades in the digital currency, announced a suspension of trading this morning after a rollercoaster … Read more

LulzSec hackers plead guilty to attacks on Sony, Nintendo, more

Three members of hacker group LulzSec have pleaded guilty in a British court to carrying out cyberattacks against various media and entertainment companies and the U.K. National Health Service, according to media reports.

Ryan Ackroyd, 26; Jake Davis, 20; and Mustafa al-Bassam, 18, today all pleaded guilty to a computer hacking-related charge at Southwark crown court in London. They will be sentenced May 14 along with Ryan Cleary, who pleaded guilty to cyberattacks last year.

Ackroyd, who went by the hacker name "Kayla," admitted to trying to hack into several Web sites, including Sony, Nintendo, News Corp.'… Read more

Anonymous targets Israel in another cyberattack

Anonymous claims that a cyberattack launched against Israeli government Web sites this weekend has caused billions of dollars of damage, although Israeli officials say there have been no major disruptions.

The group claimed it hacked more than a dozen official Israeli Web sites, including those for the Israel Police, the Prime Minister's Office, the Israel Securities Authority, the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, and the Central Bureau of Statistics. The country's page for the Ministry of Defense was offline today as well, which Anonymous took credit for hacking in a tweet:

Anonymous Operation Israel | Target: DOWN | mod.gov.il | #Anonymous … Read more

'Syrian Electronic Army' hacks a BBC Twitter account

The Twitter account of the BBC weather service was hacked today, and hacker group the Syrian Electronic Army -- which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad -- is taking credit.

The BBC confirmed to Reuters that its account was hacked. The @bbcweather account was posting strange messages today, ranging in content but often mentioning Syria and Middle Eastern politics.

"Long Live #Syria Al-Assad #SEA," read one tweet. The group also claimed to have hacked @BBCarabicOnline and @Bbcradioulster as well. The BBC tweeted that the issue has been resolved.

The Syrian Electronic Army has claimed hacks before, including one on … Read more

Two charged in theft of $40K from hacked Subway keypads

Two California men have been indicted for allegedly hacking point-of-sale terminals at Subway shops to steal at least $40,000.

Prosecutors accused Shahin Abdollahi, aka "Sean Holdt," and Jeffrey Thomas Wilkinson of hacking at least 13 point-of-sale (POS) terminals to install software that fraudulently loaded at least $40,000 onto Subway gift cards, according to an indictment unsealed in Boston on Friday (see below). The pair then allegedly used the cards to make purchases at Subway shops and sold them on eBay and Craigslist.

Abdollahi owned a Subway franchise in Southern California from 2005 to 2008 and later … Read more

FBI investigating how sensitive celebrity data landed on Web

Some hacker or hackers has it out for a handful of celebrities, politicians, and law enforcement officials, including First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and pop singer Beyonce.

Collected onto one Web site -- called "The Secret Files" -- is a slew of financial and personal information on these public figures. The data is so sensitive that it has sparked investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that the government agencies are looking into how www.exposed.su obtained the Social Security numbers, credit reports, telephone … Read more