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Is your web cam spying on you?

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Right now, hackers are spying on innocent users via their web cam and microphones. It starts with a simple email, link or program sent to you.

The Race to Build a Secure Operating System

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:51:34 +0000

By Kevin Coleman Defense Tech Cyber Warfare Correspondent In response to the continuous compromise of networks, multiple countries have begun developing secure platforms and operating systems. Computer companies, university researchers, defense R&D contractors and militaries around the world recognize the criticality of networks and embedded processors within their equipment. They also recognize how vulnerable they are and that’s why so much attention is being given to building in security at every level of the system including the operating system. As discussed here, China’s Trusted Computing Platform (TCP) program has been underway for some time now and can be traced back to the early 2000s. The Chinese TCP includes multiple layers of built-in security, as well as trusted computing components at the chip operating system level and the machine operating system level. European Union Early in 2009 a Dutch university was awarded a grant for $3.3 million from the European Research Council to fund 5 more years of work on a Unix derivative version operating system called Minix.

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The Race to Build a Secure Operating System

Coder Journeys From Wall Street to Prison

Fri, 07 May 2010 14:15:34 +0000

Over a month has elapsed since the years-long investigation and prosecution of TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez came to a dramatic end, with Gonzalez sentenced to 20 years in prison for the largest identity theft case in U.S. history. Stephen Watt Now a little-noted postscript to that high-profile case is unfolding away from the media spotlight, as a handful of convicted accomplices in Gonzalez’s schemes, who’ve been free on bail since the case began, say goodbye to their families and friends, and check themselves into federal prison for years — paying the price for their various roles in the massive crimes. On Friday, 27-year-old Christopher Scott, who helped Gonzalez crack TJX and other retail chains, will surrender for a 7-year sentence, leaving behind his wife and young step-daughter. Later this month, Damon Patrick Toey, 25, will also surrender for a 5-year-sentence for helping Gonzalez breach the networks of numerous companies and sell stolen card data. Of all the defendants now walking into the prison system under their own power, however, one stands out as an unlikely figure in the multi-million dollar hacking conspiracy: a former black hat hacker who gave up computer intrusions to carve out a successful career on Wall Street — only to be drawn into a small but fateful role in Gonzalez’s crimes. Stephen Watt, 26, wrote a custom packet-sniffing program dubbed “blabla” for Gonzalez, as a favor for his best friend, he says

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Coder Journeys From Wall Street to Prison

Cory Doctorow Gets Phished

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:56:43 +0000

It can happen to anyone : Here’s how I got fooled. On Monday, I unlocked my Nexus One phone, installing a new and more powerful version of the Android operating system that allowed me to do some neat tricks, like using the phone as a wireless modem on my laptop. In the process of reinstallation, I deleted all my stored passwords from the phone. I also had a couple of editorials come out that day, and did a couple of interviews, and generally emitted a pretty fair whack of information. The next day, Tuesday, we were ten minutes late getting out of the house. My wife and I dropped my daughter off at the daycare, then hurried to our regular coffee shop to get take-outs before parting ways to go to our respective offices.

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Cory Doctorow Gets Phished

Should Google Try to Prevent Terrorism?

Steven Aftergood — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:11:34 +0000

Jihadists have flocked to YouTube to spread their propaganda. One of those clips, released last week, appeared to take credit for the Times Square bombing attempt — before Faisal Shahzad tried to ignite his SUV. The video may have been a vital clue for investigators . But does YouTube and its corporate parent, Google, have an obligation to block these videos before they’re seen? That’s what one long-time monitor of online jihadists is arguing. “If a certain percentage of Islamist sympathizers are radicalized, in part, online, then it stands to reason that more eyeballs that are exposed to violent Islamist propaganda would eventually translate into more would-be terrorists,” writes “Rusty Shackleford,” the pseudonymous patron of The Jawa Report . “Which is why even though YouTube has been a boon in helping law enforcement agents detect, post hoc , would-be terrorists it has been a bane in that far more Muslims today can easily access violent Islamist propaganda.” Ryan Calo , a fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, isn’t sure he buys the argument. “Are we trusting Google to be experts enough in jihadi propaganda to know what to take down?” Calo asks. Do we expect a communications company to be able to weigh a terrorist video’s potential value as a clue for law enforcement and intelligence agencies? “That seems like a really extraordinary difficult calculus to make

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Should Google Try to Prevent Terrorism?

Former Con Man Helps Feds Thwart Alleged ATM Hacking Spree

Steven Aftergood — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:00:05 +0000

A North Carolina grocery worker is being held without bail in Houston on attempted computer hacking charges after inadvertently partnering with an undercover FBI agent in an alleged citywide ATM-reprogramming caper. Thor Alexander Morris, 19, was arrested at a Houston flea market last month after trying a default administrative passcode on a Tranax Mini-Bank ATM there, according to the FBI. Morris, who was wearing a wig to disguise his appearance, allegedly hoped to reprogram the machine to think it was loaded with $1 bills instead of $20 bills. That would let him pull $8,000 in cash with $400 in withdrawals from a prepaid debit card. Details of the federal case are laid out in a criminal complaint (.pdf) filed in Houston in late April. Morris allegedly hoped to hit more than 30 Houston ATMs and clear at least $250,000. But he made the mistake of approaching a reformed Texas con man for help with the scheme, who helped the feds set up a sting operation. Cash-machine–reprogramming scams were first noticed in the financial industry in 2005, and surfaced publicly in 2006 when a cyber thief was caught on video looting an ATM at a Virginia gas station

Sarah Palin E-Mail Hacker Found Guilty of Coverup

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:46:18 +0000

A Tennessee jury on Friday convicted David Kernell of obstruction of justice and misdemeanor computer intrusion in connection with his hacking of Sarah Palin’s e-mail account in 2008, according to local news reports . The jury acquitted the 22-year-old Kernell of wire fraud, and deadlocked on a fourth charge of identity theft following four days of deliberation. Kernell famously hacked into Palin’s Yahoo webmail account while Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate. He used publicly available information about Palin to reset her password to “popcorn,” then posted screenshots of some of her e-mail, and the new password, to the /b/ message board on 4chan so others could enjoy it. Prosecutors will now have to decide whether to retry Kernell on the identity-theft charge, based on the theory that the former University of Tennessee student stole Palin’s identity by taking over her Yahoo account. Palin applauded the verdict Friday in a Facebook post that compared Kernell to Richard Nixon’s plumbers. “As Watergate taught us, we rightfully reject illegally breaking into candidates’ private communications for political intrigue in an attempt to derail an election,” wrote Palin, who testified against Kernell in court last week. In opting for the misdemeanor version of the computer-intrusion charge, the jury rejected prosecutors’ arguments that Kernell broke into Palin’s account in furtherance of another criminal act or civil wrongdoing beyond accessing Palin’s e-mail

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Sarah Palin E-Mail Hacker Found Guilty of Coverup

Attack Against Apache.org

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:26:13 +0000

This blog entry should serve as a model for open and transparent security self-reporting. I’m impressed. More news reports .

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Attack Against Apache.org

Feds Say Judge Hampering Webcam Spy Probe

Steven Aftergood — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:09:36 +0000

Prosecutors are claiming a federal judge is hampering a criminal investigation into a webcam scandal at a Philadelphia suburban school district. The evidence prosecutors are seeking is connected to a federal civil lawsuit in which plaintiff’s lawyers claim the Lower Merion School District secretly snapped thousands of webcam images of students using school-issued laptops without the pupils’ knowledge or consent. U.S. District Judge Jan DuBois, who is presiding over the civil case, two weeks ago ordered that evidence should only be disseminated to those connected to the civil lawsuit . (.pdf) U.S. Attorney Michael Levy wrote the judge, saying Friday her freeze order “interfered with the government’s obligation to investigate possible criminal conduct occurring within this district.” Levy asks the court to “ modify its order to permit the government access .” (.pdf) Among other things, Levy wants to examine what plaintiffs lawyers contend are thousands of screenshots school-supplied MacBooks took of an unknown number of children, some of which might include nude or partially clothed shots. While it remains unclear whether the secret and remote filming of students is a federal crime, taking nude images of children is likely criminal conduct. A federal grand jury and the FBI are said to be looking into the district’s actions . The lawsuit accuses a district IT admin of downloading “ pictures of students who were naked while in their home ” – allegations the woman staunchly denies .

Man Indicted for ‘Cyber-Extortion’ Threat Against Insurance Firm

Steven Aftergood — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:21:07 +0000

A California man was hit with an extortion charge this week for allegedly threatening to send out millions of e-mails criticizing his insurance company, if the firm didn’t pay him as much as $3 million. Anthony Digati, 52, faces a maximum two-year prison term if convicted of charges the Federal Bureau of Investigation is calling “ cyber-extortion ” (.pdf). The authorities said Digati erected a website to damage the reputation of New York Life unless it returned his $50,000 premium, and an extra $150,000 for good measure, by a certain date. If the deadline was not meant, the price would climb to $3 million, according to the indictment unsealed late Thursday. The bureau’s statement said that Digati threatened on his website to “make false public statements and transmit millions of spam e-mails in an effort to damage the reputation of New York Life and cost the company millions of dollars of revenue.” The authorities declined comment. Digati, of Chino, California, declined to be interviewed when reached by telephone, as did his attorney. Digati, who is being charged in New York, remains free on bond in connection with the charge of extortion through interstate communications.

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Man Indicted for ‘Cyber-Extortion’ Threat Against Insurance Firm

F L A S H C L U B » hack

Is your web cam spying on you?

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