Archive for the ‘Electronic Theft’ Category

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Anonymous Exposes 75,000 Credit Card Numbers

By Dawn in Crime, Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Technology at January 5th, 2012 | No comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

We posted a story on 12/29/11 about the hacking group “Anonymous” boasting they had stolen 200 gigabytes worth of information from Stratfor – a U.S. based Security Think Tank. The stolen information obtained in the hacking incident included credit card numbers, passwords and home addresses.

Anonymous had made good on its threat and dumped 200 GB of names, email addresses and passwords for around 860,000 Stratfor users. Anonymous also exposed credit card numbers for 75,000 paying customers of Stratfor.

Stratfor’s services consist of providing reports on international security and related threats to government and military personnel as well as to the private sector. It is unknown whether Anonymous gained access to other, more sensitive information during the Stratfor hacks, which occurred on December 24.

The group posted the following ominous threat on Pastebin: “The time for talk is over.” “It’s time to dump the full 75,000 names, addresses, CCs and md5 hashed passwords to every customer that has ever paid Stratfor. But that’s not all: we’re also dumping ~860,000 usernames, email addresses, and md5 hashed passwords for everyone who’s ever registered on Stratfor’s site… Did you notice 50,000 of these email addresses are .mil and .gov?” Read the full article »

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‘Anonymous’ Hackers Target U.S. Security Think Tank

By Dawn in Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, Hacking, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Technology at December 29th, 2011 | No comments

 

 

 

 

 

Well it looks like Anonymous is at it again – this time they were busy making their year end donations to charity in time to claim them on their 2011 income taxes. They even posted images online that appeared to be receipts for these donations. How very altruistic.

The loose-knit hacking movement “Anonymous” claimed to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information belonging to clients of U.S.-based security think tank Stratfor. One hacker said the goal was to pilfer funds from individual’s accounts to give away as Christmas donations. Some victims confirmed unauthorized transactions linked to their credit cards.

Anonymous bragged of stealing Stratfor’s confidential client list. The list includes entities ranging from Apple Inc. to the U.S. Air Force to the Miami Police Department. The group claims to have mined more than 4,000 credit card numbers, passwords and home addresses.

According to its YouTube page, the Austin, Texas-based Stratfor provides political, economic and military analysis to help clients reduce risk.

The company’s main website was down, with a banner saying the “site is currently undergoing maintenance.”

Proprietary information about the companies and government agencies that subscribe to Stratfor’s newsletters did not appear to be at any significant risk. The main threat is said to have affected individual employees who had subscribed.

Anonymous posted a taunting message on its Twitter account saying, “Not so private and secret anymore?” They also promised that the attack on Stratfor was just the beginning of a Christmas-inspired assault on a long list of targets. In addition, hours after publishing what it claimed was Stratfor’s client list, Anonymous tweeted a link to encrypted files online with names, phone numbers, emails, addresses, and credit card account details. “Not as many as you expected? Worry not, fellow pirates and robin hoods. These are just the ‘A’s,” read a message posted online that encouraged readers to download a file of the hacked information.

Anonymous said the client list it had already posted was a small slice of the 200 gigabytes worth of information it stole from Stratfor and promised more leaks. It said it was able to get the credit card details in part because Stratfor didn’t bother encrypting them. If this is true, that would be a huge embarrassment for any security-related company – or in my opinion – any company that holds personal information on its clients/customers. Read the full article »

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GSM Phones Vulnerable to Hijack Scams – Researcher Says

By Dawn in Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, Hacking, MSI Detective Services, Security, taps, Technology at December 28th, 2011 | No comments

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile security is a hot issue as smartphone sales have outpaced PC sales. Smartphone malware is popping up at an unprecedented rate as people put more and more valuable information on their devices, using them to hold corporate secrets, conduct banking and function as digital wallets.

Hackers have taken notice and continue to find ways to breach the security of these devices.

Karsten Nohl, head of Berlin-based Security Research Labs, will be speaking at the Berlin hacking convention this week about the security vulnerabilities of GSM phones.

Nohl discovered flaws in a widely used wireless technology that could allow hackers to gain remote control of phones and instruct them to send text messages or make calls. Nohl is a well-regarded expert on mobile security who identified a bug last year in GSM technology that makes calls vulnerable to tapping. He says he is calling attention to these flaws to pressure the industry into beefing up the security of their products.

They could use the vulnerability in the GSM technology — which is used by most telecom operators globally and by billions of people — to make calls or send texts to expensive, premium phone and messaging services in scams.

Security experts have previously identified a small number of viruses designed to infect smartphones, allowing hackers to take control of the devices and force them to make calls or send text messages. But Nohl said he has discovered a way to leverage previously disclosed vulnerabilities in GSM technology that could potentially threaten hundreds of thousands of phones.

GSM became the dominant mobile technology globally in the late 1990s. Although new and faster mobile networks have been rolled out across the world, operators have stuck to their GSM networks to support older phones and to offer service when new networks fail. Read the full article »

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Anonymous Leaks 38,000 Investigator E-Mails

By Dawn in Crime, Debugging - Electronic Countermeasures, Electronic Fraud, Electronic Theft, Hacking, MSI Detective Services, Technology at December 5th, 2011 | No comments

Law enforcement officers and white hats working for the government or for private companies contracted by the government are among the favorite targets of hacking collective Anonymous, and the latest one to be targeted was Fred Baclagan, a Special Agent Supervisor of the CA Department of Justice (DOJ) in charge of computer crime investigations.

The hacker group Anonymous released 38,000 private e-mails belonging to the retired special agent supervisor and cybercrime investigator.

The messages reveal detailed information about computer forensic techniques and investigation protocols, the group said in a notice posted to Pastebin. Anonymous also said it leaked several dozen of Baclagan’s voicemails and SMS text message logs, along with his personal phone number and address. They claim to have hacked into and hijacked two of his Gmail accounts, accessed several dozen voicemails and SMS text message logs, his Google web history, listened to private voicemails and used his Google voice account.

“Possibly the most interesting content in his e-mails are the IACIS.com internal e-mail list archives (2005-2011) which detail the methods and tactics cybercrime units use to gather electronic evidence, conduct investigations, and make arrests,” said the group.

“There are discussions about using EnCase forensic software, attempts to crack TrueCrypt encrypted drives, sniffing wireless traffic in mobile surveillance vehicles, how to best prepare search warrants, and subpoenas, and a whole lot of clueless people asking questions on how to use basic software like FTP.”

“The information in these e-mails will prove essential to those who want to protect themselves from the techniques and procedures cybercrime investigators use to build cases,” Anonymous said. The group invited anyone who has ever been arrested for computer crimes to check the archives for discussions about their case.

If you suspect your computer, email or phone has been hacked, MSI Detective Services provides computer forensic investigations and debugging services that will detect and eliminate suspicious software.

In addition, the U-Spy Store sells surveillance computer and phone products that assist in monitoring the activities of your computers and phones.

Sources for this story include: dfinews

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