'PayPal 14' Culprits Enter Guilty Pleading Over Pro-WikiLeaks DDoS Attack Versus PayPal

Accused 'PayPal 14' Culprits of Anonymous Enter Guilty Pleading Over Pro-WikiLeaks DDoS Attack Versus PayPal

I am quite sure that all of your regular readers still remember the devastating cyber attack from Anonymous against PayPal, the attack was conducted under the banner of Operation PayPal (#OpPayPal). The infamous hacker community stated a reason for this mass protest as the online payment company suspending the account of WikiLeaks. #OpPayPal is considered as one of the most demolishing cyber attack ever taken in cyber space. PayPal with law enforcement agencies immediately taken steps and start investigation, in the primary step PayPal sent 1000 IP address of Anonymous hacker who was linked on that attack to FBI. As expected the hackers who were behind that attack was serially busted by the police. And finally the accused anonymous hacker appeared in federal court in California on Thursday and will be formally sentenced in one year. Eleven of the so-called “PayPal 14” members each pleaded guilty in court to one felony count of conspiracy and one misdemeanor count of damaging a computer as a result of their involvement in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack waged by Anonymous in late 2010 shortly after PayPal stopped processing donations to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Prosecutors say the defendants used a free computer program called the Low Ion Orbit Cannon, aka LOIC, to collectively flood PayPal’s servers with tremendous amounts of illegitimate internet traffic for one week that winter, at moments knocking the website offline as a result and causing what PayPal estimated to be roughly £3.5 million in damages. 

Pending good behavior, those 11 alleged Anons will be back in court early next December for sentencing, atpleading guilty to the misdemeanor counts only, likely removing themselves from any lingering felony convictions but earning an eventual 90 day jail stint when they are finally sentenced. A fourth defendant, Dennis Owen Collins, did not attend the hearing due to complications involving a similar case currently being considered by a federal judge in Alexandria Virginia in which he and one dozen others are accused of conspiring to cripple other websites as an act of protest during roughly the same time.

which point the felony charges are expected to be adjourned. Two of the remaining defendants cut deals that found them. In his press reaction defense attorney Stanley Cohen said the terms of the settlement were reached following over a year of negotiations, “based upon strength, not weakness; based upon principle, not acquiescence.” In the courtroom all the accused hacker stood up and said, ‘We did what you said we did . . .We believe it was an appropriate act from us and we’re willing to pay the price.’ 

On the other hand Cohen, who represented PayPal 14 defendant Mercedes Haefer in court, said one of the hacktivists told him after Thursdays hearing concluded that "This misdemeanor is a badge of honor and courage." When media questioned Michael Whelan, a lawyer for one of the defendants, he declined to comment on the plea. 

-Source (RT)

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Anonymous Hacker Denied Bail in Singapore, Accused For Hacking Prime Minister Website

Anonymous Hacker Denied Bail in Singapore, Accused For Hacking Prime Minister Website

A Singapore court in this week has denied bail of accused anonymous hacker charged for hacking high value government websites. Last month a Singaporean hacker named James Raj was extradited from Malaysia. He was charged for hacking the Ang Mo Kio district website, whose MPs include Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, under the banner of worlds most dangerous hacktivist community Anonymous. The alleged hacking was among a string of cyber attacks that have also targeted the websites of Premier Lee and President Tony Tan as well as pro-government media, in a row over Internet freedom in the city state. This 35 years old hacker was deeply linked with Anonymous and he was covered himself with nickname "The Messiah".  District Judge Soh Tze Bian said Raj, posed a flight risk because he previously jumped bail and fled to Malaysia after being slapped with illegal drugs consumption charges in 2011. 

Police have previously said Raj was also linked to other hacking attacks, including on the website of a charity associated with the ruling People's Action Party. Two Singaporean men have so far been charged with defacing the president's website. Police have said that there are no links between Raj and these suspects. 

The round of attack from Raj took place three days before a self-proclaimed spokesperson for Anonymous appeared in a video on October 31 to demand the scrapping of a recent Singapore law requiring news websites to obtain annual licences. The Internet licensing rules, which came into effect in June, have sparked anger among bloggers and activists who say they are designed to muzzle free expression. Singapore strictly regulates the traditional media, but insists the recent licensing rules do not impinge on Internet freedom. 

-Source (Global Post)

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Two Alleged Indian Hacker From 'Indishell' Arrested For Hacking into E-commerce Website

Two Alleged Indian Hacker From 'Indishell' Arrested For Hacking into E-commerce Website

Two alleged Indian hackers were arrested on Saturday by the Gautam Budh Nagar cyber crime cell. After an extensive investigation, it has been found that the hackers who were doing BTech in computer science, were charged with hacking into an e-commerce website that specializes in mobile recharge. After hacking into the server, the accused obtained administrative rights of the website. when users asked for recharge of their cellphones, DTH cards, net cards, etc, the hackers would just key in the cell number and the amount to be topped up. However, no bill would be generated as the hackers had bypassed the payment page. 

This way the recharge company would be debited every time without a bill, leading to losses worth several lakh. Police have estimated that the hackers have cheated a Delhi-based company of more than Rs 50 lakh. The accused, Sumit Gupta (24) and Ankit Singh (22), from Moradabad in UP were members of the hacker group, "Indishell" also known as "Indian Cyber Army". They were arrested from Noida and booked under Sections 420 of the IPC and 66C of the IT Act, 2008.

"We received a complaint from the head of recharge of Memory Electronics Pvt Ltd about the website being hacked," said Triveni Singh, DSP (cyber crime cell) GB Nagar. The other accused who are yet to be arrested are also BTech graduates from across India. "Shrinivas, facebook name 'neo', is from Kohlapur in Maharashtra; Ajay Dhaka, alias dark look, is from Jaipur; Raman Kumar Rana, facebook name 'google warrior', is a resident of Pathankot; and Manmohan, alias 'mack', is from Muradabad," Triveni said.

-Source (TOI)

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LulzSec Hacker Ryan Get Bail (He Was Behind The Attack Against CIA & SOCA)

LulzSec Hacker Ryan Get Bail (He Was Behind The Attack Against CIA & SOCA)

Two days ago an alleged  hacker has appeared in court accused of conspiring with three British teenagers to bring down the websites of the CIA and the UK's Serious Organized Crime Agency. Ryan Ackroyd, 25, appeared at Westminster Magistrates court in London on Friday charged with computer hacking offences for the so-called “hacktivist” group, LulzSec.
Ryan was also accused of attacks on the NHS and News International, publisher of the Sun, as well as police authorities in the UK and US. The Doncaster man is the last of four British males to appear in court in the UK in connection with attacks by LulzSec, a spin-off group linked to the hacking collective Anonymous.
He faces two counts of conspiring with Jake Davis, 18, Ryan Cleary, 19, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to do “an unauthorised act with intent to impair or with recklessness as to impair the operation of a computer” between 1 February and 30 September 2011. 

He made no plea and was granted bail by Westminster magistrates until a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 11 May. Mr Ackroyd is the last of four alleged members of LulzSec to appear in court. District judge Howard Riddle granted him bail until a plea and case management hearing at Southwark crown court on 11 May, on condition that he does not access or have in his possession any device that could access the Internet.

Earlier in 2011 Ryan also faced imprisonment and later released on bail. Court ordered him not to use Internet even Ryan was also banned from seeing his girlfriend alone by the court.  

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The End Of Anonymous: Anonymous Attacks Eachother

It now seems that there is an internal war happening in the ranks of leaderless hacker group ‘Annoymous’ in which a rogue admin had taken control of two key sites that the group uses to coordinate their actions online.

In a message to users posted on AnonOps.in, part of Anonymous’s AnonOps network, admins accused a former comrade of organising a “coup d’etat“.

The name that seems to be comng up is ‘Ryan’, who is now being accused of stealing IP addresses and passwords of users of two ‘Anonymous’ sites. AnonOps.net and AnonOps.ru were attacked by first getting the precious information, and then getting Denial of service (DoS) attacks directed against them.

The sites provide communication within the members of the group through IRC channels and have been used to launch several attacks, they were also key in organising Anonymous activity in support of the uprising in Tunisia and Egypt and Siria.

Some messages have been appearing in hacking websites from anonymous:

‘We regret to inform you today that our network has been compromised by a former IRC-operator and fellow helper named “Ryan”. He decided that he didn’t like the leaderless command structure that AnonOps Network Admins use. So he organised a coup d’etat, with his “friends” at skidsr.us . Using the networks service bot “Zalgo” he scavenged the IP’s and passwords of all the network servers (including the hub) and then systematically aimed denial of service attacks at them.’

‘We would STRONGLY ADVISE all users to STAY AWAY from AnonOps.net and AnonOps.ru, and they should be considered COMPROMISED. Using or connecting to any service on those addresses may put your computer, and by extension your person, at risk’.

These latest developments come after Sony had accused the hacker group to be more than likely (however without providing definite evidence) involved in the data leak that caused the loss of personal and financial information of over 70 million users of the Playstation Network. Please let us know what are your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

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Lulzsec Hacker Ryan Cleary Charged in US For Hacking Fox, PBS Websites

Lulzsec Hacker Ryan Cleary Charged in US For Hacking Fox, PBS Websites

Federal prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old Briton suspected of links to the hacking group Lulz Security with cracking into websites for a Fox reality TV show, a venerable news program and other sites. In an indictment filed Tuesday, Ryan Cleary is accused of conspiring with other hackers in LulzSec, an offshoot of the larger hacking group Anonymous, to break into multiple sites. Cleary is accused of conspiring to steal the confidential information of people who registered to get information on auditions for the Fox talent competition "The X-Factor." He also is accused of defacing the website for "The NewsHour," a nightly Public Broadcasting Service show.

An after-hours call to Cleary's legal representative in London wasn't returned. Calls to Fox and "The NewsHour" seeking comment and confirmation weren't immediately returned Wednesday. In the United Kingdom, Cleary is in custody following allegations that he hacked a law enforcement agency and various British music sites. If Cleary were to be extradited to the US and convicted, he would face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that they would "allow the prosecution to take its course" in the UK before deciding whether to apply for extradition. 

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Most Organized Banking-Trojan Called 'Gozi Prinimalka' By Russian Hackers Targeting U.S. Banks

Most Organized Banking-Trojan Called 'Gozi Prinimalka' By Russian Hackers Targeting U.S. Banks

We all might be aware of massive attack which took place last month, targeted several leading banking and financial sector of United States. The attack came just after 'anti Islamic' video was posted online. The US National Security officials accused the Iranian government for engaging cyber attacks against US Banks mainly Bank of America. Sooner or later the situation came under control. But cloud of trouble for US Banking sector is not gone completely, recently security professionals unveiled that a cartel of Russian hackers is planning to launch a separate attack aimed at stealing money from about 30 U.S. financial institutions, an apparent attempt to piggyback and capitalize on the ongoing cyber attacks on U.S. banks. The emergence of Russian hackers suggests a potential shift in the motivation of the cyber attacks from ideological to financial and also points to a longer duration of the ongoing attacks. Security experts have picked up on chatter in the cyber underworld indicating Russian cyber hackers have set their sights on about 30 U.S. financial institutions. Dubbed “Operation Blitzkrieg,” the attack is planned for this fall on 30 U.S. banks, though it’s not clear which specific institutions will be targeted. In a blog post last week, RSA said it “believes this is the making of the most substantial organized banking-Trojan operation seen to date.”

So far it’s not clear who the specific Russian hackers are, but famous security professional & blogger Brian Krebs pointed to series of posts beginning in early September on Underweb forums by a Russian hacker who uses the nickname “vorVzakone,” which translates to “thief in law.” RSA said “underground chatter” indicates the gang plans to deploy a Trojan, called “Gozi Prinimalka,” in an effort to complete fraudulent wire transfers via Man-In-The-Middle (MiTM) manual session-hacking scenarios. Herberger said MiTM is a type of attack that aims to deceive targets by violating otherwise secure communications, similar to tapping into a landline phone conversation or breaching a VPN session. “If successfully launched, the full force of this mega heist may only be felt by targeted banks in a month or two,” RSA said. The Trojan is part of a family of malware used by a crime gang that has successfully siphoned at least $5 million from banks, RSA said. The Russian hackers are also offering to pay individuals who help them carry out the attacks, indicating a desire to monetize the intrusions.

So now the vows of hacker group named 'Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters' is proving to be more dangerous for US. The hacker group earlier said "These series of attacks will continue until the Erasing of that nasty movie from the Internet". For your reminder this hacker group was responsible for all the major DDoS attacks against US financial sector. “It’s not uncommon that people who have a financial motive may try to take advantage of nefarious techniques,” said Herberger. “They will jump in because they can take advantage of the fact banks are laboring and security departments are becoming overrun and softened for a different kind of motivated attack.” The emergence of the threat from Russian groups underscores the prolonged nature of the attacks against corporations, especially in the financial industry. “Security teams are coming to terms that these attacks are long,” often measured in days and weeks, said Herberger. However, security teams often aren’t “staffed for attrition.”

-Source (FOX Business)

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Stratfor Hacker Jeremy Hammond Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison

LulzSec Hacker Jeremy Hammond Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison For Stratfor Hack

Infamous hacker Jeremy Hammond convicted by the Judge for cyber-attacks on government agencies and businesses, including a global intelligence company. This 28 year old Chicago hacker who is also known as "Anarchaos" was arrested by the federal authorities and been charged for the  breach of the security analysis company Stratfor. In December last year the bail application of Hammond was also been rejected by the the U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska. On June this year Hammond pleaded guilty for his sin. In his statement he said "I have pleaded guilty, it is a relief to be able to say that I did work with Anonymous to hack Stratfor, among other websites." 

That guilty plea indeed worked out for him, as that time it was predicated that Hammond  might have to face 30 years in prison, but on Friday Judge Loretta Preska sentenced Hammond to 120 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for illegally accessing computers systems of law enforcement agencies and government contractors. In an emotional proceeding that lasted more than 2 hours in a Manhattan federal court room on Friday, victims and relatives of Hammond railed against the FBI and shed tears on his behalf following the sentencing. One overwrought person claiming to be a victim was forcibly escorted from the court by officers. But Hammond likely knew the sentence was coming, his lawyer said. "When Jeremy took this plea with a 10-year maximum, I think he understood this was very likely the outcome," said Sarah Kunstler, Hammond's defense attorney outside of court house.

Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska said Hammond's digital handiwork had compromised thousands of people's personal and financial data, including the unpublished phone numbers and addresses of law enforcement, who then received threats. Hammond tried unsuccessfully to argue that his actions were politically motivated, she said. Hammond pleaded guilty to a single charge with a 10-year maximum sentence. Still his lawyers are asking to reduce his punishment for a sentence of 20 months.

Hammond has been held without bail since his arrest in March on charges connected with last year's hacking of Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based international intelligence broker, by AntiSec, an offshoot of LulzSec, which is in turn an offshoot of the hacktivist collective Anonymous. Prosecutors say the hack of Austin, Texas-based Strategic Forecasting resulted in the theft of 60,000 credit-card numbers and records for 860,000 clients. The government alleges that he published some of that information online, and used some of the stolen credit card data to run up at least $700,000 in unauthorized charges. He is also accused of giving about five million internal emails to WikiLeaks, which were published under the name The Global Intelligence Files.

-Source (Fox News)

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LulZsec Hacker Jeremy Hammond Denied Bail & Have to Face 30 Years in Prison

LulZsec Hacker Jeremy Hammond Denied Bail & Have to Face 30 Years in Prison 

More trouble coming towards LulzSec, as the bail appeal of former LulzSec hacker Jeremy Hammond has been denied by the court. Hammond widely known as "Anarchaos" have to face a potential sentence of 30 years to life for alleged hacking crimes is probably enough to get the attention of most 27-year-olds. And that is what U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska told Hammond last week that he could face if he is convicted on all counts. Hammond, much better known in the world of hactivism by various online aliases including "Anarchaos," "sup_g," "burn," "yohoho," "POW," "tylerknowsthis," and "crediblethreat," has been held without bail since his arrest in March on charges connected with last year's hacking of Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based international intelligence broker, by AntiSec, an offshoot of LulzSec, which is in turn an offshoot of the hacktivist collective Anonymous.

The three-count federal indictment, brought in the Southern District of New York, charged him with conspiracy to commit computer hacking, computer hacking and conspiracy to commit access device fraud. More specifically, the government alleges that starting last December, Hammond and others from AntiSec stole information from about 860,000 Stratfor subscribers, including emails, account information, and data from about 60,000 credit cards. The government alleges that he published some of that information online, and used some of the stolen credit card data to run up at least $700,000 in unauthorized charges. He is also accused of giving about five million internal emails to WikiLeaks, which were published under the name The Global Intelligence Files.

Apparently unknown to Hammond, however, was that the then-leader of AntiSec, Hector Xavier Monsegur, a New York hacker known by the alias "Sabu," had been arrested the previous June and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. So, at least some of the Stratfor information Hammond uploaded was to a honey pot server maintained by the FBI. At a hearing last week, Hammond was denied bail, based on Judge Preska's determination that he was both a danger to the community and a flight risk. He had also recently been added to the Terrorist Watch List, said Sue Crabtree, a member of the Jeremy Hammond Solidarity Network and a spectator at his bail hearing. Crabtree said Hammond didn't even have a passport. The bail denial sparked another round of protest from Hammond's supporters. Anonymous published a message on Pastebin demanding that Preska recuse herself for conflict of interest. The group said her husband, Thomas J. Kavaler, was among Stratfor's clients, and therefore one of the alleged victims of the hack. Kavaler is a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York City.

"Judge Preska by proxy is a victim of the very crime she intends to judge Jeremy Hammond for," Anonymous wrote in a message posted last Friday. "Judge Preska has failed to disclose the fact that her husband is a client of Stratfor and recuse herself from Jeremy's case, therefore violating multiple Sections of Title 28 of the United States Code."

Beyond that, a writer identified only as "NA" on the website FreeHammond.com, argued that "Hacktivists are not criminals! Jeremy is alleged of a crime that has exposed the corruption and exploitation of the very State prosecuting him," and suggested entrapment by the FBI as well.

Renowned security expert Kevin Mitnick said it is possible that the government is trying to scare Hammond to get him to cooperate. Or, it could be designed to send a message to Anonymous members that what they view as sticking it to the man could yield some very serious consequences. Hammond is scheduled to go to trial sometime next year.

-Source (CSO Online)

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Pirate Bay Co-Founder Svartholm Warg Accused For Hacking, Fraud & Attempt to Steal Money From Bank

Pirate Bay Co-Founder Svartholm Warg Accused For Hacking, Fraud & Attempt to Steal Money From Swedish Bank 

The Pirate Bay also known as TPB is the most infamous website providing torrent files and magnet links to facilitate peer to peer file sharing. It is fact that many of us love the website, but it is also undeniable that if you are in the core team to run TPB then you are definitely sitting on the edge of legality. Many of you have already started terrifying! But I have the news which will not frighten you but surely will surely frighten Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, the co-founder of Pirate Bay. Gottfrid might get mercy if he could limited himself only into Pirate Bay, but in reality he did not and crossed all the lines. The 27-year-old’s Gottfrid widely known as 'Anakata' has been charged for hacking several Swedish companies and stealing their personal data. He and three others are also accused of attempting to make illegal online money transfers. Prosecutors claim Warg  along with three others—hacked IBM mainframes belonging to tax firm Logica and the bank to transfer money from various bank accounts. In total, the four men reportedly attempted to transfer just over US$900,000. Warg has also been accused of hacking into the databases of several Swedish businesses and the government’s federal taxing agency.

In his statement prosecutor Henrik Olin said - "A large amount of data from companies and agencies was taken during the hack, including a large amount of personal data, such as personal identity numbers (personnummer) of people with protected identities. I'd say that Svartholm Warg is the main person and brains behind the hacker attack. We've had a lot of theories but I can't find a motive in the evidence. What I can say is that we're talking about an incredibly technically advanced hack against a large server environment considered to have very high security and that can boost one's status in certain circles" 

Three other people have been indicted along with Svartholm Warg. They are all charged with serious fraud, attempted aggravated fraud, and aiding attempted aggravated fraud. According to the indictment, authorities seized a computer and chat transcripts of Svartholm Warg and the other suspects. Olin claims that it is the biggest investigation into a data intrusion ever conducted in the country. 

Here we want to remind you that Svartholm Warg, 27, was arrested in Cambodian and deported to Sweden in September last year due to an arrest warrant issued for him in relation to his conviction in the Pirate Bay trial. Since December, Svartholm Warg has been held in a prison in Mariefred in central Sweden where he is serving out a prison sentence related to his activities with The Pirate Bay.

-Source (The Local, RT)

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Anonymous is attacking US Chamber of Commerce website

In protest of the "PROTECT IP" bill, hacker group Anonymous plans to attack the US Chamber of Commerce website Monday evening. Hacktivist group Anonymous plans to launch attack the US Chamber of Commerce website today at 8pm EST, according to a flier posted to 4chan.org and Reddit.com, which urges Internet users to join in the fight. The distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaign is an act of protest against a piece of supposed anti-piracy legislation proposed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) known as the “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property” bill, or “PROTECT IP.” Anonymous, known for its campaigns against both corporations and governments around the world who the group believes stifle the free flow of information, argues that, if passed, PROTECT IP “would allow the US Government to force [Internet service providers] and search engines to censor websites they do not like under the guise of ‘copyright protection.’” The online protest was first announced Sunday in a statement released by the group, which reads:

“As pioneers of this new world, it’s our duty to resist and fight those who attempt to stop us. Whether you’re a journalist or blogger, or a participant of Anonymous, or the activists on the ground who protest against these corporate thugs and oppressive regimes and risk everything for freedom of information and speech, we are all in this battle together and we have a responsibility to protect our civil liberties.

“This attack tomorrow will send yet another message to the pigs that run the state that we will not be another cog in the f****d up clock that these corporate entities attempt to preserve through their political puppets in Washington.

“This is our world now and we will fight for it. Take it or leave it.” 

The PROTECT IP bill, a reiteration of the failed COICA bill, would give the US Justice Department broad powers to shut down access to websites it deems “dedicated to infringing activities.” As Anonymous accurately describes, these powers include forcing ISPs to block access to targeted websites, and even requiring search engines, like Google and Bing, to completely remove the websites from their search indexes. Perhaps even more troubling, the bill would also give private citizens — i.e. copyright holders — the ability to request that the government block a websites’ ability to display advertising, or process payments. Anonymous says that, rather than reduce piracy, the bill simply “endangers the free flow of information,” through the use of “domain seizures, ISP blockades, search engine censorship, and the restriction of funding to accused websites,” says Anonymous. All of this, they say, “takes Internet censorship to the next level.” The hacker’s interpretation of the bill, a summary of which leaked online last week, is echoed by a variety of other privacy advocates, who say the legislation is woefully misguided, and will result in rampant government censorship. “Protecting copyright and trademark are of course important objectives,” writes author and technology expert Larry Downes in an analysis of the bill posted to CNet. “But doing so by trampling due process rights, tinkering dangerously with the mechanics of the Internet, and impressing into police duties an expanding set of Internet service providers, hardly seems the best solution.” Anonymous first came into the world spotlight after launching a series of similar attacks on the corporate websites of PayPal, Master Card and Visa, all of which stopped processing donation payments made to whistle blowing website WikiLeaks. Most recently, members of the group were accused by Sony of initiating (or, at least, facilitating) an attack on its PlayStation Network, which resulted in the theft of nearly 13 million user credit cards, and could cost the company upwards of $170 million in damages. Those who wish to join in the DDoS attack — which simply overloads a website’s servers with an overwhelming amount of traffic, causing it to go offline — can join other Anons in the #OperationPayback IRC channel, where countless supporters have gathered to coordinate the attack. 


Anonymous Message on IP ACT

To read a full summary of PROTECT IP  CLICK HERE

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LulzSec Hacker Ryan Sent Back To Prison For Contacting Sabu

LulzSec Hacker Ryan Sent Back To Prison For Contacting Sabu (Violation of His Bail Agreement)

Former Lulzsec hacker Ryan Cleary from Essex, England sent back to jail for violating court's conditions. Few days ago Ryan has been granted bail by Westminster magistrates until a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 11 May. He has been charged of conspiring with three British teenagers to bring down the websites of the CIA and the UK's Serious Organized Crime Agency. Ryan was also accused of attacks on the NHS and News International, publisher of the Sun, as well as police authorities in the UK and US. Court granted his bail on condition that he does not access or have in his possession any device that could access the Internet. But it has been found that he tried to make contact with none other than LulzSec leader Hector Xavier Monsegur aka "Sabu". That was a direct violation of his bail agreement, which dictated that Cleary was to have no access to the Internet whatsoever. London's Metropolitan Police say they rearrested Cleary on March 5, the day before the FBI revealed Sabu's identity, and that "the party boy of the projects" had been eagerly spilling the beans on his fellow hackers. According to Cleary's lawyer, the teen is being held at Chelmsford Prison north of London, awaiting a court appearance in May. 

Sabu was recently revealed to have betrayed LulzSec members, and associated Anonymous hacktivists, by secretly working for the FBI for many months.

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LulzSec Hacker Cody Kretsinger Pleaded Guilty in Sony Breach

LulzSec Hacker Cody Kretsinger Pleaded Guilty in Sony Breach 

Accused LulzSec hacker Cody Kretsinger pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in California to taking part in an extensive computer breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Kretsinger, a 24-year-old who used the moniker "Recursion," pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer in a deal with prosecutors.
"I joined LulzSec, your honor, at which point we gained access to the Sony Pictures website," Kretsinger told the judge after entering his guilty plea. He testified that he gave the information he got from the Sony site to other members of LulzSec, who then posted it onto the group's website and on Twitter. Kretsinger flew from Decatur, Illinois, to Los Angeles for the hearing, and responded to the judge's questions calmly, with his hands clasped behind his back.
He and other LulzSec hackers, including those known as "Sabu" and "Topiary," stole the personal information of thousands of people after launching an "SQL injection" attack on the website, and ultimately caused Sony Pictures Entertainment more than $600,000 in damages, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Vandevelde said.The plea agreement is under seal, although Vandevelde said Kretsinger would likely receive substantially less than the 15-year maximum sentence he faces. He could also be forced to repay any damages. His sentencing is scheduled for July 26. Neither Kretsinger nor his lawyer would comment after the proceedings.

-Source (Yahoo News & Reuters)

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Leading US Banking & Financial Sector Suffering From Massive DDoS Attack

Leading US Banking & Financial Sector Suffering From Massive DDoS Attack 

Few days ago in a report we said that US National Security officials accused the Iranian government for engaging cyber attacks against US Banks. The attack came just after 'anti Islamic' video was posted online. Attacks against the websites of leading banks in the United States have the banking and financial services industry on edge. The Financial Services ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) set its Threat Level to “High” on Wednesday, September 19, indicating a high risk of cyber attacks. Attacks against the websites of leading banks in the United States have the banking and financial services industry on edge. A Muslim hacking group calling itself Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters took responsibility for attacks on the New York Stock Exchange, Bank of America and Chase last week. This week brought attacks against Wells Fargo, US Bank and PNC. Wells Fargo used its Twitter account to apologize for service interruptions on Wednesday and said it was working to "quickly resolve this issue." Most of the targeted banks were back online and operational Thursday. The events prompted U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to use an interview on C-SPAN to point the finger of blame at the Iranian government and its elite Quds Force.
Wheather it is Iran Govt or that hacker group 'Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters' but the main issue of concern is that the Banking and financial sector has been highly disturbed since last few weeks. Though the situation came under control at last Thursday but still experts are predicting that this ongoing cyber attack is not over yet. In their statement the hacker group vows to engage more attack. "These series of attacks will continue until the Erasing of that nasty movie from the Internet," said the hacker.

-Source (Naked Security) 

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Lulzsec may be Officially Disbanded, But FBI is In Search of Lulzsec

Lulz Security may be officially disbanded after 50 days of online hijinks including raids against the servers of NATO, the U.S. Senate, PBS and many others. But law enforcement officials are still actively searching for the rogue hackers. So far, however, it appears the law is coming up empty. FBI agents recently descended on the home of Iowa resident Laurelai Bailey hoping to find out more information about the February hack into security firm HBGary Federal, according to Gawker. The hacker collective Anonymous officially carried out the HBGary hack, but LulzSec reportedly includes the Anonymous members who led the heist against the security firm.

After a 5-hour interview with Bailey, federal agents confiscated her hard drive, camera and other equipment. It appears Bailey came to the attention of law enforcement after an anonymous Paste bin posting identified her as a member of LulzSec. Bailey denies being a member of LulzSec, although she did reportedly participate in an online chat with LulzSec members and later leaked the chat online.

Bailey's interview follows the June 12 arrest of 19-year-old Ryan Cleary in the U.K. reportedly in connection with the hacker group. Police later charged Cleary for offenses under the U.K.'s Criminal Law Act and Computer Misuse Act. The teenager is accused of using a botnet to launch distributed denial of service attacks against the U.K.'s Serious Organized Crime Agency and other sites. After Cleary's arrest, LulzSec said via Twitter he was only loosely related to the group. Police continue to chase after LulzSec, but so far the hacker pranksters have managed to evade capture. But the group may not be able to hide forever as investigators step up their efforts to unmask the digital gang.

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Jeremy Hammond -Key Member of Anonymous Affiliated LulzSec Pleads Guilty To Stratfor Hack

Jeremy Hammond -Key Member of Anonymous Affiliated LulzSec Pleads Guilty To Stratfor Hack, Could Face 10 Years In Prison

Lulz Security widely known as LulzSec, the most dangerous hacker collective group who set their devastating hacking rampage for fifty days in which they have successfully penetrated almost all the so called top secure fields; has suddenly stopped their sail. But stopping crime never means that the criminal will be overlooked, the pending punishment will surely take place. And this applied from LulzSec also. Lat year we have seen leader of LulzSec and also also leader of infamous hacker collective group Anonymous code-named "Sabu," whose real name is Hector Xavier Monsegur, turned traitor to his community and became FBI informer and provided all the information on fellow hackers. The arrest of Sabu subsequently helped law-enforcement officials to infiltrate Lulzsec, an offshoot of Anonymous, the loose hacking collective that has supported an ever-shifting variety of causes. The information provided by Sabu lead FBI to arrest all the key members of LulzSec including Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Raynaldo Rivera, Cody Kretsinger and so on. Among them there was Jeremy Hammond widely known as "Anarchaos" who was arrested by the federal authorities and been charged for the  breach of the security analysis company Stratfor. In December last year the bail application of Hammond was also been rejected by the the Court. So after several hearings finally the accused of security breach against global intelligence firm Stratfor,  Jeremy Hammond pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to one count of computer fraud and abuse in response to charges that he hacked into the network of the privacy intelligence firm Stratfor, stealing millions of emails that eventually were given to WikiLeaks and published over the course of 2012. The plea agreement could carry a sentence of as much as 10 years in prison, as well as millions of dollars in restitution payments, though Hammond’s official sentence won’t be handed down until September. Hammond also told Judge Loretta A. Preska of Federal District Court in Manhattan that in 2011 and 2012 he had gained unauthorized access to Stratfor’s computer systems and several other groups, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Virtual Academy, the public safety department in Arizona, and Vanguard Defense Industries, which makes drones. 

"Now that I have pleaded guilty, it is a relief to be able to say that I did work with Anonymous to hack Stratfor, among other websites," Hammond said in a statement on last Tuesday. 

A petition posted to Change.org by Hammond’s brother Jason Hammond asks the judge in Hammond’s case, Loretta Preska, to sentence him to time served, given that he’s already spent 15 months in lockup. “Jeremy did nothing for personal gain and everything in hopes of making the world a better place,” reads Hammond’s brother’s petition. “Jeremy is facing a maximum sentence of ten years, but the minimum is zero. He has been in jail since March 2012 awaiting trial and now sentencing. It’s time for him to come home.”

-Source (Forbes & Huffington Post)

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Russian Hacker Petr Murmylyuk Charged For Hacking Millions of Dollar & Stealing Identity

Russian Hacker Petr Murmylyuk Charged For Hacking Millions of Dollar & Stealing Identity 

The U.S. Justice Department charged a Russian, currently living at New-York for his alleged role in a ring that stolen roughly $1 million by hacking into retail brokerage accounts and executing sham trades. Petr Murmylyuk aka “Dmitry Tokar,” 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as unauthorized access to computers, and securities fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also filing a parallel civil action. Beginning in late 2010, Murmylyuk worked with others to steal from online trading accounts at Scottrade, E*Trade, Fidelity, Schwab and other brokerage firms. Members of the ring first gained unauthorized access to the online accounts and changed the phone numbers and email addresses on file to prevent notice of unauthorized trading from going to the victims.

Once the hackers controlled the accounts, they used stolen identities to open additional accounts at other brokerage houses. They then caused the victims’ accounts to make unprofitable and illogical securities trades with the new accounts that benefitted the hackers. One version of the fraud involved causing the victims’ accounts to sell options contracts to the accounts, then to purchase the same contracts back minutes later for up to nine times the price.
In another version of the fraud, they used the accounts to offer short sales of securities at prices well over market price and to force the victim accounts to make irrational purchases. Murmylyuk and a conspirator recruited foreign nationals visiting, studying, and living in the United States – including Russian nationals and Houston residents Anton Mezentsev, Galina Korelina, Mikhail Shatov and others – to open bank accounts into which illegal proceeds could be deposited. Murmylyuk and the conspirator then caused the proceeds of the sham trades to be transferred from the brokerage accounts into the bank accounts, where the stolen money could be withdrawn.

Fidelity, Scottrade, E*Trade, and Schwab have reported combined losses to date of approximately $1 million as a result of the fraudulent schemes. Murmylyuk is also accused of placing a telephone call to Trade Station Securities in which he claimed to be “Dmitry Tokar,” through whose brokerage account the ring placed approximately $200,000 in fraudulent securities trades. Murmylyuk was arrested in Brooklyn on November 3, 2011, in possession of a laptop that evidenced the fraud.

-Source (On Wallstreet)

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