What Risk We are Posing!Everyone Can Become a Target of the Latest Cyber Security Threats
According to a report by the Washington Post,
hackers may soon be setting up a plan to unfold in 2013 that will
target 30 different U.S. banking institutions. McAfee Labs, who has
compiled a new cyber security report, says that banks should be on the
lookout for software that creates false online transactions or targets
transfers tied to large dollar amounts.
Sources
say that these threats can all be tied back to “Project Blitzkrieg”,
which is a program that has been around since 2008. Within the past four
years, it has already stolen $5 million and plans to continue for as
long as possible. During the past few months, between 300 and 500
victims located within the U.S. have fallen victim to Project
Blitzkrieg’s schemes. By the spring of 2013, McAfee says that things
could get even worse for U.S. banks and their customers.
Experts
note that this scheme may be tied to reports from back in October by
security company RSA that mentioned how a hacker out of Russia named
“vorVzakone” has been openly discussing his plan to recruit a team to
plan the largest Trojan attack tied to banking. McAfee warns that these
threats should be taken extremely seriously as the beginning of 2013 is
soon to unfold. The software can become extremely dangerous to those
doing their banking online because it can replicate transactions and
even delete e-mail notifications about certain transfers.
While
U.S. banks will no doubt be increasing their security protocols to
protect themselves from any unnecessary attacks, most already know that
they are continually being cited as targets from hacking groups around
the globe. Back in September, both JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America
saw their sites crash because of DDoS attacks.
Samsung Smart TV Dangers
The Register has
recently reported that Samsung’s newest Smart TV is completely open and
vulnerable to hacking because it gives hackers the ability to steal
data very quickly. According to security company ReVuln, this
vulnerability most notably affects consumers who own and use their
Samsung 3D TVs for internet purposes.
Those who use their Smart TVs can rent movies, browse the web for a cheap line rental,
go on Facebook, and more. ReVuln claims that they have found an exploit
which allows hackers to see everything the user is doing while they are
using their TV, retrieve and access information like
web history, and hook up an external thumb drive to the TV to
conveniently steal all of this information for future use. While ReVuln
noticed this exploit while using a Samsung 3D TV, the true problem is
that it seems to affect all of the latest Samsung TVs with internet
capabilities, which includes many different makes and models.
As
these TVs continue to act more as larger PCs, it is only a matter of
time until we see even more security vulnerabilities tied to them in the
very near future.
Gas Station Bluetooth Skimming
News site KRCA out
of Sacramento notes that crooks are using Bluetooth devices in order to
steal credit card information from those who are paying for gas at the
pump. The biggest issue the cyber security experts noticed is that these
thieves do not even have to be near the gas station in order to steal
information.
Crooks
are using skimming devices that utilize Bluetooth and contain a variety
of common security keys that can be used to access gas pumps for
maintenance. They don’t simply pull out their device and begin swiping
information for oblivious consumers. Thieves will start by installing
skimmers on the pumps to collect information from those pumping gas and
then pick them back up. Detectives say that these types of devices are
impossible to detect.
According
to experts, thieves can be up to 100 yards away and continually collect
credit card information from unsuspecting users. Because of this, these
crooks are impossible to detect, and the problem may only grow larger
in the near future.
Troublesome QR Codes
QR codes seem to be everywhere these days. They’re typically on
everything from advertisements to products that we purchase on a daily
basis. In the Netherlands, hackers are posting QR codes in heavily
trafficked areas like airports and major streets. When these QR codes
are scanned in by a user’s smart phone, they are taken to a malicious
website that may attempt to phish information from the user or possibly
infect their smartphone with malware.
Disclaimer:- Before perfection, on behalf of Team VOGH, I would like to personally thank Eve Halton for sharing this magnificent article with our readers. Eve is a very much passionate Fleet Street, she has done her graduation in International Business and Journalism. She gained decent experience in writing articles on several fields like global politics, economics, sustainability issues, cyber security & many more.
Citi Bank & Bank of America Faced Sent Offline After Massive DDoS Attack(Operation Ababil)
Late in last year we have reported that major banking and finical sector of America faced massive cyber attack. The attack came just after 'anti Islamic' video was posted online. During the time of attack the hacker group named 'Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters'said "these series of attacks will continue until the Erasing of that nasty movie from the Internet". But now its seems that, the earlier deceleration of the hacker collective group was fake, as they again engaged denial of service attack against large banking sector, whereCiti Bankand Bank of America fallen victim. Several website of those above banks were reported offline for a certain period of time. "Just moments ago Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters attacked CitiBank and made all the parts out of reach. This was the 2nd attack this day. Banks could not stop al-Qassam Cyber fighters this week" - said the hacker group in their blog. In thier blog Hilf-ol-Fozoul reports that on Thursday several domains of Citi Bank such as citicards.com, citibank.com and citi.com were inaccessible during the pick hours. "In the 3rd week from Operation Ababil, Bank of America faced technical difficulties due to heavy traffic made by al - Qassam Cyber Fighters and users can no more reach the site." said the hackers.
The Citi Bank’s representatives acknowledged the cyber attack while saying “Currently we are aware & are working on technical issues with Citi websites. We will let you know when service is fully restored. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please call the number on the back of your card if you need immediate assistance,” on Twitter. But the representatives of Bank of America have not issued any statements on the matter.
HSBC Comeback Online After Prolonged DDoS Attack From Anonymous
Massive attack against banking and financial sector continues, this time HSBC became the latest victim of cyber attack. The attack which interrupt the service for 10 hours long were mainly originated from Iran and Russia. After 'Izz ad-Din al Qassam Cyber Fighters' now it was the time for Fawkes Security, an offshoot of hacktivist group Anonymous, quickly took credit for the attack, acknowledging the take down in posts yesterday afternoon on Twitterand Pastebin The group claimed to have knocked HSBC’s main site, along with its US, UK and Canadian counterparts offline and on Friday,claimed it logged 20,000 debit card detailsfrom the site while it was down.
According to HSBC newsroom- "On 18 October 2012 HSBC servers came under a denial of service attack which affected a number of HSBC websites around the world." But HSBC denied any sort of data loss. Fawkes Security claimed to have details of more than 20K cards, but in their release HSBC said "This denial of service attack did not affect any customer data, but did prevent customers using HSBC online services, including internet banking."
But now the whole situation is under control, websites belonging to British bank and financial services company HSBC are back online and working normally. According to an update posted on its website, HSBC restored all of its websites globally to full accessibility as of 3:00am UK time.
New York Stock Exchange, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank and PNC was brought down by few hacker collective group as protest against the anti Islamic movie. After this attack the name of HSBC has also been enlisted with those poor victims (affected banks & finance sector) who suffered DDoS attack in last month.
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.”
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.
Iran Accused of Carrying out Cyber Attacks Against US Banks Over Anti Islamic Movie Issue
Since last few days, the conspiracy with the 'Anti Islamic Movie' was the headline in every where. We have seen global violence and a mass protest mainly came from Muslim brotherhood. This protest was also touched the internet, and as expected Muslim hackers joined the movement, which cost many damages for the cyber fence. Thousands of websites became victim of cyber attack, and among them several US banks also faced huge disturbance. This protest takes a new direction when Govt of Iran announced the blockage of Google Inc's search engine and its email service. "Google and Gmail will be filtered throughout the country until further notice," an official identified only by his last name, Khoramabadi, said, without giving further details. The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said Google ban was connected to the anti-Islamic film posted on the company's YouTube site which has caused outrage throughout the Muslim world.
This stand of Iran Govt created a controversy, which make them responsible for carrying out cyber attacks against US banks. According to NBC news report US National Security officials accused the Iranian government for engaging cyber attacks against US Banks mainly Bank of America. But when the ball goes to Iran's side then they completely denies the blame, while saying "We officially announce that we haven't had any attacks," This statement came from the Head of Iran's civil defense agency Gholam Reza Jalali when he was asked about the report. The western media reports alleged on Friday that Muslim hackers have repeatedly attacked Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc over the past year as part of a broad cyber campaign targeting the United States. Security sources told Chicago Tribune and NBC News that the attacks on the three largest US banks originated in Iran, but it is not clear if they were launched by the state, groups working on behalf of the government, or "patriotic" citizens.
Here we want to refresh your memory while digging up a story, when Iran Govt decided a permanent Internet ban in Iran, where Iran Government has announced its plans to establish a National Intranet within five months. The Iranian minister for Information and Communications Technology, announced the setting up of a national Intranet and the effective blockage of services like Google, Gmail, Google Plus, Yahoo and Hotmail, in line with Iran's plan for a "clean Internet." And that five months is almost over, so may be the blockage of Google came due to that reason, or may be not. We suggest our readers that, it will be better if you ask yourself, that whether Iran was indeed responsible for the cyber attack or not??!!
Hacktivist Anonymous is now teamed up with another hacker group named TeaMp0isoN for their latest campaign Operation RobinHood (#OpRobinHood). As a result more than 1,000 usernames and passwords stolen from a United Nations server. TeamPoison and Anonymous posted an announcement while threatening a series of data breaches and robberies against major banks under the name Operation Robin Hood, which the two groups describe as a continuation of the Occupy Movement protests begun in New York two months ago.
As a way to strike back against "the banks," TeamPoison and Anonymous will take from the rich and give to the poor through some kind of ill-defined credit-card scam, though it's not clear if the credit cards being targeted will belong to "the banks" or whether Anonymous and TeamPoison plan to make fraudulent charges on consumer credit cards that will indirectly punish the banks backing those cards.
The stolen username and passwords from the United Nations server was openly posted on a pastebin, later it was removed for violence.
Anonymous & TeaMp0isoN Official Press Release:-
"#OpRobinHood: TeaMp0isoN and Anonymous Hello, we are p0isAnon. Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN have joined forces to fight censorship in the name of OpCensorThis. There is a new operation that has been taking place over the actions of Banks in response to the Occupy Movement. We have watched our brothers and sisters being refused their hard earned money by the banks on top of being beaten and brutalized by officers during peaceful demonstrations. Congratulations banks, you have gotten our attention. You ignore your customers and use authorities to censor their voices. Operation Censor This will not stand for such acts and is spawning another operation under Operation Cash Back which already removed well over 500,000 accounts from banks and put them into credit unions. This is the next step. Banks have stolen millions from its customers as well as lacked the security to protect them. We give you Operation Robin Hood. In regards to the recent demonstrations and protests across the globe, we are going to turn the tables on the banks. Operation Robin Hood is going to return the money to those who have been cheated by our system and most importantly to those hurt by our banks. Operation Robin Hood will take credit cards and donate to the 99% as well as various charities around the globe. The banks will be forced to reimburse the people there money back. We are going to take what belongs to us. The Banks have thrown people out on the streets with corrupted actions. When the poor steals, it’s considered violence, but when the banks steal from us, it’s called business. We have already taken Chase, Bank of America, and CitiBank credit cards with big breaches across the map. We have returned it to the poor (the TRUE 99%) who deserve it. We have donated thousands to many protests around the world. We have donated thousands to the homeless and other charities. Our government has fallen short in many ways. It’s time for the people to step up. We are finished depending on our government to do right by us. How safe can the banks be keeping you when we are easily able to steal thousands already. You have the benefit of us being the good guys. We are not afraid of the Police, Secret Service, or the FBI. We are going to show you banks are not safe and take our money back. We are going to hit the true evil while not harming theirs customers and helping others. We are not only starving the banks but are ready to start the attack. We have come to take the 99% ‘s money back. We are not asking permission.
Let’s see how Banks like paying out money like they made us do. Is it called stealing when one takes what was theirs in the first place? Is it called stealing elections when banks are funneling our millions into paying off congressmen and lobbyists. It’s time for the banks to pay for their crimes and corruption. We are not waiting for our government to step up and take action. It’s time for the banks to pay for not protecting you and only causing harm. But why feel sorry for them while they make us pay every day? Make us over pay for their services? Make us pay all their little charges? Operation Robin Hood urges YOU, to now move your accounts into secure credit unions, before it’s too late while we hit them from the inside. We are going to make the banks deliver your money back to you with a smile on their faces and hate in their heart. The only fraud happening has been the actions of the banks frauding the people. It’s time for the banks to do business with Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN. And one of us is not as harsh as all of us. We are looking forward to start doing business with you pigs. How loud will you squeal when the same is being done to you? We will avenge every person banks turned down and stolen from. Join us in Operation Robin Hood. Take from the banks and give to the poor. Our actions will be swift. It’s time for the people to rise up and the banks to remember who they work for. It’s time we fight back. It’s time YOU take back your freedom. We are done asking politely. Banks, you have got the attention of the Hydra of the internet that has grown fangs of poison. The only question now, is do they expect us?
We are p0isAnon We are Robin Hood We are Legion We do not forgive We do not forget Expect us.
WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange lost a court battle to stay in the United Kingdom Wednesday and will be extradited to Sweden to face questioning over sex charges, a court ruled. Appeals court judges Lord Justice John Thomas and Justice Duncan Ouseley rejected all four of the arguments Assange's defense team used to fight the extradition.
They will hold another hearing later this month to determine whether he can appeal. "I have not been charged with any crime in any country," he said on the steps of the High Court in London. "Despite this, the European arrest warrant is so restrictive that it prevents UK courts from considering the facts of a case, as judges have made clear here today."
Assange is accused of sexually assaulting two women in Sweden in August 2010. Although he has not been charged with a crime, Swedish prosecutors want to question him in connection with the allegations.
The court comprehensively rejected his defense against being sent there to face prosecution, and was particularly scathing about a dispute with one of the women over whether she had consented to having sex with him.
Swedish authorities allege that the unnamed woman agreed to have sex with him only if he wore a condom, and that he then had unprotected sex with her while she was asleep. "The allegation is that he had sexual intercourse with her when she was not in a position to consent and so he could not have had any reasonable belief that she did," the court said.
Assange drew cheers from the crowd as he left the court. A "Free Assange" rally was planned for Wednesday outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Assange, an Australian, decided to fight the case at the High Court after a judge at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court ruled in February that the WikiLeaks head should be extradited.
Assange denies the accusations, saying they are an attempt to smear him, and he says it would be unfair to send him to a country where the language and legal system are alien to him. His attorneys have fought his extradition on procedural and human-rights grounds.
Assange's lawyers have suggested that Sweden would hand him over to the United States if Britain extradites him. The prosecutor representing Sweden has dismissed that claim.
The extradition case is not linked to his work as founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, which has put him on the wrong side of the U.S. authorities.
His organization, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, has published some 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables in the past year, causing embarrassment to the government and others.
It has also published hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents relating to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the organization has come under increasing financial pressure in recent months, leading Assange to announce last week that WikiLeaks was temporarily stopping publication to "aggressively fundraise" in order to stay afloat. A financial blockade by Bank of America, VISA, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union has destroyed 95% of WikiLeaks' revenue, Assange said.
Many financial institutions stopped doing business with the site after it released the U.S. diplomatic cables late last year, and donations have been stymied.
U.S. authorities have said disclosing the classified information was illegal and caused risks to individuals and national security.
Bank of America said Friday that problems with its website are not related to any online breaches or attacks. The $2.36 trillion bank posted a message on its homepage, saying simply that the site was temporary unavailable. Tara Burke, a spokeswoman for BofA, says "some" BofA customers reported having trouble accessing their online banking accounts. But "a majority of our customers can bank online."
Julie McNelley, a fraud analyst at Aite, says the timing of the outage is curious, coming only one day after BofA announced plans to begin charging fees associated with debit-card purchases. "It wouldn't be the first time a hacktivist group used a denial of service attack to express their displeasure over a company policy," McNelley says. But Burke says the bank's site troubles are not related to a hack or a breach, and that the site issues have been sporadic.
In November 2010, a similar outage struck BofA and several other institutions, including Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. Given the number of institutions affected, industry pundits speculated that the November outage was linked to a third-party or core processor that manages online banking for various institutions.
Hackers Group Anonymous Called a news Operation Named Green Rights: Project Tarmaggedon.
According to The Official Press Release of Anonymous:-
"Free-thinking citizens of the world:
Anonymous' Operation Green Rights calls your attention to an urgent situation in North America perpetuated by the boundless greed of the usual suspects: Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.,Imperial Oil, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and many others.
This week, activists are gathering along U.S. Highway 12 in Montana to protest the transformation of a serene wilderness into an industrial shipping route, bringing "megaloads" of refinery equipment to the Alberta Tar Sands in Canada (see Tar Sands FAQ Sheet below).
Anonymous now joins the struggle against "Big Oil" in the heartland of the US. We stand in solidarity with any citizen willing to protest corporate abuse. Anonymous will not stand by idly and let these environmental atrocities continue. This is not the clean energy of the future that we are being promised.
We will, over the course of the next few days, use the powers we posses to spread news about this scenario and the corporations involved. We are actively seeking leaks to expose the corruption that we all KNOW is beneath this.Anonymous will support the activists on July 13-14 when they initiate civil disobedience and direct action to confront this dire issue. We urge you to get involved. Montana and Idaho citizens, we ask you to join local protests and attend the Highway 12 rally if you are close enough! If you're not, join us in the IRC listed below for our own good times.
The continued development of the tar sands is a major step backward in the effort to curb global warming. Anonymous will not suffer this without a fight, and Operation Green Rights will always support the rights of the people to live in an unpolluted world, and aim to help safeguard it for the future. One way or another.
The latest spoof on a classic MasterCard ad campaign comes from one of the credit card company’s best known adversaries. “There are some people who don’t like change,” ends theshort videothat was recently posted to Vimeo. “For everyone else, there’s WikiLeaks.”
On-screen text encourages people to learn more about the financial blockade that a number of major financial institutionsannounced they would instatein December. According to the video, these companies’ refusal to process any of WikiLeaks’s payments has cost the group $15 million in lost donations. “What do MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Paypal and Western Union all have in common?” reads the video’s description.”They help you pay for what you want? Well, yes… that is unless you want to help WikiLeaks make the world a better place.”
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been under house arrest in Britain since December when Sweden issued anextradition requeston accusations of sexual misconduct, makes a cameo appearance. By its own calculations, WikiLeaks is spending $500,000 on his house arrest and $1 million in legal fees. The video directs supporters toward alternate donation methods (some of these methods,The Atlanticpoints out, do not support WikiLeaks’s greater goals, but rather Assange’s legal expenses). Because, it argues, “change as a result of your work: priceless.”
Click HERE to See The Video On Vimeo Posted By Wikileaks
Infamous hacktivist group Anonymous has been hacked by one of its own. In a message posted to the AnonOps.in site, the group claimed a former member organised the attack, taking over its AnonOps.ru and .net communications sites and publishing names and IP addresses of users online.
After receiving media attention worldwide when Sony claimed it was unwittingly involved in hacking the PlayStation Network, it seems Anonymous now has its own crisis to deal with.
"We regret to inform you today that our network has been compromised by a former IRC-operator and fellow helper named 'Ryan'," the group claimed.
The hacker brigade strongly advised users to stay clear of the AnonOps network and added: "He decided that he didn't like the leaderless command structure that AnonOps Network Admins use. So he organised a coup d'etat."
After stealing the IP addresses of hundreds of the message board's users, the mysterious Ryan reportedly launched denial-of-service attacks against AnonOps.ru and AnonOps.net, the platforms that provide communications for the group. It is where hundreds of supporters have collaborated when they brought sites such as PayPal and Bank of America offline, and commanded the cyber attacks in support of WikiLeakslast year.
Anonymous is still under attack. Going to AnonOps.net diverts to a page with the title 'LOL ANONOPS DEAD' followed by some rather unpleasant language.
Despite repeatedly denying responsibility for the hack, Anonymous has been in the spotlight since the Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Kazuo Hirai, wrote to US authorities suggesting the group played a role in Sony's massive data breach.
