What Risk We are Posing! Everyone Can Become Target of the Latest Cyber Security Threats

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.

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Taith North Wales Transport & Travel Planning of UK Govt Hacked By Pakistani Hacker

Taith North Wales Transport & Travel Planning (Govt of UK), Few Other High Profile Websites Hacked By 'KHAN' (Pakistani Hacker)

A hacker from Pakistan going by the nick name of 'KHAN' has targeted a several high valued website of United Kingdom. The cyber attack happened few days ago where 'Khan' has hacked into the websites of Taith North Wales Transport and Travel Planning of UK Government. Taith is a joint committee of six county authorities from North Wales that handles transport and travel planning.

Sources revealed that the hacker belongs from Italy has managed to gain access into one the server of UK govt, and thus he successfully hack and change the index page with customized message saying- "today i am again with same message uk goverment deciding Ban Hijab for muslim womens what the hell is this! when your womens wear underware and come out of home beaches, road, you said this is freedom ? this is no problem ? but when our ladies , sisters , mothers wear hijab you said this is problem . so you call this justice ? i will fight for our right like a legend till i die .. We Want Freedom For Our Religion. You can kill us but cant kill our idea!" The hacker also claimed that not only defacement, but also he managed to breach the database of  the website. As soon as the security breach get spotted the authorities of Taith North Wales Transport Dept, took immediate steps and restored the site. While the time of writing this news, Taith Transportation portal has come back to online to its normal format. Also in his deface page 'Khan' took the responsibility of intrusion against Customs of Russia' official website. This slew of hacking rampage also affected several other high profile website of UK such as Hotel Black Boy Inn, Buckley Industry, Groes News, Spirit Models, Livetech, ByteBack Training & few more.

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Chinese Hackers Eavesdropping European Diplomats Before G20 Summit

Researchers At FireEye Found -Chinese Hackers Snitching  Europeans Before G20 Summit 

Story of cyber espionage by Chinese hackers used to remain one of most highest pick of breakneck. Yet again another breathtaking issue of  eavesdropping by Chinese hackers get spot light, when  California-based renounced computer security firm FireEye Inc have figured out that a group of Chinese hackers eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries before last September's G20 Summit, which was dominated by the Syrian crisis. From the detailed analysis we came to know that the hackers have infiltrated the ministries' computer networks by sending emails to staff containing tainted files with titles such as "US_military_options_in_Syria," which sells virus fighting technology to companies. Whenever the targeted recipients opened those documents, they loaded malicious code on to their personal computers. Researchers of FireEye said that they were able to monitor the "inner workings" of the main computer server used by the hackers to conduct their reconnaissance and move across compromised systems for about a week in the late August. But suddenly they lost access to the hackers after they moved to another server shortly before the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Though the company has declined in open press to identify the nations whose ministries were hacked, although it said they were all members of the European Union. But FireEye informed the FBI about the whole issue in details. FireEye also confirmed that the hackers where from China, but they did not find evidence which may link those hackers to the Chinese government. Not surprisingly and obviously like earlier the Chinese government has distanced itself from any claim that it might have hacked foreign governments for data. FireEye also successfully monitor several dozen hacking groups operating in China, most of which they suspect of having ties to the government. The firms also suspect the hacking groups of stealing intellectual property for commercial gain. The researchers had been following the hackers behind the Syria-related attack for several years, but this is the first time the group's activities have been publicly documented. The company calls the group "Ke3chang," after the name of one of the files it uses in one of its pieces of malicious software. "The theme of the attacks was U.S. military intervention in Syria," said FireEye researcher Nart Villeneuv. 

On reaction Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said- "U.S. internet companies are keen on hyping up the so-called hacker threat from China, but they never obtain irrefutable proof, and what so-called evidence they do get is widely doubted by experts. This is neither professional nor responsible," 

While talking in this story of Chinese eavesdropping, I also want to dig some points from decent parts where we all became very habituated of seeing Europe & U.S. countries blaming China for engaging cyber attacks; and China also do the same for accusing U.S. like vice versa. I am reviving your memories of last few years where If you look at the story of major cyber attacks of this year we will find that the name of China has been involved several times for engaging cyber attacks against several high profile websites and organization of U.S. including New York Times, Twitter, NBC and so on. And if you refresh our memory then then we will find the scenario of big cyber attack and espionage by Chinese hackers have been spotted several times. In 2012 Chinese hackers had  breached Telvent's corporate network & gained control of US Power Grid. Also in the middle of last year, we have seen that Chinese hackers have broken into Indian Navy's Computer System & stolen sensitive data. Few months before this hack, Tokyo based computer security firm Trend Micro confirmed that Chinese hackers were responsible for biggest cyber-espionage in India, Japan & Tibet. Also the director of National Security Agency (NSA) General Keith Alexander confirmed that hackers from China was responsible for the serious attack on one of the leading IT security & cyber security company RSA. Also in 2011 China was responsible behind the attack on US Chamber of Commerce, Satellite System of U.S, Nortel Network & so on.  But few days ago National Computer Network Emergency Response Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), China's primary computer security monitoring network claimed that China fallen victim of one of biggest cyber attacks originated from US, Japan & South Korea. We must have to say that this statement is truly irrelevant. Cyber crime investigator have found that China was directly responsible for the hack into Japan's Biggest Defense Contractor Mitsubishi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Parliament of Japan. In case of South Korea  more than 13 Million of MapleStory players data has been stolen, there also hackers from China was responsible.  

Before I conclude, I request you to closely look at the above mentioned stories, you will find China majorly responsible for eavesdropping & security breach. On the same side China also been effected by the same way. So in conclusion, we cant put a full stop in this chain of cyber attacks, hacking & eavesdropping, as it comes from both end. So this exciting episode will be continued like it does. If you want to stay updated then don't forget to stay tuned with VOGH. 

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'Royal Concierge' Secret Program of GCHQ to Spy Foreign Diplomats Through Hotel Bookings Unveiled By Edward Snowden

'Royal Concierge' Secret Program of GCHQ to Spy Foreign Diplomats By Hotel Bookings Unveiled By Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden the American whistle blowers who is currently living in Russia under temporary asylum, after Snowden is considered a fugitive by American authorities who have charged him with espionage and theft of government property  yet again uncovered what it called sensational information. This time he unfold a top secret program of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency & US National Security Agency (NSA). In which they infiltrated the reservation systems of around 350 luxury hotels popular among diplomats and government officials with the help of a sophisticated program code-named "Royal Concierge" Royal Concierge designed to keeps tabs on foreign diplomats by monitoring their hotel bookings. This can include monitoring a hotel room and its guest by wiretapping the telephone and fax machine, gaining access to computers hooked up to the hotel network, or eavesdropping on the diplomat in the hotel bar. This surveillance program, uses a logo with a penguin -- meant to stand for the black and white uniforms worn by staff at top hotels -- wearing a crown, a purple cape and holding a wand. The top secret program automatically checked whether the e-mail address of a visitor on the hotel booking system matched with the address of his government and with this information the GCHQ could take the necessary steps to bug the concerned hotel room, to tap its telephones or to eavesdrop into the electronic data transfer, the news weekly said. Snowden said GCHQ has been using the search and analyse program for more than three years to track diplomats and government officials among hotel guests. 

The above breathtaking information first came on a German magazine 'Der Spiegel' on Sunday. And this exciting leaks been provided by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. After this lurid information came to light, press asked questions to GCHQ, in response an official of GCHQ said "We are not going to comment on this report". But the entire conversation with Der Spiegel reporter with GCHQ officials came to the conclusion of GCHQ "neither confirms nor denies the allegation". On th other hand Britain's top spy chiefs reacted angrily to leaks by Snowden, a fugitive former analyst for the US National Security Agency, in an appearance this month before a parliamentary committee. Denying Britons were under mass surveillance, the heads of the foreign spy agency MI6, the domestic intelligence service MI5 and GCHQ warned that al-Qaeda and other enemies were "lapping up" intelligence revelations by Snowden and using them to change the way they operate.

-Source (AFP, News 24)

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Facebook Hacker Cup 2013: Petr Mitrichev Won The Competition Followed By Jakub Pachocki & Marcin Smulewicz

Facebook Hacker Cup 2013: Petr Mitrichev Won The Competition Followed By Jakub Pachocki & Marcin Smulewicz

Now a days leading organizations offers bug bounty and other competitions by which hackers from different part of the world will participate and find out security holes, in order to make more secure product and enhance cyber security. While talking about hackers competition then the name of "Hacker Cup" organized by the social networking giant Facebook will surely be an important one. Like last last two years, this year also Facebook called Hacker Cup 2013 in February and after completing several exciting  rounds finally we have the winners of this year's championship. Last year it was Roman Andreev of Russia who won the Hacker Cup with a heavy and prestigious trophy and a check for $5,000. Just like last year, this time also thousand of hackers across the globe participated in the competition and after completing the breathtaking championship three lucky winners been rewarded by Facebook for the outstanding performance. And the winners of Hacker Cup 2013 are Petr Mitrichev,  in second place we have Jakub Pachocki and third place it was Marcin Smulewicz. The social networking giant congratulated all the competitors who taken part in Hacker Cup for a great showing and performance. This year winner Petr Mitrichev solved all the four problems (Archiver, Colored Trees, Minesweeping, Teleports) in a due time and honored with the highly coveted Hacker Cup Trophy and an amount of $10,000. Here are some key moments of this year Hacker Cup:- 

 (Hacker Cup 2103 Finalist)

 (Competition is on)

 (The Prestigious Trophy) 

(Electric Moment)

(Hacker Cup 2103 Award)

(Petr Mitrichev Hacker Cup Winner)

Brief About Facebook Hacker Cup:-

Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook. Whether we’re building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm, or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we’re always hacking to find better ways to solve problems. Programmers from around the world will be judged on accuracy and speed as they race to solve algorithmic problems to advance through up to five rounds of programming challenges. This is the chance to compete against the world’s best programmers for awesome prizes and the title of World Champion. 

As expected Facebook promises to continue this event every year so keep your eye out for signups to open to be the Hacker Cup 2014. So stay tuned with VOGH, for all the upcoming updates on cyber security. 

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3 Russian Cyber Criminal Who Was The Master Mind of Banking Trojan 'Gozi' Charged in New York

3 Russian Cyber Criminal Who Was The Master Mind of Banking Trojan 'Gozi' Charged in New York 

Yet again another serious issue of cyber crime get resolved when the FBI tracked and figured out the master mind of infamous 'Gozi banking Trojan' which effected more than millions of system world wide, including a handful at NASA, leading to tens of millions of dollars in lost banking funds and damages to computer systems and networks. Three alleged international cyber criminals from Russia, responsible for creating and distributing 'Gozi' that infected over one million computers and caused tens of millions of dollars in losses charged in Manhattan Federal Court. Mihai Ionut Paunescu aged 28, a Romanian, Deniss Calovskis, 27, a Latvian, and Nikita Vladimirovich Kuzmin, 25, of the Russian Federation, are charged with computer intrusion, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and access device fraud. Federal authorities said the three were arrested last week; Kuzmin is being held in New York, while Paunescu is in custody in Romania and Calovskis in Latvia. 

According to the press release of FBI -Deniss Calovskis, a/k/a “Miami,” a Latvian national who allegedly wrote some of the computer code that made the Gozi virus so effective, was arrested in Latvia in November 2012. Mihai Ionut Paunescu, a/k/a “Virus,” a Romanian national who allegedly ran a “bulletproof hosting” service that enabled cyber criminals to distribute the Gozi virus, the Zeus trojan, and other notorious malware and to conduct other sophisticated cyber crimes, was arrested in Romania in December 2012. 

The cases are being handled by the Complex Frauds Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Lai, Nicole Friedlander, and Thomas G.A. Brown, along with Trial Attorney Carol Sipperly of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice on the Paunescu case, are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defendant	Age and Residence	Charges	Maximum Penalty
Nikita Kuzmin	25; Moscow, Russia	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud; bank fraud; conspiracy to commit access device fraud; access device fraud; conspiracy to commit computer intrusion; computer intrusion	95 years in prison
Deniss Calovskis	27; Riga, Latvia	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud; conspiracy to commit access device fraud; conspiracy to commit computer intrusion; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft	67 years in prison
Mihai Ionut Paunescu	28; Bucharest, Romania	Conspiracy to commit computer intrusion; conspiracy to commit bank fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud	60 years in prison

Brief About Gozi:-
The Gozi virus is malicious computer code, or “malware,” that steals personal bank account information, including usernames and passwords, from the users of affected computers. It was named by private sector information security experts in the U.S. who, in 2007, discovered that previously unrecognized malware was stealing personal bank account information from computers across Europe on a vast scale, while remaining virtually undetectable in the computers it infected. To date, the Gozi virus has infected over one million victim computers worldwide, among them at least 40,000 computers in the U.S., including computers belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as computers in Germany, Great Britain, Poland, France, Finland, Italy, Turkey, and elsewhere, and it has caused tens of millions of dollars in losses to the individuals, businesses, and government entities whose computers were infected.

The Gozi virus was distributed to victims’ computers in several different ways. In one method, the virus was disguised as an apparently benign .pdf document which, when opened, secretly installed the Gozi virus on the victim’s computer. Once installed, the Gozi virus—which was intentionally designed to be undetectable by anti-virus software—collected data from the infected computer in order to capture personal bank account information including usernames and passwords. That data was then transmitted to various computer servers controlled by the cyber criminals who used the Gozi virus. These cyber criminals then used the personal bank account information to transfer funds out of the victims’ bank accounts and ultimately into their own personal possession.

For Detailed Information Click Here

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UK Announces Plans for ‘Cyber Reserve’ Online Crime Defence Force

UK Govt. Announces Plans for ‘Cyber Reserve’ Online Crime Defense Force

Earlier this week, the UK government announced that it was planning on setting up a ‘cyber reserve’ force aimed at dealing with security threats brought about by online crime. The proposed force will be run by the country’s ministry of defense and is going to allow the armed forces to draw on the nation’s computer-related talents in order to ward off online attacks and stem the tides of cyber crime. Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude claims that ‘critical’ work is required in order to combat online lawbreaking. He says that nine tenths of large British corporations and three quarters of small British businesses have reported experiencing a cyber breach within the last year, meaning that this force has now become a necessity.

Cyber Crime in the UK

Research conducted by a team of academics recruited by the UK Ministry of Defense earlier this year concluded that the country spends a billion US dollars per year on protecting against and cleaning up after instances of cyber crime. This includes the cost of measures taken to safeguard bank account security and reduce computer-related fraud, the money forked out by businesses purchasing anti-virus software and the cost of removing viruses from computers. In addition to criminals, terrorists and rogue states have also targeted computers in the UK, meaning that it is not difficult to see why the country would consider setting up such a force.

More Students Trained in Tackling Cyber Crime Needed

Maude has promised to make the UK one of the safest places in the world to conduct online business. He added that further details of the ‘cyber reserve’ plans would be revealed in 2013 and said that British government agencies and departments are working with professional bodies in order to ensure that the consideration of internet security becomes an integral component of corporate governance and the risk management process. He stated that UK officials want more students in the country trained in the skills required for tackling cyber crime and pointed out that the nation’s ministry of defense is examining new methods for attracting talented cyber security specialists, as they are required for critical areas of work.

Cyber-Spying by Hostile Nations

The UK Ministry of Defence’s announcement came in the wake of revelations that hostile foreign states had carried out ‘mapping’ of the systems that control the country’s power and water supplies. Officials refused to name the nations that were believed to have carried out this mapping but there have been reports in the United States that China and Russia have conducted similar reconnaissance exercises there, which suggests that they could be the countries that are responsible for this cyber-spying activity. With this in mind, it is little wonder the UK is stepping up its security, as it wishes to safeguard vital information.

Cyber Confidence Tracker

Francis Maude stated that the increasing number of threats posed to the UK’s online security is partly down to the growth of the internet economy. He said that the country’s government cannot take sole responsibility for fighting cyber crime and emphasized the fact that individuals and businesses would also have to play their part. Next spring the UK will be taking steps to improve online security for consumers and small businesses. The nation plans on launching a ‘cyber confidence tracker’, which will keep tabs on online behaviors and perceptions about internet security in an effort to ensure that the advise that they are delivering to the public about this subject is being conveyed in the best possible way.

Implications

It appears that the UK is now taking the threat of cyber attack extremely seriously, which it is wise to do considering the increasing trend of nations targeting the infrastructures of those that they are hostile towards via the internet. This is a sign that the web is becoming the new battleground in the international struggle for power. The full extent of the country’s plans for its ‘cyber reserve’ are not yet known. It is also questionable whether it will be used solely for defense purposes. Espionage is no longer dominated by spies being physically placed in another country. It is now evidently moving online, meaning that countries are being forced to adapt and develop cyber spies of their own.

Special article by 

Evelyn Anderson of International Business and Journalism

Guest Editor VOGH

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"Project Blackstar" Team Ghostshell Leaks 2.5 Million Records From Russian Govt & Individual

"Project Blackstar" Team Ghostshell Leaks 2.5 Million Records From Russian Govt & Individual 

A hacker group calling them selves "Team Ghostshell" who was recently behind the attack several top universities called an open operation declaring war on Russia's cyberspace. The operation is dubbed “Project Blackstar”. In the first phase of the operation  the hacking collective Team Ghostshell posted approximately 2.5 million accounts/records leaked, from governmental, educational, academical, political, law enforcement, telecom, research institutes, medical facilities, large corporations (both national and international branches) in such fields as energy, petroleum, banks, dealerships and many more. The hacker group also claimed to have access "to more russian files than the FSB and we are very much  eager to prove it." - said Ghostshell. The rest of the Pastebin post goes on to call out the Russian government and is littered with references to corruption, capitalism and social injustice. Judging by some of the records released, the Russian Police, along with Novatek, Russia's largest independent natural gas producer, the Alfa Group, an investment consortium and JINR, the country’s Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, all appear to have been implicated in the alleged leak. Some records appear to include individuals’ usernames and passwords while other documents almost read like resumes, complete with individuals’ names, IP addresses, education and job history.

Above I have discussed the last hack by Team Ghostshell where they had published 120,000 records from some of the world’s top universities. That leak, dubbed “Project WestWind,” sought to “raise awareness towards the changes made in today’s education,“ spilling student and faculty email addresses, passwords and IDs. Now this “Project Blackstar” with a leak of 2.5 million records from several Russian cyber space,  again arising a big doubt, that how much secure our cyber world is? 

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Russian Hacker Behind Cyber Attack on Georgia Caught on His Webcam

Suspected Russian Hacker Behind Cyber Attack on Georgia Caught on His Webcam 

It said that there may be hundred ways to commit crimes but there are chances of one hundred and one times to get busted. Exactly the same things happened for a Russian hacker who was behind the cyber attack against the country of Georgia. Since 2011 Georgia is blaming that few Russian hackers are disturbing their cyber space while attacking its computer networks, injecting malicious code into websites, and planting spyware to steal classified information. After discovering that a cyber-spy was infecting government computers with malware designed to mine important documents, government officials decided to fight fire with fire. They intentionally allowed the malicious software to infect one particular computer, and baited it with a ZIP file called “Georgian-Nato Agreement” — exactly the sort of thing they knew the intruder would be looking for. Instead of important documents, however, the bait file was loaded with the hacker’s own malware. Once the hacker downloaded and opened the file, the software went to work stealing his documents and, best of all, hijacking his webcam to capture clear video of his face. According to the CERT-Georgia report, an analysis of the attack's command-and-control center revealed that at least 390 computers were infected in the attack. 70% of compromised PCs were based in Georgia, with other victims found in the USA, Canada, Ukraine, France, China, Germany and Russia. Computers hit in Georgia were predominantly based in government agencies, banks and critical infrastructure the report claims. 

In a 27 page report, the Georgian government explains in details that, how in early 2011 Georgian news websites were hacked in order to exploit vulnerabilities, and spread malware that hijacked infected computers and searched for sensitive documents. 

According to report by Naked Security- Georgian officials lay a trap. Georgia's CERT deliberately infected one of its own PCs with the malware, and planted a ZIP file named "Georgian-Nato Agreement" on its drive, hoping it would prove irresistible for the hacker. Sure enough the hacker stole the archive file and ran malware that Georgia CERT had planted inside, meaning that now investigators had control over the hacker's own computer. This made it relative child's play to capture images of the suspect at work in front of his PC. The CERT researchers claim that they also found a Russian email conversation on the suspect's computer in which he gives instruction on how to use his malware and infect targets. Furthermore, the suspected hacker's city, ISP, email address and other information were also acquired. Curiously, a domain used by the attackers was registered to an address in Moscow belonging to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, department of logistics - which just happens to be based close to the Russian Secret Service (FSB). Furthermore, according to CERT-Georgia, websites used to control the infected Georgian computers have links with RBN, the notorious Russian Business Network.

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HSBC Comeback Online After Prolonged DDoS Attack From Anonymous

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 Twitter and 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 details from 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.

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Registration Open For Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2013, Prize Money Boosted

Registration Open For Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2013, Prize Money Boosted 

After the success of  'Blue Hat' Security Contest, now it is the time for Microsoft’s Imagine Cup. Redmond based software giant Microsoft has been organizing its Imagine Cup student technology competition for the last 10 years and today, the company opened registration for the 2013 edition of this event. Students ages 16 and older can now register for their national events and the winners of these local events will be flown to St. Petersburg, Russia, where the worldwide finals will take place from July 8 to 11. For this edition of Imagine Cup, Microsoft has doubled the prize money to $300,000. Since the first Imagine Cup in 2003, says Microsoft, over 1.65 million students across the globe have participated in Imagine Cup and a number of the teams that made it to the finals (and many that have not) went on to create startups.

Here is Microsoft’s description of the new core competitions:

• World Citizenship: Honors the software application developed on Microsoft platforms with the greatest potential to make a positive impact on humanity. For example, a project might address education-, social- or healthcare-related problems.
• Games: Honors the most engaging and entertaining games targeting teens and youth, built on Microsoft platforms (Windows 8, Windows Phone, Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit, and Xbox Indie Games).
• Innovation: Honors apps that give consumers inspiration and innovation at their fingertips, whether it be a new spin on social networks, online shopping or search, built with Microsoft tools and technology.

The winners of each of these competitions will get $50,000. In addition to the core competitions, students can also compete in a number of online challenges focused on specific technologies and platforms, including Windows 8, Windows Azure and Windows Phone. For detailed information click Here.

-Source (Microsoft, Imagine Cup & TC)

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A Chicago Woman Sentenced To 2.5 Years in Prison For $9 Million ATM Hacking

A Chicago Woman Sentenced To 2.5 Years in Prison For $9 Million ATM Hacking

$9 million ATM hacking case takes a new direction. The Federal authorities have track down a ring of cyber-criminals. A Chicago woman was busted and sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison for helping steal more than $9 million USD back in 2008. She was also ordered to spend five years on supervised release following prison, and pay $89,120.25 in restitution. According to federal prosecutors, 45-year-old Sonya Martin was the member of a cell in what they claim was "one of the most sophisticated and organized computer hacking and ATM cashout schemes ever." Her Chicago cell was one of many "cashing crews" that drained millions of dollars from roughly 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities across the globe.

U.S. District Court officials claim that a group of hackers obtained unauthorized access to Atlanta-based payment processing company WorldPay U.S. Inc. back in November 2008. WorldPay handles companies who use payroll debit cards to pay their employees that in turn use these cards to make purchases or withdraw their salaries from an ATM. The hackers allegedly used "sophisticated techniques" to compromise the data encryption used to protect customer data on these cards. Once they gained access to these accounts, the hackers fraudulently raised the balances and ATM withdrawal limits. They then handed over 44 debit card account numbers and their associated PIN numbers to the cashing crew cells to cash out the accounts. Martin's cell and others located around the world including United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada drained those accounts in less than 12 hours on November 8, 2008.

Officials said Sonya Martin worked with one of the lead cashers and supervised a cashing crew in Chicago. This cell withdrew approximately $80.000 from various Chicago area ATMs using counterfeit debits cards she manufactured using a payroll card number and PIN code. "While this was a complex, internationally coordinated crime with many different players and components, it would not have gotten very far without the cashing crews [like the one Martin worked with]," said Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

-Source (TOM'S HARDWARE)

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Russian Hacker 'Dmitry Zubakha' Arrested For DDoS Attacks on Amazon, eBay & Priceline

Russian Hacker 'Dmitry Zubakha' Arrested For DDoS Attacks on Amazon, eBay & Priceline

A twenty five years old hacker from Russia get arrested for allegedly perforimg two massive DDoS (Denial-of-Service) attacks on one of the most popular online shopping site Amazon.com and eBay in 2008. Dmitry Olegovich Zubakha also known as "Cyber bandit" in most of the hacker's underground community was indicted in 2011, but he was just arrested in Cyprus on Wednesday. The arrest of Zubakha took place under an international warrant and  currently he is in custody pending extradition to the United States. According to the indictment unsealed on Thursday said- Zubakha, with the help of another Russian hacker planned and executed DDoS attacks against Amazon.com, eBay, and Priceline in the middle of 2008. Zubakha and his co-conspirator launched the attack with the help of a DDoS botnet to generate a large number of traffic which interrupts the normal service of those online shopping sites. According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the attacks made it "difficult for Amazon customers to complete their business on line."

He has been charged by law enforcement for stealing more than 28,000 credit cards in 2009 for that reason, Zubakha and his partner are also charged with aggravated identity theft for illegally using the credit card of at least one person. At present the charges in the indictment conspiracy, intentionally causing damage toa protected computer resulting in a loss of more than $5000, possession of more than 15 unauthorized access devices (credit card numbers), and aggravated identity theft are just allegations. Zubakha faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy, up to teh years in prison and a $250,000 fine for intentionally causing damage to a protected computer, up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possessing unauthorized access devices, and an additional two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. 

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C&C Servers of World's Third Largest Spam Botnet "Grum" Been Knocked Down

C&C Servers of World's Third Largest Spam Botnet "Grum" Been Knocked Down

Researcher get another big success by taking down two of the command and control(C&C) servers belong to  the world's largest spam botnet named "Grum". Though  this is not complete victory, as there are still two other C&C servers are currently working actively, but researchers are very much optimistic that the volume of spam will drop this take down. 

Atif Mushtaq, senior staff scientist at security firm FireEye, said in a blog post that the botnet known as Grum drew its last dying breath on Wednesday, after six servers in Ukraine and one in Russia were shut down. In a tense faceoff with whitehats, the botnet operators had deployed those servers following the disconnection earlier this week of separate servers in the Netherlands and Panama. Faced with the threat of losing a 100,000-computer network that generated an estimated 18 billion spam messages a day, the Grum operators were desperately trying to transition to those machines when they stopped working.

"Grum's takedown resulted from the efforts of many individuals," Mushtaq wrote. "This collaboration is sending a strong message to all the spammers: 'Stop sending us spam. We don't need your cheap Viagra or fake Rolex. Do something else, work in a Subway or McDonalds, or sell hotdogs, but don't send us spam." We would also like to give you reminder that, this year Microsoft closed two C&C server of Zeus, another dangerous botnet. Also researcher from different parts of the world have unveiled the mystery of few other botnets like Bredolab, Rustock, Duqu and so on. 

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