Security Breach Invaded 8,500 Recipients of Unemployment Insurance Agency Michigan (UIA)

Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) Hacked! 8,500 Recipients Personal Data Leaked

A major security breach has invaded Unemployment Insurance Agency of Michigan, widely known as UIA. Sources revealed that the attack was placed in between mid of July to mid of September which affected more than 8,500 unemployment insurance recipients in Michigan with leak of social security numbers, bank account numbers, passwords, phone numbers & few other sensitive data. This security breach was first detected Sept. 17 by contractor JP Morgan Chase. In his reaction the director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency, Shaun Thomas said -“The UIA is deeply concerned about this incident.” But due to some untold reason state official were not notified until this December first week. Dan Lohrmann, the state’s chief security officer in the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said he has “worked closely with JP Morgan Chase to share our concern about the delayed notification and to ensure that the state receives immediate notice of future problems. “We work around the clock to keep citizen information and data protected, and I feel confident that everyone involved in this event understands the importance of protecting personal information.” Chase, which handles the debit cards Michigan uses to pay unemployment insurance benefits to some recipients, said those who accessed the bank’s website between mid-July and mid-September may have been affected. The 8,500 claimants in Michigan are among about 465,000 cardholders nationwide who may have been affected, the bank said. So far the identity of the hackers & their reasons behind this attack is not been identified, but Chase has notified law enforcement and both the bank and the state will be notifying claimants whose information was potentially compromised. 

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Microsoft Along With FBI & EC3 Shattered The Notorious ZeroAccess Botnet

Microsoft Along With FBI & EC3 Shattered The Notorious ZeroAccess Botnet Responsible For Infecting More Than 2 Million Computers

Redmond based software giant Microsoft yet again got a huge success against a big racket of cyber criminals while shattering one of the world's largest and most rampant botnets named 'ZeroAccess'. The Sirefef botnet, also known as ZeroAccess, is responsible for infecting more than 2 million computers, specifically targeting search results on Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines, and is estimated to cost online advertisers $2.7 million each month. Tech giant Microsoft working alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) have successfully disrupted this notorious botnet. This is Microsoft’s first botnet action since the Nov. 14 unveiling of its new Cybercrime Center — a center of excellence for advancing the global fight against cyber crime — and marks the company’s eighth botnet operation in the past three years.

“This operation marks an important step in coordinated actions that are initiated by private companies and, at the same time, enable law enforcement agencies around Europe to identify and investigate the criminal organizations and networks behind these dangerous botnets that use malicious software to gain illicit profits,” said Troels Oerting, head of the EC3. “EC3 added its expertise, information communications technology infrastructure and analytic capability, as well as provided the platform for high-level cooperation between cyber crime units in five European countries and Microsoft.”

Due to its botnet architecture, ZeroAccess is one of the most robust and durable botnets in operation today and was built to be resilient to disruption efforts, relying on a peer-to-peer infrastructure that allows cyber criminals to remotely control the botnet from tens of thousands of different computers. ZeroAccess is used to commit a slew of crimes, including search hijacking, which “hijacks” people’s search results and redirects people to sites they had not intended or requested to go to in order to steal the money generated by their ad clicks. ZeroAccess also commits click fraud, which occurs when advertisers pay for clicks that are not the result of legitimate, interested human users’ clicks, but are the result of automated Web traffic and other criminal activity. Research by the University of California, San Diego shows that as of October 2013, 1.9 million computers were infected with ZeroAccess, and Microsoft determined there were more than 800,000 ZeroAccess-infected computers active on the Internet on any given day.

How It Happened:- 

Last week, Microsoft filed a civil suit against the cyber criminals operating the ZeroAccess botnet and received authorization from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to simultaneously block incoming and outgoing communications between computers located in the U.S. and the 18 identified Internet Protocol (IP) addresses being used to commit the fraudulent schemes. In addition, Microsoft took over control of 49 domains associated with the ZeroAccess botnet. A10 Networks provided Microsoft with advanced technology to support the disruptive action.

As Microsoft executed the order filed in its civil case, Europol coordinated a multijurisdictional criminal action targeting the 18 IP addresses located in Europe. Specifically, Europol worked with Latvia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany to execute search warrants and seizures on computer servers associated with the fraudulent IP addresses located in Europe. This is the second time in six months that Microsoft and law enforcement have worked together to successfully disrupt a prevalent botnet. It demonstrates the value coordinated operations have against cyber criminal enterprises. For more information about this botnet operation click here

ZeroAccess is counted as a very sophisticated malware, blocking attempts to remove it, therefore recommended for every Microsoft user to click Here for detailed instructions on how to remove this threat. As Microsoft found that the ZeroAccess malware disables security features on infected computers, leaving the computer susceptible to secondary infections, it is critical that victims rid their computers of ZeroAccess by using malware removal or antivirus software as quickly as possible. 

In conversation with press David Finn, executive director and associate general counsel of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit said -“Microsoft is committed to working collaboratively — with our customers, partners, academic experts and law enforcement — to combat cybercrime. And we’ll do everything we can to protect computer users from the sinister activities and criminal networks that victimize innocent people and businesses around the world.” 

While talking about ZeroAccess botnet take down, I would like to remind you that in Match, last year Microsoft has successfully shutdown two command and control (C&C) server of world's of the most dangerous banking trojan Zeus.

-Source (Microsoft Official Blog)

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'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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Customs Services of Ukraine Govt Hacked By Anonymous, 1 GB of Classified Data Stolen

Customs Services of Ukraine Government Hacked By Anonymous, 1 GB of Classified Data Stolen

Anonymous -the world largest hacker community, also known as the infamous hacktivist who is widely known for engaging massive cyber attack against several governments strikes again. This time the target was Ukraine Government. According to multiple relevant sources of Anonymous it has been confirmed that the hackers have launched what it called an organised attack against different servers belongs to Ukrainian Government. During this round of cyber attack the main target was the Customs department of Ukraine. In their press release Anonymous took responsibility of performing onerous attack on CUSTOMS.GOV.UA, and caused what it called a voluminous data leak from it. This is the server that is responsible for the Odessa customs and handling of goods in the region of the Danube and Black Sea. From the press release we came to know that voluble of the stolen data is almost of 1GB, which is pointing a finger of sensational information of illegal operations of oil and gas, corruption schemes, bribes, cargo operations and so on. 

Most of the information is reported on the site, concerning the former head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Ihor Kaletnik , who left the post after being elected deputy to in 2012 by Communist Party of Ukraine. Now Kaletnyk is the Deputy Speaker

Official Release of Anonymous: -

"Ukraine GOV hacked. CUSTOMS of UKRAINE customs.gov.ua MASSIVE Docs leak.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 

Greetings Our Fellow lulz. + 

+ 

Time to anchore Our ​​Marie Lulzize in an unstable Harbour + of Odessa in Ukraine. This Great Day We present you 1GB of raw + Data from one of the Servers of CUSTOMS.GOV.UA. To be pricise Ukraine Customs in + Black Sea and Danube - marine Customs. + Inside you Will Find lulz much related to Illegal Operations with + Oil and gas, corruption and Schemes Also much of good eddible Intel + All related to corruption in Ukraine Government controlled marine + Cargo Operations, Bribes and kickbacks gov. + Much of the Inside of the package is related to Ukraine + Former Chief Customs - Ihor Kaletnyk WHO is an active FSB operative + Russian enforcing rules of Engagement in Ukraine. + Also alot of Offshore moneylaundering by this persona and Other Government + Crooks. We undrstand that oil is money and money is power. + But They just do not Realize That one Day + shit happens and this shit pours from Big A Greedy right into Their throats.  + Sneak Peak of 64 Documents ..."

The hacker community has posted all the leaked information on an image archive and made that available for public. The 1 GB of the stolen data has also been made public in three different archive links. 

But on other hand the Ukrainian Government Officials denied the entire issue, according to the spokes man of government "Custom server can not be compromised. Therefore, as at customs.gov.ua a web server. Other documents, as far as I know, this server is not stored."  He also said that "Those documents that have posted allegedly crackers were not extracted from the server to the customs. In this I am 100%. Let me explain. Please note, most of the documents photographed, that is, it is done the person who had physical access to them, perhaps even temporary. Given that the documents from different regions of Ukraine, then they could meet only in the State Customs Service (MinDohodov) or law-enforcement agencies." 

While talking about this recent breach, we would like to remind you that couple of years ago, another infamous hacker community going by the name of Kosovo Hackers Security (KHS) targeted Ukraine govt. That time KHS have successfully penetrated the official website of Ukraine Police, Gazeta.ua (Ukraine Largest News Portal) and many more high profile sites. Now this hack of Anonymous is again another big attack which caused a serious damage to the Ukrainian cyber space. For updates on this hack and also all the other cyber updates stay tuned with VOGH. 

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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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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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Self Propagated LulzSec Leader 'Aush0k' Arrested By Australian Federal Police

Self Propagated LulzSec Leader 'Aush0k' Arrested in Sydney By Australian Federal Police (AFP)

Many of us knew Hector Xavier Monsegur widely known as 'Sabu' as the leader of infamous international hacker group LulzSec and Antisec. But this idea will surely be changed when you will hear the histrionic story, which came to light when a 24 old Australian proclaimed himself as the leader of notorious hacker collective group Lulz Security also known as LulzSec. The man, known online as Aush0k, is a senior Australian IT professional who works for the local arm of an international IT company. Police say he was in a "position of trust" within the company and had access to information on government clients which Aush0k manipulated and misused. According to Australian Federal Police a special investigation began less than two weeks ago when investigators found a government website had been compromised. The man has been charged with two counts of unauthorized modification of data to cause impairment and one count of unauthorized access to a restricted computer system. He faces a maximum of 12 years in jail. AFP Commander Glen McEwen says the man posted in online forums frequented by other members of LulzSec that he was the group's leader. "There was no denials of his claims of being the leader," added McEwen. The man was charged and appeared in court on the very day of his arrest. And he will face Woy Woy Local Court again on May 15. 

While talking about this dramatic story of proclaimed LulzSec leader Aush0k, we would love to remind you the decent history when the leader of Anonymous affiliated LulzSec "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. As soon as the FBI gathered all the sensational information from Sabu, immediately we have seen the arrest of almost all the key members of LulzSec including Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Jeremy Hammond, Raynaldo Rivera, Cody Kretsinger and so on. And today we have seen the arrest of another LulzSec leader and key man, and this arrest is the first one done by the AFP. Earlier the arrest of Sabu proved very handy for the law and enforcement, may be this time also Aush0k's arrest can show them few more directions and can open few closed doors of investigation. So till time wait and stay tuned with VOGH for the updates on this story, also all the other cyber updates. 

-Source (ABC News)

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Australia Joined 38 Other Nations as Part of an International Cybercrime Treaty

Australia Joined 38 Other Nations as Part of an International Cybercrime Treaty

Sitting at the edge of the latest technology, today we can easily separate our world into two parts. One is the real world where we live and another is the virtual or cyber world, in which we all are tightly attached. As these two fields are the prime factor where we have to stay happily so the matter of safety, security is highly required on the both said areas. Being one of the leading cyber media, our main concern is the cyber domain,  so we are worried as well are responsible and committed to server our readers. In this period of time many of us feel terrified to engage themselves in the cyber space due to lack of security and privacy, and also keeping in mind the major disaster done by cyber criminals. But how long? To get rid of that not only we the media people but also the sincere government of several countries make themselves committed to prepare a safe cyber world for the people. Earlier we have seen several developed countries came under a shade, in order to make an united shield to protect this cyber domain and its people. Today that shield got a new member. Yes it is Australia who has now formally joined 38 other nations as a party to the world's first international treaty on crimes committed via the internet. This deceleration came from the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. In his speech he said "Australia becoming a party to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime will help combat criminal offences relating to forgery, fraud, child pornography, and infringement of copyright and intellectual property" 

By joining the Convention, Australian law enforcement agencies will be able to rapidly obtain data about communications relevant to cybercrimes from partner agencies around the world. With the Convention now in effect, Australia's investigative agencies are able to use new powers contained in the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Act 2012 to work with cybercrime investigators around the globe. The Act amended certain Commonwealth cybercrime offences and enabled domestic agencies to access and share information relating to international investigations. Dreyfus says the Act also created new privacy protections, safeguards and reporting requirements for the exercise of new and existing powers.
"A warrant is always required to access the content of a communication whether the information is in Australia, or accessed from overseas under the Cybercrime Convention. The Cybercrime Act and the Cybercrime Convention do not impact in any way on the need to have a warrant to access content from a telephone call, SMS or e-mail." -Dreyfus said in his statement.

-Source (ZDNet)

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Apple Hacked By The Same Group Who Attacked Facebook

Apple Hacked, Macintosh Computers Infected  By The Same Group Who Attacked Facebook 

The month of February is not going good for cyber space, specially for giant organization. Last week the social networking giant Facebook fallen victim of a devastating cyber attack which did effected a number of  systems. Facebook admitted that it faced a "sophisticated attack" on computers where it has been found the attackers used a zero-day Java exploit to initiate the attack, but that no user data was compromised. The same thing happened to micro blogging site Twitter and New York Times. And now it was the turn for Apple. The California based multinational company acknowledged that recently their systems has been attacked by hackers who infected Macintosh computers of some employees. Like Facebook here also no data has been effected, "there was no evidence that any data left Apple." -said Apple. 

According to an exclusive report of Reuters -some unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers. The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook, which the social network disclosed on Friday. The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by "other companies," Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault. Experts are presuming that all these cyber attacks of February, that is Twitter, New York Times, Facebook & Lastly Apple Inc was originated from China, and executed by the same hacker group. On the other side few experts are also saying that the group responsible for the hack, has been identified as "Unit 61398" of the People's Liberation Army. But so far there is no proof. 

Apple also revealed that it plans to release a software tool later Tuesday that will protect customers against the same type of software that was used against its employees. 

Apple also provided a statement as follows:-

"Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers. We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple. We are working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware.

Since OS X Lion, Macs have shipped without Java installed, and as an added security measure OS X automatically disables Java if it has been unused for 35 days. To protect Mac users that have installed Java, today we are releasing an updated Java malware removal tool that will check Mac systems and remove this malware if found..."

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Twitter Hacked, More Than 250,000 User Data Compromised

Twitter Hacked, More Than 250,000 User Data Compromised

The social networking giant and the world famous micro blogging site Twitter again fallen victim of cyber attack. Last year we have seen that the tight security system if twitter have been compromised many times. Yet again in this year the San Francisco based social media giant who have more than 500 million registered users failed to protect them selves from hackers. On last Friday Twitter acknowledged that it had become the latest victim in a number of cyber-attacks against media companies, saying hackers may have gained access to information on 250,000 of its more than 200 million active users. The micro blogging giant said in a blog posting that earlier this week it detected attempts to gain access to its user data. It shut down one attack moments after it was detected. According to reports usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted passwords for 250,000 users might have been accessed in what it described as a “sophisticated attack” 

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident,” said Bob Lord, Twitter’s director of information security. “The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organisations have also been recently similarly attacked” Bob added. 

Jim Prosser, a Twitter spokesman, would not say how hackers infiltrated Twitter’s systems, but Twitter’s blog post said hackers had broken in through a well-publicized vulnerability in Oracle’s Java software. Last month, after a security researcher exposed a serious vulnerability in the software, though Oracle patched the security hole, but Homeland Security said the fix was not sufficient. The DHS issued a rare alert that warned users to disable Java on their computers. Prosser said Twitter was working with government and federal law enforcement to track down the source of the attacks. For now, he said the company had reset passwords for, and notified, every compromised user. The company encouraged users to practice good password hygiene, which typically means coming up with different passwords for different sites, and using long passwords that cannot be found in the dictionary.

Twitter said it “hashed” passwords — which involves mashing up users’ passwords with a mathematical algorithm — and “salted” those, meaning it appended random digits to the end of each hashed password to make it more difficult, but not impossible, for hackers to crack. Once cracked, passwords can be valuable on auction-like black market sites where a single password can fetch $20.

While talking about Twitter and cyber issues, I would like to remind you that in last year twitter faced several cyber attacks where more than 55,000 twitter account details was leaked, after this issue in the middle of last year the social networking giant faced massive denial of service which interrupted its services. Later a huge number of Twitter users across the globe received  emails warning that their account have been compromised and their passwords had been reset, and it was another security breach which affected twitter. Such big organization are not at all careless about security, so as twitter and it has been proved when they hired renowned white hat hacker Charlie Miller to boost up their security, but after this current massacre, it seems that twitter need to think more and emphasize a lot to make sure that their system is good enough to prevent cyber attacks. For all the hot cyber updates and reviews stay tuned with VOGH.

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EU Opens The Door of European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) To Protect Europe From Cyber Threat

EU Opens The Door of European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) To Protect Europe From Cyber Threat

We all are aware of FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center also known as IC3, which is protecting U.S. citizen from cyber criminals and attacks. But the cyber world is not limited to U.S. so as cyber criminals, and to get rid of this and while protecting every countries digital fence safe and secure there need to be organizations like IC3. All the growing and developing countries across the globe are in rush to ensue maximum digital and cyber security. This same rush and impact also applies for Europe countries and the result is in front of us. As the fight against cyber crime in Europe has got a new home. The European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) officially open its doors from this January 11, at the European Police Office, Europol in the Hague. In the middle of last year European Commission declared that are preparing a cybercrime center to fight against cyber threats. And after an effort of six months they made it possible and live for the people of Europe. Such organization will surely enhance the cyber security of European countries.  In the official press release EUROPA said "EC3 will be up and running to help protect European citizens and businesses from cyber-crime." 

EC3 officially commenced its activities on 1 January 2013 with a mandate to tackle the following areas of cybercrime: 

• That committed by organised groups to generate large criminal profits such as online fraud
• That which causes serious harm to the victim such as online child sexual exploitation
• That which affects critical infrastructure and information systems in the European Union

According to the press release of European Commission - "The Cybercrime Centre will give a strong boost to the EU's capacity to fight cybercrime and defend an internet that is free, open and secure. Cybercriminals are smart and quick in using new technologies for criminal purposes; the EC3 will help us become even smarter and quicker to help prevent and fight their crimes", said Commissioner Malmström.

"In combatting cybercrime, with its borderless nature and huge ability for the criminals to hide, we need a flexible and adequate response. The European Cybercrime Centre is designed to deliver this expertise as a fusion centre, as a centre for operational investigative and forensic support, but also through its ability to mobilise all relevant resources in EU Member States to mitigate and reduce the threat from cybercriminals wherever they operate from", said Troels Oerting, Head of the European Cybercrime Centre

Investigations into online fraud, child abuse online and other cybercrimes regularly involve hundreds of victims at a time, and suspects in many different parts of the world. Operations of this magnitude cannot be successfully concluded by national police forces alone.

The opening of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) marks a significant shift in how the EU has been addressing cybercrime so far. Above all, the approach of the EC3 will be more forward-thinking and inclusive. It will pool expertise and information, support criminal investigations and promote EU-wide solutions.

The EC3 will focus on illegal online activities carried out by organised crime groups, especially attacks targeting e-banking and other online financial activities, online child sexual exploitation and those crimes that affect the critical infrastructure and information systems in the EU.

The Centre will also facilitate research and development and ensure capacity building among law enforcement, judges and prosecutors and will produce threat assessments, including trend analyses, forecasts and early warnings. In order to dismantle more cybercrime networks and prosecute more suspects, the EC3 will gather and process cybercrime related data and will provide a Cybercrime Help desk for EU countries' law enforcement units. It will offer operational support to EU countries (e.g. against intrusion, fraud, online child sexual abuse, etc.) and deliver high-level technical, analytical and forensic expertise in EU joint investigations. 

For Detailed Information Please Visit The Official Website of Europol's EC3 

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Hacker Breached Verizon Server & Stolen 3 Million Customer Data

Hacker Breached Verizon Server & Stolen 3 Million Customer Data

Verizon one of the most popular and largest Network provider and ISP of America faced a large scale cyber attack. A hacker going by the name of TibitXimer claimed to have breached one of major server of Verizon, by which he managed to gain access inside the database of Verizon customer. This data breach effected more than 3 Million Verizon FiOS customers including full names, addresses, mobile serial numbers, the opening date of each account, and account passwords. However, he said that figure was an estimate and had "no clue" exactly how many records there were, and that it was a "low estimate based on the size of one record and the size of all the files." A fraction of leaked data have been allegedly posted on pastebin, but later the post was removed. In a report Zdnet said that the cyber attack was taken place earlier in July, this year which allowed him to gain root access to the server holding the customer data. Tibit gained access to a server with little difficulty after working with another hacker to identify the security flaw. Though Tibit denied to mention the reason of this hack, and also he did not expose the nature of the vulnerability by which he managed to get access in the server. The hacker also said that after he informed Verizon of the exploit, the company "ignored my report," and did not comment. 

 He also noted that the exploit "still exists." "The worst part of it all, every single record was in plain text," he said. "I did not have to decrypt anything." He said he couldn't understand "why they still haven't fixed the exploits," months after informing the company of its poor network security.

Immediately after this hack Verizon authorities posted a notice while saying- "This incident was reported to the authorities when we first learned of it months ago and an investigation was launched. Many of the details surrounding this incident are incorrect and exaggerated. No Verizon systems were breached, no root access was gained, and this incident impacted a fraction of the number of individuals being reported. We take any and all attempts to violate consumer and customer privacy and security very seriously, so we notified individuals who could potentially have been impacted and took immediate steps to safeguard their information and privacy. Verizon has also notified law enforcement of this recent report as a follow-up to the original case.

....

There was no hack, and no access gained. A third party marketing firm made a mistake and information was copied. As for wireless v. wired customers, some of the individuals listed were Verizon customers who are not wireless customers but wired/wireline customers or prospective customers...."

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Hollywood Celebrities Nude Photo Hacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

Hollywood Celebrities Nude Photo Hacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison 

Photo hacking case of Hollywood celebrities takes another direction, as Christopher Chaney, who pleaded guilty to hacking into the e-mail accounts of Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities including Mila Kunis, Christina Aguilera and few others, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the  federal judge in Los Angeles. Chaney was arrested last year as part of a year-long investigation  of FBI dubbed Operation Hackerazzi. At a hearing on Monday, U.S. District Court judge S. James Otero said that Chaney's conduct demonstrated a "callous disregard to the victims," some 50 in total, including two non-celebrities who the judge noted was stalked by Chaney for more than 10 years. The prison term was accompanied by an order to pay $66,179 in restitution. Chaney pleaded guilty to nine offences, including illegal wire-tapping and unauthorized access to computers. In his guilty plea, Chaney admitted to having repeatedly hacked email accounts over a period of at least eleven months. He hacked into email accounts by taking advantage of the "forgotten password" feature on web interfaces and using publicly available information to answer security questions. 

Chaney admitted that as his hacking scheme became more extensive, he began using a proxy service called “Hide My IP” because he wanted to “cover his tracks” and not be discovered by law enforcement agents. Even after his home computers were seized by law enforcement, Chaney used another computer to hack into another victim’s e-mail account. As a result of his hacking scheme, Chaney obtained private photographs and confidential documents, including business contracts, scripts, letters, driver’s license information, and Social Security information. On several occasions, after hacking into victims’ accounts, Chaney sent e-mails from the hacked accounts, fraudulently posing as the victims and requesting more private photographs. Chaney e-mailed many of the stolen photographs to others, including another hacker and two gossip websites. As a result, some of the stolen photographs were posted on the Internet.

"I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry," Chaney said. "I could be sentenced to never use a computer again and I wouldn't care." For detailed information about this case click here.

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48 Countries Worldwide Joined Biggest Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online

48 Countries Worldwide Joined Biggest Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online

Cyber bullying, online child sexual abuse has became one of the biggest threat and challenge for the society. Several security report are pointing out that the number of cyber bully is increasing every day. There are daily reminders about those risks, whether it's the tragic fate of Amanda Todd, bullied into suicide. To get rid of these burning issues European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström together with US Attorney General Eric Holder launched a Global Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Online. In this campaign Forty-eight countries have joined forces to launch the most expansive fight ever against the spread of online child sex abuse. According to current estimates, there are more than one million images of sexually abused and exploited children now online. Every year, that number grows by 50,000 new images, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Participants at the launch include Ministers and high-level officials from 27 EU Member States, who are also joined by 21 countries outside the EU (Albania, Australia, Cambodia, Croatia, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Serbia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States of America, and Vietnam). The countries of the alliance are committing themselves to a number of policy targets and goals. Thanks to increased international cooperation, the fight against child sexual abuse online will therefore be more effective.

"Behind every child abuse image is an abused child, an exploited and helpless victim. When these images are circulated online, they can live on forever. Our responsibility is to protect children wherever they live and to bring criminals to justice wherever they operate. The only way to achieve this is to team up for more intensive and better coordinated action worldwide", said Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström.

“This international initiative will strengthen our mutual resources to bring more perpetrators to justice, identify more victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that they receive our help and support,” said Attorney General Holder. “Through this global alliance we can build on the success of previous cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks and safeguard more of the world’s children.” 

The participants of this campaign put out this list of goals for the new initiative, which has been dubbed the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online, in a press release:-

• Enhance efforts to identify victims and ensure that they receive the necessary assistance, support and protection;
• Enhance efforts to investigate cases of child sexual abuse online and to identify and prosecute offenders;
• Increase children's awareness of online risks, including the self-production of images and "grooming" methods used by paedophiles;
• Reduce the availability of child abuse material online and the re-victimization of children;
• Establish dedicated law enforcement units for these crimes in all countries;
• Make it easier to initiate joint cross-border police investigations;
• Intensify co-operation with hotline services, where the public can report findings of online child pornography; and
• Ensure that the Interpol international database of child abuse material grows by 10 percent annually.

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USA Accused For Planting "Flame" Malware to Hack France President's Network

USA Accused For Planting "Flame" Malware to Hack France President's Network

A well known French newspaper named "L'Express" has accused that United States is using dangerous cyber weapon "Flame" to break into the computer networks inside France’s presidential palace also known as the Elysee. In his report L'Express has published details of what it claims was a sophisticated state-sponsored hack into the offices of the French presidency earlier this year with the intention of stealing data. According to the newspaper, the malware attack took place in May 2012, shortly before the second round of presidential elections in France, but has been kept secret until now. The newspaper alleges that the attackers reportedly found their targets on Facebook, identifying people working inside the presidential palace and connecting with them on the social network. The social engineering laid the groundwork for the next phase of the attack; the victims were then sent links to a fake Elysee intranet page where their login credentials were stolen. Workers at the Élysée Palace are said to have been befriended on Facebook by hackers, who then sent their victims a link to what purported to be a login page for the Élysée intranet site. In this way, it's claimed, login credentials were stolen. It is alleged that malware was then installed on the network, infecting computers belonging to senior political advisors, including Xavier Musca, Secretary-General of Nicolas Sarkozy's office. The United States Embassy in Paris has denied any involvement in hacking its ally. “We categorically refute allegations of unidentified sources,” Mitchell Moss, Embassy spokesman, told l’Express. “France is one of our best allies. Our cooperation is remarkable in the areas of intelligence, law enforcement and cyber defense. It has never been so good and remains essential to achieve our common fight against extremist threat.” Though the secretary  of Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano did not deny the U.S. was involved. She told l’Express: “We have no greater partner than France, we have no greater ally than France. We cooperate in many security-related areas. I am here to further reinforce those ties and create new ones.”

While talking about Flame, we would like to remind you that after the episode of 'Duqu'; In the middle of this year The Iranian Computer Emergency Response Team (MAHER) claims to have discovered a new targeted Stuxnet attacking the country's internal system. This newly found Stuxnet have been dubbed Flame (also known as Flamer or Skywiper). Flame the next generation cyber weapon which is also known as 'The Super Spy' has already fascinated the cyber-security industry with its sophistication and versatility as a Swiss-Army knife of cyber-spying. Later it was spotted in the wild when software giant Microsoft confirmed that its Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update (WU) has been infected by Flame malware. Also in many fields, the name of 'Flame' was on the high node. 

-Source (NS & threatpost)

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