The large-scale attack is based on the multiexploit hacker kit dubbed ‘Mpack’. Attackers armed with an exploit toolkit have launched massive attacks in Europe from a network of at least 10,000 hacked Web sites, with infections spreading worldwide, several security companies warned Monday.
If you have a computer taken over by a bot, then you want the FBI to call you. Normally, being contacted by the FBI is not a good thing. That is unless it is notifying you that your computer is under the control of hackers unbeknownst by you. Over one million IP addresses have been identified as being associated with victim computers, according to the FBI.
The CA/Browser Forum, a consortium of four major internet browsers and more than 20 certification authorities, has announced the first set of standardied guidelines to validate the legitimacy of website operators. In the past, sites that issued SSL certificates received little to no scrutiny, Tim Moses, chairman of the forum and the senior director of advanced technology at certification vendor Entrust, told SCMagazine.com today
Legitimate web pages taken over by cybercriminals to promote child pornography. IT security and control firm Sophos is warning web hosts of the dangers of not screening content posted on message boards, following the discovery that legitimate web pages have been taken over by cybercriminals using the forums to promote child pornography.
Hundreds of workers at Cornwall’s Eden Project are at risk of exposure to identity fraud following the theft of a company laptop containing their personal details. The computer was snatched from the car of an employee of the payroll services company Moorepay, which deals with the wages of the environmental complex. The laptop is believed to contain 500 employeesâ names, addresses, bank details, national insurance and phone numbers, and pay rates.
Hackers have infiltrated at least 1 million computers in the U.S. without their owners’ consent, using them to steal personal information or attack other systems, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI plans to notify the computers’ owners, most of whom are unaware that someone is using their computer to commit a crime, according to a statement. Criminals take control of a group of remote computers and use that network to launch attacks.
No retailer wants to be the next TJX Co., victim of one of the largest data breaches in recent history, but many might as well paint a bull’s eye across their marquees and post the sign ”Hackers Welcome.” The TJX breach resulted in at least 45.7 million compromised debit and credit cards used at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other TJX stores. The incident, which easily could have been avoided by a simple software upgrade, will cost TJX millions of dollars.
Faculty members at the University of Virginia have had their personal records hacked, including salary details and social security numbers. The hack, which is believed to have gone undetected for two years, netted details on over 6,000 staff who had taught at the university from 1990 to August 2003. The hacker defaced a web page on the university’s portal and when IT staff cleaned up they found evidence of the attack. “We sincerely regret the distress this causes to our colleagues,” said James Hilton, vice president and chief information officer at the University of Virginia.
ABC News has learned the FBI is targeting a small number of suspected hackers who allegedly took over thousands of personal computers secretly and used them to steal identities and send out massive amounts of spy and spam ware. The FBI says they have identified 1 million computer addresses that have been affected. It’s called “botnetting” — where criminals turn other people’s computers into servers and then use them for illicit activity.
Looking to enter a life of cybercrime? Beware the boneheaded miscues of these infamous cyberschnooks. The annals of crime are rife with tales of heists pulled off by enterprising criminal minds. But for every caper carried out with style and smarts, there are hundreds of imprisoned examples of the boneheaded desperado — guys too greedy, too hasty, or just too brain dead to pull off their nefarious deeds without getting caught.