National Cyber Security By Gregory Evans

Heading to the Internet is a great way to get a great deal on just about anything.  However, it can also be a way for scammers to take advantage of you.  The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center says scammers are catching shoppers in their web of deception with fraudulent vehicle sales and false vehicle protection claims.  Most people use Facebook just to catch up with old friends.  But one man decided to use the social media site as a way to steal thousands of dollars.  A judge sentenced Iain Wood to 15 months in jail for stealing $57,000 from various people on Facebook.  Wood allegedly spent up to 18 hours a day online scrutinizing profiles.  Apple Incorporated is in yet another battle.  This time HTC Corporation filed a trade complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to block imports of Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Mac computers.  HTC is Asia’s second largest maker of smartphones and filed the complaint in Washington today.

The hacking group Anonymous apparently hoped to stop the BART Transit System in its tracks.  According to a statement and Twitter messages, the group claimed responsibility for the Sunday online attack of the San Francisco transit system.  The system apparently went down from noon to six pm yesterday.  Members of Anonymous say the attack was for the system’s decision to cut off cellphone signals at certain subway stations because of planned protests last week.  Law officers are on the lookout for a cyber attack.  The hacking group, Anonymous sent a letter to the Fullerton Police Department letting them know the group planned to avenge the death of a 37-year old homeless man.  Anonymous reportedly said in the letter saying that the group plans to show the police department’s information technology the same mercy that was show to Kelly Thomas. As college students head back to school, they might be surprised to know that they could be easy targets.  According to one identity theft attorney report, college stud

The crackdown continues as British police arrests those accused of using social media sties to start riots.  Police say they arrested and charged three men for allegedly posting notices on social sites to stir up trouble.  A woman who took advantage of a computer glitch will spend nine years behind bars.  A Pittsburgh U.S. District judge handed down the sentence to 46- year old Jamie Harris on Thursday.  She is one of four people charged in the scheme that stole more than a million dollars from the city’s only minority owned bank.  Regulators closed the bank as insolvent two years ago.  A massive data breach has left thousands of social security numbers exposed for anyone to see.  The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recently posted on its website that back in June, they found malware on one of its servers.  That server had the names of staff and students.  It also had the Social Security Numbers and other files with personal data of about 75, thousand past and present students and staff members.   The uni

It seems that those in the financial industry are not optimistic about cyber crime and their abilities to stop it.  In a poll of 100 banking executives from 50 US financial institutions attending a Fundtech client conference, 66% expressed fears that cyber-crime was uncontrollable. A similar majority see fraud monitoring as their biggest challenge, with 84% believing that better detection tools are the keys to addressing high levels of online crime. Do you have a password for your cell phone?  If you don’t, you’re not alone.  In fact, you are like most people.  A report done by Sophos says that 67 percent of consumers don't have password protection on their mobile phones. In addition to patrolling the streets, New York Police will also be patrolling social media, looking for trouble.  The department is responding to the criminals' growing use of these sites to plan and celebrate illegal exploits.  Law enforcement has linked social media to increasing incidents of flash robs in the U.S. and the recent lootin

Law officers think technology may have played a key role in the rioting going on in England.  Research in Motion's Inside BlackBerry Blog was hacked Tuesday after the Canadian smartphone maker suggested it would cooperate with London police to help identify rioters who may have used a BlackBerry messaging service to plan mayhem. The hacking group Anonymous is giving Facebook fair warning to prepare to be hacked.  Members of the group say they plan to attack Facebook on November 5th in retaliation for alleged collusion by the social network with government agencies and security firms to allow them to spy on Facebook users. You can do just about anything on the Internet but search and email still remains the most popular online activities.  The Pew Internet & American Life Project said on Tuesday that it found 92 percent of online adults use search engines to find information on the Web, and 92 percent of online users also use email.

The world of government and hacking could soon collide.  The U.S. just launched a program called Cyber Fast Track.  It will fund what the government calls quick and dirty security research projects. The program launched at this year’s Black Hat conference in Las Vegas and will accept proposals for research projects lasting up to 12 months offering new benefits for the US defense and military agencies. The Philippines is turning to the Internet to help catch child predators.  The country’s primary investigative agency—Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)—has launched a website where people can report internet-related crimes involving children.  The website, called “Angel Net,” will serve as an online complaint center on incidents of identity theft, and other cybercrimes involving children.  You can add Paul McCartney to the many people allegedly hacked by reporters from the now defunct News of the World Newspaper.  The former Beatle addressed reporters and confirmed that he has been drawn into t

The list of hacked businesses just keeps getting longer and longer.  The Travelodge hotel chain in the UK confirmed that its email marketing database was breached earlier this year resulting in spam being sent to a number of its customers.??The company launched an investigation back in June after multiple customers reported receiving job spam on addresses they registered with the hotel chain. Some stores want to give you the look and feel of an Apple store and that’s a big problem for the company.  A federal judge recently sided with the technology super power and granted a request for a preliminary injunction and issued a temporary restraining order against several retailers for infringing Apple's trademark, according to court documents. Microsoft announced it will ship 13 security updates this week to patch 22 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, Visio and Visual Studio. Tuesday's patch lineup is larger than July's on the update count, but matches that month's vulnerability total. That's unusual

It appears that hackers proved the makers of Google’s Chrome OS wrong.  Security was one of the biggest selling points, saying it had better built in security than other operating systems.  However, hackers were able to get into the system.  It’s a war of words for cyber security companies and it appears that the winner depends on whom you believe.  On Tuesday, antivirus vendor McAfee described a five year hacker operation that infiltrated more than 70 U.S. and foreign government agencies, defense contractors and international organizations to plant malware that in some cases hid on networks for years. A California man turned himself in and faces some serious charges after using Facebook to target his victims.   Last month, a San Jose, California, grand jury indicted Sanford Wallace on three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of criminal contempt, according to the US Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California. Wallace allegedly compromised approximately 500,000

Even medical equipment may not be safe from hackers according to some researchers.  One researcher found flaws in medical equipment, which diabetics use to monitor blood sugar levels.  He believes that an attacker could remotely control insulin pumps and the readouts from blood sugar monitors.  Because of that, diabetics could get too much or too little insulin to regulate their metabolism.  It seems that hackers are stealing millions of dollars with just a few clicks of a mouse.  In increments of a few thousand dollars to a few million per theft, cyber crooks are stealing as much as $1 billion a year from small and mid-sized bank accounts in the U.S. and Europe like Experi-Metal, according to cyber experts. And account holders are the big losers. Well I guess some hackers weren’t too sweet on Hershey’s.  Recently, hackers attacked the website of the chocolate manufacturer. And what exactly did they do with the hack? They changed a recipe on the website. Also, tune in for the job of the day!

Cyber crime may be more organized that some first thought.  Security company McAfee says it’s found evidence of a cyber criminal campaign that has compromised 72 organizations since 2006, including the United Nations and several military defense contractors. More than 50 members of a ring who engaged in what authorities describe as "horrific" and "unspeakable" crimes have been arrested for  exploiting children from 12 years old to as young as infants. In an effort to stop cyber crime in its tracks, St. Charles County in MO received a big boost from the federal government.  The county received money to cover the salaries of three officers to the county’s Cyber Crime Unit.

There’s a war going on and if you’re a hacker, the government hopes you will join its side.  The National Security Agency is looking for cyber warriors this year and next year to help them battle the increasingly intense international cyber war.  To help them find the best, NSA, Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security plan to scan the annual DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas this weekend.  It’s not only costing companies private information, but cyber crime is also costing them big bucks.  Corporations spent 56 percent more than last year because of cyber crime, according to a recent study. Based on the study, Cybercrimes can do serious harm to an organization's bottom line.  The study found that the median cost related to cybercrime to the 50 companies in the survey was $5.9 million. The death of Amy Winehouse was of course tragic, but what’s making it even worse is that cyber criminals are trying to cash in because of it.  Experts say the British singer’s recent death gave lawbr

One of the latest LulzSec suspects is out on bail today after a judge released him until he appears at another court hearing on August 30th.  He can go home but he must wear an electronic monitoring device.  Jake Davis was arrested on Wednesday in England and faces several charges including conspiracy to mount a cyber attack on the Serious Organized Crime Agency’s website. It’s a big problem now, but members of the FBI expect cyber crime will only get worse in a few years.  Right now, it’s the agency’s number three priority but it will probably rise to number one very soon according to FBI agents. They believe that given the country’s connection to the Internet, infrastructure and everything being computerized, the country can potentially be an easy target of cyber terrorism. It can happen to you and I and apparently it can happen to the state of New Jersey.  Governor Chris Christie says he'll consider restoring $35 million to the budget for technology upgrades after two computer crashes hampered Motor Vehi

Large, organized crime syndicates have been launching sophisticated attacks against individuals and major corporations for decades. The result of their efforts is the theft of billions of dollars every year, and a large, ongoing presence in many of our most sensitive computer systems. The recent cyber attacks across the world has highlighted a very big need for cyber security experts.  A grant from the National Science Foundation has given Whatcom Community College in Washington State $200,000 grant to get students interested in cyber security. A recent study by British consumer research specialist Intersperience found that people’s biggest nightmare would be to go 24 hours without an internet connection or access to a smartphone, computer or tablet.  They even compared it to having their head chopped off. 

The federal government says it’s working to make sure your privacy is protected, even on the internet.  Government officials put Google, Microsoft, Apple and other technology companieson notice to give consumers a way prevent advertisers from tracking their movements across the Web - or face regulation. A panel of government experts Tuesday once again warned lawmakers that cyber-attacks against the nation’s computer networks are growing more frequent and increasingly sophisticated, while the U.S. has lagged behind on implementing the necessary protections. An Alabama woman could face 32 years behind bars and a fine of 1 million dollars.  67 year old Peggy McGlaughn pleaded guilty Tuesday to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  According to the U.S. Attorney and FBI, McGlaughn stole more than 900 thousand dollars from her former employer, Bob Roberts and Company.  She worked at the construction company as a bookkeeper and officer manager for 24 years. 

Scotland Yard's cybercrime unit has arrested a teenager it suspects of working as the spokesman for the Lulz Security hacking collective, officials said Wednesday.  The Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit arrested a 19-year-old, the force said in a statement. His name wasn't released, but police said he was believed to be one of LulzSec's most prominent members. The hacker group Anonymous posted a message Tuesday to PayPal customers, urging people to close their accounts with the online payment service.  Anonymous and fellow hackers Lulzsec accused PayPal of being unfair for refusing to allow donations to the controversial Wikileaks and for helping law enforcement track down hackers. An unemployed truck driver was charged Wednesday with hacking into an Australian broadband network provider in an alleged crime that police say could have caused significant damage to the national Internet infrastructure.  David Cecil, 25, was charged in a court in New South Wales state with hacking into one of the Natio

President Obama unveiled his plans to combat what the United States is calling "Transnational Organized Crime" in a paper released by the White House Tuesday morning.   The document focuses primarily on encouraging more international cooperation to target organized criminals dealing in smuggling people, smuggling drugs, committing acts of terror and online financial crime. U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced his support for legislation to crackdown on counterfeit parts in weapons systems, airplanes, and other equipment that are essential to keeping our men and women in uniform safe, and to protect key defense contractors in Central New York. According to the Department of Defense, the rise in counterfeit aircraft parts alone are leading to a "5 to 15% percent decrease in weapons systems reliability" each year, putting additional troops' lives at risk both at home and abroad. Police have identified phishing, pharming and spoofing as the three main cyber crimes that have cost losses amounting to million

Hackers have started to release gigabytes of secret documents stolen from an Italian cybercrime unit.  The 8GB of files has allegedly been taken from the network of the Italian CNAIPIC which oversees the country's critical IT infrastructure.  In a message announcing the release, the Anonymous hacker group said it received the files from a source. To fight cyber crime, Michigan law enforcement officials are teaming up with the F.B.I.  They've now established an office that will specifically target cyber crimes.  By having this position with the F.B.I. Cyber Crime Task Force, it allows that officer to work specifically on those kinds of cases.  So, the more experience, the better.   The Communications Commission of Kenya has set up a computer incident response team to counter the rising cases of cyber crime in the country.  Announcing the development last week, CCK’s Director General said the team would coordinate the response to cyber security incidents nationally and collaborate with relevant actors locally

Just a few weeks after German authorities opened a national Cyber Defense Centre in Bonn, it was attacked by hackers and now officials are struggling to arrest all of those involved.  While security authorities reported they had arrested two members of the hacking group linked to the attacks, the group released a statement saying that only its leader was under arrest. Researchers at the security firm Kaspersky Lab have spotted phishing scams that attempt to gain illegal access into the accounts of airlines in order to steal the frequent flyer miles accumulated by the company's customers.   The attacks come in the form of emails that promise either prizes or more points in customers' frequent flyer programs; recipients are asked to enter their login information on a fake website, and doing so effectively hands over users' account details to the scammers. Computer and software vendor financial results came in this week, including reports from IBM, Intel, Apple and Microsoft.  Those results revealed some recor

As a part of its ongoing AntiSec campaign Anonymous hackers have reportedly breached NATO's cyber security making-off with one gigabyte of stolen data.  Like its previous attacks, the hack was reported on the group's Twitter page. Anonymous has since released two PDFs containing a portion of the data stolen, linking to them via two tweets. The US and India have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on cyber security.  The MOU was signed in New Delhi by Jane Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security, and the secretary of India's Department of Information Technology, according to U.S. reports. The Arlington-based Air Force Association is continuing its effort to educate young people on the importance of cyber security by meeting students where they are: on Facebook.  On Friday, the nonprofit association's Cyber Patriot office launched a social media game called CyberVille, in which players defend their virtual town from attacks against that town's wired

Apple released the latest version of its computer operating system named Lion.  So far, the response has been positive.  Many are saying it is a great leap forward in usability and security.   Apple has changed the computer world in the last few years with their mobile operating systems and Lion represents the beginnings of the merger of touch-based mobile OS and their desktop OS. Google has identified traffic patterns consistent with infection, and it’s letting users know that they need to take action.  The malware in question routes Google traffic through a small number of proxies, according to the official blog entry.  If Google’s search engine detects that you’re coming to them through these intermediaries, it’ll display a banner notification in hopes that you’ll fix the problem. The federal government plans to shut 40 percent of its computer centers over the next four years to reduce its hefty technology budget and modernize the way it uses computers to manage data and provide services to citizens.   T