Hacks

Anonymous hacks North Korea's Twitter and Flickr accounts

Anonymous continues to target North Korea with its latest round of exploits.

Citing the threat posed by the North Korean government, the "hacktivist" group defaced the country's official Twitter and Flickr accounts yesterday.

The North Korean Twitter feed now displays a series of tweets with links that poke fun at the country's leader Kim Jong-un. One linked image portrays Kim Jong-un in a less than flattering light and criticizes him for "threatening world peace with ICBMs and nuclear weapons" and "wasting money while his people starve." The country's Flickr account shows … Read more

'Chameleon Botnet' takes $6-million-a-month in ad money

A newly discovered botnet has found a way to siphon cash from advertisers.

Spider.io, a security researcher, yesterday announced that it has discovered a new botnet, called Chameleon, that's targeting "at least" 202 Web sites. The botnet is made up of over 120,000 host machines running Windows, according to Spider.io. Those machines are connecting to the Web with a Flash-friendly Trident-based browser that executes JavaScript. The vast majority of the machines -- 95 percent -- have come from U.S.-based IP addresses.

The botnets have targeted at least 202 Web sites, hitting them … Read more

Evasi0n jailbreak thwarted by iOS 6.1.3

Apple has finally managed to contain the Evasi0n jailbreak.

Released yesterday, iOS 6.1.3 fixes a security bug that allowed someone to sneak past the lock screen and make phone calls, listen to voice mail, and view contact photos.

But the update also patched several holes that Evasi0n exploited to perform an untethered jailbreak on all iOS devices, including the latest iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. People who upgrade to iOS 6.1.3 will no longer be able to use Evasi0n to jailbreak their devices. And once on 6.1.3, newer Apple devices cannot be downgraded to … Read more

Two charged in theft of $40K from hacked Subway keypads

Two California men have been indicted for allegedly hacking point-of-sale terminals at Subway shops to steal at least $40,000.

Prosecutors accused Shahin Abdollahi, aka "Sean Holdt," and Jeffrey Thomas Wilkinson of hacking at least 13 point-of-sale (POS) terminals to install software that fraudulently loaded at least $40,000 onto Subway gift cards, according to an indictment unsealed in Boston on Friday (see below). The pair then allegedly used the cards to make purchases at Subway shops and sold them on eBay and Craigslist.

Abdollahi owned a Subway franchise in Southern California from 2005 to 2008 and later … Read more

Security reporter hit by 'swatting' attack

"Swatting" is what you do to a fly that's buzzing around your head. But when that fly is respected security reporter Brian Krebs, swatting is what you do to him when you want to scare him and possibly cause him serious physical harm.

As recounted by Ars Technica this morning and later today by Krebs himself, the reporter was at home and cleaning his house when he opened his front door to come face-to-barrel with at least three guns, including a shotgun, handgun, and semiautomatic rifle; numerous police officers; and a half dozen police cars.

The term &… Read more

Cyberthreats a top topic in Obama's call with Chinese president

President Barack Obama had a digital agenda in his call to new Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulating him on his new position, according to a new report.

According to The New York Times, Obama and his Chinese counterpart spoke quite a bit about cyberattacks and their impact on each other's nations. The Times, which obtained the information from White House officials, didn't specifically say what was said during the conversation. But the fact that the presidents are having an open discussion on cyberattacks indicates just how far the issue has gone.

For years now, both China and the … Read more

Reuters editor indicted on Anonymous conspiracy charge

When Matthew Keys allegedly handed over the passwords of his former employer to members of the hacker group Anonymous a couple of years ago, he probably didn't think it would lead to an indictment.

However, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that Keys was being indicted on three counts: conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer, transmitting information to damage a protected computer, and attempted transmission of information to damage a protected computer.

Keys, 26, currently works as a deputy social media editor at Reuters but used to be a Web producer for the Tribune … Read more

Doctors 'used fake fingers' to clock in for colleagues at ER

I feel sure this story might be an inspiration to some, especially those who enjoy showing solidarity for their fellow worker.

For it seems that several doctors in Sao Paulo, Brazil, decided there was a way to fool the biometric scanners on which they clocked in with their fingers.

They allegedly created more fingers. Fake ones, out of silicone.

As AFP reports, an investigation by Globo television showed a doctor using the fake fingers to fool the machines.

The machines dutifully printed out a paper record of a doctor's attendance, when he or she wasn't actually there.… Read more

Google rolls out initiative to help hacked sites

It's not pretty when a Web site gets a "this site may be compromised" or "this site may harm your computer" status note. Many webmasters and Web site owners can be at a loss of what to do in these situations.

For this reason, Google has launched "Help for Hacked Sites" informational series, which has a dozen articles and videos aimed to help people avoid having their sites hacked and also teach them how to gain back control of compromised sites.

"Every day, cybercriminals compromise thousands of websites. Hacks are often invisible … Read more