LulzSec

LulzSec fields calls via hacking request line

Hacking group LulzSec was touting a hotline yesterday that let people call in and request takedowns of Web sites.

"Call into 614-LulzSec and pick a target, and we'll obliterate it," LulzSec wrote on its Twitter account yesterday. "Nobody wants to mess with The Lulz Cannon--take aim for us Twitter."

The LulzSec hotline's area code encompasses the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area, though it's unlikely the people behind the organization are there. According to LulzSec, its hacking request line was lighted up all day, and it accommodated a total of eight requests. By the end … Read more

Who is behind the hacks? (FAQ)

Every day there's another report of a computer hack. Yesterday it was a video game company and a U.S. Senate database. And today it could be the Federal Reserve. There's no doubt that there's a wave of attacks going on right now, against different targets and with seemingly different motives.

The questions on everyone's mind are who is behind these computer attacks and why are they doing it. This FAQ will help answer those questions in at least some of the cases.

Update: A 19-year-old man was arrested June 21 in the U.K. and … Read more

LulzSec hackers attack Senate site

The hacking group known as LulzSec hit its latest target over the weekend: the U.S. Senate.

In an attack confirmed to the media by a Senate representative, LulzSec broke into the Senate's Web site and was able to gain access to the server's directory and file structure, the contents of which the group published on its own site.

In response, the government initiated a security review but so far has determined that network security was not compromised and that no user information was breached.

"The intruder did not gain access into the Senate computer network and … Read more

LulzSec hackers--just having a laugh?

At first glance it appeared that the Web site of the LulzSec hacker group had been seized by the feds. But it turned out to be just another prank, the latest in a series of "lulz" that hackers do when they are not taunting Sony, FBI partners, and others.

Despite the official looking Justice and Homeland Security department symbols and notice saying "this domain name has been seized by ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) - Homeland Security Investigations," the page was a hoax. A search of Whois showed that the domain "www.lulzsecurity.org" … Read more

Senators target Bitcoin currency, citing drug sales

Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer currency floating around the Web, is now being targeted by two prominent senators.

Democratic Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia have written a letter to both Attorney General Eric Holder and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Michele Leonhart expressing their desire for the organizations to take down an online marketplace known as "Silk Road," which allows customers to buy illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and marijuana.

The senators said this about Bitcoin in their letter to the government agencies:

The only method of payment for these illegal purchases … Read more

Attacks on Sony, others show it's open hacking season

There seems to be a groundswell of hacking activity recently. From the Epsilon breach that touched dozens of major U.S. companies and their millions of customers, and RSA replacing its customers' SecurID tokens after attacks on several defense contractors to Sony sites getting pummeled by hackers on a regular basis--all within the last few months.

What's going on?

"I truly don't think there's a higher instance of hacking right now. I think there's been a wave of media coverage," said Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer of BT and one of the most … Read more

Hackers taunt Sony with more data leaks, hacks

The LulzSec hacker group today released what it describes as 54MB of source code from the Sony Computer Entertainment Developer Network as well as internal network maps of Sony BMG, while Sony Pictures Russia and Sony Music Brazil also were attacked.

"Konichiwa from LulzSec, Sony bastards!" the group wrote in a post on the Pirate Bay peer-to-peer sharing site. The message continues:

"We\'ve recently bought a copy of this great new game called \"Hackers vs Sony\", but we\'re unable to play it online due to PSN being obliterated. So we decided to play … Read more

Exclusive: CEO says hackers tried to extort data, money

Karim Hijazi knew his nightmare was just beginning when he saw that a mysterious e-mail had arrived in his inbox at 3 a.m. on May 26 that included his e-mail password and the subject line "Let us talk."

That would mark the beginning of a weeklong saga of e-mail exchanges and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) discussions in which Hijazi says a group of hackers told him they wouldn't publicly divulge information they had gotten from snooping on his accounts if he revealed sensitive security information acquired by the botnet-tracking firm, Unveillance, that he launched last year. … Read more

Hackers target Sony, Nintendo and FBI partner Web site

Hackers went on a rampage late today, targeting Sony Europe, Nintendo, and the FBI-affiliate InfraGard Atlanta in a series of intrusions and security compromises that appears to have exposed passwords of some Sony and federal government employees.

The moves follow reports of hacks hours earlier that involved Acer Europe, Iran, NATO, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sony, whose business units globally have suffered what amounts to about a dozen different computer intrusions already over the past two months, was again targeted. Someone identified as Lebanese hacker Idahc, who targeted Sony Ericsson last week, appeared to have compromised the e-commerce site … Read more