Hacks

NSA whistleblower: U.S has been hacking into China, Hong Kong

The U.S. government had been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and China for years, says NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The former CIA employee stirred up a hornet's nest recently when he leaked details about PRISM, a National Security Agency program that collects certain user information from Internet companies and phone service providers in an effort to track down terrorists.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Snowden said that PRISM actually extends to people and institutions in Hong Kong and mainland China. The NSA itself has been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and China … Read more

Obama, China president to talk hacking -- report

President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will have a serious discussion on cybersecurity at a summit they're holding today in California, according to a new report.

Speaking to an unidentified U.S. official, Reuters reported Friday that Obama will ask that Xi assures him that China takes seriously the gripes the U.S. has with its alleged hacking efforts. It's believed that for years, China has been hacking into U.S. government and company servers and gaining access to classified information. Over the last several months, however, more of the details on that alleged hacking … Read more

Chinese hackers reportedly stole Obama and McCain documents

On the eve of President Barack Obama's high-level meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. intelligence officials have revealed that a slew of documents and e-mails were stolen during the 2008 presidential campaign from both the president and then GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Officials are accusing China's government for the hack.

According to NBC News, officials said that they first detected the major cyberattack in the summer of 2008 and were then able to trace the culprits back to China.

"Based on everything I know, this was a case of political cyberespionage by the Chinese … Read more

Hacker accused of massive Stratfor attack pleads guilty

Jeremy Hammond was arrested in a major federal sweep last year on charges of computer hacking conspiracy, computer hacking, and conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

The self-described hacktivist pled guilty to these counts in court on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

"As part of each of these hacks, I took and decimated confidential information stored on computer systems websites used by each of the entities," Hammond told a judge in federal court in Manhattan, according to the Associated Press. "For each of these hacks, I knew what I was doing was against the law."… Read more

China's military to train on digital warfare

China, often linked to alleged cyberattacks, is apparently training military forces on digital combat and "informationalized" war.

According to state-sponsored news agency Xinhua, the People's Liberation Army plans to launch digital war games next month focused on developing new combat forces that specialize in cyberwarfare.

The news agency says this will be the first time the army "has focused on combat forces including digitalized units, special operations forces, army aviation and electronic counter forces." Drills will be carried out late next month at the Zhurihe training base in northern China.

The army's general staff … Read more

Chinese hackers reportedly accessed U.S. weapons designs

The designs for some of the most sensitive advanced U.S. weapons systems were reportedly accessed by Chinese hackers, according to a confidential report prepared by the Defense Science Board for the Pentagon.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post, listed more than two dozen compromised weapons systems, including missile defenses and combat aircraft. The security breaches, the latest linked to China, could allow the country to accelerate development of its own systems and weakens the U.S. military position, experts told the Post.

The public version of the report, titled "Resilient Military Systems … Read more

Sky's Android apps, Twitter account hacked

British satellite broadcaster Sky is the latest media company to fall victim to the Syrian Electronic Army.

Sky's Android apps and Twitter account have been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army. A Sky spokesperson also told CNET UK that a tweet from the Sky Help Team advising people to uninstall their Android apps is not from the company.

The Sky Help Team's Twitter account has been compromised, and the tweet that states customers should uninstall their apps is not guidance from Sky. We are currently investigating the situation. We will provide a further update when we have more … Read more

The wide world of hacking in China

China has been cited as allegedly hacking into U.S. government and corporate networks for years now. Generally, the thinking has been that the government is the only entity in the country actively hacking. But a new report seems to indicate that's not even close to the truth.

The News York Times on Thursday released a report on hacking across China. The Times found that not only does hacking occur at the highest levels of the government, but that everyone on down from local law enforcement officials to company owners to criminals are using their hacking techniques to take … Read more

Kim Dotcom threatens to sue Twitter, others over patent

Kim Dotcom says he doesn't really want to sue Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other companies, but he really needs some help funding his defense.

The eclectic and controversial MegaUpload founder today said he invented two-factor authentication, which is being used by more and more companies to secure access to their sites. The verification steps aim to reduce the likelihood of online identity theft, phishing, and other scams because the victim's password would no longer be enough to give a thief access to their information.

Along with Twitter's recent introduction, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, PayPal, and countless other … Read more