Posts tagged Fbi at Switched

Posts with tag fbi

Law Enforcement Finally Catching Up With Online Scammers Worldwide

by Will Safer, posted Nov 18th 2008 at 6:38AM

According to USA Today, hackers and phishers have a little less job security these days thanks to an FBI and Secret Service that are more focused and nimble in their efforts to crack down on Internet security scofflaws. Add in a little cooperation from foreign-based law enforcement from countries like Romania, Turkey and Germany, and the ne'er-do-wells of the 'net aren't netting as much pilfered "e-loot" as they'd like.

Online crime is an estimated $200 billion per year market, and during tough economic times the efforts of cyber criminals are expected to increase. The FBI and Secret Service though have made significant inroads during the last year into busting up some serious crime rings by getting indictments on some high-profile spammers and the folks behind the computer break-in of TJX and other companies. They say their success comes from better training for more agents who stalk the online scammers.

The international effort is also the result of better training and communication – and stiffer penalties for those who get caught.

"It's not a question of whether you will be caught, but when," Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer of MySpace, told USA Today. [Source: USA Today.]

Obama and McCain Campaigns Infiltrated by Foreign Hackers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 6th 2008 at 5:40PM

Newsweek revealed yesterday that computers at both the Obama and McCain campaigns were hacked by a "foreign entity" during the campaign. Though the intrusions -- which started last summer and continued through September and October -- were detected by the campaigns, they were initially thought to be a simple virus or phishing attack. The day following the hacks, the FBI and Secret Service approached the Obama campaign and told them, "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand."

The end result was that the systems were compromised and large numbers of files were downloaded by the attacker or attackers. The FBI and the White House believe that the stolen information was related to policy positions and may be used to gain leverage over a future administration in negotiations. Agents assured the campaign that the attack did not originated with their political opponents. According to the report in Newsweek, the Obama team has speculated that the attack originated from China or Russia. To combat the intrustion, a security firm was hired to quickly plug up the holes in the campaign's computers.

The extent of the information obtained is not known, but judging from Bush's Chief of Staff Josh Bolton's comment to Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe ("You have a real problem ... and you have to deal with it"), the FBI will be working tirelessly to find and out the culprits. [From: Newsweek]

FBI Sees Drastic Rise in Computer Crime

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 16th 2008 at 3:15PM

The FBI is reporting that computer crime rose dramatically this year and is costing the U.S. tens of millions of dollars.

In particular, two types of attacks have seen an increase in popularity. Botnets spread malicious software via a virus. These Botnets turn infected PCs into unwilling participants in a network of PCs that "recruit" other computers and harvest data. The other type of attacks that have increased in prevalence are so-called "spearfishing" attacks, in which hackers send out official-looking e-mails to collect personal account data from employees of companies.

A third type of attack that is less widespread, but still seeing an increase in use is the "Pump and Dump" scheme, where attackers break into Wall Street firms and drive up the price of stocks only to dump them from their own accounts.

The FBI set up the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2000 to track such attacks. The IC3 currently receives 18,000-20,000 reports of potential computer crime per month, which works out to around 650 attacks per-day. Even the most dangerous neighborhood in the world seems tame by comparison. [From: Reuters]

FBI and CIA Launching MySpace for Spies

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 8th 2008 at 8:43AM

You know how we told you last week that most people don't know what social-networking is? Well, apparently the CIA and FBI are using this news to their advantage, and are looking to get all of their secret agents friending and messaging online like chatty tweens, creating a MySpace knockoff site especially for spies and other officials to connect and chat.

The idea behind the site, called A-Space, is for agents to share intelligence gleaned through various sources, whether they be covert or CNN. It is intended to replace ad-hock e-mails and other forms of messaging with one centralized, easily traceable communication channel. The obvious concern is security, of course, as this site will quickly become a repository of virtual reams of sensitive info. Operators plan to rely on behavioral processing such as that used by credit card companies -- not so much to restrict what users can do, but to raise flags if someone tries to do something... unusual.

You know, kind of like the last time you took a road trip and had your card declined while buying gas 1,200 miles from home. That sounds just like the kind of security we need protecting our agents. [Source: CNN]

FBI Finds Counterfeit Chips Leave U.S. Military Vulnerable

by Will Safer, posted May 12th 2008 at 11:39AM

The U.S. Military may have been using a whole slew of counterfeit computer chips in its systems, leaving it open to security breaches that could lead to information leaks or worse, according to the FBI.

During a two-year period, Operation Cisco Raider has lead to 15 criminal cases in which counterfeit products were bought and used by military agencies, military contractors and electric power companies. According to the New York Times, "36 search warrants have been executed, resulting in the discovery of 3,500 counterfeit Cisco network components with an estimated retail value of more than $3.5 million, the F.B.I. said in a statement."

Part of an FBI briefing on the investigation and its findings can be found in this PowerPoint presentation hosted by the site Above Top Secret.

The counterfeit chips could lead to some interesting security holes. For one, they are extremely hard to sort out from real chips. Two, the kind of security weakness they have could lead to computers being taken over by a remote system. The article states that there has been speculation about anti-aircraft systems being disabled during the first Gulf War and also when the Israeli air force has attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear power plant.

The FBI isn't saying the counterfeit chips were specifically designed to leave systems vulnerable. There's a chance the chip makers just wanted to make some quick money on a high volume product. And (surprise) the chips seem to have come from China.

But the U.S. Military isn't just taking this lying down. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or DARPA) has initiated a Trusted Integrated Circuits program with the aim of strengthening the country's defense against network security breaches.

This sounds like a good idea to us, as long as they don't call their new system Skynet. [Source: The New York Times]

Valentine's Day e-Card Could Be Virus In Waiting

by Will Safer, posted Feb 13th 2008 at 11:01AM

Storm Worm is coming this Valentine's Day.

Be wary when opening e-mail greeting cards this Valentine's Day if you don't know the sender. As Switched.com has been warning all its readers for a few weeks now, the message could turn out to be a computer virus, in this case known as a "botnet," which can take over your computer to send more viruses out, link to other computers doing the same, or even steal your personal information.

The FBI suggests not opening e-mail if you don't know the sender.

This particular e-mail baddy is known as the Storm Worm virus, and saw activity around several holidays last year. It takes advantage of people who let down their guard because an e-mail greeting card is often entertaining and seen as non-threatening.

Typically, the e-card arrives in a user's in-box, the e-mail is opened, and the user is directed to click on a link within the text to retrieve the full card. That's when the virus download occurs. The Storm Worm will be downloaded to that computer and begin its bad work, which ultimately is to deny service to a large network.

Storm Worm (so named because the subject line of the e-mail messages originally contained the line "Many Dead As Storm Batters Europe") was the most pervasive Internet attack last year.

Here are Switched.com's quick three tips to avoid Storm Worm and other viruses, trojans and malwares from being downloaded to your computer:

Don't click on a link in an e-mail message from someone you don't know.
Turn on your e-mail reader's spam prevention.
If an advertisement you find on a Web page looks suspicious, type in the company Web address yourself instead of clicking directly on the ad (Sometimes Web ads are another way viruses and trojans get distributed.)

Are you looking for a safe way to send a Valentine's Day greeting card -- or a card for any other occasion? Try Hallmark, Bluemountain, or, of course, our parent, AOL, which has a whole site dedicated to just that.

From News.com.au.

Related Links:

FBI Creating Massive Biometric Database

by Tim Stevens, posted Feb 6th 2008 at 9:49AM

Biometrics refers to the study of identifying you by some physical characteristic. For ages, the fingerprint has been the ideal choice for identifying you without your express consent. These days, computerized surveillance cameras and a variety of other tracking techniques can automatically identify you by your body shape, the position of your facial features, and even the way you walk. With this in mind, the FBI wants to create a new $1 billion biometric database to track all these identifying characteristics.

Right now, the FBI tracks about 55-million sets of fingerprints in a database. This new program would expand that greatly, capturing and storing entire palm prints, scanning mugshots to identify facial features, and more. This could be a boon for crime investigators, but it could also be a nightmare for privacy advocates. Already the FBI will let hiring managers query their current database with the fingerprints of those would-be employees. The current policy is to use the fingerprints to scan and then discard them if no match is found.

Now, however, the FBI is indicating that it may change that policy and keep those fingerprints on record, tracking you even if you've never committed a crime. As always, in theory, there's nothing to worry about if you're not committing any crimes, but that's little comfort if you've read '1984' a few too many times and don't trust Big Brother.

From CNN.com

Related Links:

FBI Wiretap Shut Off Due to Late Payment of Phone Bill

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 14th 2008 at 10:10AM

Well, apparently you can put a price on freedom. The same telephone companies that had no problem providing the government with unfettered access to voice and data passing over its networks in a series of questionably legal wiretaps will apparently tell the FBI no when it doesn't pay its bill on time.

An international wiretap was shut off by an unnamed company due to a delinquent bill, and may have resulted in the loss of evidence. This is not the first time the FBI has suffered interruptions in its surveillance due to late payments.

Two things make this story incredibly disturbing. The first is that the FBI, our nation's premier law enforcement organization, is so disorganized that it can't pay it sphone bills on time. And the second is that it took a late phone bill, not something like, say, the Constitution, for a phone company to finally deny the government a wiretap.

From Textually

Related Links:

E-Mail Scam Threatens to Send Hitman After You

by Ryan Rayhill, posted Oct 8th 2007 at 8:24AM

While many e-mail scams are easily spotted due to their relative ridiculousness and are seemingly safe to simply ignore, one recent scam has its recipients not only taking it seriously but has them in fear for their life.

The e-mail in question reads: "I have been paid some ransom in advance to terminate you with some reasons listed to me by my employer."

And they don't mean "terminate" in the Donald Trump "you're fired" sense. In this case, "terminate" is used in the 'Sopranos', or perhaps more accurately, the 'Terminator,' "you're dead" sense.

Yes, this particular scam claims that you are to be rubbed out should you fail to make a payment of several thousand dollars and you are to tell no friends or relatives as they may be in ones who called for your ultimate demise. Naturally.

Despite being initially frightening, this scam revealed one small problem that had people who got the message smelling a rat: The e-mail gives no deadline or instructions on how to make the payment that would save your life, which kind of defeats the point. Apparently, these particular frauds aren't too bright.

After doing some digging, Harry Whitworth, a 72-year-old New Jersey man who got the threatening e-mail demanding $8,000 from him, found a similar scam out of Arizona with almost exactly the same wording and spelling errors in the message he had received.

According to the FBI, 115 similar cases were reported around the country within a month last winter, with only the amount of money demanded varying, which went up to $80,000.

First our credit is bad, then certain male body parts are too small, and now we're marked for death! Damn you, Internet!

From AP

Related Links:

Department of Homeland Security Considers Mind-Control Tech

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 20th 2007 at 2:29PM

The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is considering offering a contract to PRI (the Psychotechnology Research Institute), where a group of researchers claim to have developed software that can pick out terrorists and even train individuals to pick out terrorists -- subconsciously.

The technology, called Semantic Stimuli Response Measurements Technology (SSRM Tek), is said to gauge a subject's involuntary response to subliminal messages. Images are shown to test subjects who press buttons in response. SSRM Tek supposedly measures those responses and understands what the subject is thinking subconsciously.

One obvious application of the technology may involve security checks at airports. Based on subjects' responses to the images and messages, "clean" respondents would be allowed through while "suspect" individuals would be taken through further testing.

Geoff Schoenbaum, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland, dismisses PRI's technology, saying that modern neuroscience is just now trying to figure out how rats learn that a light can predict food. In reference to the idea of subconsciously sensing a person's intentions, he said, "If we could do [what they're talking about], you would know about it, it wouldn't be a handful of Russian folks in a basement."

From Boing Boing and Wired

Related links:

Older Posts →

Metal Slug 2 fires on to Virtual Console Redstone to sell Midway stake for $100K New games this week: Prince of Persia edition	BuzzBox Fast Forward adds smarter "Stumbling" to Firefox Akinator, the web genius - Time Waster Notify me when it's up!
The Simpsons take on 'Mapple' Found Footage: A working NeXT Cube Concept: the iPod shuffle bracelet	The end of big credit card balances Bush administration ignored regulators' warning of mortgage meltdown Pharma favorites: Biogen (BIIB) & AstraZeneca (AZN)
Shipping this week: Scaling, scailing edition Xbox Live service experiencing technical difficulties [Update] Left 4 Dead movie posters available from Valve	Parents Television Council shakes finger at GM, Nissan over advertising PPI unleashes Razor GTR in Essen Spy Shots: Jaguar XK diesel under development
Download: Sacred 2: Fallen Angel v2.31 Patch Sumner Redstone sells off his Midway stock for $100,000 ArmA II full trailer shows all its guns	Questionable Coaching Clears Path for Vikings Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 13: Matt Cassel Just Got a Lot More Affordable Marvin Lewis Says Bengals Fans Won't 'Go Through Another Season Like This'

Categories

Resources

Hot Topics

Switched Questionnaire

Hype Check

Web

Paranormal

Time Wasters

Just Tell Me What To Get

TUAW

Most Commented On (7 days)

Viagra Video Game Pulled By FDA (83)

Tennis Star Boris Becker Dumped by Text Message (57)

McCain Supporters Duped by 419 Scam? (22)

Switched Video

What Bugs You Most About Cell Phones?

Featured Galleries

AOL Tech Network

Latest Reviews from CNET.com

Top Product Reviews