Tag archive: hack

“Do you want to talk about cheese?” is the conversation opener in a trans-Atlantic phone call intercepted by hacker collective Anonymous between the FBI and the UK’s Metropolitan Police (aka Scotland Yard). Once the issue of cheese had been dealt with, the participants in the conversation moved on to more pressing matters—such as how to deal with Anonymous. Of course, they had no idea the group was recording their conversation. And once it was… Read More

According to the Washington Post, hacking activist group Anonymous has released 200 GB of data that was procured from security think tank Stratfor earlier this week. The data includes the user names, passwords and email addresses of over 850,000 Stratfor users in addition to 75,000 credit card numbers for premium users of the Stratfor service. The organization provides intelligence and analysis related to security related matters, both domestic… Read More

At the top of the list of things everyone's favorite iPhone assistant can do is now the ability to start your car. All that's needed is the Viper SmartStart System, a homebrew proxy server, a plugin and of course an iPhone with Siri. Developer and tech enthusiast Brandon Fiquett is the person responsible for this latest Siri hack, which allows him to start his silver Acura TL by spouting voice commands at his iPhone 4S. Current… Read More

AT&T is looking into what it described as “an organized and systematic attempt” by a hacker or group of hackers to obtain customer information from a number of AT&T accounts. The Dallas-based company sent an email to customers to explain the situation and to reassure them that no personal data was compromised in the hacking attempt. “We do not believe that the perpetrators of this attack obtained access to your online account or any of… Read More

A hacker or group of hackers managed to infiltrate the network of a water station in Springfield, Illinois, and caused damage to a water pump, reports the Washington Post. The attack appears to be the first time a cyber attack has caused this kind of damage to a computer system in the US. The attack was first discovered on Nov. 8, when a municipal water district employee discovered a problem with the city's Supervisory Control and Data… Read More

In 2007 and 2008, hackers waged an attack on two US government satellites, according to a report from a congressional committee that's due to be released next month. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the perpetrators of the attack may have ties to the Chinese military.   The two satellites, named Landsat-7 and Terra AM-1, are reportedly used for climate and terrain monitoring, and are managed by NASA.  In both October 2007 and July… Read More

Sony issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the company had locked down a number of user accounts after it had detected a large number of unauthorized sign-in attempts on its PlayStation Network (PSN), Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) services. Sony chief information security officer Philip Reitinger wrote in the statement: “There were approximately 93,000 accounts (PSN/SEN: approximately 60,000 accounts;… Read More

Voting machines that could be used by up to a quarter of the US electorate on Election Day next year can be hacked, says a group of computer science and security experts at the Vulnerability Assessment Team at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. In fact, they’re not only saying it. They’ve done it. A Salon report says that the hack can be performed “with just $10.50 in parts and an 8th grade science education.” Even more alarming, it’s… Read More

The FBI has arrested two suspected members of the hacktivist groups Anonymous and LulzSec, according to Fox News. The alleged hackers were taken into custody this morning. Cody Kretsinger (who uses the alias “recursion”), 23, of Pheonix is accused of being a LulzSec member and charged with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. A suspected Anonymous member described as homeless and living in San Francisco was also… Read More

It wasn’t long ago that we could barely keep up on the unending, daily accounts of Sony PlayStation hacks. The PSN and other Sony Web properties worldwide were subject to hackers for months, and users found themselves unable to use their subscription services as well as risking their credit card and personal data. To say Sony’s reputation was tarnished would be something of an understatement. The company did what it could to placate user… Read More

Today, Kevin Mitnick is a security expert who infiltrates his clients' companies to expose their weaknesses. He's also the author of several books, including Ghost in the Wires. But he's most known as the hacker who eluded the FBI for years, and was eventually imprisoned for his ways. We had a chance to talk to him about his time in solitary confinement, hacking McDonald's, and what he thinks about Anonymous. Digital… Read More

The Twitter news feed of NBC, which has about 130,000 followers, was hacked on Friday afternoon by a group calling itself The Script Kiddies. Several fake tweets were posted reporting that a plane had crashed into Ground Zero in New York City. The hack comes just a couple of days before the US marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the country. The first fake tweet said: “Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked.… Read More

A fraudulent Google security certificate has found its way onto the web, making it possible for hackers to access the accounts of Gmail users, reports CNet. The certificate is reportedly being used to target Gmail users located in Iran. The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate was issued by Dutch security authority DigiNotar to unidentified attackers on July 10. The attackers apparently tricked DigiNotar into thinking the request for the SSL… Read More

Anonymous has announced its new target. After taking on the likes of oppressive regimes in Egypt, Iran, and Syria, the hacktivist group has now set its sights on Facebook. In a YouTube post this morning, the group has declared that it wants to “kill Facebook.” Here is part of Anonymous’ message:   Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hactivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom… Read More

News of yet another computer security breach has emerged which appears to be so monumental that the word ‘hack’ seems inadequate – how about a mega-hack? Or simply a thwack? According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, security company McAfee believes it has uncovered the largest series of cyber attacks yet, with 72 big organizations from around the world hit. McAfee said it thought a single “state actor” perpetrated the intrusions, and… Read More