Archive
Category: Crime and Security
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Largest ever securities fraud rocks Indian outsourcing goliath
This week’s high-tech crime is a new twist on an old favourite: securities fraud. It recently emerged that one of India’s largest outsourcing firms, Satyam Computer, had ‘overestimated’ its cash reserves and asset values by around 50 billion rupees (AUD $1.38bn). According to the company founder and chairman, this was ‘purely on account of inflated… Read more →
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Cyberspace Battleground in Gaza
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has reportedly hacked into a Hamas television station as part of an ongoing war of information in Gaza. According to local media reports, the IDF took over the Al-Aqsa television station last weekend, and is using it to broadcast pro-Israeli content in Arabic: ‘AFP reports, a “broadcast on Al-Aqsa television… Read more →
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2008 Cybersecurity Year in Review — Part I: Data Security
It should come as no surprise that 2008 was an eventful year for online security pundits. Record instances of data breaches, identity theft, vulnerability disclosures and hotfixes were seen throughout the year. Both state and non-state actors were involved — on the public side, cyberwar in Georgia and alleged Chinese cyber-espionage; in the private sector,… Read more →
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Corporate cyber-espionage alleged by petroleum software developer
The president of Platte River Associates, a United States software development company, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking into a competitor’s website and copying commercially sensitive files. The company develops specialist petroleum exploration software, and the target of the cyber-espionage was Zetaware, one of its chief competitors. The facts are rather curious: the executive,… Read more →
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Illegal logging in an age of computer crime: lessons from Brazil
To combat deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian province of Pará has been using computer technology to administer a system of forestry permits. Unfortunately, the system has led to widespread abuse by logging companies that have allegedly hired hackers to issue fake permits: Companies logging the rainforest for timber or charcoal production are only… Read more →
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Facebook accidentally exposes members’ dates of birth
During a public beta test of its new user interface, social networking website Facebook has accidentally exposed personal information — at this stage limited to the date of birth and age — of all its members. According to Sophos, which created a YouTube video illustrating the flaw, as many as 80 million dates of birth… Read more →
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Italian mozzarella crime syndicate foiled
According to this report, four Italian police officers have been arrested for allegedly accepting cheese as bribes from motorists they pulled over. The officers, from the Campagna region (near Naples), apparently targeted cheese delivery vans, then demanded portions of the region’s prized mozzarella in return for being exempted from a large fine (cash, presumably). According… Read more →
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Hacker Faces Criminal Liability for Identifying Security Flaw
After pointing out a hole in the security of a USC database, a computer expert finds himself on the short end of the legal stick. McCarty allegedly dug into the USC database and retrieved seven personal files, which he then anonymously passed along to SecurityFocus.com. That site contacted the university, which shut down the server… Read more →
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London Millionaire Accused of Involvement in Hacking Ring, Say Investigators
According to this CNET Article, ‘a high-profile London society millionaire is among a group of defendants accused of being part of a phone-tapping and computer hacking scheme that gathered confidential information on wealthy people and businesses. He has been charged with conspiracy to cause unauthorized modification of computer material.’ Update: the CNET Article has now… Read more →
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Canadian Man Jailed for Cyberstalking; Australia Proposes New Cyberstalking Offences
A man in Alberta who used the internet to turn his ex-girlfriend’s life upside down was convicted on Thursday of criminal harassment and sentenced to a year in jail. The man used internet keyloggers and fake e-mail addresses to harass the ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, the Australian federal government will ramp up its efforts to catch sexual… Read more →