May 2012 News Archive

May 31, 2012

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Suspect in multi-state ID theft ring in custody in Milford

MILFORD — Police from several states are investigating an elaborate identity theft ring in which suspects are stealing drivers’ licenses and attempting to withdraw large sums of cash from banks. ...read full article

ID thief gets at least three years for putting skimming devices, cameras on ATMs

A Bulgarian national will spend at least three years in prison for a technically clever identity theft in which he affixed skimming devices and cameras to Chase ATMS in Union Square and Astor Place last year. ...read full article

FL Woman Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud & Identity Theft

(Source: FBI) - TAMPA—Arswaya Ralph (33, Riverview) pled guilty today to filing a false claim with the Internal Revenue Service and identity theft. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for the false claim charge and 15 years in federal prison for the identity theft charge. ...read full article

2nd Fla. man in ID theft scheme sentenced in Conn.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal judge in Connecticut has sentenced a Florida man to 22 years in prison for participating in what authorities say was a multi-state identity theft scheme in which he and another man targeted purses in cars. ...read full article

Tips on Preventing Tax-Refund Identity Theft

The New York Times recently wrote about increasing tax refund identity fraud. That’s when a thief uses your name, Social Security number and birth date to file a fake tax return with fabricated income and tax-withholding data to collect an improper refund — often, on an easy-to-use prepaid debit card, sent to a specially chosen address. ...read full article

St. Paul man pleads guilty in $2M ID theft ring

A St. Paul man has admitted to being part of group from the Twin Cities whose identity-theft, bank-fraud and money-laundering activities covered more than a dozen states and earned the suspects at least $2 million. ...read full article

May 30, 2012

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Serco: 'Sophisticated' Attack On U.S. Govt. Pension Plan Nets Info On 123k

Serco Inc., a well-known contractor working with the U.S. government, announced that it was the target of a sophisticated attack that exposed data on 123,000 civil employees of the Federal government and their families, including names, addresses and social security numbers taken from the company’s system. ...read full article

New Jersey mayor, son, arrested on charges they nuked recall website

The father and son used a low tech hack—password recovery—to take down the site.

The mayor of a small New Jersey hamlet has been arrested, along with his son, on federal charges that they shut down a website advocating the mayor's recall after breaking into the online accounts of political foes. ...read full article

Hospital agrees to pay $750,000 over data breach allegations

A Massachusetts hospital has agreed to settle in court to the sum of $750,000 over allegations concerning its failure to protect sensitive patient data. ...read full article

Romanian authorities dismantle hacker group targeting government websites

Romania's organized crime prosecutors detained 12 individuals suspected of hacking into official websites

IDG News Service - Twelve individuals were detained by Romanian authorities on Tuesday, suspected of being members of a cybercriminal group that hacked into the websites of various Romanian and foreign public institutions and government agencies. ...read full article

Flame Cyber Attack: Israel Behind Largest Cyber Spy Weapon Ever?

A top Israeli official hinted today that his country could be behind the most sophisticated cyber espionage program ever developed, known as Flame, which infiltrated and has spied on computer systems throughout the Middle East, including those in Iran, for the past two years. ...read full article

May 29, 2012

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N.J. Senate to vote on bill aimed at stopping ID theft via copiers

TRENTON — A bill aimed at preventing identity theft through digital copy machines used in banks, doctors' offices and other businesses is headed to the New Jersey Senate. ...read full article

Linden job-seekers duped in ID-theft scam

Dozens of Linden-area residents who thought they were applying for work might end up with a full-time “job” they didn’t seek and certainly don’t want: retrieving and repairing their financial identities. ...read full article

Could business ID theft put you out of business?

Washington, DC - Identity theft hits millions of Americans each year. What many business executives don’t know is that ID thieves are using a variation on the crime to prey on legitimate companies. ...read full article

Print Email Font Resize Alleged ID theft ring dismantled after routine traffic stop in Diamond Bar

DIAMOND BAR - Five people were charged with 19 felony counts of identity theft and counterfeiting Friday after a routine traffic stop in Diamond Bar earlier in the week led to their arrests, authorities said. ...read full article

Identity thieves targeting travelers

DENVER - Earlier this week representatives from Lifelock Identity Theft Prevention services made a stop in Colorado. ...read full article

Man indicted for wire fraud, identity theft in scheme involving PayPal accounts

NEW ORLEANS — A man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for one count of wire fraud and one count of identity theft, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. ...read full article

Port Barre residents victims of identity theft

The Port Barre Police Department has received two separate complaints from elderly citizens who say they received a phone call from a man claiming to be representative of a sweepstakes company. The incidents are a reminder for citizens to be wary of identify thieves. ...read full article

Click here to find out more! By Agency staff Comments 29 May 2012 02:00 Jailed for five years: £800,000 fraudster who faked his death... but left fingerprints on his own cremation certificate

His plan began to unravel when ex-employers HMV called police with concerns about a life insurance policy they'd paid out

A man who faked his death and started a new life in Australia so his wife could cash in a life insurance policy and write off debts has been jailed for five years. ...read full article

Dentist indicted on prescription, fraud charges; Identity theft also among allegations

An Oakton dentist has been indicted on charges of illegally distributing prescription pills to patients, professionals and paramours over the past five years and also assuming another dentist's identity to bill more than $160,000 in claims for work he performed on his family. ...read full article

Man faces sentencing for ID theft scheme

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Florida man faces sentencing for participating in what federal authorities say was an extensive identity theft scheme in which he and another man targeted purses in cars. ...read full article

Village Warns Residents of Identity Thieves and Jury Duty Scams

Threat has been reported in 11 states and involves a caller asking for personal information after stating you missed jury duty.

The village of Buffalo Grove recently sent out a bulletin warning residents of yet another type of identity theft threat; the jury duty scam. ...read full article

Rent scam results in identity theft for North mum

A Whangarei mum thought she had escaped being duped in a rental property scam but 15 months later realises she's become a victim of identity theft. ...read full article

Car theft ring also involved in identity theft

As a border town, San Diego has always been plagued by auto theft. Many cars are resold in Mexico or chopped up for parts that end up throughout the country. Last year the San Diego Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATT) launched “Operation Last Judgment” along with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ABF) and the San Diego Police Department Gang Unit as a response to increasing concerns. ...read full article

Identity theft scam busted

Three Mississauga residents are facing numerous charges in connection with an alleged identity theft scam, through which victims in Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton and other GTA cities lost thousands of dollars. ...read full article

May 25, 2012

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Data Breach and Identity Fraud: How to Proactively Mitigate Fraud Loss

The growth of online shopping increased risks associated with consumer identity theft and fraud. These concerns escalated in the early 2000s with some high profile “break-ins.” Today, identity fraud has reached a new level of concern. Consumers no longer speculate whether or not they will become a victim of identity fraud, but rather when and how often their personal information will be obtained and used fraudulently. ...read full article

Unidentified man found guilty of identity theft and fraud involving Mayport Naval Station and JAXPORT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An individual who can only be identified as John Doe has been found guilty of seven counts of aggravated identity theft, six counts of falsely representing a social security number, and one count of passport fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill. ...read full article

Arrest made in Facebook identity theft case

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Johnston County mother said she's been living a nightmare after her Facebook identity was stolen and used against her in a child custody dispute. ...read full article

California Woman Indicted for Allegedly Impersonating a Congressional Aide

WASHINGTON – An Atwater, Calif., woman was charged today in a one-count indictment filed in the Eastern District of California for impersonation of an officer or an employee of the United States, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. ...read full article

Texas man gets 20 years in prison for trying to give al-Qaida drone, GPS documents

HOUSTON — A Texas man convicted of trying to sneak out of the U.S. to give al-Qaida restricted military documents, GPS equipment and money was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison — the maximum punishment he could receive. ...read full article

Westborough woman charged with identity theft

FRAMINGHAM — A Westborough woman stole the identity of her former employer and ran up thousands of dollars in unpaid credit card bills and rent, a prosecutor said yesterday in Framingham District Court. ...read full article

Identity theft cases in the Rochester region reached 683

Finger Lakes, N.Y. — In 2011, the U. S. Federal Trade Commission fielded 4,162 instances of fraud and other consumer complaints from the Rochester region. In addition, last year the FTC also received 683 reported cases of identity theft from the Rochester area. ...read full article

China arrests suspects as ID theft crackdown continues

Beijing authorities have arrested 160 individuals on charges of stealing personal information, according to the Chinese news site Sina. ...read full article

Whiting Man Indicted on Identity Theft Charges

A Whiting man faces charges accusing him of impersonating another man in order to take out two credit cards that he used to buy goods. ...read full article

May 24, 2012

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Fake Angry Birds app makers fined £50k for shock cash suck

Making money-grabbing malware is too easy on Android, say experts

A firm that disguised Android malware as Angry Birds games has been fined £50,000 ($78,300) by UK premium-rate service regulator PhonepayPlus. ...read full article

New Jersey Identity Theft Brings Credit Card Skimming to Light

A thief known for credit card skimming New Jersey restaurant patrons’ cards has pleaded guilty to his role in a credit card fraud ring. With skimming threatening identity theft, credit issues and more, it’s a good idea for cardholders in the state and nationwide to learn more about how to protect themselves from this crime. ...read full article

IDChief.com Is Popular Among Teenagers

GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND (WUSA)--Police have a warning about fake IDs that young people nationwide are purchasing from a very popular website. ...read full article

Secretary Hillary Clinton: We Hacked Yemen Al Qaeda Sites

In a rare glimpse into cyber warfare tactics, a top U.S. official has explicitly acknowledged that the U.S. government hacked into websites run by Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, changing advertisements that boasted about killing Americans into advertisements that underscored the deaths of Muslim civilians in al Qaeda terror attacks. ...read full article

2 sentenced in identity theft, false documents case

Two alleged managers from a multi-city identity theft and false document production scheme were sentenced today in U.S. District Court. ...read full article

Armenian Bredolab Creator Jailed For Computer Sabotage

An Armenian court sentenced a 27-year old Russian man to four years in jail this week following his conviction in connection with the infamous Bredolab botnet that infected 30 million computers over the last few years. ...read full article

Appeals court affirms Mason City woman's identity theft sentence

MASON CITY — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a district court sentencing of a woman convicted of identity theft in October 2011 in Cerro Gordo County District Court. ...read full article

Insider Case Exposes Security Lapses

In Pennsylvania, a former PNC Bank branch manager has agreed to plead guilty to bank theft - a charge that could lead to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. ...read full article

May 23, 2012

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Fife police arrest two people in ID theft case

Fife police have arrested two people suspected of stealing the identities of more than 40 people. ...read full article

Anonymous claims it hacked a DOJ site

The department said it was looking into the unauthorized access

IDG News Service - The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday it was looking into the unauthorized access of a website server in its statistics wing, after hacker group Anonymous claimed to have collected and released 1.7GB of data from it. ...read full article

McAfee sees 'malware explosion' across desktop, mobile platforms

Summary: Although Android is a prime target, McAfee researchers find that there is an increase in malware across all platforms. ...read full article

Jailed Facebook hack Brit targeted Justin Bieber's girlfriend

Selena Gomez 'told' fans her boyfriend 'sucks' in attack

A British man jailed for a year after hacking into a private Facebook account targeted Justin Bieber's actress-turned-singer girlfriend, it has emerged. ...read full article

Extensive identity theft operation exposed

DALLAS - A California man with North Texas ties is behind bars for drug possession. He was also in a downtown Dallas hotel room that appeared to be the center of an extensive identity theft operation. ...read full article

Wilton police arrest Bridgeport man for identity theft

WILTON -- A Bridgeport man was arrested by Wilton police and charged was with four counts of identity theft last week. ...read full article

EXCLUSIVE: Feds Bust Multi-Million Dollar Identity Theft Ring

MIAMI (CBS4) – They are the tools of the identity thief’s trade, federal agents say — a laptop computer and a credit card reader. ...read full article

IBM Research Website Hacked and Defaced by KHS

The official IBM Research website (researcher.ibm.com), a domain dedicated to projects and publications, has been taken offline after a group called Kosova Hacker Security (KHS) has managed to breach and deface it. ...read full article

Man Arrested on Four Counts of ID Theft in Wilton

A 32 year-old man has been charged for an alleged connection to a scamming scheme which may involve multiple victims.

Police arrested a 32 year-old Bridgeport man for his alleged involvement in scamming at least one person by using an identity theft scheme, police said. Marque Harris, of Poplar Street in Bridgeport, was arrested at his workplace in Shelton by Wilton Police this past Friday, May 18 and was charged with four counts of second-degree identity theft, according to the police report. ...read full article

May 22, 2012

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Identity Theft Is No Longer The Top Reported Cyber Crime

We've been hearing a lot about identity theft lately, so we were surprised to find out it actually wasn't the top-reported cyber crime last year. ...read full article

NoHo man held as suspect in card skimming, ID theft

A 27-year-old North Hollywood man was arrested early Monday morning on suspicion of a number of charges related to credit card skimming and identity theft, according to the Simi Valley Police Department. ...read full article

5 Plead Guilty to Mortgage Scheme

$1.5 Million Scam Illustrates Challenges in Catching Fraud

A more than $1.5 million mortgage fraud scheme in Gainesville, Va., that defrauded financial institutions out of more than $700,000 proves mortgage fraud continues to thrive. ...read full article

Cross-browser worm spreads via Facebook, security experts warn

Malware writers use Crossrider browser extension development framework to build Facebook worm

IDG News Service - Malware writers have used Crossrider, a cross-browser extension development framework, to build a click-fraud worm that spreads on Facebook, security researchers from antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab said on Monday. ...read full article

Diablo 3 Accounts Get Hacked, Blizzard Says It’s Investigating Every Case

Diablo 3 players, in between having to face different errors relating to the game’s mandatory online connection, are now dealing with a spree of hacking attempts, as quite a lot of people are saying that their accounts were breached and the culprits got away with in-game gold and their precious gear. ...read full article

Identity theft ring busted

DALLAS - Police on Monday stumbled upon hundreds of stolen credit cards and social security numbers. ...read full article

Seven-Year-Old Boy's Identity Stolen

Reidsville, NC -- More children are becoming victims of identity theft. In fact, one study found one in ten kids were victims of identity theft, and kids in Reidsville are no exception. ...read full article

Man Sentenced for Aggravated Identity Theft

A citizen of Ghana, Africa, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today identity theft and immigration charges. Ashalley Kotey, 29, was charged with aggravated identity theft, use of immigration identification document not lawfully issued and possession of counterfeit immigration document. ...read full article

Ghana man gets 2 years in prison for identity theft

A judge sentenced a Ghana man who stole another’s identity and lived in Dickinson, to two years in prison, and another two of supervised release, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of North Dakota Monday. ...read full article

PARIS TN: Paris, TN woman to pay $70,000 in identity fraud case

A Paris woman was ordered to pay more than $70,000 in restitution when she pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a credit card and identity theft Friday in Henry County Circuit Court. ...read full article

Smartphone hijacking vulnerability affects AT&T, 47 other carriers

Malicious data is injected by tricking firewalls into leaking sensitive data

Computer scientists have identified a vulnerability in the network of AT&T and at least 47 other cellular carriers that allows attackers to surreptitiously hijack the Internet connections of smartphone users and inject malicious content into the traffic passing between them and trusted websites. ...read full article

May 21, 2012

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Woman sentenced in ID theft case at Mitchellville prison

A woman who used personal information from 48 prison ministry volunteers to open credit accounts has been sentenced to four years in federal prison. ...read full article

ID theft by sisters devastates woman

SPARTA -- When Rachel Mongiovi returned home in 2008 from a year of studying abroad, she was hoping to land her dream job as a civilian administrator at Picatinny Arsenal. ...read full article

Woman’s ‘years of plotting’ lead to probation

Pukalani resident sentenced for stealing from travel business

WAILUKU - A Pukalani woman was placed on five years' probation Thursday after she was convicted of stealing more than $20,000 from a business where she had been working as an independent commissioned travel agent. ...read full article

Residents Of Teaneck Falling Prey To ‘Outbreak’ Of ID Theft, Credit Card Fraud

Thieves are very busy preying on residents of Teaneck, New Jersey. ...read full article

Mount Olive Police charge woman found in Mine Hill with identity theft

MOUNT OLIVE — A 32-year-old woman reported that someone who resided in an apartment at Hensysn Village had used her identity to open a bank account. ...read full article

Hospital worker from Quincy charged with ID theft

She and her brother stole electricity, Quincy police allege

QUINCY — Police say a Quincy woman who worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and her brother used stolen patient information to open fake National Grid accounts that allowed them to dodge paying for electricity. ...read full article

Children Far More Likely To Be Victimized By Identity Theft

Greensboro, NC -- It happened at age six. "It's really scary. Just to think what could happen to me in the future - and what it's going to effect," said Madison Polansky. ...read full article

Another NHS trust coughs up £90k fine for lax fax acts

Patients' privates sent to wrong address for months

The taxpayer-backed NHS has suffered another fine from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for outing patients' private information to the wrong people. ...read full article

The man who stole identities of dead children

THE families of dead children whose identities were stolen by a German con artist, now in a Victorian prison, were not told of the crime by authorities.

The sister of one of the boys said her family was angry and felt the identity theft was a terrible slur on the memory of a child. ...read full article

Local identity theft case may help break up suspected forgery ring

WARRENSBURG -- Local resident Rick Hull just wanted to electronically file his state and federal tax returns last month. ...read full article

Three Johnson County inmates charged with identity theft

Three Johnson County Jail inmates are accused of accessing another inmate's phone account to make nearly $60 in phone calls. ...read full article

May 18, 2012

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Anonymous turns its DDoS cannons on India

Takes out government, court and political party sites

Hacktivist collective Anonymous has turned its attention to India, taking down the web sites of the Supreme Court, the country’s two major political parties and several government sites in retaliation for a court injunction which led to the blocking of several video sharing and bit torrent sites. ...read full article

Defendants in Alabama Plead Guilty in Two Separate Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Schemes

Three defendants in separate cases involving the use of stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns have pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Alabama, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. ...read full article

New P2P Zeus Variant Targets Popular Sites with Bogus Offers

Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail users should beware of rogue rebate offers and new secure payment options aimed at getting them to part with their debit card information. ...read full article

School officials' Facebook rummaging prompts mom's privacy crusade

A mother who says her middle-school daughter was forced to let school officials browse the 13-year-old girl’s private Facebook page is speaking out against the practice because, she says, "other parents are scared to talk about it." ...read full article

Mac-based Flashback click fraud campaign was a bust

Malware infected 600,000 Macs, but hackers haven't collected a dime

Computerworld - The hackers in charge of the Flashback botnet managed to generate $14,000 from their click fraud campaign, but have not been paid, Symantec said today. ...read full article

SCADA/Smart-Grid Vendor Adopts Microsoft's Secure Software Development Program

Meanwhile, utilities lag when it comes to cyberattack preparedness and risk management at the executive and board level

Microsoft today added two new recruits to its Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) -- a SCADA and smart-grid supplier and the government of India. ...read full article

Bitcoin Developers Address Denial-of-Service Vulnerability

Bitcoin has released a new variant of the peer-to-peer digital currency system to address a denial-of-service (DOS) vulnerability that could have been leveraged by an attacker to isolate a victim’s node and create blockchain forks. ...read full article

Skype Malware Campaign Spreading Poison Ivy Trojan

Malware researcher Dancho Danchev is reporting a widespread social engineering campaign on Skype that is spreading a variant of the Poison Ivy Trojan. ...read full article

3 Keys to Mobile Security

Banks Are Thinking Beyond Mobile Banking, Payments

Mobile banking is being adopted by consumers at an increasing rate, but it's just one piece of the overall mobile financial services puzzle. As the mobility trend grows, banking institutions are still figuring out how far ahead they should look, and what strategies make the most sense. ...read full article

200 in county recent victims of mail theft

Credit cards, checks and other personal information were recovered in cases throughout the county.

LAKE STEVENS -- It was shortly before noon May 1 when the man in a burgundy Toyota Corolla was pulled over because he wasn't wearing his seat belt. ...read full article

Livingston Man Arrested for Tax Fraud, Identity Theft

A Livingston man was arrested this morning for allegedly filing hundreds of phony federal income tax returns. Todd P. Halpern, 46, is accused of using the identity of a dead return preparer, whose business he bought in 2008. ...read full article

Senior Corporate Execs Failing in Cyber Risk Management, Survey

Senior corporate executives are placing a strong emphasis on risk management generally, but are falling short when it comes to extending that emphasis to the world of IT, a new survey has found. ...read full article

ID Theft Victims Ate at Same Restaurant

Several people in the Metro recently found out they were victims of identity theft. Police figured out the one thing they all have in common: a restaurant. ...read full article

US firms over-reliant on firewalls to defend against DDoS attacks

But no 'magic box' can beat DDoS, says Neustar

May 17, 2012 — Techworld — More than half of US businesses still rely on conventional firewalls or intrusion prevention systems to shield themselves from the scourge of DDoS attacks, a survey by services firm Neustar has found. ...read full article

May 17, 2012

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Utah CTO takes fall for data breach

Resignation sought by Gov. Herbert after breach exposes data on 280,000 Medicaid recipients

Computerworld - The executive director of Utah's Department of Technology Services has resigned over a data breach two months ago that exposed the Social Security numbers and other personal data of about 280,000 Medicaid recipients. ...read full article

Alleged identity theft ring operator busted

A Hawthorne man suspected of operating an identity theft ring was charged with three counts of identity theft and one count each of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a short-barreled rifle and possession of a firearm by a felon last week, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney felony complaint. ...read full article

Trial set in identity theft case

LINDEN — A trial has been set for a Linden woman charged with stealing another woman’s identity to set up utility services and open credit card accounts. ...read full article

Another View: Louisiana utility-bill scam a reminder about ID theft

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but greed can be a close companion. Take the latest variation on identity theft, which is being used to target utility customers in Louisiana and Texas. ...read full article

UK man to spend year in the clink for Facebook account hack

21-year-old admitted breaking into US victim's profile

A British man has been jailed for a year after hacking into the Facebook account of a US citizen. ...read full article

Alabama Sisters Sent to Prison for Their Roles in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

Loretta Fergerson and her sister, Tracey Fergerson, both of Montgomery, Ala., were each sentenced to 115 months prison for their involvement in a conspiracy to file claims for false income tax refunds using stolen identities, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller ordered the Fergerson sisters to pay $504,305 in restitution to the IRS. ...read full article

Trojan Mimics Chrome Installer to Steal Banking Information

Malware impersonating a Google Chrome Installer is actually stealing data while stripping software used to protect online banking transactions. The Trojan at present appears to target users in Brazil and Peru. ...read full article

Guyana native charged with aggravated ID theft

A man who has been deported from the United States four times will be charged with illegal re-entry and other charges, including identity theft. ...read full article

Police: NJ airport supervisor accused of ID theft likely bought birth info from cabbie

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey airport security supervisor accused of using a murdered man’s identity to hide his illegal immigrant status apparently bought the man’s birth certificate and Social Security number from an intermediary before his death, police said Wednesday. ...read full article

AusCERT 2012: Lack of security aiding medical fraud, identity theft

Medicare cards have no identifiers while prescription slips can be easily forged, says Queensland Health investigations officer

Queensland Health Drugs of Dependence Unit (DDU) investigations officer, Rebecca Thompson, has highlighted security flaws within the Australian health system, such as the lack of a photo or PIN on Medicare cards, which is allowing drug addicts to potentially use lost or stolen cards to obtain powerful prescription drugs. ...read full article

May 16, 2012

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Airport security guard pleads not guilty to ID theft of dead man

(CNN) -- A Nigerian man who supervised more than 30 private security guards at Newark-Liberty International Airport pleaded not guilty Tuesday to identity theft of a man killed in New York two decades ago, prosecutors said. ...read full article

Stuxnet ? cyberwar, says US Army Cyber Command officer

AusCERT: What is cyberwar anyway?

While “cyber* operations” are becoming an increasing focus of both government and private research, legal frameworks are failing to keep pace, the US Army Cyber Command operational attorney Robert Clark has told the AusCERT security conference in Queensland. ...read full article

Another Cybersecurity Bill Runs Into Trouble on Capitol Hill

A U.S. Senator's bill to broaden cybersecurity intelligence gathering is in trouble after other legislators question whether proposed protections comes at the expense of citizens' privacy. ...read full article

10 Practices to Secure the Supply Chain

NIST Drafting New Guidance to Mitigate Supply Chain Risk

Guidance that identifies 10 overarching practices to mitigate supply chain risks is being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. ...read full article

Zeus variant tricks Facebook users into exposing card data

New Zeus version injects rogue debit card-related offers into popular websites

IDG News Service - A new variant of the Zeus trojan tricks users into exposing their debit card details by displaying rogue offers when they visit Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail, according to researchers from security firm Trusteer. ...read full article

High-Ranked Sites Blacklisted by Google After Being Hijacked

Researchers have found that Google Safe Browsing has blacklisted a number of legitimate sites after they've been hijacked and set up to serve malicious or illegal content. Many of them are ranked high, according to Alexa. ...read full article

Feds phasing out SIN card to fight identify theft

OTTAWA — The federal government is phasing out the plastic SIN card issued to millions of Canadians in order to save money and help avoid identify theft. ...read full article

Informant leads to ID?theft conviction

An Austin woman who sold false IDs to a confidential informant last fall pleaded guilty and was convicted Monday of one felony charge in Mower County Court. ...read full article

May 15, 2012

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DoD Program Expanded, Designed to Share Threat Information

The Pentagon on Friday invited a slew of government contractors to meet and share classified information on cyber threats going forward, part of an initiative that the department hopes will reduce the risk of intrusions to government systems. ...read full article

The Revolution from Cyber Terrorist attack to Indian Cyber Security

Cyber attack has put our lives in danger every second. The cyber attacks are becoming the root cause of the mishappenings around us every other day. As the next generation wars are increasing depending on robust and secure information systems networks, it is imperative for a country to invest in building a reliable infrastructure. ...read full article

Security guard at Newark airport is arrested, accused of identity theft

HACKENSACK, N.J. _ During 20 years as a private security guard at Newark Liberty International Airport, a man known as Jerry Thomas passed multiple inquiries into his background _ by his employer, by the state and by the federal government. ...read full article

CERT Warns On Critical Hole In SCADA Software By Italian Firm Progea

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin on Thursday warning readers about a previously undisclosed, critical vulnerability in Movicon 11, a product used to manage critical infrastructure including the manufacturing, energy and water sectors. ...read full article

Northwestern Memorial employee charged with theft of patients' identities

A Northwestern Memorial Hospital employee has been charged with identity theft after she allegedly used the personal information of hospital patients to pay her bills. ...read full article

Is Global's Breach Growing?

Sources Say 7 Million Cards May Have Been Exposed

Some sources now say the data breach at Global Payments Inc., revealed in March, may have exposed 7 million accounts - a significant increase from the 1.5 million the payments processor first reported. ...read full article

Georgia Launches Pilot Program to Catch Identity Theft-Related Tax Fraud

The state of Georgia has begun a pilot program to stop tax fraud with the help of identity verification and authentication tools from LexisNexis. ...read full article

Check Fraud: The Next Generation

Schemes Have Evolved, But Detection Methods Haven't

Many banks are complacent about check fraud, perhaps because it's been around for so long. And yet, according to the 2012 Faces of Fraud survey, it remains the second-most common form of fraud institutions face. ...read full article

LulzSec member pleads not guilty to charges he hacked Stratfor website

A former LulzSec member has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he hacked into the servers of global intelligence company Stratfor and stole credit card data and personal details of 860,000 of its clients. ...read full article

Illegal immigrant worked 20 years at airport security

(CBS/AP) NEWARK, N.J. - An illegal immigrant worked undetected at Newark Liberty International Airport for 20 years, and used a dead man's identity to acquire a top position in airport security, officials said. ...read full article

May 14, 2012

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BitCoin hacked, More than 18,000 Bitcoins Stolen

Bitcoinica, a Bitcoin exchange started by a 17-year old teenager Zhou Tong, has been shut down for security investigations. It’s believed that at least 18,000 BTC ($90,000 or 68,000 EUR) have been stolen. ...read full article

Identity Theft Concerns Follow Security Breach

YORK, S.C.--York County says there could be nearly 17,000 potential victims after a security breach. The County Manager says a backup web server was breached last August. The problem was tracked to a suspected hacker overseas. York County says South Carolina and a private hosting program is now monitoring their servers. ...read full article

Your Deceased Relative Could be a Victim of Identity Theft

Your lost loved one's financial identity could come back to life in a most unsettling way -- 2.5 million deceased Americans' identities are misused every year, according to ID Analytics, an ID theft risk assessment company. The company's research arm compared the names, Social Security numbers and birthdays listed on applications for credit against the Social Security Administration's master file of deaths to come up with those numbers. ...read full article

Exclusive: potential China link to cyberattacks on gas pipeline companies

Those analyzing the cyberspies who are trying to infiltrate natural-gas pipeline companies have found similarities with an attack on a cybersecurity firm a year ago. At least one US government official has blamed China for that earlier attack. ...read full article

700,000 CA social services records lost—on microfiche

Private data belonging to 700,000 caregivers and recipients was lost or stolen.

The California office of In-Home Supportive Services, which provides health support to elderly and disabled people, reported on Friday that the personal records of some 700,000 caregivers and care recipients were either lost or stolen. ...read full article

Lessons Learned: Identity theft 101

This telemarketer knows much too much about you -– and your credit card accounts. "Because you have good credit, we can lower your interest rate," the caller says. If you stay on the line, he goes "phishing" for more personal information. ...read full article

Facebook birthdays and identity theft

Smartphone apps can also access your information

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - Stealing your personal information. There's an app for that and it could be on your smartphone. ...read full article

May 11, 2012

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Phantom of TeaMp0isoN Arrested in Russia

While snooping around on a Russian IRC channel, we came across something interesting. Users were saying that last night, at around 3 AM UTC +4, Saint Petersburg police arrested a 28-year-old man. ...read full article

Woman charged in reported theft of credit cards

A homeless woman already on parole for fraud and identity theft is in jail after allegedly swiping two credit cards and racking up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges, police said. ...read full article

Amnesty International UK Site Hijacked, Serves Ghost RAT

Security experts from Websense noticed that between May 8 and 9 their systems detected a malware infection on the site of Amnesty International UK. During this timeframe, visitors may have been served a version of the infamous Remote Administration Tool Gh0st RAT. ...read full article

Scam suspect relents, gets lawyer in Ohio court

CLEVELAND -- A former fugitive charged with identity theft and running a $100 million scam collecting donations for Navy veterans tried representing himself in court Thursday before changing his mind and accepting an attorney. ...read full article

Lap Band surgery center owners accused of identity theft and false medical billing scheme

Several doctors who once worked at the weight loss surgery centers affiliated with the 1-800-GET THIN campaign have filed a lawsuit today against the owners of the clinics, alleging that these doctors’ identities were stolen as part of an extensive false medical-billing scheme. ...read full article

IC3 2011 Internet Crime Report Released

More Than 300,000 Complaints of Online Criminal Activity Reported in 2011

FAIRMONT, WV—The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) today released the 2011 Internet Crime Report—an overview of the latest data and trends of online criminal activity. According to the report, 2011 marked the third year in a row that the IC3 received more than 300,000 complaints. The 314,246 complaints represent a 3.4 percent increase over 2010. The reported dollar loss was $485.3 million. As more Internet crimes are reported, IC3 can better assist law enforcement in the apprehension and prosecution of those responsible for perpetrating Internet crime. ...read full article

Charity 'Scammer' 'Bobby Thompson' Dares Prosecutors to Discover His True Identity

Over seven years, the man known by the name Bobby C. Thompson raised $100 million from donors believing they were supporting American Navy veterans and their families. Then he disappeared. ...read full article

UNC-Charlotte Data Breaches Expose 350,000 Social Security Numbers and Much More

Confidential data, including bank account and Social Security numbers for some 350,000 University of North Carolina-Charlotte students, staff and faculty, were accidentally exposed -- some for almost 15 years -- due to a system misconfiguration and incorrect access settings that made electronic data publicly available. ...read full article

UGNazi Hackers Attack Ed.Gov After Being Released (Exclusive)

Hackers part of the UGNazi collective have gone silent for a while, but now they acquired another target on which they’ve launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack.

The break seems to have been caused by the fact that a number of the group’s members have been arrested. ...read full article

Senator seeks DOJ cellphone tracking data

Law enforcement agencies sometimes collect such data from operators without warrants, according to reports

IDG News Service - U.S. Senator Al Franken has in a letter asked the Department of Justice for information on its practices in requesting location information from wireless carriers, following reports that law enforcement agencies are requesting such information sometimes without warrants. ...read full article

Online Retailer Breached

Incident Highlights E-Commerce Vulnerabilities

Banking institutions and their customers need to be aware of a new online retailer data breach. ...read full article

N.J. man indicted in money laundering, identity theft

TRENTON - A Newark man was indicted today for allegedly stealing more than $1.2 million from two mortgage lenders by obtaining loans using a stolen identity and using the money to sell his home in New Jersey and buy a luxury home in Georgia. ...read full article

May 10, 2012

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3 Reasons Skimmers Are Winning

Anti-Skimming Tech Won't Win War on Card Fraud

Banks and credit unions say that losses linked to card-skimming and other sources of debit card fraud are increasingly concerning. ...read full article

California moves to stop employers demanding Facebook passwords

The move is part of a wave of legislative activity to block the practice

IDG News Service - The California assembly passed a bill on Thursday that prevents employers from demanding job applicants' passwords for accounts on Facebook or other social networking sites. ...read full article

Third teen TeamPoison hack suspect quizzed by cyber-cops

Lad cuffed in anti-terror hotline attack probe

British cyber-cops have arrested a third suspected member of the infamous TeaMp0isoN hacker crew. ...read full article

UNC Charlotte: 350,000 SSNs exposed in decade-long breach

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte said financial data and Social Security numbers were exposed

IDG News Service - Two issues exposed financial data and Social Security numbers for 350,000 people, although it is thought the information has not been abused, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte said. ...read full article

Norwegian teens arrested over SOCA DDoS attack

Also accused of pwning online newspaper, financial services group

Norwegian police have charged two teenagers suspected of taking part in denial of service attacks against the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency and other targets. ...read full article

GFI Labs Observes Cybercriminals Targeting Users Of Major Social Networking Sites In April

VIPRE Report for April 2012 is a collection of the 10 most prevalent threat detections encountered last month

CLEARWATER, Fla., May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GFI Software today released its VIPRE® Report for April 2012, a collection of the 10 most prevalent threat detections encountered last month. In April, cybercriminals were seen exploiting users of major social networking sites including Facebook®, Twitter®, Tumblr® and Pinterest in order to spread malware and spam surveys. ...read full article

FBI Concerned About Bitcoin Usage Among Cybercriminals

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has become increasingly concerned over the usage of the mostly-anonymous payment network Bitcoin by hackers and cybercriminals, according to an unclassified report obtained by Wired this week. ...read full article

May 9, 2012

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Malware Installed on Travelers’ Laptops Through Software Updates on Hotel Internet Connections

Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while they are establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms. ...read full article

Leaders of Multi-million Dollar Fraud Ring That Used Stolen Information of Medicaid Recipients Each Sentenced to Over 25 Years in Prison

Veronica Dale and Alchico Grant, who jointly ran a stolen identity refund fraud ring that attempted to defraud the United States of millions of dollars over several years, were sentenced to federal prison today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Veronica Dale, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 334 months and Alchico Grant of Lowndes County, Ala., was sentenced to 310 months in prison. In addition, Dale and Grant were both ordered to pay over $2.8 million in restitution to the IRS. ...read full article

Twitter resists subpoena to release user's data without warrant

A judge erred when ruling a person does not own content he posts to the service, Twitter said

IDG News Service - Twitter is contesting a court order requiring it to turn over private data on a user charged with disorderly conduct during the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York last year. ...read full article

Identity thieves could rake in $26 billion in tax refunds

(CNN) -- Criminals who file fraudulent tax returns by stealing people's identities could rake in an estimated $26 billion over the next five years because the IRS cannot keep up with the amount of the fraud, Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George said Tuesday. ...read full article

Criminal ID Theft: A Long Road for Victims

North Little Rock - If you're a victim of financial identity theft the credit bureaus have ways to clear your name. ...read full article

Wanted ID theft suspect arrested after reward offered

PORTLAND, OR - A man wanted for a long list of ID theft and forgery cases has been arrested by Portland Police. ...read full article

Former KeyBank branch manager pleads guilty to fraud, identity theft

A former bank branch manager in Springfield accused of trying to fake his own death pleaded guilty today to federal bank fraud, identity theft and intimidating a witness. ...read full article

Leaked Twitter accounts 'mostly banned spammers'

Twitter has downplayed the significance of a data dump that leaked the login details of 55,000 twits. ...read full article

Iowa Student Presents Bouncer’s Stolen ID

A 19-year-old University of Iowa student reportedly picked the wrong person to fool with a fake ID. ...read full article

Identity theft scheme lands two in jail for 25 years

Montgomery, Ala (WIAT) Crime may not pay, but it yielded millions for a pair of Alabama scammers before the feds nailed them. Now the pair faces 25 year prison sentences. ...read full article

May 8, 2012

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4 accused of ID theft after raid at Tempe business

Four people were arrested on suspicion of identity theft after the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office raided a Tempe business on Monday. ...read full article

ID thieves have new target: prison inmates

PHOENIX (CBS5) - A number of inmates at Perryville Prison, west of Phoenix, have committed some serious crimes. ...read full article

Anonymous Hackers Target Putin Inauguration

Internet activists from the hacking group Anonymous vowed on Friday to attack Russian government websites ahead of the May 7 inauguration of President-in-waiting Vladimir Putin. ...read full article

Texas man gets over 5 years in prison for fraud and ID theft in foreclosure

According to an FBI press release, Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, of Austin Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in the Western District of Texas to 61 months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $84,010 for his role in operating a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that charged distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently delaying foreclosure sales. ...read full article

Local 12 Reporter's Identity Stolen By Registered Sex Offender

Each year more than 9 million people become victims of identity theft. But what's at risk isn't just money it can be your freedom. ...read full article

Zynga's YoVille gets hacked

Hackers infiltrate the social game affecting gameplay and stealing users' virtual goods, but private and sensitive data isn't compromised. ...read full article

Loan Processor Rips Off Students, Class Claims

VENTURA, Calif. (CN) - A class action claims that a financial services company and its bank partner prey on college students by coercing them into handing over financial aid money and charging them exorbitant fees to access the funds. ...read full article

St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Conspiracy, and Identity Theft Charges

ST. LOUIS—Mario Darnell Smith pled guilty to charges involving his use of customer information to steal money from bank accounts at United States Bank. ...read full article

May 7, 2012

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Apple engineering mistake exposes clear-text passwords for Lion

An attacker could potentially decrypt information secured with an older version of FileVault, Apple's encryption technology

IDG News Service - Apple's latest update to OS X contains a dangerous programming error that reveals the passwords for material stored in the first version of FileVault, the company's encryption technology, a software consultant said. ...read full article

Man charged with identity theft against Miss Washington

The Pierce County prosecutor filed identity theft charges Thursday against a man accused of using bank cards stolen from Miss Washington, Brittney Henry. ...read full article

Police take down five involved in ID theft ring

Over the last month Bellevue police arrested five members of an identity theft ring that plagued Bellevue and the rest of the Eastside. ...read full article

Burleson police investigate possible identity theft involving teacher

The Burleson Police Department is reportedly investigating identity theft in the case of a Burleson high school coach who was accused of an improper online relationship with a 16-year-old student. ...read full article

Flash flaw being used to deliver email based attacks

Adobe on Friday issued an emergency patch for a critical bug in its Flash Player software that is being used in targeted malware attacks. ...read full article

Identity theft hits Eastlake woman and 1 in 20 Americans

On the same day Alice Pettifer was dealing with grief from the death of her father she received a call from a creditor saying charges for nonpayment of a loan were being filed against her — a loan for which she never applied. ...read full article

New Haven woman charged with identity theft in Milford purse-snatching

MILFORD — A New Haven woman was arrested on a warrant Tuesday afternoon in connection with a scheme to use an elderly victim’s identity to pay her bills, police said. ...read full article

Identity Theft Leads To False Tax Returns

Metro Woman Is Still Waiting For Her Return

DENVER -- 7NEWS is investigating a case of identity theft with a twist: A thief used someone else's Social Security number to steal a hefty tax refund. ...read full article

Eastside ID Theft Ring Suspects Arrested in Lake Forest Park

The head of an organized Eastside identity theft ring and several of her associates were arrested this week after months of investigation, the Bellevue Police Department reported Thursday. ...read full article

Three arrested in theft of inmates' identities

A Georgia couple and a Wilkinsburg man have been arrested in an elaborate scheme to collect money by stealing prisoners' identities and filing false tax returns, the state attorney general's office announced Thursday. ...read full article

UK Ministry of Defence: Hackers Have Breached Top Secret Systems

The UK's military's head of cyber security warned that hackers have breached computer systems containing top secret data, The Guardian reported. ...read full article

BRIEF: Montgomery woman pleads guilty to tax fraud, identity theft

A Montgomery woman has pleaded guilty to tax fraud and identity theft, the U.S. attorney's office announced. ...read full article

Bankruptcy Fraud and Identity Theft in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure Rescue Scheme Sentence Handed Down

Los Angeles, California - An Austin, Texas man was sentenced today in the Western District of Texas to 61 months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $84,010 for his role in operating a foreclosure rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that charged distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently delaying foreclosure sales. ...read full article

May 3, 2012

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Woman Jailed in Lynwood's Detention Facility for Suspected ID Thefts

The woman, and another man, were charged with stealing more than $16,000 in an identity theft and check counterfeiting operation.

A woman was jailed at the Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood after being charged, along with another man, with stealing more than $16,000 from 20 Santa Clarita Valley businesses and individuals in an identity theft and check counterfeiting operation, a sheriff's deputy said yesterday. ...read full article

Eight Defendants Charged as Part of an Identity Theft Tax Refund Undercover Operation

ifredo A Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and José A Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announced the filing of charges against seven defendants arrested in connection with an FBI-led undercover operation targeting identity theft tax refund fraud. ...read full article

Hackers blackmail Belgian bank with threats to publish customer data

The hackers call their demand an "idiot tax" because the information was unencrypted on the bank's web server

IDG News Service - Hackers claimed to have breached the systems of the Belgian credit provider Elantis and threatened to publish confidential customer information if the bank does not pay $197,000 before Friday, they said in a statement posted to Pastebin. Elantis confirmed the data breach Thursday, but the bank said it will not give in to extortion threats. ...read full article

Feds: We Found Alleged Navy Vets Scammer's $1M Stash

U.S. Marshals said today they have found $1 million in cash in a storage locker rented by the recently captured fugitive known as Bobby Thompson. ...read full article

Second of two sentenced for regional identity theft scam

A Florida man this week was sentenced to up to 23 months in the Montgomery County prison for assisting another man in a regional identity theft scam. ...read full article

Botnet army flicks 'off' switch at UK crime agency website

Suspiciously close to Soca's shutdown of stolen-data shops

The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency's website has been taken offline following a DDoS attack that started last night and is still going on. ...read full article

May 2, 2012

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Iran admits expanded cyberattacks, claims it's identified hackers

But state-backed media reports are thin on details

Computerworld - The Iranian government acknowledged today that authorities have found evidence of recent cyberattacks against several agencies, according to reports by state-sponsored media outlets. ...read full article

Scam Video Game Startup Yanked From Kickstarter After Raising Thousands

A project soliciting funds for a new video game to compete with the likes of World of Warcraft and Skyrim has been pulled from the crowd funding website Kickstarter after it became clear that the proposal was a sham. ...read full article

Healthcare Unable To Keep Up With Insider Threats

Insiders played a role in recent breaches at Utah Department of Health, Emory and South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

April has been a brutal month for healthcare breaches, with three major breaches disclosed accounting for nearly 1.1 million records lost. The thread woven throughout each has been the role of insiders--both malicious and inept--in triggering the incidents. ...read full article

European Space Agency hacked, sensitive data released publicly

It is reported that yesterday the European Space Agency (ESA) website was compromised by a hacker, opening up sensitive project logs and exposing hundreds of email addresses and passwords associated with some of Europe’s top science institutes. ...read full article

Microsoft Investigating Skype Breach Exposing IP Addresses

A patched version of Skype 5.5 allows the user to acquire the IP address of any Skype member that's currently signed on to the network.

Microsoft is reportedly looking into a Skype vulnerability that allows a third party to view a user's last known IP address. The exploit was first made known last week via instructions on Pastebin showing how someone can download a patched version of Skype and obtain any Skype member's IP address whether they're contacts or total strangers. ...read full article

Microsoft detects new malware targeting Apple computers

Apple users should be sure their Mac version of Office has up-to-date patches

May 02, 2012 — IDG News Service — Microsoft has detected a new piece of malware targeting Apple OS X computers that exploits a vulnerability in the Office productivity suite patched nearly three years ago. ...read full article

$728 Million Returned From Rigas-Adelphia Fraud

MANHATTAN (CN) - The federal government is returning $728 million to more than 13,000 victims of the Rigas family's fraud while they ran Adelphia Communications, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday. ...read full article

Websites Selling Stolen Cards Foiled

Sizing Up the Impact on Card Fraud

International law enforcement agencies last week touted the takedown of 36 websites that were used to sell stolen debit and credit data for more than 2.5 million accounts. But how much of an impact will the takedown ultimately have on card fraud? ...read full article

Woman sentenced for ID theft in prescription-drug case

A Salem woman was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in prison for committing identity theft to obtain nearly $40,000 worth of prescription drugs. ...read full article

May 1, 2012

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Flashback gang could be making $10K a day off infected Macs

Symantec spells out the malware's money-making mechanism: click fraud

Computerworld - The Flashback malware that's infected hundreds of thousands of Macs may be generating more than $10,000 a day for the hackers who made the Trojan horse, Symantec said Monday. ...read full article

Symantec: Cyber-Attacks Up 81% in 2011, SMBs Increasingly Targeted

Hackers stole 187 million personal identities last year, with the average yield per data breach amounting to 1.1 million identities, Symantec said. Identity theft gleaned from lost or stolen PCs or mobile devices also exposed 18.5 million identities in 2011. And malicious attacks increased by 81 percent in comparison with Symantec's 2010 estimates. ...read full article

Corporate identity theft threatens Maine businesses

While most Mainers are aware of the dangers of personal identity theft, many business owners remain in the dark about the growing threat of corporate identity theft. The term "business identity theft" describes various fraudulent or unauthorized uses of a company's identity and, according to Dun & Bradstreet, has been reported in at least 26 states. ...read full article

Anonymous Deface International Police Association Website

The official site of the International Police Association – IAC (ipa-iac.org) has been breached and defaced by Anonymous hackers. The message posted by the hacktivists on the website’s main page hints that they may have also obtained user credentials stored in the organization’s databases. ...read full article

Attackers Place Command and Control Servers Inside Enterprise Walls

Skilled attackers are burrowing their command and control (C&C) servers inside the networks of compromised businesses in order to circumvent security measures, according to a security expert familiar with the innovative new attack method. ...read full article

Fat Finger Error Lands Welsh Health Board $140K Fine

An e-mail gaffe and a spelling mistake by a doctor led to a breach of the UK’s Data Protection Act last year, according to a press release by the Information Commissioner’s Office today. ...read full article

Oops! Amazon Web Services Customer Unleashes ‘Denial of Money’ Attack – on Himself

When Panos Ipeirotis checked his Amazon Web Services bill last week, he started to sweat. It was $1,177.76 — much more than he’d ever been charged before — and it was going up another $50 to $100 with each passing hour. He had no idea why. ...read full article

4 Kingfisher Airlines Sites Defaced by Hitcher

Hitcher, the Pakistani hacker, defaced four websites belonging to the India-based Kingfisher Airlines company to post his protest message against India and Israel. ...read full article

Norfolk woman pleads guilty in ID theft scheme

A 28-year-old woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing patients' personal information while working in a local medical office. ...read full article

Beverly Hills woman arrested in Lincolnshire identity theft ring

A Beverly Hills, Calif., woman faces identity theft charges after she obtained and used several fraudulent credit cards, including one belonging to a Lincolnshire victim, police said Monday. ...read full article

Notorious identity thief to plead guilty

PORTLAND, Ore. - A man who was part of a notorious identity theft ring that was based in Portland but operated in a dozen states around the country will plead guilty in federal court Tuesday to bank fraud charges. ...read full article

Muslim Liberation Army Deface Anti-Islamic Site

Paras Rajput, considered to be one of the biggest anti-Islam websites, was attacked by hackers part of the Muslim Liberation Army. The hackers defaced the site as a form of protest against organizations that promote anti-Islamic views, VOGH reports. ...read full article

UW ID thief gets probation in case from 2007

An identity theft investigation that stretched back almost five years on the UW-Madison campus ended with the conviction of a Chicago woman already spending time in prison. ...read full article