Back in January 2010, this blog lined to a report that Boards.ie had been hacked. Irish tech lawyer and professor TJ McIntyre notes that additional information on the breach was subsequently published on Boards.ie and the following month, The Sunday Times reported:
The hacker has already used stolen passwords and email addresses to access credit from gambling websites, but the full scale of his activities is not yet clear. Gardai believe the theft of email addresses, passwords and other data, raises the prospect of long-term identity fraud, which could take more than a year to become known to a victim. The hacker may be able to use the information to obtain credit card numbers, security codes, PINs, and even mobile phone numbers.
Some users of boards.ie have reported an increase in spam emails aimed at getting them to click on links to download malicious software that steals personal information, including banking details.
Now TJ McIntyre writes:
Continuing our series of “interesting stories lost behind the Sunday Times paywall”, John Mooney and Mark Tighe reveal that the DPP has directed the extradition of a Latvian man suspected of involvement in the January 2010 hacking of Boards.ie.
He provides an interesting statement from the Sunday Times article:
Legal sources said it may be possible for the boards.ie suspect to be charged with theft or fraud: some of the passwords obtained in the hack appear to have been used to steal money from people’s Paypal accounts… The hacker is suspected of downloading a number of databases to order.
Source: IT Law in Ireland