Kit Chellel reports: The attack against Liberia began in October 2016. More than a half-million security cameras around the world tried to connect to a handful of servers used by Lonestar Cell MTN, a local mobile phone operator, and Lonestar’s network was overwhelmed. Internet access for its 1.5 million customers slowed to a crawl, then…
Category: Hack
‘Russian pirate hacked 39 British universities’
Danny Fortson reports: A Russian internet pirate under investigation for potential ties to Russia’s intelligence services is alleged to have hacked the systems of 39 British universities. Alexandra Elbakyan is founder of Sci-Hub, a website that publishes millions of academic papers free that would otherwise be available only through subscriptions or one-off payments. Read more…
Member of “Turkish Crime Family” who attempted to extort Apple in 2017 gets no prison time
Catalin Cimpanu reports: A 22-year-old man was sentenced today in London for his involvement in an extortion attempt against Apple, during which the suspect and co-conspirators threatened to mass-hack iCloud accounts and factory reset 250 million iPhones and iPads. The man, Kerem Albayrak, was sentenced today to a two-year suspended jail term, 300 hours of…
UK: Email blackmail brouhaha tears UKIP apart as High Court refuses computer seizure attempt
Gareth Corfield reports: The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has suffered a data breach after allegedly having 143 party email accounts accessed amid demands made by blackmailers, the High Court in London has been told (PDF). UKIP is suing former party leader Richard Braine, former general secretary Tony Sharp and one-time party returning officer Jeff Armstrong,…
Saudi hacker gives 19 students full grades, faces jail and millions in fine
Mariam Nabbout reports: A Saudi student hacked into his university’s system to change his classmates’ grades and is now facing legal trouble in the kingdom. This week, the country’s public prosecution recommended the young man receives a four-year jail sentence and a 3-million Saudi riyal fine ($799,804). The defendant, who studies at the King Faisal University in Hofuf,…
Nathan Wyatt, aka “Crafty Cockney” of thedarkoverlord, now on U.S. soil to stand trial in St. Louis
I’ve reported on Nathan Wyatt a number of times, including the extradition request by the U.S., his appeal, and his failure to win his appeal of the extradition order. So we knew this was coming, but let’s start with a recap of the charges he’s facing: One count of conspiracy against the U.S. (18 USC…