Tor Ekeland writes: U.S v Michael Thomas, No. 16-41264 (5th Cir.) Last night in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals we filed the Opening Appellant Brief in U.S. v. Michael Thomas. In June of 2016, in an important CFAA case regarding the definition of unauthorized damage, a jury convicted Michael Thomas of a single count felony violation for causing damage…
Category: Hack
Manafort faced blackmail attempt, hacks suggest
Kenneth P. Vogel, David Stern, and Josh Meyer report: A purported cyberhack of the daughter of political consultant Paul Manafort suggests that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt while he was serving as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign chairman last summer. The undated communications, which are allegedly from the iPhone of Manafort’s daughter, include a…
Lone hacktivists persist, but are they making a difference?
Sometime around June, 2015, a hacktivist who calls himself @ElSurveillance on Twitter began defacing web sites of escort services. In July, 2015, I became aware of him and began reporting on his attacks, which usually include messages left on the sites about how the service and conduct is an affront to Islam. To get an idea…
Hackers who took control of PC microphones siphon >600 GB from 70 targets
Dan Goodin reports: Researchers have uncovered an advanced malware-based operation that siphoned more than 600 gigabytes from about 70 targets in a broad range of industries, including critical infrastructure, news media, and scientific research. The operation uses malware to capture audio recordings of conversations, screen shots, documents, and passwords, according to a blog post published last…
Oklahoma Gov, OMES Confirm Unnamed Agency Hacked, No Ransom Paid
Grant Hermes reports: Calling it a “catch-22”, Oklahoma state officials declined to release which state agency was discovered to have been attacked by hackers, claiming on Wednesday that releasing the name could compromise the agency further. Last week, the state director of Oklahoma CyberCommand told a House of Representative committee an agency had been attacked…
Suspect Convicted Three Years After Russian Fraud Scheme Compromised San Juan Unified Records
Sonseeahray Tonsall reports: Three years ago, FOX40 first reported that as many as 200 academic records were stolen from the San Juan Unified School district and discovered in an FBI raid of homes in Sacramento and Studio City. Information like student social security numbers was used to make $1 million worth of fraudulent charges on…