Sylvia Westall reports: Purported supporters of the hardline Islamic State group hacked the website of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog on Wednesday and threatened its Syrian director who has documented abuses on all sides of Syria’s war. The Britain-based Observatory, which tracks the conflict using sources on the ground, took down its website…
Category: Hack
Adobe expected to issue Flash Player patch for Hacking Team 0-day
Adobe is expected to issue a patch for a vulnerability its Flash Player today to address a zero-day that was included in the Hacking Team data dump. In the meantime, @SwiftOnSecurity sounded the alarm last night with instructions how to protect yourself: TRANSLATION: Worst-case scenario is now in play – HT Flash 0day with NO patch is now…
Four NJ Gambling Websites Hit by DDoS, Hacker Demands Bitcoin Ransom
Wayne Parry of AP reports: A hacker shut down four New Jersey Internet gambling sites for half an hour last week and threatened more cyberattacks over the holiday weekend unless a ransom was paid using the online currency Bitcoin, authorities said Tuesday. David Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Gaming Enforcement Division, said Thursday’s attack was a…
GhostShell Returns with a New Hacking Concept – Dark Hacktivism
Ionut Ilascu writes: Breaking into the systems of an organization and accessing files without authorization is regarded as trespassing. The motivation behind this act can be anything from financial gain to proving one’s skills among fellow hackers. No matter the reasons, the success of such an action is most of the times due to lack…
Top Hong Kong universities caught up in major hack attack on more than 100 global institutions
I had noted this hack already, but it’s interesting to see how it was reported in the South China Morning Post. James Griffiths and Ben Westcott report: A number of major educational institutions in Hong Kong were allegedly affected by a major hack attack encompassing more than 100 universities and government agencies worldwide. According to…
NJ: Bulgarian hacker admits role in $6M IRS refund scheme, feds say
Thomas Zambito reports: A Bulgarian national on Monday admitted his role in a $6 million IRS tax refund scheme that involved hacking into the computer networks of major accounting firms. Vanyo Minkov, 32, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to file fraudulent tax returns during an appearance Monday before U.S. District Court Judge…