Micah Danney reports: You might think of hackers as people sitting at computers, but custom software applications, or bots, can be the ones doing the dirty work. Bots automate the business of hacking, tearing through massive troves of stolen account data, for example, or bombarding website login pages with passwords, probing for hits. Enter Unbotify,…
Category: Of Note
Russian-Born Cybercriminal Sentenced to Over Nine Years in Prison
A nearly decade-long member of several elite Russian-speaking cybercrime forums was sentenced yesterday to 110 months in prison for running a sophisticated scheme to steal and traffic sensitive personal and financial information in the online criminal underground. Alexander Tverdokhlebov, 29, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty on March 31 to wire fraud. Accordingly to court documents,…
Data of over 120 million Jio customers leaked, claim reports
This has the makings of another AA situation where despite evidence, an entity initially claims that data were not compromised, only to have to walk back their claims later on. The New Indian Express reported: In what seemed to be the biggest data breach in India, a nondescript website called magicapk reportedly had access to data of…
School District in Maryland Stops Collection of Social Security Numbers
Allen Etzler reports: Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is no longer collecting Social Security numbers under the district’s new data security policy. Director of Technology Infrastructure Edward Gardner, who oversaw the development of the new data policy, said the school system would not collect student Social Security numbers “unless explicitly necessary,” and he could not…
Notorious Russian Hacker With Links To FSB Scandal Sentenced To Prison
Mike Eckel reports: A notorious Russian hacker whose exploits and later arrest gave glimpses into the intersection of computer crime and Russian law enforcement has been sentenced to two years in prison. The Moscow City Court issued its ruling July 6 against Vladimir Anikeyev in a decision made behind closed doors, one indication of the…
Pakistani Man Sentenced for Laundering Millions in Telecom Hacking Scheme
A massive international hacking and telecommunications fraud scheme served as a backdrop for an FBI investigation that led to the capture of a Pakistani citizen who played a major role in scamming U.S. companies out of millions of dollars in fees. From November 2008 to December 2012, Muhammad Sohail Qasmani laundered more than $19.6 million…