Spyware, viruses, & security forum: NEWS - April 05, 2012

The Anonymous movement has pulled off one of its biggest hacktivist coups yet, successfully defacing hundreds of Chinese Government websites in a spectacular protest against Internet censorship.

Defacement attacks are ten-a-penny but the scale of what the previously unknown Chinese wing of the group and hackers invited via Twitter launched from 30 March onwards is still unusual.

The full list of attacked domains posted on Pastebin has now reached 501 after rising in recent days, some of which were defaced more than once after Chinese officials regained control.

"Your government controls the Internet in your country and strives to filter what it considers a threat for it," read the opening text of the defacement message posted on many of the sites.

"In the defaces and leaks in this day, we demonstrate our revolt to the Chinese system. It has to stop! We aren't asking you for nothing, just saying to protest, to revolt yourself, to be the free person you always want to be," continued a message on Pastebin backed up with a Chinese-language translation.

Defacements were accompanied by The Who's 1971 song, Baba O'Reilly, which famously contains the protest refrain 'teenage wasteland'.

The following protest message was also posted to two sites:

Continued : http://news.techworld.com/security/3349494/anonymous-hackers-deface-500-chinese-government-websites/

Also:
Anonymous allegedly hacks Chinese web sites
Anonymous turns its fire on China
Anonymous claims China hack
Anonymous Hacks Chinese Government Websites

Large outbreaks of phony AT&T wireless emails have been distributed in the last two days, according to Commtouch. The emails describe very large balances ($943 in the example below), that are sure to get aggravated customers clicking on the included links. [Screenshot]

Every link in the email leads to a different compromised site with malware hidden inside.

The pattern is: legitimate domain / recurring set of random letters / index.html

The index.html file tries to exploit at least the following known vulnerabilities:

• Libtiff integer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat: CVE-2010-0188
• Help Center URL Validation Vulnerability: CVE-2010-1885.

Recipients who are unsure whether the email they have received is genuine or not (the malicious version is a very accurate copy) should mouseover the links. Genuine emails from AT&T will include AT&T website links. For example the "att.com" link will be the same in both places that it appears in the email - unlike the malicious version which uses two very different URLs.

http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2057

"Broadcaster says accessing of emails of John Darwin, who faked own death, was authorised by executives and in public interest"

Sky News has admitted that one of its senior executives authorised a journalist to conduct email hacking on two separate occasions that it said were "in the public interest" - even though intercepting emails is a prima facie breach of the Computer Misuse Act, to which there is no such defence written in law.

Gerard Tubb, the broadcaster's northern England correspondent, accessed emails belonging to John Darwin, the "canoe man" accused of faking his own death, when his wife, Anne, was due to stand trial for deception in July 2008. The reporter built up a database of emails that he believed would help defeat Anne Darwin's defence; her husband had pleaded guilty to seven charges of deception before her trial.

Continued : http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/apr/05/sky-news-hacking-emails-canoe-man
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Sky News email hacking - full statement

"Sky News is committed to the highest editorial standards. Like other news organisations, we are acutely aware of the tensions that can arise between the law and responsible investigative journalism.

On two occasions, we have authorised a journalist to access the email of individuals suspected of criminal activity. In the 2008 case of Ann Darwin, Sky News met with Cleveland Police and provided them with emails offering new information relevant to Mrs Darwin's defence. Material provided by Sky News was used in the successful prosecution and the police made clear after the trial that this information was pivotal to the case.

Continued : http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/apr/05/sky-news-email-hacking-statement

Internet-based social networking sites have created a revolution in social connectivity. However, con artists, criminals, and other dishonest actors are exploiting this capability for nefarious purposes.

There are primarily two tactics used to exploit online social networks. In practice, they are often combined.

1. Computer savvy hackers who specialize in writing and manipulating computer code to gain access or install unwanted software on your computer or phone.

2. Social or human hackers who specialize in exploiting personal connections through social networks. Social hackers, sometimes referred to as "social engineers," manipulate people through social interactions (in person, over the phone, or in writing).

Humans are a weak link in cyber security, and hackers and social manipulators know this. They try to trick people into getting past security walls. They design their actions to appear harmless and legitimate.

Falling for an online scam or computer hack could be damaging for an individual victim as well as the organization the victim works for. Such risks include:

Continued : http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/20903-The-FBI-Discusses-Internet-Social-Networking-Risks.html