Cyber Attacks Hit US Oil Industry

25 January 2010

AXCESS NEWS (HOUSTON) - Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips were victims of cyberespionage in 2008. The companies were unaware of the attack until the FBI alerted them in early 2009. The most senior executives at the companies were the targeted for the attack. Valuable bid data, information such as location, quantity, and value of oil reserves discovered around the world, was siphoned from computers. The attacks on the oil companies follow the same pattern as the attacks seen recently on Google and other companies. The spyware used is sophisticated enough that it is virtually undetectable by current anti-virus software and precautions. Source: http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/19305 (Reliability: Moderate 39.74)

Cyber Attack Takes Down Website Of Russia's Leading Opposition Newspaper

27 January 2010

THE EXAMINER (ERIE)- A cyber attack targeted the Novaya Gazeta, Russia's leading newspaper on Tuesday, January 26. The newspaper is one of Russia's few independent ones. It has a reputation of publishing criticisms of the government. Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-15391-LA-Eurasian-Affairs-Examiner~y2010m1d27-Cyber-attack-takes-down-website-of-Russias-leading-opposition-newspaper

(Source: Moderate-36.56)

China Denies Involvement In Cyber Attacks On Google

25 January 2010
THE GUARDIAN (BEIJING)- China recently came out and denied involvement in the recent cyber attacks against Google. The country still maintains its right to punish people who challenge party control online as it continues to counter criticism of its internet policies. A spokesman from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology releases a statement saying that "Any accusation that the Chinese government participated in cyber attacks, either in an explicit or indirect way, is groundless and aims to denigrate China." Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/25/china-denies-cyber-attacks-google
(Reliability: High - 56.53)

Cable Modem Hacker Arrested

28 January 2010

PCWORLD.COM (BOSTON MA) — Matthew Delorey, a 26 year old man sold modified cable modems that enabled free internet access. US federal authorities arrested and charged him with one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. Delorey could face a USD 250,000 fine and up to 20 years in prison. He ran a website called Massmodz.com where he sold his hacked modems.
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/188130/fbi_arrests_alleged _cable_modem_hacker.html (Reliability: 52.88 -- High)

Perceptions Of Organized Crime As A Cyber Security Threat

28 January 2010

DELOITTE (NEW YORK) —
On 22 January 2010, Deloitte released their report "Cyber Crime: A Clear And Present Danger" based on their review of the 2010 CSO Cyber Security Watch Survey. The report lists traditional organized crimes' addition of cyber crime to its portfolio as a factor heightening the current cyber crime wave. According to the survey, only 6% of respondents listed "organized crime" as the greatest threat to cyber security, while 26% named "hackers." The report concluded that companies may not associate groups of cyber criminals with organized crime, and that organized crime is a potentially greater threat to public and private organizations than they realize.
Source: http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/AERS/us_aers_Deloitte%20Cyber%20Crime%20POV%20Jan252010.pdf (Reliability: High)

Hackers Infiltrate House Websites

Congressional investigators are exploring how hackers managed to infiltrate 49 House web sites overnight, zeroing in on the technology vendor that manages some House Web sites. Only hours after the State of the Union, hackers replaced the usual pages that congressmen and committees use with a profane attack on President Barack Obama reading,"F— OBAMA!! Red Eye CREW !!!!! O RESTO E HACKER !!! by HADES; m4V3RiCk; T4ph0d4 — FROM BRASIL."
The Red Eye Crew has been around for a while, and have thousands of web site defacements to their credit.

Sources: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32145.html (High)

http://praetorianprefect.com/archives/2010/01/congressional-web-site-defacements-follow-the-state-of-the-union/ (High)

China, More, Engaged In Assymetrical Cyber Warfare

22 January 2010
FOXNEWS (NEW YORK) - Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute (a computer security firm), claims that "there are [at] least 100 countries with cyber espionage capabilities." Tom Patterson, chief security officer of MagTek Inc. (manufacturer of electronic security devices), said that "the Chinese air force has an asymmetrical warfare division" whose job is to devise ways to disable government command and control systems. Asymmetrical warfare is a term that originated in the counter terrorism field to describe cyber attacks designed to destabilize governments. Google and 30 other companies were attacked in this latest hack. Companies do not like to show weaknesses and therefor they often do not report breaches. China's People's Liberation Army has been tied to many of the cyberattacks that major corporations have recently withstood. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/22/google-vs-china-tip-cyberwar/ (Reliability: Moderate)