Cybercrime and Hacking Topic Center

Get the latest news and analysis on cybercrime and hacking

Chinese hackers master art of lying low

China's remarkable success in infiltrating U.S. government, military and corporate networks in recent years shouldn't be seen as a sign that the country is gaining on the U.S. lead in cybertechnology, security experts say. They're just very persistent and very good at remaining undetected for long periods of time.
Read more...

Yahoo Japan says 22 million user IDs may have been stolen

Yahoo Japan, the country's largest Web portal, said up to 22 million user IDs may have been leaked during a hack that was discovered last week.

Police arrest Anonymous suspects in Italy

Italian police arrested four suspected hackers Friday, accusing them of having taken control of the Italian branch of the Anonymous network.

Researchers uncover new global cyberespionage operation dubbed Safe

Security researchers from Trend Micro have uncovered an active cyberespionage operation that so far has compromised computers belonging to government ministries, technology companies, media outlets, academic research institutions and nongovernmental organizations from over 100 countries.

Four former LulzSec members sentenced to prison in the UK

Four British men associated with the LulzSec hacker collective received prison sentences Thursday for their roles in cyberattacks launched by the group against corporate and government websites in 2011.

Oracle renumbers Java patch updates, confuses users even more

Oracle has changed the numbering of its Java security updates, prompting one expert to say, "As if Java updates weren't confusing already."

7 steps to securing Java

Java, the popular OS-independent platform and programming language, runs on just about every kind of electronic device imaginable, including computers, cell phones, printers, TVs, DVDs, home security systems, automated teller machines, navigation systems, games and medical devices.

Court orders names to be withheld before release of Aaron Swartz records

A federal court has modified a protective order to allow disclosure of the court records of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, but ruled that names and other personal identifying information of those involved in his arrest and prosecution should be redacted.

Bank security weaknesses led to cyber looting of $45M from ATMs

Alberto Yusi Lajud Pena, found dead in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago, was the leader of the New York cell of an international gang of cyber thieves that authorities allege stole a staggering $45 million from ATM machines around the world.

Payment card processors hacked in $45 million fraud

A vast debit card fraud scheme that allegedly netted US$45 million has been linked to the hacking of credit card processors in the U.S. and India.

IT Concerns About Targeted Malware Rising

IT and security professionals are increasingly concerned about targeted malware and data breaches. What's worse is that their confidence in their ability to identify and stop them is waning.

Phishing concerns cause double trouble

Episode 1: Last week the administrators of 7,000 university websites were being called upon to change their .edu domain account passwords after a server security breach. Trouble was that the breach had been reported to the admins by Educause -- the non-profit higher-education IT group that runs .edu -- via an email that some recipients complained bore the familiar markings of a phishing attempt.

Chinese Government's Link to Cyber Espionage Clearer Than Ever

It's a common belief in the information security world that the Chinese government is behind many of the advanced persistent threats that target companies around the world in an effort to steal their IP and trade secrets. Now one security firm has come forward with years of evidence to link a prolific APT group to a unit inside the Chinese government.

Avoiding catastrophic business loss through cyber liability insurance

The benefits could be greatest for small businesses, which could be devastated by a data loss and its complications. (Insider, registration required)

Three charged with distributing Gozi virus

Three people allegedly involved for years in cybercriminal activities in Eastern Europe have been charged in a U.S. court for creating and distributing the Gozi virus that infected more than 1 million computers and allowed cybercriminals to steal millions of dollars over a five-year period.

Mobile Attacks Top the List of 2013 Security Threats

For years, information security experts have predicted a spike in mobile malware. Will 2013 be the year of mobile attacks? And what other security threats are on the horizon?

Outlook 2013 ... Even more interesting than 2012!

Gibbs reviews his predictions from last year and surveys the more than 400 predictions that he's been sent by IT professionals

The (encryption) key to dealing with data insecurity

Valuable data stored in the cloud is sure to be a target. What can be done to make it harder to steal?

We're missing out on the value of security awareness

When a program is ineffective, the problem is usually that the training wasn't designed in a way that would result in changes in behavior. (Insider; registration required)

On the Internet, no one knows you're an authoritarian government

Our penchant for speaking euphemistically about those we believe to be responsible for cyberattacks has led to a state of utter confusion. It's time to stop.