FBI Arrests 14 Alleged Hackers For PayPal Cyberattack

Discussion in 'malware problems & news' started by hawki, Jul 19, 2011.

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  1. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    FBI Arrests 14 Alleged Hackers For PayPal Cyberattack


    WASHINGTON -- Fourteen people were arrested Tuesday for allegedly mounting a cyberattack on the website of PayPal in retaliation for its suspending the accounts of WikiLeaks.

    Separately, FBI agents executed more than 35 search warrants around the country in an ongoing investigation into coordinated cyberattacks against major companies and organizations.

    As part of the effort, there were two arrests in the United States unrelated to the PayPal attack. Overseas, one person was arrested by Scotland Yard in Britain, and there were four arrests by the Dutch National Police Agency, all for alleged cybercrimes.

    In one case unrelated to PayPal and filed in New Jersey, a customer support contractor was charged with stealing confidential business information on AT&T's servers. The data was posted on a public file sharing site, and defendant Lance Moore, 21, of Las Cruces, N.M., was accused of exceeding his authorized access to AT&T's servers in downloading thousands of documents and applications.

    According to court papers, the documents the contractor uploaded were the same ones publicized last month by the computer hacking group LulzSec, which said it had obtained confidential AT&T documents and made them publicly available on the Internet.

    The cyberattacks on PayPal's website by the group Anonymous followed the release by WikiLeaks in November of thousands of classified State Department cables.

    ...

    A federal indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., says that Anonymous referred to the cyberattacks on PayPal as "Operation Avenge Assange."

    The 14 charged in the PayPal attack were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio. They ranged in age from 20 to 42. The name and age of one of the 14 was withheld by the court.

    The 20-year-old, Mercedes Renee Haefer, is a university student, and her lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen of New York, compared the case to the federal prosecution of former U.S. defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg following his release in 1971 to The New York Times and other newspapers a Pentagon study of government decision-making about the Vietnam War. The government said Haefer is also known as "No" and "MMMM."

    ...

    In addition to Haefer, the government said those indicted in San Jose were: Christopher Wayne Cooper, 23, also known as "Anthrophobic"; Joshua John Covelli, 26, aka "Absolem" and "Toxic"; Keith Wilson Downey, 26; Donald Husband, 29, aka "Ananon"; Vincent Charles Kershaw, 27, aka "Trivette," "Triv" and "Reaper"; Ethan Miles, 33; James C. Murphy, 36; Drew Alan Phillips, 26, aka "Drew010"; Jeffrey Puglisi, 28, aka "Jeffer," "Jefferp" and "Ji"; Daniel Sullivan, 22; Tracy Ann Valenzuela, 42; and Christopher Quang Vo, 22.

    Full story here:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/fbi-arrests-hackers-paypal-cyberattack_n_904052.html
     
  2. JRViejo

    JRViejo Super Moderator

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    Already posted in this [thread=303739]Sixteen Individuals Arrested in the United States for Alleged Roles in Cyber Attacks[/thread] thread. Thanks!
     
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