Computer Crimes And Punishment

guest · Dec 7, 2019

mood said: ↑

Romanian hackers found guilty in Ohio federal court of victimizing thousands with malware
April 11, 2019
https://www.cleveland.com/court-jus...rt-of-victimizing-thousands-with-malware.html
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Romanian hackers prosecuted in Ohio sentenced to federal prison for malware attack that struck thousands
December 6, 2019
https://www.cleveland.com/court-jus...for-malware-attack-that-struck-thousands.html

A federal judge in Cleveland on Friday handed down lengthy prison sentences to two hackers from Romania who launched a series of sophisticated malware attacks that infected the computers of thousands of people around the world.

Bogdan Nicolescu, 37, the leader of a small consortium of hackers known as the “Bayrob” group and was known by his online handle “MasterFraud," was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. His cohort Radu Miclaus, 37, received an 18-year prison term.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Duncan Brown said the group “presented a significant and rarified danger” that affected people around the world.

Nicolescu, in a thick accent, told the judge that hearing stories of the victims at trial “has opened my eyes to the reality of the situation.” He said he wants to use his skills for something positive.
Miclaus made no statement but wrote a 34-page letter to the judge that she said she read.
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DoJ: Two members of the romanian Cybercriminal Enterprise Bayrob Group sentenced on 21 counts relating to infecting over 400,000 victim computers with malware and stealing at least $5 million

ronjor · Dec 8, 2019

Laredo PD operation targeting drug sales on Facebook, Snapchat nets over 40 arrests

By César Rodriguez, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times December 5, 2019
Police said the suspected dealers sold the drugs on Facebook and Snapchat.
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guest · Dec 9, 2019

stapp said: ↑

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47800378
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Jailed hacker ordered to pay back £270k
December 9, 2019
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252475180/Jailed-hacker-ordered-to-pay-back-270k

Kingston Crown Court has ordered a 25-year-old computer science student convicted of cyber crime offences in April 2019 to pay back £270,865.47 and sell assets including a Rolex wristwatch, or risk an extension to his sentence.

Zain Qaiser, of Barking, Essex, known online as K!NG, worked as a key node of a Russia-based cyber crime group that extracted huge profits from victims around the world.
“Zain Qaiser was an integral part of a highly sophisticated cyber crime group,” said Nigel Leary, operations head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA’s) cyber crime unit. “He assisted the group in generating millions of pounds in ransom payments by blackmailing countless victims, from which he himself profited hugely.”
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guest · Dec 9, 2019

Fashion firm ordered to pay sales exec. €94k as case hears CEO hacked her intimate photos
December 9, 2019
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/--969356.html

A chief executive of a fashion company here hacked into a female colleague’s phone and downloaded the woman's personal intimate photos.

The ‘odious hacking’ by the unnamed CEO is one of the findings of Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudication Officer, Kevin Baneham who has ordered the fashion company to pay compensation of €65,000 for the persistent sexual harassment by the CEO of the company’s Brazilian-born International Sales and Marketing Executive.
On the phone hacking, Mr Baneham said “leaving aside the obvious criminal law dimension, the chief executive’s actions are odious and egregious”.

The CEO downloaded 20 photos from the sales executive’s smart phone, without her consent or knowledge when the two were having a work meeting at a prominent city centre hotel in October 2017.
[/quot€]
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guest · Dec 10, 2019

mood said: ↑

Social media influencer plotted to take internet domain at gunpoint. It didn't end well
April 21, 2019
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/21/us/iowa-social-media-influencer-domain-name-trnd/index.html
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Social media influencer gets 14 years in prison for plot to 'hijack' website at gunpoint
December 10, 2019
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-14-years-prison-plot-hijack-website-n1098721

A 27-year-old social media influencer was sentenced to federal prison Monday for an armed plot to threaten a man in an effort to obtain a website domain name.

Rossi Lorathio Adams II was found guilty for one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats, and violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa. Adams plotted to intimidate the unnamed owner of a domain name and "hijack" the website, the attorney's office said.
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DoJ: Social Media Influencer Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison after Plotting to Hijack Internet Domain

guest · Dec 10, 2019

Nigerian Extradited to U.S. Over Role in Major Cybercrime Scheme
December 10, 2019
https://www.securityweek.com/nigerian-extradited-us-over-role-major-cybercrime-scheme

The man, Babatunde Martins, 64, a resident of Accra, Ghana, will stand trial for wire fraud, money laundering, computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft, the United States Department of Justice announced.

Martins and others were indicted in August 23, 2017, for participating in a conspiracy to hack the servers and email systems of a Memphis-based real estate company in June and July 2016.
The cybercrooks used sophisticated anonymization techniques, such as spoofed email addresses and virtual private networks, to identify large financial transactions and start fraudulent email correspondence with business parties and divert funds to accounts they controlled.

The indictment also alleges that the defendant engaged in romance scams, fraudulent check scams, gold-buying scams, advance-fee scams and credit card scams.
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DoJ: Nigerian Citizen Extradited in Connection with Prosecution of Africa-Based Cybercrime and Business Email Compromise Conspiracy

guest · Dec 11, 2019

Members of child abuse WhatsApp group arrested in 11 countries
December 10, 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50737387

The many "extreme" images shared in the group had been "normalised by most of its members", the force said.
Arrests were made in 11 different countries across three continents, but the majority - 17 - were in Spain.

Spain's National Police began investigating the group more than two years ago, after receiving an email with a tip-off.
In a statement, the police said the group shared "paedophilic content, sometimes of extreme severity, together with other content that was legal but was not suitable for minors because of their extreme nature".
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guest · Dec 11, 2019

Cyber Predator Arrests Double in New Jersey
December 10, 2019
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cyber-predator-arrests-double-in/

The number of people arrested for using the internet to exploit people for sexual and other purposes has grown by 2.5 times in just four years in the state of New Jersey.
In 2015, New Jersey law enforcement officers arrested 143 cyber predators. This year, the figure is expected to rise to over 360.

“They’re using the chat features on games like Fortnite, they’re using the chat features on other social media apps, they’re using Tik Tok, they’re using a whole host of different tools to target young people,” said Grewal.
The attorney general said that a cyber predator will use the anonymity granted by the internet to impersonate a young person when online. By presenting themselves in this way, they are able to win the trust of unsuspecting youngsters.
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guest · Dec 11, 2019

#145: Former Apple Employee Charged With Theft of Trade Secrets Related to Autonomous Car Project

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation this week charged former Apple employee Xiaolang Zhang with theft of trade secrets, according to documents filed with the Northern District Court of California.
#311: Apple worker charged with stealing self-driving-car secrets for China
January 30, 2019

The US has charged Jizhong Chen with theft of trade secrets [...]
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Apple has 'deep concerns' that ex-employees accused of theft will flee to China
December 9, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...sed-of-theft-will-flee-to-china-idUSKBN1YD2IT

Apple Inc on Monday told a federal court it has “deep concerns” that two Chinese-born former employees accused of stealing trade secrets from the company will try to flee before their trials if their locations are not monitored.

At a hearing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, prosecutors argued that Xiaolang Zhang and Jizhong Chen should continue to be monitored because they present flight risks.
The men were each charged with one count of criminal trade secrets theft and pleaded not guilty. They were released on bail shortly after their arrests and have been monitored since then.

Trial dates have not been scheduled. A hearing is scheduled for February.
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hawki · Dec 11, 2019

"Three Men Arrested in $722 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme...

From April 2014 through December 2019, the defendants operated BitClub Network, a fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors..."

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/three-men-arrested-722-million-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme

guest · Dec 11, 2019

No more delays: Judge in Vault 7 case sets trial date
December 10, 2019
https://www.cyberscoop.com/joshua-schulte-trial-cia-vault7-wikileaks/

It looks like the judge presiding over the case of a former Central Intelligence Agency employee accused of providing U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks is out of patience.

Judge Paul Crotty of the U.S. Southern District of New York declared in a court filing Monday that the trial of Joshua Schulte will begin on Feb. 3, 2020, nearly a month after the anticipated Jan. 12 trial start and three months after the previously scheduled date of Nov. 4, 2019.
The decision comes after a long series of delays from Schulte’s defense attorneys, who have argued they needed the court to add another lawyer to the defense, [...]

Now, more than two years after Schulte was initially arrested on Aug. 24, 2017, the trial looks set to begin on Feb. 3.

“There will be no further adjournments,” Crotty wrote in the latest filing.
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guest · Dec 11, 2019

Netherlands: Harsher punishments for fraud with payment apps
December 11, 2019
https://nltimes.nl/2019/12/11/harsher-punishments-fraud-payment-apps

The punishment for fraud with newer payment methods such as banking apps and Tikkie will increase, according to a legislative proposal Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security is working on. Those caught committing fraud with Tikkie or other apps will soon face up to six years in prison, instead of the current between one and four years.
Fraud with cryptocurrency is also included.

According to the Justice Minister, fraud without debit cards is becoming increasingly common and often affects large groups of people. He hopes that harsher punishments will have a deterring effect.
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ronjor · Dec 12, 2019

Operators of Tech Support Scam Settle FTC Allegations they Tricked Consumers into Buying Computer Repair Services

December 10, 2019
Settlement includes permanent tech support ban
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guest · Dec 12, 2019

mood said: ↑

Londoner accused of accessing National Lottery users' accounts
Case to be heard in full next year
November 13, 2019
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/11/13/anwar_batson_national_lottery_accounts_court_case/
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Cyber criminal, 29, faces jail for using hacking program to access National Lottery players' accounts
December 11, 2019
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...inal-29-faces-jail-using-hacking-program.html

A 29-year-old cyber criminal is facing jail after he admitted accessing National Lottery gambling accounts.

Anwar Batson, of Notting Hill, West London, used a hacking program called 'Sentry MBA' while carrying out the offences.
Batson appeared at Southwark Crown Court today [...] He spoke only to confirm his name and admit four offences under the 1990 Computer Misuse Act.

Batson admitted unauthorised access to a computer to facilitate the commission of an offence, obtaining an article for supply for use to commit a computer misuse offence, and two counts of offering to supply an article for use in a computer misuse offence.
He has been bailed for sentence on January 10 next year at Southwark Crown Court.
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guest · Dec 14, 2019

Leak Secrets to Media, You Are Sure to be Prosecuted
December 13, 2019
https://news.clearancejobs.com/2019/12/13/leak-secrets-to-media-you-are-sure-to-be-prosecuted/

Daniel Hale was originally arrested in May 2019, but the court sealed all records until yesterday [...]

Hale used his “unclassified NSA work computer” to communicate with a reporter of The Intercept in April 2013.
All in, while employed at the NGA, Hale printed 36 documents – 23 which had nothing to do with his work, and nine which did. Four documents were duplicates. Scahill published 17 of the documents in whole or part.
IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK
As expected, the NGA had an audit capability and the government computer systems were monitored for personnel misconduct (PM), law enforcement (LE), and counterintelligence (CI) investigations and so notified each user that such was the case.
Every time Hale printed a document, an audit trail was created as evidenced in the indictment.

The documents, their print date, their publication date, and the classification level of the leaked documents were all listed in the indictment: [...]
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guest · Dec 14, 2019

mood said: ↑

Eight people face federal charges for running illegal streaming sites
The individuals behind Jetflicks and iStreamitAll were charged
August 27, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/27/eight-people-face-federal-charges-for-running-illegal-streaming/
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Two Computer Programmers Plead Guilty in Connection with Operating Two of the Biggest Illegal Movie and Television Show Streaming Services in the United States
December 13, 2019
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-...ction-operating-two-biggest-illegal-movie-and

A resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty yesterday to multiple criminal copyright and money laundering charges related to his running of iStreamItAll, one of the biggest illegal television show and movie streaming services in the United States, and to his working as a computer programmer with co-defendants to help build Jetflicks, a similarly large illegal television show streaming service.
Today, a second defendant, who also resides in Las Vegas, pleaded guilty in the same court to a criminal copyright charge for his work as a computer programmer for Jetflicks.

Darryl Julius Polo, aka djppimp, 36, pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, one count of criminal copyright infringement by distributing a copyrighted work being prepared for commercial distribution, one count of copyright infringement by reproduction or distribution, one count of copyright infringement by public performance and one count of money laundering. In a separate proceeding today, co-defendant Luis Angel Villarino, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Sentencing for both defendants will be before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia, with Polo’s on March 13, 2020, and Villarino’s on March 20, 2020.

The other defendants in the case are scheduled to go to trial starting on Feb. 3, 2020.
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guest · Dec 14, 2019

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Retaining Classified National Defense Information Regarding U.S. Military Programs
December 13, 2019
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mass...ining-classified-national-defense-information

A Sharon, Massachusetts, man pleaded guilty today to willfully retaining national defense information.

Ahmedelhadi Yassin Serageldin, 66, an Egyptian-born nationalized U.S. citizen, admitted to removing classified national defense information from his workplace at a defense contractor without authorization and keeping it unsecured within his home.
According to court documents, in 2017, Raytheon investigated Serageldin for time-card fraud. The time-card fraud investigation allegedly led Raytheon to uncover evidence that Serageldin had downloaded a substantial number of files from Raytheon’s computer network and had connected removable electronic storage devices to the network in violation of Raytheon’s security policy.

Today, Serageldin pleaded guilty before Chief United States District Judge Patti B. Saris to a Superseding Information charging him with having unauthorized possession of, access to, and control over numerous classified documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, and then willfully retaining the same and failing to deliver them to the United States.
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guest · Dec 15, 2019

Man on trial for threatening woman online
December 15, 2019
https://gulfnews.com/uae/crime/man-threatens-woman-after-she-spurs-his-proposal-1.68497839

An Emirati man went on trial at the Dubai Court of First Instance after he was accused of threatening to hack the Instagram account of an Emirati woman and publish what he claimed were their intimate pictures because she rejected his marriage proposal.
The 19-year-old Emirati defendant insulted the Emirati woman during a chat on PUBG [online game] as she blocked him on Snapchat and Instagram platforms.

Dubai Police arrested the defendant who was charged by Prosecution with insulting and threatening the victim online on social media platforms.
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ronjor · Dec 16, 2019

mood said: ↑

U.S. charges two Russian residents in hacking, malware conspiracy
December 5, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-in-hacking-malware-conspiracy-idUSKBN1Y91KR

US charges Russian 'Evil Corp' hackers behind Dridex banking malware

NCA - National Crime Agency: International law enforcement operation exposes the world’s most harmful cyber crime group
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Inside ‘Evil Corp,’ a $100M Cybercrime Menace

The U.S. Justice Department this month offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a Russian man indicted for allegedly orchestrating a vast, international cybercrime network that called itself “Evil Corp” and stole roughly $100 million from businesses and consumers. As it happens, for several years KrebsOnSecurity closely monitored the day-to-day communications and activities of the accused and his accomplices. What follows is an insider’s look at the back-end operations of this gang.
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guest · Dec 16, 2019

mood said: ↑

Second Haverford College Student Pleads Guilty to Attempt to Access President Trump’s Tax Information
September 5, 2019
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/p...s-guilty-attempt-access-president-trump-s-tax
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Haverford College student sentenced to probation for attempted Trump tax hack
December 16, 2019
https://www.inquirer.com/news/haver...ump-tax-returns-hack-sentencing-20191216.html

Six days before the 2016 presidential election, two Haverford College students had an idea: They could try to get Donald Trump’s tax returns, which the then-candidate refused to release and which had become an election issue. Andrew Harris and Justin Hiemstra swiped into a school computer lab and tried to download Trump’s filings.
Both men pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal violations in the attempted hack.

On Monday, Harris, 23, was sentenced to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. He also must write letters of apology to other students affected and to the school. He must submit to drug treatment and to a mental health program, and must accept a financial investigation by the probation office.
Hiemstra, 22, was scheduled to be sentenced following Harris.
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guest · Dec 16, 2019

2 Russian Nationals Charged With Mining Crypto on State Computers
December 16, 2019
https://www.coindesk.com/2-russian-nationals-charged-with-crypto-mining-on-state-computers

"In Russia, there have been two cases recently when people were brought to criminal responsibility for getting access to computers [of state organizations] and using them to mine cryptocurrencies," TASS quotes Nikolay Murashov, deputy director of the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents, as saying during a press conference.

According to the TASS report, one of the nationals is a resident of Kurgan who used almost a whole botnet in various regions of the country. A criminal case was initiated against a second national for using the site of JSC Rostovvodokanal for mining. The report gives few other details but quotes Murashov as saying the attackers "infected" web pages and mined crypto currency at the moment the pages were viewed in the browser.

"Up to 80 percent of the computer’s free power can be used to generate virtual coins, and a legitimate user may not even know about it," he said.
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TASS: Two Russians prosecuted for cryptocurrency mining via infected computers

guest · Dec 17, 2019

mood said: ↑

Football Leaks: Suspected hacker charged in Portugal
September 19, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49763321
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Hacker Rui Pinto's trial pre-hearing to start on Wednesday
December 17, 2019
https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/hacker-rui-pintos-trial-pre-hearing-to-start-on-wednesday/52390

The pre-hearing, an optional phase where a criminal investigation judge (JIC) decides if the case proceeds and in what manner for trial, was requested by the defence of the two defendants in the case, Rui Pinto and the lawyer Aníbal Pinto, and will take place at the Criminal Investigation Court of Lisbon on Wednesday at 10.30 a.m.

The public prosecutor charged Pinto with 147 crimes on 19 September, 75 of which relate to illegitimate access, 70 to violation of correspondence - seven of these deemed serious - one of computer sabotage and one of attempted extortion, for accessing the computer systems [...]
Pinto, 30, who has been in detention since 22 March, was first detained in Hungary and then handed over to the Portuguese authorities based on a European Arrest Warrant only relating to alleged illegal access to the computer systems of Sporting and Doyen.

Pinto is also suspected of being responsible for the theft of emails from Benfica in 2017.
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guest · Dec 17, 2019

Nuclear Bot Author Arrested in Sextortion Case
December 17, 2019
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/12/nuclear-bot-author-arrested-in-sextortion-case/

Last summer, a wave of sextortion emails began flooding inboxes around the world. The spammers behind this scheme claimed they’d hacked your computer and recorded videos of you watching porn, and promised to release the embarrassing footage to all your contacts unless a bitcoin demand was paid.
Now, French authorities say they’ve charged two men they believe are responsible for masterminding this scam. One of them is a 21-year-old hacker interviewed by KrebsOnSecurity in 2017 who openly admitted to authoring a banking trojan called “Nuclear Bot.”

On Dec. 15, the French news daily Le Parisien published a report stating that French authorities had arrested and charged two men in the sextortion scheme. The story doesn’t name either individual, but rather refers to one of the accused only by the pseudonym “Antoine I.,” noting that his first had been changed (presumably to protect his identity because he hasn’t yet been convicted of a crime).

“The young Frenchman, who lived between Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, was indicted on 6 December for ‘extortion by organized gang, fraudulent access to a data processing system and money laundering.’ He was placed in pre-trial detention.”
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guest · Dec 17, 2019

U.S. SEC charges former Palo Alto Networks IT administrator, others with insider trading
December 17, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa...s-with-insider-trading-idUSL1N28R233?src=ilaw

U.S. authorities on Tuesday said they have charged a former IT administrator and four friends involved in a years-long insider trading ring, in which they used confidential information about a Silicon Valley cloud-computing company to reap millions.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Janardhan Nellore, a former employee of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc, with allegedly using his high level of access to the company’s database to obtain confidential information ahead of earnings. Nellore led a group of friends - Sivannarayana Barama, Ganapathi Kunadharaju, Saber Hussain and Prasad Malempati - in using that information to trade the company’s securities, authorities said in a court document.

The traders made over $7 million in illegal trading profits at the height of their scheme in 2017.
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SEC: Silicon Valley IT Administrator and Friends Charged in Multimillion Dollar Insider Trading Ring

guest · Dec 18, 2019

mood said: ↑

Siemens contractor pleads guilty to planting logic bomb in company spreadsheets
Logic bomb would crash spreadsheets after a certain date, resulting in Siemens hiring the contractor to fix the latest bugs
July 22, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/sieme...-planting-logic-bomb-in-company-spreadsheets/

DoJ: Siemens Contract Employee Intentionally Damaged Computers by Planting Logic Bombs into Programs He Designed
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Siemens Contractor Sentenced for Writing 'Logic Bombs'
December 17, 2019
https://www.darkreading.com/applica...enced-for-writing-logic-bombs-/d/d-id/1336641

A Siemens Corp. contractor was handed a six-month prison sentence and a fine of $7,500 in US District Court for intentionally causing damage to the company's computer systems.

David Tinley, 62, of Harrison City, Pa., from around 2014 to May 13, 2016, inserted logic-bomb code into programs he wrote for Siemens at its Monroeville, Pa., location. The malicious code triggered the software to malfunction. Siemens then would have Tinley fix the software issues — not knowing he had deliberately caused them.
After his prison sentence is completed, Tinley will be under court-ordered supervised release for two years.
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DoJ: Siemens Contract Employee Gets Jail Time for Intentionally Damaging Computers

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