Computer Crimes And Punishment

guest · Feb 27, 2020

mood said: ↑

Judge rejects claim by attorneys for former Franklin Regional student charged in cyberattack
February 20, 2019
https://triblive.com/news/westmorel...klin-regional-student-charged-in-cyberattack/
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Former Franklin Regional student to serve probation for cyber attack that crippled school, county computers
February 24, 2020
https://triblive.com/local/westmore...attack-that-crippled-school-county-computers/

The lawyer for a former Franklin Regional High School student convicted of a cyberattack that disrupted more than a dozen computer systems throughout Westmoreland County in late 2016 told a judge it was all just a prank.

“It was to play a prank on her school, her administrators at school and the students to make it hard for them to access the internet for a short period of time. It was a joke,” Dresbold said.
That joke, according to prosecutors, resulted in computer systems linked through the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit to be flooded with data and ultimately crash.

She was sentenced Monday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger to serve two years on probation, a term that also requires her to complete two months of house arrest.

“I know 18-year-olds do stupid things, but that doesn’t justify it. I don’t think you understood the ramifications of what you did, and I hope you do now,” Krieger said.
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guest · Mar 3, 2020

Fugitive hacker returns to Taiwan after 13 years on run in China
February 29, 2020
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3883208

A Taiwanese man who had been wanted for hacking into other people’s accounts returned home on Friday (Feb. 28) after 13 years hiding out in China.

The man, an IT engineer named Chang (張), had started in 2000 to hack into other people’s accounts and to use their data to play the stock market. In the process, he made illegal profits totaling NT$42,500 (US$1,400) until he was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison in 2006.
However, Chang did not appear at the prosecutors’ office to start his jail term, leading to an international arrest warrant the following year. On Friday, a friend notified police that Chang had decided to give himself up.
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guest · Mar 3, 2020

ronjor said: ↑

South Florida Jury Convicts Man Who Cybserstalked and Threatened Families of Parkland Victims Wednesday, October 9, 2019
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Man Who Cyberstalked and Threatened Families of Parkland Victims Sentenced to Prison
March 2, 2020
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/p...ed-families-parkland-victims-sentenced-prison

Brandon Michael Fleury, 22, of Santa Ana, California, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison today for cyberstalking and sending a kidnapping threat to families of victims of a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, announced U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
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guest · Mar 3, 2020

Brussels Airlines sues hacker who flew to New York for free
March 3, 2020
https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgi...es-sues-hacker-who-flew-to-new-york-for-free/

The airline is requesting up to €20,000 in compensatory damages to make up for the price of the tickets, as well as for airport taxes and other expenses incurred by the hacker’s feat.

“The man bought a number of tickets through a special app that was intended for employee-use only,” prosecuting attorney Karel Berteloot told HLN. “[He] cancelled the tickets and obtained a reimbursement but then manipulated the URL of the ticket so that he could still use it.”
“He also managed to arrange three tickets in business class for a flight to New York, worth €6,000 per ticket. The man would better use his talents legally, “Berteloot added.

The 25-year-old’s appearance before the court on Monday mark the second time he is brought to justice for similar facts, after he reportedly also broke into the IT systems of travel and telecom companies like Lufthansa, Thalys, Mobistar and Proximus.
A verdict is expected on 30 March.
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guest · Mar 4, 2020

Accused LinkedIn hacker worked with alleged SEC hacker, according to DOJ filing
March 4, 2020
https://www.cyberscoop.com/nikulin-trial-linkedin-oleksandr-ieremenko/

Hackers accused of carrying out separate attacks on social network LinkedIn and public relations firms for financial gain worked together as part of a “a criminal clique” in which scammers from Ukraine and Russia pooled their resources, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Yevgeniy Nikulin [...] is set to stand trial in San Francisco for allegedly stealing credentials from LinkedIn and Formspring, then trying to sell that database on a Russian-language internet forum.
Ieremenko was previously charged, along with six other individuals, in connection with a scheme to steal nonpublic information from the SEC and PR firms for the purpose of illegal trading.

The filing is yet another indication that the Russian criminal underground has a distinct level of organization among those accused of carrying out high-profile hacking crimes.
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guest · Mar 5, 2020

Indictment names Group-IB executive in scheme to sell hacked data
March 5, 2020
https://www.cyberscoop.com/group-ib-nikita-kislitsin-indicted-formspring-nikulin/

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday unsealed a 2014 indictment alleging that a current cybersecurity executive was involved a conspiracy to sell usernames and passwords belonging to American customers of the social media company Formspring in 2012.

The man identified in the indictment, Nikita Kislitsin, allegedly received data stolen from Formspring, then tried to sell that information to others. Kislitsin currently works as head of network security at Group-IB, a cybersecurity vendor with offices in Moscow and Singapore.
He joined the company in January 2013, roughly six months after prosecutors say a hacker provided Kislitsin with credentials from Formspring to sell.

But this case is related to charges against Yevgeniy Nikulin, a Russian man set to stand trial in San Francisco for allegedly stealing roughly 117 million usernames and passwords from Formspring, LinkedIn and Dropbox.
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guest · Mar 5, 2020

Former Roswell High student arrested
February 28, 2020
https://www.rdrnews.com/2020/02/28/former-roswell-high-student-arrested/

A former Roswell High School student who allegedly made a request on a website to have two female fellow students killed has been arrested.
Colton Beall, 18, was arrested Thursday in Manchester, Tennessee on a warrant from the Roswell Police Department, according to a press release issued by the Roswell Police Department.

Police were told by the website operator that Beall filled out forms on the website that contained the names of the two targeted females, their addresses and how he wanted them killed. Beall’s street address, phone number, email address and, in one case, his actual name were included on the submitted forms.
The website’s owner later explained to investigators he launched the site in 2005 for a startup company that would provide computer hacking and detection services to customers, according to the press release.

The company never really got started, but the website remained in place as a “parody hitman” site.
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The release states the owner eventually discovered some people were taking the website seriously and requesting murders. He then began transferring information received through the website to law enforcement agencies.
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guest · Mar 6, 2020

US DoD Employee Charged with Spying for Lover
March 5, 2020
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/us-dod-employee-charged-with/

A linguist working for the US Department of Defense has been charged with leaking the identities of American spies to a lover with connections to an overseas terrorist organization.

Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, was charged yesterday with transmitting highly sensitive classified national defense information to a Lebanese national connected to Hizballah.
An investigation of audit logs showing Thompson’s network activity on United States Department of Defense classified systems found that the linguist repeatedly accessed classified information that she had no need to access.

It is alleged that over a six-week period between December 30, 2019, and February 10, 2020, Thompson looked at dozens of files concerning human intelligence sources, including true names, personal identification data, background information, and photographs of the human assets, as well as operational cables detailing information the assets provided to the United States government.
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DoJ: Defense Department Linguist Charged with Espionage

guest · Mar 6, 2020

Former DHS official charged with theft of confidential government software, databases
March 6, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/forme...h-theft-of-confidential-government-databases/

In a press release today, the US Department of Justice charged a former Acting Inspector General for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the theft of proprietary software and confidential government databases.

The indictment named Charles K. Edwards, a former DHS Acting Inspector General between 2011 to 2013, but also his former aid, 54-year-old Murali Yamazula Venkata.
DOJ officials claim that between October 2014 and April 2017 -- after Edwards left office -- Edwards, Venkata, and others were part of a scheme that stole confidential and proprietary software from DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG).

"Although Edwards had left DHS-OIG in December 2013, he continued to leverage his relationship with Venkata and other DHS-OIG employees to steal the software and the sensitive government databases," the DOJ said today in an announcement.
According to court documents, Venkata, Edwards' former aid, along with others, assisted the former DHS AIG by reconfiguring his laptop so that he could properly upload the stolen software and databases.
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In November 2014, an internal DHS investigation cleared Edwards on 13 charges such as awarding contracts to unqualified companies, destroying phone records, or modifying reports. He was, however, faulted for pressuring staff to do research for his doctoral dissertation and to review his wife's graduate school homework.
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DoJ: Former Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Indicted on Theft of Government Property and Scheme to Defraud the United States Government

guest · Mar 7, 2020

Former Orting schools IT employee charged with computer trespass, malicious mischief
March 6, 2020
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article240861026.html

A former Orting School District IT employee who resigned after being accused of improperly using district money now has been charged with first-degree computer trespass and third-degree malicious mischief.

Charging papers filed Monday in Pierce County Superior Court accuse 43-year-old Jason Irvin Rudolph of changing the password to his former wife’s work email account, deleting five years of messages and setting an auto-reply message that she no longer worked there.

“An important fact that must be considered in this case is Jason Rudolph’s level of expertise in his career field; he served as the IT Director for the Orting School District and has had years of extensive training and experience in the field of computer networking,” the declaration for determination of probable cause said. “This training includes how to safeguard against ‘hacking’ and ‘cyberattacks.’”
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guest · Mar 8, 2020

Houston Man Sentenced in Beaumont Gas Pump Skimming Scheme
March 5, 2020
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/houston-man-sentenced-beaumont-gas-pump-skimming-scheme

A 36-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
Carlos Garcia pleaded guilty on July 11, 2019, to conspiracy to commit access device (credit card) fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield on March 5, 2020.

According to information presented in court, on Nov. 10, 2017, law enforcement officers responded to a suspicious activity call at the Gator’s convenience store located at 2890 Dowlen Road in Beaumont, Texas.
Forensic analysis of the skimming device found 258 credit card account numbers had been recorded without authorization, many of the numbers identified as belonging to Beaumont residents and businesses who frequently used the gasoline pumps.
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guest · Mar 9, 2020

Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Engaging in Internet-Based Child Exploitation Enterprise and Child Pornography Conspiracy
March 6, 2020
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/p...ernet-based-child-exploitation-enterprise-and

U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Marqueal Bonds, 22, of Chicago, IL, pleaded guilty to engaging in a nationwide child exploitation enterprise and conspiracy to advertise child pornography. Bonds entered a guilty plea mid-trial before Senior United States District Judge Harvey Bartle, III.

Using Discord, an electronic communications service that allows users to share files and communicate via text chat messages, Bonds and his co-conspirators participated in two separate collections of chat rooms to discuss and share files containing child pornography.
Shortly after federal agents executed a search warrant of Discord’s servers in October 2018, revealing messages about child pornography, the defendant confessed to his participation in this child exploitation enterprise. Subsequent forensic analysis of his digital devices confirmed his confession.

“Bonds and his co-conspirators employed a familiar ruse to lure their victims: they trolled the Internet on legitimate sites like Snapchat, Periscope, and Live.me for vulnerable victims, tricked them into believing they were chatting with boys or girls their own ages, [...]”
“We’re pleased that Bonds finally recognized how much damning digital evidence the FBI’s investigation turned up and decided, mid-trial, it was in his best interests to change his plea to guilty. [...]”
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guest · Mar 9, 2020

ronjor said: ↑

FTC Charges Operator of Crowdfunding Scheme
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The man behind an alleged crowdfunding scam wants you to know he isn’t a scammer
March 4, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/4/2...wdfunding-scam-investigation-ftc-doug-monahan

Lots of people want a word with Doug Monahan — government lawyers, crowdfunding backers, people from his past, and me.
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[...] an idea that raised more than half a million dollars, only to never ship and leave behind thousands of angry backers. The difference in this story, however, is that for only the second time, the Federal Trade Commission is coming for the creator.

The agency claims Monahan took his backpack funds and spent them on “personal expenses,” including bitcoin purchases, ATM withdrawals, and credit card debt. The agency says he threatened backers who pursued him for their bags. The state of Texas is suing him, too.
We meet at a Tex-Mex restaurant chain called Pappasito’s in Houston.

I ask why he thinks the FTC is going after him. [...]
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guest · Mar 10, 2020

Collin County Man Sentenced for Sending Threatening Social Media Texts
March 9, 2020
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/p...tenced-sending-threatening-social-media-texts

A 23-year-old Richardson, Texas man has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno.

Rahul Ramesh Joshi pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2019 to sending threatening communications to injure another, in interstate commerce, and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on March 6, 2020.
According to information presented in court, in December 2018, a federal law enforcement agent began investigating a complaint from a female Snapchat user. She allegedly received threatening messages on different messaging apps from several different users that all seemed to be connected.
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stapp · Mar 10, 2020

The FBI has arrested a Russian national believed to be behind Deer.io, a Shopify-like platform that hosts online stores where hackers advertise and sell hacked accounts and stolen user information.
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https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-a...er-io-a-shopify-like-platform-for-cybercrime/

guest · Mar 10, 2020

Worker at Israel’s nuclear energy authority charged with hacking computer system
no details given on motive; gag order imposed on details of case
March 10, 2020
https://www.timesofisrael.com/worke...thority-charged-with-hacking-computer-system/

An employee of Israel’s secretive Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) was indicted Tuesday at the Rehovot Magistrate’s Court on charges of breaking into a computer system and invasion of privacy, following an investigation by the Defense Ministry.

According to the charge sheet filed by the cyber department at the State Attorney’s Office as part of a plea bargain, from August 2018 until January 2020 the accused broke into computer systems she was not licensed to use 70-100 times and “illegally conducted targeted searches in violation of the Protection of Privacy Law.”
The court accepted the state’s request to issue a gag order on details of the case, which will be heard behind closed doors due to considerations of national security.

Director of Security of the Defense Establishment, the agency that carried out the probe, is considered one of the most secretive branches of the ministry.
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guest · Mar 10, 2020

mood said: ↑

Man Indicted After Phishing Email Duped Crowley ISD Out of $2 Million
February 22, 2019
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/p...hishing-email-duped-crowley-isd-out-2-million
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Florida Man Convicted in Email Scam That Stole $2M from Crowley ISD
March 10, 2020
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/f...-scam-that-stole-2m-from-crowley-isd/2327649/

A Florida man has been convicted of stealing $2 million from the Crowley Independent School District in a computer email scam.

Donald Conkright, 63, of Key West, Florida, was arrested in December 2018. A jury convicted him of money laundering last week after a three-day trial.
Prosecutors said in October 2018 an email claiming to be from a legitimate contractor, a construction company, was used to dupe the district's accounting director into wiring $1,995,715.52 to Conkright's personal bank account.

“Let this conviction send a loud and clear message to criminals who continue their attempts to target school districts, governments and other entities with high-tech, constantly-changing scams,” McFarland said. “We must all remain alert and vigilant together.”
Conkright is set to be sentenced on May 11.
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guest · Mar 10, 2020

Trial of Accused Russian Hacker Kicks Off in San Francisco
March 10, 2020
https://www.courthousenews.com/trial-of-accused-russian-hacker-kicks-off-in-san-francisco/

The criminal trial of accused Russian hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin opened Tuesday, with lawyers from the Justice Department painting him as a run-of-the-mill thief who breached LinkedIn, DropBox, and Formspring computer networks in 2012 and made off with millions of usernames and passwords.

Nikulin is charged with three counts of computer intrusion, two counts of transmitting code to damage a computer, two counts of identity theft, one count of trafficking in unauthorized access devices, and one count of conspiracy.
If convicted, Nikulin could spend more than 30 years in prison and pay more than $1 million in fines.
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guest · Mar 12, 2020

Teenage Hacker Could Receive 600-Year Jail Term
March 12, 2020
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/teenage-hacker-could-receive/

An Arizona teen could be sentenced to more than 600 years in prison after allegedly hacking into a computer and stealing thousands of indecent images of children.

Cameron Charles Brush, of Mohave Valley, is accused of gaining unauthorized access to a 17-year-old girl's social media account and stealing sexually explicit images of her.
An investigation into Brush's online activities was begun in August 2019 after the victim reported to the local sheriff that her social media account had been hacked and photos had been removed from her account.
The sheriff's detectives were able to recover IP addresses used by the hacker and trace them to computers linked to Brush's two residences.

Brush, now 18, was indicted last week on ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of sexual extortion, seven counts of computer tampering, and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
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If convicted of all 25 charges in the 2020 indictment, Brush could receive a maximum sentence of 395 years. He could be handed an additional consecutive jail term of 240 years if convicted of all ten counts in the 2019 indictment.
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guest · Mar 13, 2020

Man jailed for hacking into 297 accounts to search for private images
March 13, 2020
https://www.essex.police.uk/news/es...to-297-accounts-to-search-for-private-images/

A computer hacker has been jailed for 32 months after accessing 297 victim accounts in order to download and steal their private photographs for his own sexual gratification.

Robert Field, 38, of Nightingale Avenue, Hathern, Loughborough, was sentenced for 28 counts of causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorised data and one count of securing unauthorised access to computer material with intent at Chelmsford Crown Court today, Friday 13 March.
We found that he had accessed Apple iCloud accounts of men and women, some known to him, to look for and download images.

“Field used his specialist knowledge to hack his unsuspecting victims' accounts across the country and then accessed their most intimate photographs, having no regard to the distress and embarrassment he caused to them.
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guest · Mar 13, 2020

Big BEC Bust Brings Down Dozens
March 13, 2020
https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/big-bec-bust-brings-down-dozens/d/d-id/1337314

Federal officials have arrested two dozen individuals on charges related to a series of business email compromise (BEC) fraud and money-laundering schemes.
The individuals, most of whom live in or around Atlanta, are alleged to have committed fraud against individuals and companies using BEC schemes, romance fraud scams, and retirement account scams, among others.

According to a statement released by the Justice Department, those arrested this week join 17 individuals already in federal custody as charged in the series of alleged crimes.
More than two dozen local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies participated in the investigation of the defendants.
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DoJ: Dozens charged in Atlanta-based money laundering operation that funneled $30 million in proceeds from computer fraud schemes, romance scams, and retirement account fraud

guest · Mar 19, 2020

California man gets prison for hacking Atlanta-based company
March 18, 2020
https://apnews.com/ed14c09eec7c866d6a5c12cb04fd4eff

A California man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for hacking an Atlanta-based company and trying to extort money in exchange for the return of the company’s intellectual property.

A federal judge ordered Christian William Kight, 29, of San Clemente, California, to serve seven years and eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, federal prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday. Kight was also ordered to pay a $900 fine and $42,000 in restitution.
Kight, also known as Drillo, was sentenced last week after pleading guilty in December to charges of extortion, computer fraud and wire fraud.

“This defendant hid behind his computer to extort companies in this district and elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said.
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Kight accessed computer networks and servers of multiple companies and organizations in Georgia without authorization, prosecutors said. He concealed his identity and took data files and deleted data and log files. He then sent emails demanding money to release the company’s data, prosecutors said.
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DoJ: California man sentenced for hacking an Atlanta-based company

guest · Mar 18, 2020

mood said: ↑

Trial of Accused Russian Hacker Kicks Off in San Francisco
March 10, 2020
https://www.courthousenews.com/trial-of-accused-russian-hacker-kicks-off-in-san-francisco/
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Russian National Nikulin's Trial Suspended Until at Least April 13 - Court Document
March 18, 2020
https://sputniknews.com/world/20200...ded-until-at-least-april-13---court-document/

The trial of Russian national Yevgeniy Nikulin, accused of computer hacking by the US authorities, which started last week, has been suspended until at least 13 April, the court said in its order.

"For the reasons stated on the record during today's status conference, the defendant's motion to continue the trial until 13 April, 2020, is GRANTED", the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on Wednesday.
The US authorities have accused Nikulin of hacking into computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring online services. Nikulin has pleaded not guilty to the charges laid against him.

The Russian authorities, who charged Nikulin with Internet fraud in 2009, requested his extradition on the same day as the United States, but the Czech Republic’s Justice Ministry granted the US request.
His defence insists that Nikulin cannot defend himself because of his mental condition.
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guest · Mar 20, 2020

JAILED: Hacker John Johnson who stole usernames and passwords to get online services for free
March 20, 2020
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/...usernames-passwords-get-online-services-free/

John Johnson, 22, was sent down at Reading Crown Court yesterday after admitting 12 charges relating to computer misuse.
Thames Valley Police said Johnson, from The Knares in Essex, committed the offences between September 15, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

The force said the 22 year old used software to get hold of usernames and passwords, to then gain access to various websites and services without paying for it.

“The true cost of this crime was the impact upon customers whose accounts were being used without their knowledge and the cost to companies of preventing these activities.
Johnson pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to 11 counts of making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply an article intending that it should be used to commit or to assist in the commission of Computer Misuse Act offences, four counts of causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access, [...]
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Minimalist · Mar 25, 2020

Rare cybercrime enforcement in Russia yields 25 arrests, shutters 'BuyBest' marketplace

Russian authorities arrested more than two dozen people as part of a law enforcement operation against an alleged network of illicit websites where users bought and sold stolen payment cards and personal data.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/buybest-hackers-arrested-fsb-russia/

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