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Stratfor hacked by Anonymous

Started by Pat, December 25, 2011, 12:12:35 PM

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Razgovory

Okay, I suddenly favor classifying people as Illegal combatants.  Hackers need to get sent to Gitmo.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

jimmy olsen

I don't think Robin Hood knew much about computers.  :hmm:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/27/security-stratfor-hackers-credit-cards

QuoteUS security firm Stratfor attacked by 'Robin Hood' hackers

Group linked to Anonymous says it diverted $500,000 to various charities in attack driven by anger at Bradley Manning case

    Robert Booth
    guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 December 2011 19.47 GMT
    Article history

Thousands of customers of a leading US security company are due to be given specialised identity theft protection after computer hackers linked to the Anonymous group claimed to have diverted more than $500,000 from their private bank accounts to charities including the Red Cross, CARE and Save the Children.

The Robin Hood-style attack started on Christmas Eve and was aimed at clients of Stratfor, a security analysis company based in Austin, Texas. Hackers obtained thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information from the firm's clients and started making payments to the charities.

The company's chief executive, George Friedman, has told clients, which include several US government departments, foreign embassies, Interpol, the US army and the United Nations, that by Wednesday they will have received "identity theft protection and monitoring".

In the meantime, he urged them to regularly check their accounts and credit reports and issued his "sincerest apologies" for the security breach, which makes it possible for anyone with access to the internet to download thousands of credit card account details, complete with security codes, in less than a minute.

The assault was believed to have been orchestrated by a branch of the loosely affiliated hacker group called Anti-Sec and appeared to be inspired by anger at the imprisonment of Bradley Manning, the US army private who is accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of US government files to WikiLeaks. An online statement from the group said the attack would stop if Manning was given "a holiday feast ... at a fancy restaurant of his choosing".

Credit card account details belonging to Stratfor clients at companies including Goldman Sachs, Shell and Nestlé were among those that appeared in the file posted online.

"On 24 December an unauthorised party disclosed personally identifiable information and related credit card data of some of our members," Friedman said in a statement.

"We have reason to believe that your personal and credit card data could have been included in the information that was illegally obtained and disclosed. Also publicly released was a list of our members, which the unauthorised party claimed to be Stratfor's 'private clients'.

"Contrary to this assertion the disclosure was merely a list of some of the members that have purchased our publications and does not comprise a list of individuals or entities that have a relationship with Stratfor beyond their purchase of our subscription-based publications."

One member of the hacking group, who uses the handle AnonymousSabu on Twitter, claimed that more than 90,000 credit cards – including those of law enforcement agencies, the intelligence community and journalists – had been hacked to make donations.

The hackers linked to images online that purported to be receipts for charitable donations made by the group manipulating the stolen credit card data. "Thank you! Defense Intelligence Agency," read the text above one image that appeared to show an agency employee's information was used to donate $250 to a charity.

The hackers have mocked those who complained about having money stolen and plundered their accounts afresh. They said in an online statement: "Let us not forget dear old Victor Gebilaguin, who posted the following on Stratfor's Facebook wall in defence of the company: 'The hackers ought to be shot then hanged upside down in public.' Well, since you feel so strongly about it Victor, we went ahead and ran your card up a bit. Hope you don't mind. Really guys, cry us a river."

Stratfor urged its customers to exercise caution when complaining publicly about the hacking.

"It has come to our attention that our members who are speaking out in support of us on Facebook may be being targeted for doing so and are at risk of having sensitive information repeatedly published on other websites," the company said in a statement.

"So, in order to protect yourselves, we recommend taking security precautions when speaking out on Facebook or abstaining from it all together."

Fred Burton, Stratfor's vice-president of intelligence, said the company had reported the intrusion to law enforcement agencies and was working with them on the investigation. The company said it had hired a specialist in identity theft and a second security consultant, but Burton warned "once they fixate on you or try to attack you it's extraordinarily difficult to defend against".
It is far better for the truth to tear my flesh to pieces, then for my soul to wander through darkness in eternal damnation.

Jet: So what kind of woman is she? What's Julia like?
Faye: Ordinary. The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can't leave alone.
Jet: I see.
Faye: Like an angel from the underworld. Or a devil from Paradise.
--------------------------------------------
1 Karma Chameleon point

garbon

This thread is worthless without pica.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Josephus

on top of that, those who had their contact info stolen were sent a fake email from GEorge Friedman.

Dear Stratfor Reader,

While addressing matters related to the breach of Stratfor's data systems, the company has been made aware of false and misleading communications that have circulated within recent days. Specifically, there is a fraudulent email that appears to come from George.Friedman[at]Stratfor.com.

I want to assure everyone that this is not my email address and that any communication from this address is not from me. I also want to assure everyone that Stratfor would never ask customers and friends to provide personal information through the type of attachment that was part of the email at issue. This email, and all similar ones, are false and attempt to prey on the privacy concerns of customers and friends. We strongly discourage you from opening such attachments. We deeply regret the inconvenience this latest development has created.

While Stratfor works to reestablish its data systems and web presence, we ask everyone to please look for official communications, such as this one, and to monitor the Stratfor Facebook page and Twitter feed for company-approved communications.

Thank you for your patience.

Please direct any questions and concerns to [email protected].

Sincerely,

George Friedman
Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Admiral Yi

What happens if you click the link?  Does your bank balance instantly go to zero?

Josephus

Civis Romanus Sum<br /><br />"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011