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Sunday, July 17, 20051121613000
4G Tactics: Cyber-Crime or Cyber-Terrorism
In January 2005, Jeremy Hammond and the hacker group collectively known as the "Internet Liberation Front" gained illegal access to the ProtestWarrior server. Thousands of customer credit card numbers were then stolen for the purpose of making millions of dollars in donations to various leftwing organizations. In early February, ProtestWarrior discovered the illegal breach and the identity of the criminals responsible.
Using the hacker recruiting ground www.hackthissite.org, Jeremy Hammond put together and led a team of politically motivated "hacktivists" to probe the ProtestWarrior server for months until an exploit was found. When an obscure vulnerability was discovered in the PW server's newsletter subscription code, they managed to upload malicious files that gave them the ability to execute commands on the server.
Upon discovering the hack, we immediately began collecting information on the breach and managed to penetrate Jeremy's inner circle. We then collected evidence that more than 5,000 credit card numbers had been stolen by Jeremy and the "Internet Liberation Front" and that they were planning on doing the following:
*charge hundreds of dollars per stolen credit card number as donations to various left-wing organizations by using an automated donation submission script
*send the entire ProtestWarrior HQ database (complete with usernames, passwords, and operation details) to left-wing groups hostile to ProtestWarrior (including the entire contents of our mail server)
*upload all credit card numbers and other sensitive customer information to hundreds of anarchist and left-wing sites (specifically Indymedia) as a downloadable zip file
*anonymously send press releases and material to thousands of media contacts to boast of the malicious hack and the millions of dollars defrauded, and to publish any and all sensitive information regarding the ProtestWarrior organization
*erase the entire PW server
*launch simultaneous attacks on other conservative sites
Upon discovering their plans, we contacted the FBI and the Secret Service, who immediately launched an investigation. We were able to provide them with a tremendous amount of evidence regarding the breach, the criminals responsible, and their plans to commit massive credit card fraud. We also reported the incident to all credit card companies involved to make sure that ProtestWarrior's customers were protected. With our help, the FBI was able to thwart Jeremy and his army of "hacktivists".
After contacting the FBI, we immediately hired a security consultant and removed all sensitive information from the server. We eventually moved the server to a new box, where we blocked off the system and data files from the web server and changed the online store software to a super-secure system that stores zero sensitive customer information. In addition, we hired an internet security firm to run a series of vigorous vulnerability tests on our server, which our server all passed.
The reason we haven't made this announcement earlier is that our customers were already protected and we didn't want to jeopardize the ongoing FBI investigation of Jeremy and his "hacktivist" army.
The reason we're posting this now is that Jeremy, in a desperate move, is publicly appealing to the internet community regarding his pending FBI investigation. Using his site www.freejeremy.com, he is trying to solicit donations for his defense fund and generate public sympathy while spreading libelous disinformation regarding ProtestWarrior and the events leading up to the FBI investigation.
10:10 Posted by Dan tdaxp (Webmaster) | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this | Tags: 4gw, cybercrime, cyberterrorism
Comments
FBI: Missing the newest trend in terrorism?
By John Loftus
http://www.intelligencesummit.org/news/JohnLoftus/JL091905.php
Special Agents in the street grumble that Al Qaeda is evolving again, while the Bureau's bosses pat each other on the back over yesterday's victories. Al Qaeda was a different beast before. First it was an alumni organization, recruiting combat veterans who had been schooled in the Afghan wars. Once the school rosters fell into American hands, the alumni were systematically hunted down, captured or killed. Good work.
But while the FBI applauded itself, Al Qaeda switched over to its second tier of recruits. Waiting in the wings were members of nationalist groups like the Moroccan madmen who bombed Madrid or the Jordanian fanatics of Al Zarqawi. These second tier terrorists were more like Kentucky Fried Chicken franchisees: they were independent operators who only borrowed the Al Qaeda name but were not subject to Al Qaeda control. As the EU and Arab states consolidate their anti-terror operations, the franchise terrorists are slowly becoming neutralized, isolated or exterminated. Ask Iraq.
In desperation, Al Qaeda has now devolved into its third iteration: a teenage fan club whose members correspond with each other over the internet as if they are playing a video game. But, as the London subway passengers discovered last July, sometimes the video games are a deadly dress rehearsal for the real thing.
For too long, western intelligence has dismissed the third tier of recruits as kiddy crime, the harmless posturing of Al Qaeda wannabees. The teens' twin terrorist organizations, Hizb ut-Tahrir and Al Mujaharoun ("Hut/Muj" for short) were laughed at as propaganda outlets of Sheik Bakri, a harmless little lunatic based in London at the Finsbury Mosque. But, as Bakri himself admits, during the 1990's both he and his assistant worked with the British Secret Intelligence Service setting up the Kosovo Liberation Army. They are not exactly virgins at recruiting kids to kill.
Hut/Muj usually targets 15 to 19 year olds, and indoctrinates them with private religious lessons for several years. Their naïve émigré parents think the kids are going to some sort of Islamic Sunday school, while they are actually attending Bin Laden's version of the Hitler Youth. After several years of bonding and brain washing, the kids, now in their early twenties, are ready for terrorist operations. Some live near you.
Hut/Muj cells have spread like a cancer to California, New York, Virginia and Oregon. Despite the fact that local police have made several arrests for planned subway bombings and terrorist training, the FBI still laughs the whole Hut/Muj phenomenon off. This, the feds assert, is protected freedom of speech, mosque based religious education, entirely harmless. That is what the British used to say before 7/7. The mental calendar of the FBI's top leadership seems permanently stuck on 9/10. Wake up or die, FBI.
Posted by: Intelligence Summit | Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Very interesting application of the concept of cybertime to the GWOT. Thank you.
If real, this is an extremely innovate use of the internet to create new terrorists through social cognition.
Thank you again.
Posted by: Dan tdaxp | Thursday, September 22, 2005