Tag Archives: stop-dos

Data center outages increasingly caused by DDoS

While overall unplanned data center outages have decreased, those that were the result of targeted DDoS attacks have skyrocketed. Think housing your servers in a data center rather than squeezing them under your desk is a bulletproof solution? Well, they might be safer in a data center, but believe it or not, some of the same pitfalls that can create trouble in the office can affect those secure data centers too. Namely UPS failure, human error, and cybercrime. ‘Unplanned’ UPS system failure is still the principal cause of “unplanned data center outages,” according to a new report. A quarter of all such events were related to UPS systems and batteries, according to Emerson Network Power in association with Ponemon Institute. The two organizations have been studying the cost of unplanned data center outages. Cybercrime But cybercrime-caused outages, specifically Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, constituted a whopping 22% of the unplanned disruptions last year. That’s up from just 2% in 2010 and 18% in 2013, the last times the two organizations performed the survey. The survey collected responses from 63 data center operations who had observed an outage in the prior about year about what exactly happened. The report was published this month. Root causes Accidental causes or human error were the third biggest cause of unplanned outages, according to the report. Those mishaps caused 22% of the failures. That’s the same percentage as in 2013, but lower than in 2010, when 24% of outages were accidental or human-caused. Interestingly, many other causes of outages are lower now than they were in 2010 and 2013. They’ve been usurped by cybercrime’s huge gain. UPS failure is down slightly on 2010, when it accounted for 29% of the outages. And the aforementioned human error is down a bit. And utility failure, such as water, heat, and Computer Room Air Conditioning, which today makes up just 11% of the outages, was at 15% in 2010. Generators Likewise, generators appear to have become more reliable. Those systems contributed to 10% of the failures in 2010, whereas today they only make up 6%. The researchers don’t provide numbers relating to changing data center design over the period. Fewer generators in use—replaced by solar and alternative energy—could conceivably have caused that statistical decline. The report doesn’t specify. Weather Overall, most unplanned outage causes—including those caused by weather, which accounted for 10% of outages this year, compared to 12% in 2010 and 2013—have declined in favor of cybercrime. Even IT failure, a measly 4% of failures today, dropped from 5% in 2010. About $9K per minute And the cost? The report was released to expound on the cost of the outages, rather than to apportion blame. Well, the “average total cost per minute of an unplanned outage increased from $5,617 in 2010 to $7,908 in 2013 to $8,851 now,” according to the report. Downtime at data centers now costs an average of $740,357. That’s a 38% increase on 2010, the study calculates. And maximum costs are even higher. “Maximum downtime costs are rising faster than average, increasing 81% since 2010 to a current high of $2,409,991,” the report says. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/3024773/data-center/data-center-outages-increasingly-caused-by-ddos.html

DDoS gang takes down BBC websites, Donald Trump’s campaign site over holiday weekend

A group of computer criminals used two separate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to bring down all of the BBC’s websites and Donald Trump’s main campaign site over this past holiday weekend. The story begins on New Year’s Eve, when all BBC sites, including its iPlayer service, went dark for three hours. At the time, the UK-based news organization reported that the outage was the result of a “technical issue”. It later stated that a group calling themselves the “New World Hackers” had claimed credit for launching a DDoS attack against the broadcaster, as a “test of its capabilities” Since then, one of the group’s members who identified himself as “Ownz” took the opportunity to send a screenshot to ZDNet of the web interface that was used to attack the BBC. If the screenshot is legitimate, the group allegedly employed their own tool called BangStresser to launch an attack of up to 602 Gbps – a volume of traffic that well-surpasses the largest attack on record at 334 Gbps, as documented by Arbor Networks in the middle of year. Not untypically, BangStresser is itself protected from DDoS attacks by CloudFlare – one of the popular DDoS mitigation services often deployed by websites keen to protect themselves from attackers. The attack apparently made use of two Amazon Web Services servers, but managed to skirt around the company’s automated misuse detection systems as Ownz explained in an interview with ZDNet : “We have our ways of bypassing Amazon. The best way to describe it is we tap into a few administrative services that Amazon is use to using. The [sic] simply set our bandwidth limit as unlimited and program our own scripts to hide it.” No other information has yet been provided about the attack. But whatever else transpired, the group was sufficiently pleased that they decided to use BangStresser to launch a DDoS against Donald Trump’s official campaign website, donaldjtrump.com, just a few days later. According to Softpedia , Trump’s website went down immediately on Saturday, January 2 and remained dark for several hours until DDoS mitigation solutions were put in place. The attacks, however, remained ongoing throughout the day against mail.trump.com domain, the Trump Organization’s Webmail service. Trump’s camp has yet to officially address the incident. A statement posted on Saturday by Trump’s campaign advisers (and redistributed via HackRead ) attributed the downage to “an unusually high volume of traffic” only. On Monday, Real Forums sat down with members of the group to inquire about their New Year’s exploits. Here’s what they had to say: “Our reasons behind the BBC attack was just a test of our capabilities. Although, the Trump site was the target. He can be very racist. We didn’t mean to cause as much damage as we did to BBC, but for Trump, Yes.” The group goes on to state that it plans to launch additional DDoS attacks against Trump and other large organizations like the BBC . The group also specifically mentions ISIS and the Ku Klux Klan as future targets. We’re not a week into 2016, and we’ve already witnessed DDoS attacks that have succeeded in taking down the websites of major news organizations and U.S. political candidates. It just goes to show that while malware is on the rise, DDoS attacks are not going anywhere in the New Year. As we all get back to work, we should therefore take the time to make sure our enterprises have the necessary DDoS mitigation technologies in place. Source: https://www.grahamcluley.com/2016/01/ddos-gang-takes-bbc-websites-donald-trumps-campaign-site-holiday-weekend/

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DDoS gang takes down BBC websites, Donald Trump’s campaign site over holiday weekend

BBC Websites, DDoS attack By Anti ISIS Hacking Group For Testing Their Capabilities

Hackers against the Islamic State or ISIS have claimed that the BBC website downtime during New Year’s Eve was their DDoS attack, but with no bad intentions. BBC websites were down for several hours during the evening before January 1, 2016. A company source inside BBC admitted that there was a distributed denial of service attack that took the websites down. Now, anti-ISIS hacker group named as New World Hacking is claiming that they were the reason why the BBC websites were unavailable for a quite long duration. However, they did not hack the website to cripple its capability to disseminate news and such. New World Hacking said that they were just testing their capabilities on BBC’s servers. They did not intend to take the site down for hours. “Let me get you proof of our records really quick, our motive was simply because we can. It was almost exactly a 600 GBps attack. We used two nodes to attack with and a few extra dedicated servers. It was only a test, we didn’t exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours. Our servers are quite strong,” the group told Rory Cellan-Jones from BBC via Twitter. DDoS Attacks In A Nutshell For the uninitiated, a DDoS attacks does not really involve a direct “hack” or penetration of a database, but it could be used as a cover. What happened was that the BBC websites experienced a massive flow of web traffic that came from the hacker group. The websites were not able to keep up with the continued barrage of web traffic, resulting it into shutting down. There are different types of DDoS attacks that can be carried out. Some of the attacks directly flood the websites with more traffic than it can handle. Some send only fragments of data packets, which usually leads to the server piecing it back together instead of catering to their legit site visitors. In order to conduct a successful DDoS attack, hackers usually use a wide network of computers known as botnets. These botnets may consist of their own computers or compromised ones across the globe using their own malware. Attack Only A Test, Not Malicious New World Hacking said that they are based in the United States and that they are determined to take down any ISIS affiliated sites and online accounts. Anonymous has previously declared a cyber-war against ISIS as they continuously help in taking down online propaganda and recruitment sites. BBC’s press office refused to comment on the hacker group’s claim. They also did not confirm nor deny if the DDoS attack was the cause of the website’s temporary downtime. “We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers… who is there to fight off online terrorists? The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power,” the group told BBC. One person named Ownz from the hacker group said that they were only a team of 12 people. Eight of them were male and four of them were female. Ownz claims that New World Hacking was formed in 2012. Hacker groups are not new, but only a handful of them have actual good intentions. With ISIS trying to recruit followers and jihadists online, these hackers have stepped up to try and stop them from doing so. Some Internet users are cheering them on, while some have questioned their methods and capabilities. At the core, all the soldier deployed across the globe are considered heroes and not the hackers. New World Hacking Campaigns New World Hacking claims that they have already done their part in making the world a better and safer place. They took part in the #OpParis effort in order to help determine the identities of IS affiliated accounts after the terrible Paris attack tragedy in November 2015. Ownz also said that they took part in a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan. Ownz said that they are using a hacking tool named Bangstresser. They claim that they have already used the tool against several IS websites. Bangstresser was said to be developed by another U.S.-based hacker activist. New World Hacking tried out the tool against the BBC websites along with several of their personal computer servers and possibly botnets. Ownz told the BBC that they are planning to attack a new list of ISIS targets online. It is unclear which sites they are referring to, but they were not disclosed in order to help protect the integrity and effectiveness of their campaign. BBC Websites And Services Downtime BBC websites started to be down at around 7 PM on Thursday. Instead of the website interface, they were greeted with an error. In addition to the websites, their iPlayer Radio app and iPlayer catch-up service were also down. The iPlayer app was recently launched for the Apple TV App Store in December 2015. Twitter (NASDAQ: TWTR) users replied to the BBC Press Office’s announcement that they were aware of the “technical issue.” Some have said suggested that they should try turning their servers off and on again. Some have also taken the news in a lighter tone, saying that the HR department should be blamed for insisting the unused leaves be used before 2015 ended. Others took the chance to mock BBC, saying that they shouldn’t rush because they know BBC is telling the truth when they are silent. Other users have also asked if it was DDoS attack, but no replies were given by BBC. Some users have also reported that the BBC Bitesize and BBC Food recipes were down as well. BBC websites started to be back online at around 10:30 PM. However, some of the websites took longer than usual to load. All of the services and websites functioned normally several hours more after. New World Hacking did not say why they chose the BBC services and websites as a test target for their attacks. However, one possible reason is to demonstrate the scale and power of their attacks by attacking one of the most known broadcasting corporations in the world. Source: http://www.biztekmojo.com/001843/bbc-websites-services-taken-down-anti-isis-hacking-group-testing-their-capabilities

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BBC Websites, DDoS attack By Anti ISIS Hacking Group For Testing Their Capabilities

2016 will see the rise of DDoS-as-a-service

We’ve already seen a big increase in DDoS attacks in the past year and according to the latest predictions these are set to continue and become more sinister in nature as we move into 2016. Security specialist Corero foresees a rise in ‘Dark DDoS’ attacks used as various smokescreens to distract victims while other attacks infiltrate corporate networks to steal sensitive data. Dave Larson, COO at Corero Network Security, says, “The highly sophisticated, adaptive and powerful Dark DDoS attack will grow exponentially next year as criminals build on their previous successes of using DDoS attacks as a distraction technique. The Carphone Warehouse attack in August was interesting because it was one of the first publicly reported cases of Dark DDoS in the public domain. This is a new frontier for DDoS attacks and a growing threat for any Internet-connected business that is housing sensitive data, such as credit card details or other personally identifiable information”. It also predicts a rise in DDoS-as-a-service cyber crime business models, where it’s possible to pay to have victims hit for as little as $6.00 per month. This means less sophisticated cyber crime actors can readily become DDoS adversaries. During October 2015, 10 percent of Corero’s customer base was faced with extortion attempts, which threatened to take down or to continue an attack on their websites unless a ransom demand was paid. If the volume of DDoS attacks continues to grow at the current rate of 32 percent per quarter, according to Corero’s latest Trends and Analysis Report, the volume of Bitcoin ransom demands could triple to 30 percent by the same time next year. Corero also anticipates 2016 will see ISPs come under pressure to provide DDoS mitigation services to their customers. In a survey conducted this autumn, Corero revealed that three quarters of enterprise customers would like their ISP to provide additional security services to eliminate DDoS traffic from entering their networks. “The current status quo allows malicious traffic carrying DDoS threats to flow freely over most provider networks,” says Larson. “As a result, most customers end up paying their provider for bandwidth that delivers potentially dangerous Internet content. But the technology exists for ISPs to turn this problem into a business opportunity. By providing DDoS mitigation tools as a service, deployed at the Internet edge, they can defeat this problem before it enters their customers’ networks”. Source: http://betanews.com/2015/12/28/2016-will-see-the-rise-of-ddos-as-a-service/

TalkTalk hack: 15-year-old boy arrested in Northern Ireland over DDoS attack

News stunned security experts who had assumed that Isis terrorists or major country had been behind the breach A boy of 15 has been arrested and questioned on suspicion of being the mastermind behind the TalkTalk data theft cyber attack. A team from Scotland Yard’s Cyber Crime Unit joined Police Service of Northern Ireland officers as they raided the teenager’s home in County Antrim. The boy was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and taken to a nearby police station. News of the suspect’s age stunned security experts who had assumed that a group of Isis terrorists or a country such as Russia had been behind the massive breach. IT insiders said it would be a “gamechanger” if proven that a teenager operating from his bedroom could bring a global company to its knees. The Met said the property was being searched and inquiries by CCU detectives, the PSNI’s Cyber Crime Centre and the National Crime Agency are continuing. A spokesman said on Monday night: “An arrest has been made in connection with the investigation into alleged data theft from the TalkTalk website. At approximately 4.20pm, officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), working with detectives from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit, executed a search warrant at an address in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The phone and broadband provider, which has four million customers, initially said last week that the “sustained” attack was a DDoS, a distributed denial of service attack where a website is bombarded with waves of traffic. When experts pointed out a DDoS attack would not explain the loss of data TalkTalk later indicated it had been hit by an attack known as an SQL injection – a technique where hackers gain access to a database by entering instructions in a web form. IT security experts had already expressed surprise at how a company the size of TalkTalk was still vulnerable to the method, as it is a well-known type of attack and there are relatively simple ways of defending against it. The company has been heavily criticised for its handling of the cyber attack – the third it has suffered in the last eight months, with incidents in August and February resulting in customers’ data being stolen. Following last week’s breach TalkTalk admitted that customers’ bank account and sort code details may have been accessed as some customers said money has gone missing from their accounts. TalkTalk said there is currently no evidence that customers’ bank accounts have been affected but it does not know how much customer information was encrypted. The company said it would contact all current customers and that an unknown number of previous customers may also be at risk. TalkTalk’s chief executive Dido Harding said last week the firm had received a ransom demand from someone claiming to be behind the cyber attack. Jesse Norman, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is leading an inquiry into the alleged data breach. Cyber Security Minister Ed Vaizey had earlier told MPs that companies could face bigger fines for failing to protect customer data from such attacks. He said the Information Commissioner’s Office can already levy “significant fines” but told the Commons he was “open to suggestions” about how the situation could be “improved”. TalkTalk is facing a maximum fine of £500,000 but the SNP’s John Nicolson said the prospect was “clearly not terrifying” for a company with an annual revenue of £1.8 billion a year. Shares in the telecoms company fell more than 12 per cent on Monday extending its losses from last week when news of the attack first emerged. A statement from Talk Talk said: “We know this has been a worrying time for customers and we are grateful for the swift response and hard work of the police. We will continue to assist with the ongoing investigation. “In the meantime, we advise customers to visit [our website] for updates and information regarding this incident.” Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/talktalk-hack-boy-15-arrested-in-northern-ireland-over-attack-a6709831.html

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TalkTalk hack: 15-year-old boy arrested in Northern Ireland over DDoS attack

London schoolboy secretly arrested over ‘world’s biggest cyber attack’

A London schoolboy has been secretly arrested over the “world’s biggest cyber attack” as part of an international swoop against a suspected organised crime gang. The 16-year-old was detained by detectives at his home in south-west London after “significant sums of money” were found to be “flowing through his bank account”. He was also logged on to what officials say were “various virtual systems and forums” and had his computers and mobiles seized as officers worked through the night to secure potential evidence. The boy’s arrest, by detectives from the National Cyber Crime Unit, followed an international police operation against those suspected of carrying out a cyber attack so large that it slowed down the internet. The “distributed denial of service” or “DDoS” attack was directed at the Dutch anti-spam group Spamhaus which patrols the web to stop prolific spammers filling inboxes with adverts for counterfeit Viagra, bogus weight-loss pills and other illegal products. Details of the arrest, which happened in April, had been kept secret, but have been disclosed to the Evening Standard ahead of the formation of the Government’s new National Crime Agency. It will take over the National Cyber Crime Unit as part of a drive against offending carried out over the internet, now seen as one of the most serious crime-fighting challenges. More than half of the 4,000 officers who will form the new agency next month will be trained in combating cyber crime. The arrest of the London schoolboy, whose identity has not been disclosed, came during a series of coordinated raids with international police forces. Others detained included a 35-year-old Dutchman living in Spain. A briefing document seen by this newspaper on the British investigation, codenamed Operation Rashlike, states that the attack was the “largest DDoS attack ever seen” and that it had a “worldwide impact” on internet exchanges. The document says services affected included the London Internet Exchange and that although the impact was eventually “mitigated” it managed to cause “worldwide disruption of the functionality” of the internet. Giving details of the schoolboy’s alleged involvement, the briefing note states: “The suspect was found with his computer systems open and logged on to various virtual systems and forums. The subject has a significant amount of money flowing through his bank account. Financial investigators are in the process of restraining monies.” The boy has been released on bail until later this year. The disclosure of his arrest follows two cyber attacks on banks. Four men have appeared in court over the first, involving an alleged plot to take over Santander computers by fitting a device during maintenance work. Another eight were arrested over a £1.3?million theft by a gang who took control of a Barclays computer. Meanwhile, security minister James Brokenshire said the creation National Crime Agency would bolster efforts to combat organised criminals operating on the internet and ensure that “cyber gangsters” were left with no hiding place. “The new National Crime Agency’s Cyber Crime Unit will pursue the organised crime gangs behind the online crimes that blight people’s lives and cost the economy millions,” he added. Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/london-schoolboy-secretly-arrested-over-worlds-biggest-cyber-attack-8840766.html

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London schoolboy secretly arrested over ‘world’s biggest cyber attack’

Many online newspapers become DDoS victims

At 4.11 pm of July 7, when accessing Dan Tri newspaper at dantri.com.vn, readers would see the words “Ban hay thuc hien phep tinh de tiep tuc su dung bao Dan Tri” showing that the access was denied. Dan Tri was just one of the many online newspapers hacked in recent days under a large scale DDoS offensive of the hackers. The hacking made a lot of newspapers inaccessible. Some readers still could access websites, but they had to try many times and wait with patience. Internet security experts have commented that the attack might have been well prepared for a long time, because it was conducted in a very methodical way. HVAOnline, a security forum, reported that since July 4, Thanh Nien, Tuoi tre, Dan Tri, VietNamNet, Kenh 14 have been the victims of the DDoS attacks, noting that the number of hacked online newspapers is on the rise. It is estimated that each of the newspapers incur the DDoS attack capacity of 50-70 Mbps, while the capacity was up to 1.3 Gbps for some newspapers. To date, some newspapers have fixed the problems, but the access remains unstable. According to Vo Do Thang, Director of Athena, an Internet security training center in HCM City, the current attack power would be unbearable to the small online newspapers. As such, the hacking would cause serious consequences, especially if it lasts for a long time. The experts said hackers purposely attacked the server of VDC 2 (the Vietnam Data communication Company) where the servers of many online newspapers are located. As a result, not only the VDC 2’s server, but the newspapers’ servers also suffered. HVAOnline said the forum itself and many other forums, information portals in Vietnam also incurred many DDoS attacks, but at weaker intensity. In fact, experts said the attacks began in June 2013 already at low intensity, which could be the preparation for the “general offensive” in July. They believe that the hackers may belong to a big and powerful organization to be able to mobilize such large botnets and zombies for the large scale attack. The hackers reportedly timed their attacks in their way. After finishing one attack aiming to one goal, they began the attack to another goal. After that, they unexpectedly returned and attacked the first aiming point. This way of hacking might make readers and the newspapers’ administrators misunderstand that the newspapers got troubles, while they did not think of a DDoS attack. Buu Dien newspaper on July 11 quoted the Director of an Internet security firm as saying that the firm, after analyzing the attack, found out that the attack was originated from an IP in Vietnam. BKAV’s Nguyen Minh Duc said two days ago that BKAV has not received any request for help from the hacked newspapers. A Symantec’s report in 2011 said that Vietnam has become the favorite space of the world’s hackers, and that it is the biggest botnet in the world. One of the reasons behind this is that Vietnamese don’t install anti-virus software on their computers, and they have the habit of installing cracked software pieces, or downloading some software products from unreliable websites. Source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/79186/many-online-newspapers-become-ddos-victims.html

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Many online newspapers become DDoS victims

Tips To Prepare For A DDoS Attack

IT security experts report that distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are a growing concern for 2013: this trend is proved by the countless attacks during 2012 and shown from the findings on the latest CSI Computer Crime & Security Survey, which attracts widespread media attention and is one of many online sources that provides valuable information and guidance to information security professionals. How can a business or individual decrease the likelihood of these type of threats? Fortunately, there are methods that can be used in advance to mitigate risk and infections from the amplification of such attacks. Safety First First of all, it is paramount to identify if the network is safe and protected from unauthorized access, malicious content, real-time threats and cyber intrusions. If not, network system managers should consider using traditional security products like a firewall, Intrusion Prevention and Detection Systems (IPDS) and Web application firewall devices to establish a first line of security defense. It is crucial to be responsive and implement the necessary security hardware and software tools ahead of time to defend the perimeter of the network from intrusion and before being the hacker’s target. Business and individuals alike should plan early on and not wait until they are at mercy of the attack to use proper security controls. Malicious attacks, which can be carried out from several compromised systems and from another location (IP address), can enable a rogue attacker to install a series of zombie Trojans to attack or infect (with malware) hosted computers. Whatever reason and motive the intruder has, s/he is able to take over an entire network and initiate a flood or packet attack, all while denying legitimate connections and paralyzing victims’ systems or servers (e.g., Web servers, DNS servers, application servers). The aim is to use up the network bandwidth and bring its operations or services down. Knowing how dangerous such an attack can be, it comes of utmost importance to be familiar with the different kind of DDoS attacks that could affect the network to understand what type of countermeasures should be put to use. Despite the scale and frequency of these attacks, there are ways to be prepared and avoid being vulnerable to this threat that can be so disruptive. Next is a list of tips to prepare and plan, before an attack strikes, which if made a victim of could have devastating effects on one’s business, such as costly downtime and/or lost revenue. Here are six ways to prevent a DDoS attack • Utilize packet filters on the router(s) • Setup a firewall with advanced security • Properly configure webserver with security modules • Implement logging with ACLs and have them in place to filter traffic • Exploit NetFlow for traffic monitoring and tracking down specific attacks • Rely on a third-party cloud DDoS mitigation provider for proprietary filtering technology. This is a great alternative for those that do not want to handle the security themselves and obtain a quick solution that provides on-demand, real-time protection to monitor 24/7 a business or individuals’ on-premises network infrastructure. If you’re looking for reputable provider, I would suggest getting DDoS protection from DOSarrest . Other than the tips listed, it is suggested to always have more bandwidth available, maintain anti-virus software, and deploy IPDS devices or firewalls in front of the servers just in case of a DDoS attack. It is better to spend some time (and money) preparing in advance for this network threat than dealing with a last minute crisis and trying to figure out what needs to be done. Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/tips-to-prepare-for-a-ddos-attack

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Tips To Prepare For A DDoS Attack

LulzSec Hacker Ryan Cleary To Be Released

Convicted LulzSec hacker Ryan Cleary, 21, is set to be released “imminently” after appearing Wednesday in a London courtroom for sentencing relating to charges that he made and possessed 172 indecent images of children on his PC. “Some of these images showed children aged as young as six months old in circumstances where they were completely vulnerable,” Judge Deborah Taylor told Cleary, reported The Independent in Britain. “These images were such as would make any right-minded person concerned at you viewing such images.” Cleary, aka Viral, previously pleaded guilty to two charges of making indecent images of children and one charge of possessing indecent images of children. Taylor said Wednesday that although U.K. sentencing guidelines required incarceration for the offenses to which Cleary had plead guilty, “time has been served in any event.” Based on time served, his pleading guilty to all charges filed against him and agreeing to wear an electronic device that will monitor his location, Cleary received a three-year community service order, which requires that he work in the community without pay. He also received a 36-month supervision order, which is akin to probation and requires that Cleary meet weekly with his probation officer. Finally, Cleary was ordered to sign the U.K.’s Violent and Sex Offender Register, which is a database used by police and prison officials to track people convicted of related offenses. Cleary previously appeared in court last month, when he was sentenced to 32 months in prison, followed by a five-year serious crime prevention order that can be used to restrict where he’s allowed to travel and which jobs he’ll be allowed to work. Also sentenced in May were fellow LulzSec participants Jake Davis (Topiary), Mustafa al-Bassam (Tflow) and Ryan Ackroyd (Kayla). Together with Cleary, they pleaded guilty to charges of hacking a number of sites, including the CIA, Britain’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) and National Health Service (NHS), and Sony Pictures Entertainment, as well as leaking the credit card data and personal information of hundreds of thousands of people. Cleary also pleaded guilty to launching numerous distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks under the banners of Anonymous, Internet Feds and LulzSec. British police said the attacks in which Cleary participated caused an estimated $31 million in damages. British police said that when they arrested Cleary at his home on June 20, 2011, they found him in the middle of launching a DDoS attack against the website of SOCA, which was conducting a joint investigation with the FBI into the activities of LulzSec, Anonymous and AntiSec. Clearly was first arrested in 2011 and released on bail, subject to his refraining from using the Internet. He was re-arrested on bail violation charges on March 5, 2012, for going online in December 2011 to contact LulzSec leader Sabu. The day after Cleary’s arrest, federal officials revealed that in June 2011, Sabu — real name Hector Xavier Monsegur — had been arrested and turned confidential government informant, and was helping the FBI investigate hackers and information security attacks. The news of Cleary’s imminent release after serving less than his full jail sentence has led some members of Anonymous to accuse him of having cut a deal with authorities, although no evidence has been produced to back up that assertion. “Anyone who gets away with child porn charges is obviously collaborating with the feds,” according to a post by “ro0ted” to the pro-Anonymous CyberGuerilla blog. Cleary’s legal troubles might not be over, as he was indicted last year by a Los Angeles federal grand jury on hacking charges. But his attorney, Karen Todner, said last year that U.S. prosecutors had indicated that they wouldn’t be seeking his extradition. Furthermore, if that changed, she said her client would fight any such request. “Cleary suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and is on the autistic spectrum and extradition to the United States is totally undesirable,” she said. Source: http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/lulzsec-hacker-ryan-cleary-to-be-release/240156590?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Government

Iranian Hackers Launching Cyber-Attacks on U.S. Energy Firms: Report

Iranian hackers launched attacks as part of a campaign against the country’s oil and gas industry, according to current and former U.S. government officials. Iranian hackers have amped up a campaign of cyber-attacks against America’s energy industry, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal . Citing current and former U.S. officials speaking under the blanket of anonymity, the Journal reported that Iranian hackers accessed control system software that could have allowed them to manipulate oil or gas pipelines. The attacks raise the stakes in cyber-space between the U.S. and Iran, which has been accused by U.S. officials of being behind a spate of distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) against U.S. banks stretching back to 2012. “This is representative of stepped-up cyber activity by the Iranian regime. The more they do this, the more our concerns grow,” a source told the Journal . “What they have done so far has certainly been noticed, and they should be cautious.” Alireza Miryousefi, Iran’s spokesperson at the United Nations, denied any connection between hackers and the regime in an interview with the Journal . The officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal did not name any of the energy companies targeted in the attacks. But two former officials said oil and gas companies located along the Canadian border were among those hit. Word of the attacks comes a week after Charles Edwards, deputy inspector general at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told members of a Senate subcommittee that industrial control systems were increasingly coming under attack in cyber-space in ways that could potentially cause “large-scale power outages or man-made environmental disasters.” Securing these systems is complicated, as many are more interconnected with the Internet than people realize, explained Tom Cross, director of security research at network security vendor Lancope. “It is also difficult to fix security flaws with these systems because they aren’t designed to be patched and restarted frequently,” he said. “It is extremely important,” he continued, “that operators of industrial control networks monitor those networks with systems that can identify anomalous activity that might be associated with an attack. Because of the relatively homogenous nature of network activity on many control systems networks, anomaly detection can be can be a powerful tool in an environment where other kinds of security approaches fall flat.” Much of the talk about improving the security of critical infrastructure companies has focused on information sharing between the government and private sector. Improving communication between government and business figured prominently in the executive order on cyber-security that President Barack Obama issued in February. However, many officials and security experts have said that the order does not undo the need for legislation. “The increases in cyber-assaults on our energy systems from Iranian-backed hackers are another signal to the government and the industry that measures must be taken to fortify the security of our critical infrastructure,” said Lila Kee, chief product and marketing officer at GlobalSign and a North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) board member. “However, there is a fine line between cyber-security regulation and voluntary standards,” she said. “Regulations cannot be so rigid so as to prevent protection from today’s evolving advanced persistent threats, and voluntary standards cannot be so loose so as to provide no purpose. In today’s modern world of malware, solutions must be fluid and scalable to battle aggressive cyber-attacks.” Source: http://www.eweek.com/security/iranian-hackers-launching-cyber-attacks-on-us-energy-firms-report/