Zombie Machines Fueling New Cyber Crime Wave

[emad]

LONDON (Reuters) - The rapid growth of broadband home computer connections may be inadvertently fueling what police suspect could be the start of a new crime wave -- cyber-blackmail. As more homes connect to faster delivery systems, their computers are becoming vulnerable to hackers and virus writers who can turn them into "zombie" machines, ready to carry out any malevolent command.

Favorite targets for the extortionists -- many thought to come from eastern Europe -- have been casinos and retailers, but one recent high-profile victim was the Port of Houston. "At the end of the day, this is old-fashioned protection racket, just using high-tech," said a spokeswoman for Britain's Hi-Tech Crime Unit. Wednesday, UK cyber crime cops made a plea to businesses to report attacks against their Internet businesses following a recent string of incidents with the blackmailing trademark. Police have seen an increase in the number of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks targeting online businesses.

In some cases, the attacks, which can cripple a corporate network with a barrage of bogus data requests, are followed by a demand for money. An effective attack can knock a Web site offline for extended periods. Online casinos appear to be a favorite target as they do brisk business and many are located in the Caribbean where investigators are poorly equipped to tackle such investigations.

In 2001, cyber forensics expert Neil Barrett told Reuters that his firm Information Risk Management was working with Internet casinos to shore up their defenses against a spate of DDoS attacks.
At the time, he said the denial-of-service barrages were followed by demands to pay up or the attacks would continue. He said the attacks appear to have come from organized criminal groups in Eastern Europe and Russia.

More:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3803922

Mmmm.New investment target for the Carlyle Group?

[Zomby Woof]

1. this is a personal attack!

I am alerting the mods immediately! ;-)

[emad]

2. Not even the distaff branch of the family, oh eminent one!

PS: you tryin' to tell us something about those Carlyle paychecks????

[Zomby Woof]

3. I launder my Carlyle money

To fund Skinner's botox injections! :D

[emad]

4. So are those before-and-after pics that we've seen in the Lounge

today, and if so how can you tell the difference?