Hackers...Epsilon security breach @ Banking Institutions! Plays havoc with computers!

Nasty intruders tripped up my blog reports!



The other night when a news alert flashed across the airwaves on the networks about a security breach at major financial institutions (Epsilon) around the country, I didn't give the issue too much thought.

For the most part, I do not bank "online", or risk compromising my computer by opening up any unsolicited e-mails.

But, the hackers got me, nonetheless.

As it turns out, I clicked on a communication from one financial institution I have an account with - at which point - a shit-load of computer glitches descended on me.

For hours, I struggled to get my PC up-and-running, but not without a lot of hair-pulling, and cussing, and what-have you.

I was particularly annoyed when a report on a couple of blog posts - info on the "Season Opener" for the Giants, for instance - ended up with incorrect factual information being published.

When I attempted to go back, edit, and correct the snafus - however - I was denied access to the dashboard on the blogspot web site.

Needless to say, a couple of glaring mistakes remained posted all day, which left me looking-the-fool (to say the least!).

Just now, at the witching hour, I have managed to access the site - update the information - and go to bed satisfied with a job well done.

Like the Giants, I may be a Champion in many respects, but I am not  perfect.

Hang in there with me, it gets better!

See 'ya!

http://www.thetattler.biz



Go! Giants! Go!

Twitter...settles with FTC on privacy issues! Tweeters can sleep nights!





If you recall, in recent months Twitter was accused of flagrantly disregarding the privacy rights of its members on their ever-popular burgeoning website.

In the wake of a full-scale investigation, Twitter, Inc. has agreed to discontinue questionable practices, with the specific aim of resolving the issues - and ultimately - avoid further scrutiny (and possible prosecution) by the Government.

Inside sources have informed me that according to the terms of the agreement, Twitter is barred from misleading consumers about the extent to which the company protects their security, privacy, and the confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information for at least twenty years.

Because Twitter had a tendency to pooh pooh the potential dangers of their negligent acts, hackers were able to - not only take control of Twitter - but also access nonpublic user information and messages that consumers had designated as private.

On the heels of carrying out the wrongful acts, hackers proceeded to send out bogus tweets from accounts, without much detection.

It has also been disclosed that hackers took advantage of the vulnerabilities on at least two occasions - between the months of January and May of last year - respectively.

Congrats to the Feds!

Now tweeters can sleep at night, or can they?

News at 11!

http://www.thetattler.biz/

But, leave my privacy alone!

Facebook...eyes Chinese Internet market!

It what appears to be a flow against the tide, Facebook is musing the pros and cons of jumping into the Chinese Internet marketplace.

On the heels of Google’s abrupt withdrawal from China over censorship issues, the popular social hub  appears to be ready to throw caution to the wind.

It may be a good marriage; after all, in recent days members of Facebook have complained about invasion of privacy and rights violations, prevalent in China.

The Chinese media at Sina.com held back on the specifics, but a Facebook representative had no qualms about spouting off at the mouth about the possibilities.

“We’re interested in China, just as we are with many other countries, and while we are studying and learning about them all, we have no specific plans for China at this time.”

Yup!

They’re about to launch a Facebook banner on the Chinese blogosphere.

A tipster at Sina.com was quick on the uptake and offered up advice to Facebook aficionados.

“They should set up shop like MySpace did by sharing data with the U.S. Market but does not completely copy the American way.”

Since Facebook boasts a membership of 400 million world-wide (with 70% non-U.S. based) perhaps a Global perspective (and hands-on approach) is better suited to their ceremonious entry into the Chinese social, political, and business arenas.

 

http://www.thetattler.com

Chinese Hackers...ghost network used for espionage! Indian Government files cracked...

 

According to researchers in Canada, there is a door to a subterranean “otherworld” on the Internet where Chinese hackers stealth fully roam at whim and indulge in high-stakes espionage.

The complex “ecosystem” has been targeting the Indian government, researchers at the Shadow Server Foundation, have accused.

Through an elaborate clandestine network of social networking hubs, and free web hosting sites, the perpetrators have allegedly gleaned highly-classified documents and other data from the Indian Government, the United Nations, and the even the personal papers of the exiled Dalai Lama.

The criminals are thriving, noted Ron Deiber (Director of the U of T Munk School of Global Affairs).

In the recent past, Citizen Lab (a member of Information Warfare Monitor) - uncovered an espionage network by the name of GhostNet - run by a nefarious band of hackers targeting the Tibetan Government.

The network hacking the Indian government was given the name Shadow.

The hackers make use of a network of computers comprised by malware - software designed to take over, monitor, and harm computers without the owner’s (user’s) knowledge.

I reported on a malicious intruder by the name of the - Soldier Virus - which is currently infecting computers around North American which uses the malware software aforementioned.

Post: 03/31/10

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/03/soldier-virusscam-extorting-money.html

In the near future, I shall be publishing a post with instructions on how to eradicate the nasty intruder on home computers and laptops.

Researchers have been alarmed to learn that simple networks like the one I encountered with the Soldier virus (using malware software) are fast-becoming complex systems moving from simple criminal exploitations to political, military, and illegal acts motivated by a hunger for highly-sensitive intelligence data.

“We see criminal networks increasingly compromising sensitive targets and stealing sensitive information, in addition to typical things that they’re interested in, like credit card numbers and bank account numbers,” added Dieber.

Although the researchers were able to track the hackers to Chinese soil, they were unable to link the intrusions directly to the Chinese Government.

The hackers rely on the victim acting on information (bait) in order to infect their computer with the malware.

For this reason, enticing e-mails (at-the-ready to infect), are used to prey on human nature.

“They will use either compelling newsworthy themes or in some cases , they’ll use very specific information from a previous ‘attack‘, “noted Nart Villeneuve, a chief security official at the SecDevGroup.

Villeneuve cautioned that PC users should keep their eye out for attachments containing pdf’s, word documents, PowerPoints, and Zip files.

The infected files will compromise the user’s computer bringing it under the attacker’s control.

As was the case, when my own laptop became infected with the “Soldier virus“.

“Then they will be able to send documents from the user’s computer to other locations.

Researchers are scheduling a Global Security Summit at the University of Toronto in the fall in a bold-faced effort to policymakers together from the world community so they may share resources in hopes of building sound practices in a realm currently lacking normal procedures or pervasive policing.

http://www.thetattler.biz/

Journalists...under attack by hackers! Malicious e-mails & a Soldier Virus!

Today, it was a bit of a relief to stumble across an article in the morning  paper - the San Francisco Chronicle - in which was reported that journalists have been under attack by unscrupulous hackers.

For good reason!

It is heartening to know that I have not been the only writer under attack!

Ever since I reported on malicious viruses I uncovered at google a few weeks ago - and the subsequent battle the owners of the leading search engine has been engaged in with the Chinese Government - my own e-mail has been targeted.

However, contrary to the allegations set forth in the Chronicle's informative article, the hackers have not only forwarded e-mail on occasionn (or deleted it) but also used malicious worms  designed to infect and disable the victim's computer.

In fact, I just reported on a malicious intruder - the Soldier Virus - which popped up on my own computer after checking e-mail at Yahoo yesterday afternoon.

Post:  3/31/10

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/03/soldier-virusscam-extorting-money.html

When I was checking the "registry" of my computer, I also located a user key which stated in the caption "blog this".

I determined that the "virus" was designed to disrupt attempts to access blog sites - post articles - and so forth and so on.

In the article in the Chronicle, a reporter noted that one journalist - Kathleen McLaughlin - was a victim last week when her account was disabled (she's a former Chronicle Foreign Service contributor).

"Someone is clearly targeting journalists," she lamented to a New York Times Beijing correspondence.

"It makes me feel very uncomfortable."

The Chronicle noted that for some inexplicable reason, Yahoo has remained silent over the matter, except for a vague statement issued to the press yesterday.

"We are committed to protecting user security and privacy and we take appropriate action in the event of any kind of breach."

If the FBI is involved - and there is an investigation underway - then that reponse would be understandable.

I intend to report the Soldier Virus incident to that Law Enforcement agency by way of their Cyber Crime unit online since the individuals are not only trying to disable computers but also extort money from the victims.

These allegations were reported in my article yesterday (link above).

http://www.thetattler.biz/

President Obama...appoints Howard Schmidt to head up CyberSecurity @ White House!

Today, I received an e-mail from one of my contacts at the White House, informing me that the President has chosen Howard Schmidt to be the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator.

John O. Brennan - Assistant to the President for Homeland Security & Counterterrorism - prefaced the announcement by noting that protecting the internet is critical to National Security, public safety, and the personal privacy of U.S. Citizens and their civil liberties.

 "It’s also vital to President Obama’s efforts to strengthen our country, from the modernization of our health care system to the high-tech job creation central to our economic recovery," he added matter-of-fact.

Howard Schmidt will have the responsibility of orchestrating the many important cybersecurity activities across the government.

According to White House officials, the appointee is one of the world’s leading authorities on computer security with some forty years of experience in government, business and law enforcement.

Howard will have regular access to the President and serve as a key member of his National Security Staff.

He will also work closely with Obama's economic team to ensure that cybersecurity efforts in the Nation are secure and prosperous.

In closing, Brennan noted that Officials in Washington will use the WhiteHouse.gov e-mail program  (and  other communication tools) to keep concerned citizens such as myself (and others) posted about the progress being made in this area which is of utmost importance to President Obama.

I look forward to those updates, Mr. President!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Twitter...quote of the day! In the wake of the fall-out...

Within twenty-four hours of the initial "fall-out" at Twitter - shortly after the social hub fell down and went boom - Internet Security experts and anti-virus aficionados scrambled to shed a searing penetrating light on the unexpected attack which swept across the blogosphere - like a giant computer tsunami - and crippled a host of web sites in its powerful wake.

Was it a new-fangled worm?

Some speculated that it was all about bragging rights.

Just betcha, it was the invisible hand of a pimply-faced computer nerd out to flex (and draw-attention-to) his potent hacking skills for the mere thrill of it, Dudes.



In a report I penned and posted yesterday afternoon, I noted that individuals at Sophos ( a leading anti-virus expert) were quite emphatic that the cyber attack was instigated by savvy criminals with an agenda in mind (either personal or professional in nature).

Post: 08/07/09

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/08/twittercyber-attack-paralyzes-tweet.html

Meanwhile - in other quarters - investigators directly involved with hands-on security issues on the pervasive world-wide-web, hinted that it was an army of computers (taken hostage unbeknown to their owners) known as "Botnets" that triggered the domino effect which ultimately overwhelmed the Internet.

Today, pieces of the intriguing puzzle are being put into place, with the precious hope that the footprint of the intruder may be tracked to the source.

There will be an update this afternoon on the painstaking investigation underway and a rundown on the findings of the experts.

In the meantime - it should be noted that a posse of pundits, notables in the IT field, and probing media types (for starters) - have tossed in their own two-cents worth on not only the ramifications of the calamitous event - but the profound meaning of it all in a pop culture (& Internet phenomenon) subtext.

A journalist at the McClatchy Newspapers gets a nod for their summary on the Twitter "attack" - and likewise - their astute assessment of the resulting fall-out in the aftermath.

"Twitter's site crashed, leaving approximately 23 million unique visitors without the ability to "tweet" about themselves for several hours."

Devastating!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Twitter...cyber attack paralyzes tweet-ville! Botnets or rogue hackers with secret agendas...

We gotta fix that little sucker!

Like me, you innocently inputted the Internet address for twitter in your browser yesterday and naturally expected to be transported (as usual without much fuss or fanfare) to the popular social networking site for your daily fix of pop culture.

But, what was this?

An error code blandly flashed on the computer screen.

"Denial of access".

Huh?

Did twitter simply pack-up-shop with nary a tweet good-bye - another fly-by-night outfit gone the way of the dinosaur?

I was optimistic: not!

As I multi-tasked a myriad of windows that flitted off-and-on the screen with the flick of a finger, I kept my chin up, as I creatively explored ways to find my way back to the twitter "nest".

At google, I spied a link to twitter in response to search references to moi, but a hasty click on the link was fruitless.

No back-door way in, dudes!

Or, in Arnold vernacular (Bill Clinton's, too), no cigar!

About twenty minutes later, though, I was in like Flynn!

Twitter was just humming along - all-a-tweet business as usual - and none the wiser?

Say, what?

According to Internet experts - and half-baked news flashes streaking out across the splintered blogosphere on the unexpected black-out at Twitter - a cyber attack rendered an all-across-the-net "denial of service" scenario that summarily paralyzed the normally high-trafficked site.

Was it the nasty handy work of a disgruntled tweeter - out to exact punishment (and a little mischievous mayhem) - on the heels of being rejected by twitter's socially-elite?

Or, a jealous rival out-to-ruin Twitter, for being just a little too tweet?

Curiously, the day before, I suffered a bit of a (sexual) attack at my twitter home page.

Yeah, what-a-way to go!

Shortly after I clicked on a link in my yahoo mailbox to scan the profile of a tweeter just starting to "follow me" on the twitter website, the screen was flooded with a barrage of racy sexual images and a naughty request by the new tweeter to perform a hardcore sex act.

I penned a post on the incident to warn fellow tweeters.

Post: 08/05/09

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/08/twitterporn-creeps-into-social.html

Golly, do 'ya suppose the expose (and subsequent rejection) prompted the full-scale attack?

Who knows!

According to security experts examining the widespread attack, fingerprints of a sophisticated operation involving "botnets" was uncovered.

In a nutshell, giant armies of personal computers, had been taken over by hackers unbeknown to their owners.

Funny, that!

At a coffee clatch at a doughnut shop the other morning, I warned fellow java drinkers to be sure to turn off their computers at night so that kind of clandestine (illegal?) intrusion was kept at bay.

Thomas Holt, a professor at Michigan State's School of Criminal Justice, put it this way:

"Botnets are very stable platforms able to engage in all sorts of cyber crimes."

He surmised that launching an attack on a popular web site - such as Twitter - was an excellent exacting way to measure the capability (and power) of a botnet.

Gosh, if that was just a dress rehearsal, what's next?

Jerry Dixon, a former director of the National Cybersecurity Division at the Department of Homeland Security, advanced the idea further when he speculated that hackers may have used the twitter incident to demonstrate the potency of their skills.

They are similar to hit men, but with digital packets instead of bullets, he warned.

In the anti-virus arena, Beth Jones (Internet security squad at Sophos) noted that her contemporaries in the field have theorized that the attack was caused by a computer worm known as a Koobface.

"It was professionally written," she concluded.

On a more innocent level, the worm could be used to flood Internet-based e-mail boxes, with spam mail for commercially-based purposes.

In the wake of the unexpected onslaught, Twitter has taken the position that they were a victim of a distributed "denial of service" attack.

In simple terms, this kind of "dark" overt intrusion, is intended as a disruptive attempt to overwhelm a website by issuing a a mind-boggling number of computer-generated requests that the computer can not ultimately process.

Consequently, the attack causes the site to "crash".

Today, twitter is up-and-running and life is tweet once again.

Watch your back!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Twitter...scam! VIP follow an aburd notion...

Just a few moments ago - in response to a quote I posted and updated on Twitter - a stranger with the curious username of "Twitter teacher" (or something to that effect) logged into the thriving social hub that is Twitter and promptly signed up to become a "follower".



On the heels of the notification from Twitter (which arrived all smiles in my in-box at Yahoo as usual) I surfed back to the Twitter site to peruse the tweet list for an update on twitter member activities.



After all, sweet tweeters, I've become affectionately attached to your insightful meanderings, and the intriguing things that go bump in the good night.



Suddenly, a tweet I spied (posted by the new "follower") caught my attention.



Teasingly, the tweet hinted that a bevy of VIP followers was just a flick of a finger and a tempting link away.

Quite truthfully, though, niggling qualms held me at bay.

Indeed - the idea of venturing beyond my tweet comfortable niche (and likewise) sauntering willy-nilly into the great unknown on a whimsical merry chase to grab the brass ring - struck me as an absurd notion.



Good gosh - call me a Pollyanna, whatever dudes!



In the orbit I float in, all Twitter-ers are equal!



Yup, 'ya got it.



I haven't any pretenses - not one snotty aspiration - to rub shoulders (or get up-tweet and personal) with any self-proclaimed or highly-placed (annointed by the blessed holy few) VIP follower!



In the final analysis, I welcome all followers - especially those fresh in the ranks who are inspired to answer the call on the heels of a nugget of wisdom I may have humbled offered up to all.



Nuff said!



In closing, I have roughly thrown together a quickie cut-and-paste job of the VIP offer which mysteriously posted in a link at the Twitter tweet page about thirty minutes ago.



Then, just as swifty, vanished into the ether to parts unknown.



Take note that shortly after I clicked on the link to investigate - and likewise to verify the legitimacy of the commercial enterprise trying to leech on to (and make big bucks off of the Twitter phenomenon) the post transformed into an tweet update with my user name and publicity still on its face with a caption alleging I was touting the VIP service!



Not true!



In lieu of the aforementioned, proceed with caution, followers all!

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http://www.julianayrs.com