[ISN] Web hackers hit US via Taiwan

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Fri Jan 11 2002 - 10:41:43 PST

  • Next message: InfoSec News: "[ISN] Report: GPS at risk"

    http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/01/11/story/0000119478
    
    Friday, January 11th, 2002
    
    WORLDWIDE CRIME: A Pakistan-based group of hackers claims to have
    obtained top-secret data from Web sites in the US and UK through
    computer systems here
    
    Pakistani hackers have used Taiwan-based computer systems as platforms
    for attacks against Web sites in the US and the UK, Chinese-language
    media reported yesterday.
    
    The FBI has informed Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau of
    long-distance attacks by a hacker group called "G-Force Pakistan,"  
    which used Taiwan-based computer systems as its launch pads.
    
    The attacks targeted computers in government agencies, military, media
    and academic institutions in the US and UK, the report said.
    
    The bureau's Internet department has discovered that six Taiwan-based
    computer systems have been invaded, including those of GigaMedia Ltd
    and Tatung Information Enterprise Inc.
    
    The hackers first invaded Tatung's computers and then moved on to
    GigaMedia and the US and UK Web sites, the report said.
    
    Taiwan police have notified the operators of the six hacked systems in
    Taiwan and asked them to fix the loopholes in their systems, the
    report said.
    
    Both GigaMedia and Tatung expressed surprise at the news, saying they
    had found no irregularities in their computer systems.
    
    The report quoted unnamed sources from GigaMedia, an Internet service
    provider, as saying the company would not launch any indiscriminate
    probes into client information or its sources.
    
    The hacker attacks began in October last year and investigators think
    they may be linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
    
    The hackers left the emblem of their organization and obscenities on
    Web pages and installed "Trojan horse" sniffers in the systems, the
    report said. Sniffers are computer programs that can be used to
    monitor the content of computer systems and the traffic between them.
    
    The hackers, who claimed to be supporters of the Taliban regime and
    Kashmiri separatists, invaded the Taiwanese computers from Pakistan,
    the report said.
    
    The hackers vowed more attacks in the future and claimed to have
    obtained top-secret US military information, which they threatened to
    hand over to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.
    
    
    
    -
    ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org
    
    To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY
    of the mail.
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Jan 11 2002 - 16:46:57 PST