http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175667.html By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., 04 Apr 2002, 11:44 AM CST A group of Chicago Web site operators say they will break into school, government and corporate computers and alter records, for fees starting at $850. But at least one security expert thinks the operation probably is a scam. Among the services promised by Chicago-based 69 Hacking Services, is changing "bad grades" and other records on elementary, high school or college computer systems. The site is co-owned by a 23-year-old identifying himself as Akbar "Andy" Hooda. William Knowles, a computer security expert and editor of InfoSec News, said the hacking service most likely is a scam aimed at snaring "script kiddies" or young, naive computer users. "I'd be curious if there is a money back guarantee if they can't get in," said Knowles. Even if the operation is legitimate, unauthorized access to computer systems is a violation of federal and state computer crime laws, according to Matt Yarborough, an attorney with Fish & Richardson and a former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor. The organization, which also goes by the name "Be A Hacker" (BAH), operates a Web site at http://www.BeAHacker.com . It employs "about 15" people, according to Hooda, who said he co-owns the business with an undisclosed partner. A scrolling banner at the top of the BAH site's home page reads, "Got bad grades in college/high school? We can change them! Want passwords? We will get them! Rent-a-hacker. Will do the job. Reasonable prices." Hooda said his organization charges $2,100 and requires a down payment of $799 for "cracking" into college or university computers, but does not guarantee success. "The down (payment) is for the time we put in to hack the desired box. If we complete the case, we ask for the rest of the payment," said Hooda in an interview Wednesday. An online database of registered corporations maintained by the Illinois Secretary of State's office did not including listings for BAH or 69 Hacking Services. Hooda declined to reveal how many clients the hacking group has served since it launched last year, nor would he disclose BAH's revenues, except to say "it started to become a pretty big business." In addition to hacking services, BAH offers several mail-order products, including hacking software for $69. "With this you can hack passwords, control computers, edit settings on computers, edit data on computers, delete data from computers, make another computer print from your computer, and also shut off/restart the other person's computer. This is REAL hacking," reads a description of the software, which can be purchased online using the PayPal service. While "brash," BAH's site is unlikely to prompt action by law enforcement, according to Yarborough. "Because of free speech laws, Web sites can advertise just about anything. But if these guys are actually involved in unauthorized computer access, that's a crime that state or federal prosecutors are going to pursue," said Yarborough. He added that BAH's products could also violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. According to PayPal's page for BAH, the group has been a member of the online payment service for 19 months and has served 26 verified buyers. Hooda claimed BAH had around 80 sales on PayPal and made about $6,000 on sales of its products. BeAHacker.com is hosted by Virginia-based XO Communications. A spokesperson for XO, which is reportedly about to file for bankruptcy, had no immediate comment on whether the hacking site violated its terms of service. According to its site, other services provided by BAH include hacking into password-protected accounts, including AOL, CompuServe, Yahoo and Hotmail, "so you can have access to it all the time and the owner of the account cannot find out that you have access." BAH's fees for password hacking begin at $399 and are payable in installments. In the mid-1990s, a notorious hacking group called the Phone Masters also operated a Web site that offered "professional" services such as hacking into telephone and credit reporting databases for a fee, according to Yarborough, who was involved in the U.S. government's prosecution of the case. In September 1999, the leaders of Phone Masters were convicted on hacking charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison. Other domains owned by BAH include Hackinghelp.com and Hackingmall.com. Domain registration records list Amin Hooda as the owner of the addresses. According to Akbar Hooda, Amin is a relative who is helping with the site. BAH is at http://www.beahacker.com The US computer fraud statute is at http://www.cybercrime.gov/1030_new.html InfoSec News is at http://www.c4i.org/isn.html Reported by Newsbytes, http://www.newsbytes.com - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo@attrition.org with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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