[ISN] Nationwide alert warns of university computer infiltration by Russian mob

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Wed Jun 26 2002 - 00:58:36 PDT

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    http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3542736.htm
    
    Tue, June 25, 2002
    
    LOS ANGELES (AP) - The government has issued an alert about identity 
    and credit card theft on U.S. campuses, saying individuals linked to 
    the Russian mob tried to tap into at least five college computer 
    systems.
    
    The warning, which was issued Friday, followed the arrest a 
    Russian-born man at Pasadena City College and another incident at 
    Arizona State University. Schools in Texas and Florida have also been 
    targeted, college officials said.
    
    Officials at the Pasadena campus said the man was arrested last month 
    as he tried to install keystroke recording software that could capture 
    computer users' credit card numbers and other personal data.
    
    Brian Marr, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said Tuesday he could 
    not comment on what he called an ongoing investigation. The security 
    alert was issued by the Secret Service along with the Education 
    Department.
    
    ``The United States Secret Service has been investigating several 
    nationwide computer intrusions/hacking incidents,'' according to the 
    alert issued by the agency. ``The motives of the perpetrators and the 
    number of computer systems compromised remains unknown.''
    
    At Arizona State, a program was apparently installed that allows 
    students' credit card numbers, passwords and e-mail to be stolen, 
    though it wasn't known if any student accounts had been compromised, 
    according to campus police.
    
    Hard drives were seized from 20 ASU computers, said Lt. John Sutton of 
    the ASU Department of Public Safety. He wouldn't say how the scam was 
    linked to organized crime and declined to identify any suspects.
    
    Technology administrators for the University of California said they 
    were warned about Russian organized crime. The incidents are not a 
    threat to entire computer systems, administrators said.
    
    ``It's basically like rifling through one person's mailbox and hoping 
    a credit card is being sent at that time,'' said Ross Stapleton-Gray 
    of University of California technical services.
    
    
    
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