http://www.visayandailystar.com/2007/March/23/topstory6.htm Bacolod City, Philippines March 23, 2007 Seven persons are being held by the police for questioning after they were found in the act of hacking the networks during a major offensive launched by joint law enforcement units in Metro Manila recently. The hackers were found to have illegally intruded into 2,500 private telecommunication networks in the Philippines, United States of America, Canada, Australia and three European countries. The campaign was jointly spearheaded by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the National Capital Region Police Office, a press release from the CIDG in Camp Crame said yesterday. Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Calderon said he ordered the crackdown after complaints of massive network intrusion originating from Metro Manila piled up in his office from corporate users here and abroad. Among those hardest hit was American Telephone and Telegraph which reported a net loss of over $38 million in the past two years as a result of this "hacking" activity by Filipino hackers. "I have formed a Task Force to address this problem to be led by DIDM Director, P/Director Geary Barias to conduct a deeper probe into these incidents and apply the full force of the law against those responsible for these illegal activities." Calderon said. A joint investigation conducted by the fraud experts from the US and the Philippines found sufficient evidence and information leading to the identification of the hackers and their locations, the press release said. Barias reported that among those nabbed was 34-year-old Mahmoud Sahyeh Ogcah Musher, alias Mahmoud Nuseir, a Jordanian national who was arrested in September 2002 and presented by President Gloria Arroyo. Mahmoud was allegedly a head of a local hacking ring, responsible for hacking into PLDT telecommunication systems to gain unlawful access and sell the connection for a fee to an international syndicates involved in illegal call reselling operations. He has also linked Mahmoud to an international cyber terrorist group providing anonymous communications links for their partisans to avoid detection and monitoring by lawful authorities. Seized during the raids were two computer systems, various telecommunication equipment and a large cache of incriminating documents indicating the networks they have attacked and the members of their community in Metro Manila and abroad, the press release added.* _________________________________________ Visit the InfoSec News Security Bookstore http://www.shopinfosecnews.org
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