Criminal hackers hacked by the FBI

Criminal hackers hacked by the FBI

- Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

Every so often, a controversy ramp emission in this blog. I do not usually take a political side, especially when it has to do with the rights of citizens. But when the bad guys trying to win the cyberwar, it is important to understand what is being done to protect us.

The National Security Agency of the United States is probably the most sophisticated group of security hackers in the world. Many will say that. The fact is, without NSA, US STRATCOM, which directs the operation and defense of Global Information Grid of the army, and US CERT, attacks against our critical infrastructures would be successful. We would be living in the dark, the phones do not work, the food would be delivered to your supermarket and your toilet would not flush. These are not the same bumbling government employees you see on C-SPAN.

The Obama administration is currently completing a domestic cyber security review, announcing plans for cyber security initiatives and determine who will lead the charge.

The New York Times reported that the NSA wants the job and of course, this raises hackles among the defenders of privacy and civil liberties who fear that the spy agency has too much power. I am for checks and balances. However, to detect threats against our nation and other global IT infrastructure from hackers and criminal terrorists, those in charge of cybersecurity must have full and unlimited access to networks. There is certainly a legitimate concern here that any government agency with too much power can override the rights of citizens. However, from a viewpoint of safety, there are some very wicked out there that would love nothing more for you to be dead.

This is a brilliant example of how this power is used for good. Kevin Poulsen of Wired.com reports on a super spyware program FBI developed called "computer and internet protocol address verifier," or CIPAV, which was used to investigate extortion plots, terrorist threats and hacker attacks cases that date back to before the bursting of the Internet bubble. This is James Bond, the Hollywood blockbuster technology that makes it a compelling storyline. the capabilities of the CIPAV collects and reports indicate that the IP address computer, MAC address, open ports, a list of programs running, the operating system type, version and serial number, the preferred Internet browser and version, registered owner computer and registered the name of the company, the current name of the user logged in and the last-visited URL. This is the equivalent of an investigator of the crime scene with samples of fresh blood the victim and the perpetrator, and the 360 ​​degree crystal clear video of the crime.

The FBI sneaks the CIPAV on the target machine like any criminal hacker would, using known vulnerabilities in web browsers. They use the same type of hacker psychology phishers use, tricking their target by clicking a link, downloading and installing spyware. They work like any illegal hacker would, except legally. In one case, they hacked the MySpace page of a mark and posted a link private discussion of the subject, getting them to click on it. In another case, the FBI tried to track a sexual predator who had been threatening the life of a teenage girl whom he had met for sex. Human anonymous IP addresses were from all over the world, making it impossible to track him down. Get the target to install CIPAV allowed to find this animal. Many other cases are cited in the article Wired.com, including a secret agent working a case described as a "weapon of mass destruction" (bomb and anthrax) threat, who communicated with a suspect via Hotmail, and asked Washington's approval to use a CIPAV to locate the subject's computer.

So while Big Brother may give some scary power, criminals and terrorists are a little scary. I have always considered the term "Big Brother" as someone who watches over and protects you. Just my take.

As always, invest in Internet protection and security solutions for identity theft keep the bad guys out and spyware.

Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses spyware.

Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 and start-up companies as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear in both television and print media news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.