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Update: Maxtor drives contain password-stealing Trojans
Computerworld ^ | 11/12/2007 | Gregg Keizer

Posted on 11/18/2007 7:55:06 AM PST by Doohickey

Seagate Technology LLC has shipped Maxtor disk drives that contain Trojan horses that upload data to a pair of Chinese Web sites, the Taiwanese government's security service warned this weekend.

The Investigation Bureau, a part of the Ministry of Justice that's responsible for both internal security and foreign threats, said it suspected mainland China's authorities were responsible for planting the malware on the drives at the factory. "The bureau said that the method of attack was unusual, adding that it suspected Chinese authorities were involved," a story posted by the English-language Taipei Times reported Sunday. "Sensitive information may have already been intercepted by Beijing through the two Web sites, the bureau said."

Seagate confirmed today that some Maxtor Basics 3200 drives were infected out of the box, but the company said it had no proof that the Chinese government was involved. "We discovered that a contract manufacturer had introduced a virus onto the drives during assembly," said Forrest Monroy, a Seagate spokesman, in an e-mail. "We have no indication, nor any reason to believe, that there is any government involvement in the virus issue."

(Excerpt) Read more at computerworld.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: bigbrother; china; communismkills; duncanhunter; espionage; hackers; malware; spying; techwarfare
Red Chinese up to no good. Again.
1 posted on 11/18/2007 7:55:07 AM PST by Doohickey
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To: Doohickey
Red Chinese up to no good. Again.

"You knew I was a snake when you picked me up" - Aesop

2 posted on 11/18/2007 7:58:45 AM PST by tx_eggman ("Believing without loving turns the best of creeds into a weapon of oppression" Eugene Peterson)
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To: Doohickey
Don't want to be paranoid here, but I've become increasingly suspicious of anything "Chinese." I have a box of Talapia in the freezer and if you look at the back panel, it tells you that it comes from China. I just happened to see a piece on some TV show and it highlighted the conditions that these fish are "farmed" in. All I can say is "yuk!"

I made a decision that we would not eat those fillets and have been cooking them for the cats. They love them.

3 posted on 11/18/2007 7:59:14 AM PST by davisfh
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To: Doohickey

If it’s a new drive, the simplest thing is to format them before you install Windows. Good practice to do this anyways when you setup Windows.


4 posted on 11/18/2007 8:01:42 AM PST by Blue Highway
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To: Doohickey

***Seagate, however, countered that the only data captured by the on-disk Trojans and sent to the Chinese Web sites were game-related passwords.***

Yeah, SURE!


5 posted on 11/18/2007 8:03:58 AM PST by kitkat (I refuse to let the DUers chase me off FR.)
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To: davisfh

Ah China. Ironic that a Commie superstate gives us unchecked capitalism at its most fierce. Buyer beware.


6 posted on 11/18/2007 8:03:59 AM PST by Callahan
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To: Blue Highway

This “malware” is almost certainly in one of the chips on the drive rather than on the disk. Take it back.


7 posted on 11/18/2007 8:35:26 AM PST by jiggyboy (Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: Doohickey

1800 old Maxtor drives.

Could cripple the world.


8 posted on 11/18/2007 10:47:12 AM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo (Tracking The "Flyin' Imams Since 11/20/06)
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To: jiggyboy

If that’s the case how would running Kapersky or any other virus scan remove viruses not actually on a disk sector?


9 posted on 11/18/2007 11:22:03 AM PST by Blue Highway
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo

You’re right, no big deal. This was just the work of some random Chinese hoodlums. Our most favored trading partner means us no harm.


10 posted on 11/18/2007 12:55:01 PM PST by Doohickey (Giuliani: Brokeback Republican)
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To: Doohickey

Bookmark for later reading.

Notably, the only candidate for pres who would do something about this is Duncan Hunter.

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.

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Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926032/posts
Posted on 11/15/2007 3:43:17 AM PST by Kevmo


11 posted on 11/18/2007 8:14:17 PM PST by Kevmo (We should withdraw from Iraq — via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.)
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To: Doohickey

I already don’t buy Maxtor drives. Now I have another reason.


12 posted on 11/19/2007 1:36:34 AM PST by FreePoster (Duncan Hunter in 2008)
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