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Czech experts uncover global virus network
Prague Daily Monitor ^

Posted on 02/17/2010 7:18:39 AM PST by Gomez

Prague/Brno, Feb 15 (CTK) - Czech security experts have uncovered a global network of devices attacked by computer viruses within which it was possible to wiretap and gain access to sensitive data, Jan Vykopal, head of the security project of Masaryk University, told CTK yesterday.

Modems were among the attacked devices as they are only poorly protected. The viruses were able to deflect the communication of Internet users to servers where they could be wiretapped, Vykopal said.

Vykopal's colleagues along with experts from the Brno Military Academy and the Defence Ministry have uncovered the dangerous network.

"The assailants have denoted the network of the subjugated installations as Chuck Norris," Defence Ministry spokeswoman Lucie Kubovicova said.

Experts said the network's main threats included the gaining of various sensitive data such as access details for bank accounts, e-mail boxes, passwords to various services, social networks and users' other personal data.

Besides, a number of computers and other installations connected through the Internet can be used for attacks on well secured servers as well, Vykopal said.

"We do not know whether the network we uncovered can also be used for this as we do not know the number of the devices that are included in it," Vykopal said.

The network of the attacked apparatuses covered the whole Europe and South America and reached as far as China, he added.

The central server that controlled the hackers' operation was in Italy, Vykopal said.

"After we announced the existence of the network to Internet providers in the world, the main server was disconnected. However, its copies have appeared in other places in the world," Vykopal said.

These copies, too, should now be eliminated, Vykopal said.

The experts uncovered the dangerous network during the work on a project of the Defence Ministry called CYBER. It is to secure its information network against computer attacks.

Experts from Masaryk University made an installation for a device for connection to the Internet they deliberately let be attacked by a virus of the assailants in order to track them down, Vykopal said.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: botnets; malware

1 posted on 02/17/2010 7:18:39 AM PST by Gomez
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To: ShadowAce; Swordmaker
Hackers who ignore 50,000,000 Macs because the target is too small are infecting... modems?
2 posted on 02/17/2010 7:19:26 AM PST by Gomez (killer of threads)
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To: Gomez

Smart work, bait them with an tasty opening and let them get caught by their own greed.


3 posted on 02/17/2010 7:20:43 AM PST by King_Corey (www.kingcorey.com)
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To: Gomez

Interesting. I recall reading a book called the Cuckoo’s Egg which described one of the first tracking of Spy hacking of computers which used modems to gain access.


4 posted on 02/17/2010 7:23:51 AM PST by Gadsden1st
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To: rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; GodGunsandGuts; CyberCowboy777; Salo; Bobsat; JosephW; ...

5 posted on 02/17/2010 7:24:14 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Gadsden1st

That was a great book.


6 posted on 02/17/2010 7:25:16 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: SunkenCiv

Are you aware of this?


7 posted on 02/17/2010 7:36:27 AM PST by hennie pennie
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To: Gadsden1st

That’s only because in the time frame that the events of “Cuckoo’s Egg” took place, modems were pretty much all that existed.


8 posted on 02/17/2010 7:39:52 AM PST by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: Gomez

Modems are still used extensively for “out-of-band” communication, such as when a high-speed link to a remote datacenter fails; the telephone network is often more robust than broadband, even in the business world. Also, modems are usually hooked directly to servers, bypassing firewalls and other security controls.


9 posted on 02/17/2010 7:41:28 AM PST by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: Gomez; ShadowAce; Swordmaker
You were saying ...

Hackers who ignore 50,000,000 Macs because the target is too small are infecting... modems?

Well... we know the answer to that... it was much easier for them to attack the modems and "get results" than it was to attack the Apple Macintosh machines and get results... LOL...

10 posted on 02/17/2010 7:47:31 AM PST by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Gomez
Hackers who ignore 50,000,000 Macs because the target is too small are infecting... modems?

There are still FReepers on modems, and I suspect a large number of users outside the most modern countries in the world are on them as well.

11 posted on 02/17/2010 8:27:05 AM PST by TChris ("Hello", the politician lied.)
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To: Little Pig

Broadband connections use modems as well...most any connection I can think of does. DSL modems, cable modems,....


12 posted on 02/17/2010 9:05:13 AM PST by Moltke (DOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the Big House - HOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the White House.)
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To: Moltke

True, and that would explain the references to banking info etc, though DSL modems and such tend not to be quite as easily compromised as POTS modems.


13 posted on 02/17/2010 9:17:29 AM PST by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: ShadowAce

Thanks for the ping.


14 posted on 02/17/2010 8:18:41 PM PST by GOPJ (Nobody likes to be lectured by those claiming superior wisdom but lacking common sense - - Hanson)
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