Posted on 09/21/2008 12:22:04 PM PDT by markomalley
Anchorage (Alaska) – FBI agents are using proxy server logs to track down the hacker who broke into Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account. The hacker gained access to the Republican Vice Presidential candidate’s account by resetting the password. He then posted details of his adventures up on a popular online forum, but that information is now leading reporters and federal investigators to the suspect – a Tennessee university college student and son of state democratic representative Mike Kernell.
A few days ago, someone going by the name of “Rubico” gloated on 4chan.org that he managed to hack into Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account. He forced a password reset by answering questions about Palin’s birthdate, zip code and where she met her spouse, Wasilla High School. Of course, by being the Republican candidate for Vice President, this information is all very easily found on the Internet. After answering the questions, Rubico reset the password to “popcorn” and read through Palin’s emails.
And it seems he was pretty thorough, saying he read, “ALL OF THEM” on the boards. He even posted up screenshots of the Yahoo email page, complete with the full URL (we’ll talk about that later). Rubico says he didn’t find anything incriminating and the emails were actually fairly mundane family pictures and correspondence. But his jubilation turned into horror as he realized that he didn’t take proper precautions in covering his tracks.
Rubico used a proxy server that shields the source IP address from website logging scripts. While this sounds great, Rubico posted, “Yes I was behind a proxy, only one, if this sh** ever got to the FBI I was FU****”
In his gloating, Rubico posted up screenshots of the Yahoo account complete with the full URL which included the proxy server url (ctunnel.com) appended with a unique identifier. For example, we used ctunnel.com to surf to YouTube and the URL reads - http://ctunnel.com/index.php/1010110A/58a5cd1e8ab47088982c83282fd768456ebe14f44221026. So it doesn’t take a genius to go through the logs and match up the ID to the appropriate IP address and BAM, you got the hacker.
But aren’t proxy servers supposed to anonymize your information? Yes and no. Dan Goodin over at The Register talked to Gabriel Ramuglia, the owner of the ctunnel.com proxy server that Rubico allegedly used. Ramuglia is upset about the ordeal because his service was never meant to be used for illegal activies and says Rubico definitely broke his site’s terms of service. Ramuglia added that every incoming IP address is logged with the time and destination website.
Ramuglia told Goodin that he hasn’t a chance yet to examine his logs, but added that there is a good chance that it will lead to the hacker. Since the interview, he’s received a call from the Anchorage Alaska FBI field office and agents there are highly suggesting that he not lose the logs.
But it gets even better. White hat hackers didn’t even need proxy information to find the culprit because they discovered that the Rubico forum handle was linked to rubico10@yahoo.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it A few searches on Google and YouTube further links this email address to 20-year-old David Kernell, a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His father is Democratic Tennessee state representative Mike Kernell.
As you can expect, the Yahoo account has been frozen and all the incriminating forum posts on 4chan.org have been deleted. But this didn’t stop Wired.com from printing some of the posts. Don’t you just love it when hackers brag about the “leet” skills?
Gloated on 4chan?
Probably a /b/tard
I am not holding my breath.
Rubico10 = David Kernell
I still find is fascinating how the media used this incident to attack Palin for supposedly using the account for government business, and yet not a word on the invasion of privacy or that this is a serious felony.
was the FBI able to get one-to-one contact with the hacker so they could give him a stern warning??
“Ive got the FBI so far up my ass, all I can taste is Brylcreem!”
Uncle “Junior” Soprano
If they know it was him, WHY hasn’t he been arrested?
A couple of years (and a permanent record) are not disproportionate.
Most young people manage to go through their teens and early 20s without becoming felons.
Ain't life a bitch?
Well, if the sweet young thing goes to prison, he might very well be "FU****".
.
An appropriate name for a little Commie.
Well, one of the was running against the chosen one. Maybe we should axe for her help? She has experience.
I think I read he had been interviewed. I'll be quite unhappy if he gets a meek slap on the wrist. It's the perfect case to use as an example for both cracking an account and an attempt at political intimidation because that's exactly what he was trying to do here. Let's start with 10 years.
This is nothing new. Wiretappers recorded a conversation Gingrich had and the mainstream media talked about the contents of what should have been a private conversation. The news stories were all about trying to find if anything in the conversation hinted at something illegal Gingrich may have done. The Democrat stooges who did the illegal wiretap were treated like heroes.
btt
I just wonder why he hasn’t been arrested yet. This will dissappear down the news memory hole like everything the rats do.
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