By Steve Huff 11/27/12 4:04pm

Hack Hack Hack Hack It Apart

Bank of America, one of the victims of Operation Ababil (Screengrab)

Muslim Cyber-Fighters Who Took Down U.S. Bank Websites Deny They Work for Iran

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters, who claimed credit for multiple DDoS attacks on American financial institutions like Bank of American and Suntrust, Inc., still steadfastly deny they were working for the Iranian government. Wired directs us to this interview with the hackers conducted in early November by researchers Flashpoint Global Partners, a security research firm.

The hackers always claimed in various Pastebin posts that their “Operation Ababil” was not motivated by a need to hurt the United States so much as they wanted to express outrage over the anti-Muslim film, Innocence of Muslims.

In their interview with Flashpoint, the hackers repeated the same sentiment, stating that they targeted banks to do “something proportional to what has happened against us. In the system where… religion and sacred things are not honorable, and only material, money and finance have value, this seems a suitable and effective… act[ion] and can influence governors and decision makers.” Read More

By Steve Huff 10/11/12 10:42am

Malware Mischief

Detail of image from SophosLabs

Warning: ‘Mitt Romney Almost President’ Is a Malware Attack, Not a CNN Alert

SophosLabs reports that malware attacks tend to surge near major elections and the most recent is calculated to pull in anxious voters on either side of the political spectrum; a malicious email purporting to come from CNN declaring “CNN Breaking News–Mitt Romney Almost President.”

In a post on their NakedSecurity blog, Sophos explains why no one should click a link from an email like this: Read More

By Steve Huff 10/02/12 11:53am

Cyber Nukes

This guy is everywhere now. (Image Devdsp on Flickr

Experts Think Muslim Cyber Fighter Attacks on U.S. Banks Were ‘Well-Funded’

Analysis of the DDoS tools used in cyber attacks on American banks by religiously-motivated hackers Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters indicates a “well-funded” effort, according to security experts.

As reported by CSO Online, analysts at security firm Prolexic Technologies were able to identify the DDoS toolkit “itsoknoproblembro” as the software behind attacks against Bank of America, Chase Bank, Wells Fargo and PNC.

It may have a hilarious name, but “itsoknoproblembro” is serious business: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/25/12 8:55pm

Anonymous

You'd think this was expected.

Occupy Protests in Spain Inspire Anonymous to ‘Operation Spain’

Large protests against austerity measures have roiled Spain as demonstrators rallied across Madrid on Tuesday. The protests were spawned by economic woes and have targeted politicians and government facilities.

They climaxed Tuesday night with protesters surrounding the Spanish congress building in action dubbed “Occupy Congress.” Clashes with police ensued, resulting in multiple arrests and fueling the wrath of Anonymous.

The hacktivists issued a press release expressing their solidarity with the Spanish occupiers and announcing a “Operation Spain” in support of their efforts.

Anonymous said the livestreams of “the horrendous brutality on the part of the Spanish National Police” against the protesters prompted the hackers to remove “from the Internet the web site of the Spanish National Police located at www.policia.es.” They say the site will be kept offline as “long as we continue to watch scenes of brutality.”

Anonymous won’t stop there, though: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/25/12 4:49pm

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Muslim cleric Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (Wikimedia)

‘Operation Ababil’: Muslim Cyber Fighters Return, Take Down Wells Fargo’s Website

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters have returned with a new declaration published on Pastebin and a new set of targets. If you park your money with Wells Fargo and can’t reach the bank’s website, you apparently can blame the hackers and their Operation Ababil.

The group’s Pastebin post renewed their call for the anti-Muslim video Innocence of Muslims to be removed from the web. They also refuted allegations their actions have been state-sponsored by Iran, stating that they “strongly reject the American officials’ insidious attempts to deceive public opinion.”

The Cyber Fighters went on to give a timetable for their attacks and urged others to join the fight: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/24/12 12:42pm

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pakcyberarmy

The Pakistan Cyber Army May Be Coming For Your Small Business Website

Protests against anti-Muslim “film” Innocence of Muslims have been violent and continue in several countries, but they have not yet exploded into sustained military conflict. However, religiously motivated hackers are waging active war online. While DDoS (Directed Denial of Service) hits against large, well-known sites owned by financial instutions may have been sponsored by Iran, independent Muslim hackers appear to be targeting a slew of small websites with wickedly effective full-blown hacks and defacements.

A hacker calling himself Sizzling Soul and claiming membership in a hacker collective dubbed the Pakistan Cyber Army has taken down more than 80 sites in the name of the Prophet. Many of of those sites remain under his control and are displaying his message: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/22/12 7:06pm

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Stuxnet's command and control. (Krebs On Security)

Iran Possibly Behind ‘Operation Ababil’ Cyber Attacks Against Financial Institutions

Cyber attackers who went after Chase and Bank of America with Directed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the banks’ websites may have been working for Iran.

A report from the Washington Post cites several officials who have made this claim, including Senator Joseph Lieberman, the chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The Post reports that in an interview with C-SPAN, Sen. Lieberman disputed the idea the attackers were independent hacktivists outraged by a controversial anti-Muslim film: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/19/12 6:05pm

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Muslim cleric Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (Wikimedia)

Muslim Cyber Fighters Attack Chase Bank in ‘Operation Ababil’

The Cyber fighters of Izz ad-din Al qassam, a group of cyber-attackers who have targeted Bank of America and the New York Stock Exchange, allegedly struck J.P. Morgan Chase today. Fox Business reported on the site outage at Chase.com and consulted with Flashpoint Partners about the problems. Flashpoint told Fox that Chase’s problems were probably due to a “sustained denial of service attack.”

The religiously-motivated hackers, who claim they are responding to the anti-Muslim video, Innocence of Muslims, have published a new Pastebin page claiming credit for the Chase attack: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/18/12 4:19pm

Hack Hack Hack Hack It Apart

Bank of America, one of the victims of Operation Ababil (Screengrab)

Muslim Cyberfighters Claim Responsibility for Bank of America and NYSE Hack in Retaliation for Movie

Bank of America customers have had a hard time accessing the bank’s website today–and a claim posted by a Muslim hacker group on Pastebin.com may have something to do with that. Reuters has reported that the “scope of the problem could not immediately be learned” but BoA customers across the country were having similar problems.

In a Pastebin post made sometime Tuesday, a group claiming to speak “In the name of Allah the companionate (sic) the merciful” wrote the following: Read More