The Dark Visitor

Thanks to Websense Security Labs for informing us about a new advance-fee scam targeting Chinese Skype users.  Apparently, Chinese users get a message indicating that they have won a significant sum of money and prizes.  They are directed to a phishing website where they fill out contact information for the prizes but nothing too suspicious.  Finally, they are redirected to a bank transfer page where they will have to send in a fee of several hundred RMB to collect the prize.  I wonder if the officials reading Tom Skype users’ messages are falling for this too.

Speechless…

An angry Chinese lawyer accused Microsoft of perpetrating the biggest ever hacker attack in response to the software giant’s controversial move to trigger hourly screen blackouts on computers using pirated copies of Windows XP. [Cast your vote]

On October 20, Dong Zhengwei, a lawyer of Beijing Zhongyin Law Office, sent a complaint to China’s Ministry of Public Security, accusing Microsoft of invading personal computers without user permission or judicial authorization, the Beijing Times reported.

Dong said the judiciary should assign criminal responsibility for the Windows Genuine Advantage Program so called “Black Screen” scheme and halt this “illegal move”.

To fight software piracy Microsoft announced on October 15 that, starting October 21, Microsoft anti-piracy software would be automatically installed on users’ computers through the routine Internet-based update mechanism. If a computer fails a validation test, the desktop will change to a plain black background when the computer is restarted.

Read it all, Microsoft accused of hacking attack.

Dr. Antonio Nucci, Chief Technology Officer at Narus writes:

Last April, a politically motivated Chinese blog called “The Dark Visitor” rallied hackers to launch a DDoS attack on CNN.com for its coverage of the relationship between China and Tibet.

Just CRAP!!!

Filed under: Evil and/or Stupid (for the latter)

That was the actual sound that came out of my mouth when I first viewed this picture from Xinhuanet of People’s Armed Police officers demonstrating new Olympic counter-terrorism equipment:

Eastwood, if you can bring me back one of these Segways-of-Death…man, we are buds for life!

From the Heilongjiang Daily, via News China, a 19-year-old Chinese hacker going by the online name of Autumn Breeze decided to deface the main page of the… Daqing Public Security Bureau website … and leave behind several taunting messages to include his contact information. Brilliant!

According to the report, Autumn Breeze felt that his skills at hacking were so good there was no way he could get caught. Well, it did take the police a little over an hour to track him down…so he has that going for him.

On 12 June, police who were working online discovered that a hacker had managed to gain access to the Daqing Public Sercurity Bureau website and leave behind several taunting messages:

“So, basically Daqing doesn’t have a cyber police force?”

“Do the cyber police just get paid to do nothing?”

“Is the software installed on the internet cafes used by the cyber police to collect fees?”

He also left behind the name “Autumn Breeze” and his e-mail contact information.

Under the direction of Captain Liu, of the Daqing Cyber Police, officers were able to track Autumn Breeze to a local internet cafe and arrest him while in the process of attacking another website. Autumn Breeze made a full confession saying, “Oh, you get paid to do this!”

Yeah, I may have fudged that last quote a bit.

On the afternoon of May 31st, the Nanning Public Security Bureau Cyber Police received a report from the Guangxi Earthquake Bureau that a hacker had invaded and altered their website.

The FAKE message left by the hacker read:

“The violent earthquake that struck Wenchuan, Sichuan…we grieve for our fellow citizens who perished in the great Wenchuan, Sichuan, earthquake. In the near future, a major earthquake registering 9+ will hit the Guangxi area. Request that city residents make preparations as soon as possible.”

(Emphasis added)

Guangxi Earthquake Website

Cooperation between the cyber police from six provinces, spanning a three-day period, finally located the hacker responsible for the fraudulent message in Jiangsu.

Cyber Police Investigation

On 4 June, police arrested a further unidentified suspect named Chen who made a full confession.

Congratulations to Chinese hacker Chen, I had to add a new category to cover this event. Posted under Evil and/or Stupid…qualified as Evil and Stupid.