Cops plan awareness classes for netcafe owners

KOCHI: In the wake of the rising number of cyber crimes being reported from internet cafes, the City Police have decided to organise an awareness campaign for the internet cafe operators regarding strengthening of various monitoring systems.

A communication from the office of City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar said the campaign will be organised by the Cyber Crime Inquiry Cell of the City Police.

Police said there were around 200 cyber cafes in the city and almost all of them were grossly violating the rules mainly various provisions under Information Technology Act.
The campaign will be held on July 21 at Infant Jesus Parish Hall around 10.30 am. City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar will deliver the keynote address on ‘Responsibilities and Cyber Laws’.
Crime Detachment Assistant Commissioner Rajesh will organise a debate on cyber laws.
Police said the campaign was being organised to create awareness among the cyber cafe owners on the need to maintaining a registry of internet users and copy of a valid ID proof of the customers.
“Despite repeated advisories, the cafe owners seem to be giving scant regard to the rules laid down for operating the internet cafes, the police said.

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Special police unit set up in Sri Lanka to curb computer related crime

July 20, Colombo: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka Police announced setting up of a Cyber Crime Unit (CCU) and a Digital Forensic Lab aiming to assist the public who have been deceived by organized computer crime.

The step has been taken under Computer Crime Act No.24 of 2007.

The unit will investigate computer crimes such as hacking, unauthorized access to the system and manipulating data, collecting, changing, corrupting and destroying data without permission, offences against national security, national economy and public order, and criminal breach of trust.

The special unit, consisting of 14 police personnel to conduct investigations into all the complaints received by the unit, will be handled directly by the Deputy Inspector General of Police who is in charge of the CID and the director of the CID.

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Himachal police bust ATM hackers' gang

Himachal Police have busted an interstate gang involved in cyber crime, with the arrest of three persons who were caught red-handed while trying to hack an ATM in Hamirpur.

"Three members of the gang, Shekar, 30, from Delhi, Puran Singh, 32, and Hetam , 28, both from Shimla have been caught by the police. The gang comprises 5 to 6 people, while 2 are from Shimla district, the rest are from Delhi. They are suspected to have been involved in various ATM hackings in North India. We are looking at uncovering a major scam of ATM hackings, following the arrest of these three gang members," disclosed ASP Sanjeev Gandhi on Saturday, who is investigating the case.

He said that the department received the first complaint from PNB Bank officials at Palampur police station saying that money of some of the ATM users had been fraudulently withdrawn. "Acting on their complaint, we looked into the CCTV footage of 38 hours and found the videos of the culprits," he said.

After caring out search operations and piecing together the complaints received from different banks, the police department nabbed three of the gang members from the kiosk of the SBI ATM in Hamirpur where they had already stolen Rs 15,000 and were preparing to withdraw more, told Gandhi.

Cautioning ATM users, the ASP said that one should not use the ATMs which had hanged and if the machine was hanging after inserting the ATM card then one should check his account balance duly.

The ASP said that the hackers knew various techniques of committing cyber crime. "For hacking ATMs, they used steel pins with fluid and tape of special kind," he said.

"Search operations have been intensified on clues given by the arrested people, while one CIA team has already left for Delhi to arrest the rest of the gang members," said Gandhi.

One of the ATM hackers, Pooran Singh told TOI that he was taught about hacking by a Delhi-based boy who lives in Janakpuri. "I only have Rs 18,000 and the rest of the amount is with him," he said.

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India, US join hands to fight cyber crime, sign MoU

NEW DELHI: With Internet becoming a new tool for terrorists, India and the US on Tuesday decided to promote closer cooperation and timely exchange of information to fight cyber crimes.

According to a statement by the US Embassy here, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard.

The agreement was signed by Jane Holl Lute, Deputy Secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and India Department of Information Technology Secretary R Chandrashekhar.

The MoU will establish the best practices for exchange of critical cyber security information and expertise between the two governments through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

CERT-In is the India's nodal agency for responding to cyber security incidents

US-CERT serves as the operational arm of DHS' National Cyber Security Division.

The MoU helps fulfill the commitment of both nations to advancing the global security and countering terrorism, one of the pillars of the US-India Strategic Dialogue, launched on July 20, 2009.

The respective governments and cyber security communities in the US and India will now have the ability to coordinate with each other on a broad range of technical and operational cyber issues.

IT and Communication Minister Kapil Sibal later in the day met US security officials and discussed matters related to cyber security.

India, like many other countries, faces new security threats from the cyber world, especially in the aftermath of increasing convergence of technologies. There are serious concerns that terrorists might hack the department portals to and cripple the government functions.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano had travelled to India in May to launch the US-India Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD) with Home Minister P Chidambaram. This was the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the US and India.

During Napolitano's visit, the two countries had agreed to create the MoU, and negotiations for the non-binding arrangements.

US-CERT's mission is to improve the nation's cyber security posture, coordinate cyber information sharing and proactively manage cyber risks to the nation while protecting the constitutional rights of Americans.

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FBI Agents Arrest UCF Student In Cyber Crime Case

ORLANDO, Fla. -- FBI agents raided a University of Central Florida residence hall and arrested a student that they accuse of perpetrating a cyber attack.

Federal authorities said the student, 21-year-old computer engineering major Scott Arciszewski, is affiliated with the online activist group Anonymous. The group has been linked to hacking attacks on a number of Orange County websites.

The FBI said it's looking into whether there's a connection between Anonymous and the UCF student.

Arciszewski told WESH 2 News that his federal public defender told him not to speak out publicly, but he did say that he's extremely stressed by the ordeal.

He's one of 16 people arrested in raids across the country on Tuesday who are accused of cyber attacks.

"I was completely surprised, being honors students and athletes, not a lot of bad things happen in the towers," said UCF student Dan Chesney.

The UCF honor student said he was stunned when FBI agents in bulletproof vests swarmed the third floor of the Tower Three residence hall and arrested his fellow classmate.

"They came and knocked on his door, and there was a big ruckus," said a student who witnessed the arrest.

Arciszewski is accused of hacking the website infragardtampabay.org. It's an FBI-affiliated site that works with businesses, Homeland Security and law enforcement to protect against counter-terrorism and cyber-crimes.

"It's illegal, so he shouldn't have been doing it," said Chesney. "At the same time, kudos to him for having the skill as a college student to hack into some major corporation's website."

On Arciszewski's website, Kobra's Corner, he brags how the site isn't safe and said he penetrated it within five minutes. Federal agents said he uploaded three files, damaged the server, and then posted step-by-step instructions for others.

"They kind of need to step up their security, if that's the case," said Chesney.

Arciszewski also tweeted about the hack-job with friends with possible ties to Anonymous.

FBI agents arrested 14 members across the country accused of hacking the PayPal website in the Tuesday raids.

Recently Anonymous claims it set its sights on taking down central Florida-related websites. They said it's retaliation for Orlando Police arrests of Food Not Bombs members feeding the homeless in Lake Eola.

Agents said the UCF student even sent a tweet to the FBI saying that the website he hacked is one heck of an exploit. Arciszewski told WESH 2 News that UCF is not kicking him out of the campus dorms. The school will only say it's cooperating with the FBI investigation.

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Police probe Soham phone hack claims

Pune: Facebook (FB), the social networking site, not only connects you to friends but can also help the police track down missing persons.

The latest instance being that of the Pune rural police tracking down Manohar Venkatraman Nemanivar (33) who was missing from 11 years from his home in Nanded.

After Manohar went missing from Nanded on December 28, 2000, his father Venkatraman who owns two restaurants in Nanded filed a missing complaint with the Nanded police station on January1, 2001.

Manohar's family could trace Manohar, when he unwittingly contacted one of his childhood friends via Facebook recently. His Facebook status also revealed the fact that Manohar used to visit the Saibaba temple in Shirdi often. This enabled the cyber crime cell of the Pune rural police lay a trap for Manohar at Shirdi, where they nabbed him on July 5.

Sub-inspector Vikas Kumbhar of the cyber crime cell of Pune rural police told, "Manohar was working at a resort in Goa as a waiter and when he came to know that his family was searching for him, he fled from Goa. However, we were able to track his whereabouts from his updates on Facebook and nab him when he was on his way to Pune from Shirdi.''

Manohar's family had come in large numbers from Nanded to meet him at the Chavannagar rural police headquarters on Wednesday. His father Venkatraman told, "I am speechless as I am yet to digest the truth but happy that my son has returned by the grace of God.''

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Complaint against finance company

RAMGARH: Patratu police have lodged an FIR against a finance company of a big corporate house and a cyber cafe in Bhurkunda in connection with a cyber crime. Manohar Kumar of Jainagar village under Patratu block of Ramgarh district was cheated of Rs 70,000 through a fake email which had informed him that his request for a loan of Rs 10 lakh had been sanctioned and directed him to deposit he processing fees in two bank accounts.

Happy to have received the mail, Kumar deposited the money with the accounts mentioned in the email. When he visited the branch office of the finance company, he came to know that the email was fake, Patratu OC Madan Prasad said adding that an advertisement was published in a newspaper related to an attractive offer for loan up to Rs 10 lakh.

Kumar applied for loan as per direction given in the advertisement. However officials of the finance company denied to have released such advertisement, police said. "We have also conducted a raid in a cyber cafe in Bhurkunda," Prasad said. The matter is being investigated by police.

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Security guard held for ATM card theft

HYDERABAD: Cyberabad Cyber Crime investigators on Saturday arrested a 32-year-old security guard for stealing a software company employee's ATM card and fraudulently withdrawing money from her account.

The incident came to light when 29-year-old M Swetha, working with the Cybage Software Pvt Ltd, DLF Towers, Gachibowli, lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime police station stating that some unknown person withdrew Rs 13,500 from her account using her ATM card. Based on the complaint, the Cyber Crime police registered a case and took up investigation.

"N Chandra Sekhar, working as security guard at DLF Towers, was caught based on CCTV footage. He confessed during interrogation that he used to steal Swetha's debit card and password from her bag during lunch hour and withdraw cash from Citibank ATM at DLF Towers. Later, he used to stealthily return the card," K S Rao of Cyber Crimes, told STOI. He used the card four times between April 20 and June 29.

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It’s war! Anti-cyber crime alliance formed to defeat hackers

A new global organisation that joins tech companies with police forces around the world - the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) – has been formed against rising cyber crime in the aftermath of breaches at RSA, Sony and Citibank.

ICSPA brings together businesses, governments and law enforcement officers, and by investing in new training, an international exchange of expertise will create a powerful network to counter global cyber crime.

Member companies include Yodel, McAfee, Trend Micro, Cassidian, Core Security Technologies, Transactis and Shop Direct Group.

ICSPA plans to disrupt cyber criminals’ activities by providing law-enforcement agencies with more resources, tools and expertise in countries that face the greatest challenges, thus helping them to be more successful in their fights.

Cloud-based security software firm Trend Micro, which employs 200 people in Cork, is one of the founding members of the new organisation.

Anthony O’Mara, senior vice-president of Trend Micro EMEA, said: “The fight against cyber crime requires a sophisticated and co-ordinated effort from all those concerned, but it also requires organisations with exceptional expertise to really take the lead.

“Trend Micro is proud to be a founding member of the ICSPA and applauds the Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, Prime Minister David Cameron and the other organisations involved for their support for this important initiative.”

The impact of cyber crime

Research from Trend Micro indicates that businesses and individuals face a growing threat from cyber crime.

The dangers to enterprise have been amply illustrated this year alone, with intrusions into several major corporations, such as RSA, Sony, Citibank, the European Council and Epsilon, to name but few. These attacks often result in the theft of valuable intellectual property or customer databases.

Stolen personal information and financial details are offered for sale in a wide range of underground online forums. The more popular forums often have many thousands of members and also host advertisements for online shop fronts trading in stolen information. These forums operate on a similar basis as legitimate online auction sites where buyers and sellers give and receive feedback in order to establish “trust” before making a purchase.

Trend Micro's research demonstrates how cheaply cyber criminals sell the proceeds of their activities – and just how much money they can make out of it:

• US$800 buys a passport from an EU country
• US$500 buys a UK driving licence
• US$80-US$150 buys a credit card “dump” - data that can be written to the chip or magnetic strip
• 2 cents-15 cents buys a credit card blank
• US$180m in 12 months is what one gang made from peddling fake security software, designed to fool the victim into believing their PC is already infected

This latter scam is a particular growth area for cyber criminals. For the victim, it means they unwittingly give away their personal information and credit card details to purchase the bogus software, infect their computer and to make matters worse, pay for it. One such campaign analysed by Trend Micro diverted 300m visits to the malicious landing pages in just one month.

In welcoming the launch of the ICSPA, Cameron said: “Our government has already injected an additional £650m to help improve our national infrastructure and protect against cyber crime, but the very nature of this threat calls for more than a national response; it demands a truly global response and that is what the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance is all about.

“By forging new relationships between businesses, governments and law enforcement officers all over the world, by investing in new training, and by building an international exchange of expertise, the ICSPA is forming a network powerful enough and wide enough to face down cyber crime,” Cameron said.

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Cyber crime on the rise

LUDHIANA: Unlawful acts on the Internet ' cyber crime ' is on the rise with increasing technology. Some time ago, a collegiate had visited the cops to register her complaint against an unknown online criminal, who had created a social networking profile on her name. The girl had reported to the police that her photographs were also uploaded to the fake profile.

The previous month, cops had received eight such complaints. Cyber crime cell in charge Bhupinder Singh said, ''It is mostly women who are targeted. Profiles of girls are created by fraudsters, for selfish motives.''

In another happening, an employee of the entertainment industry of Mumbai who is a Ludhiana resident, complained to cops that someone had made a fake social profile on his name with false credentials and through this profile, the criminal had duped a girl of Rs 20,000 by assuring her a job in some multi-national firm.

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