Hacktivism

Weekly Security Highlights: 2011 McAfee Security Journal Is A Must-Read For All

As we move into our last (short) week before the Thanksgiving holiday, I’d like to take this chance to highlight some of the excellent work showcased our 2011 McAfee Security Journal, released this past Tuesday with articles compiled from McAfee Labs researchers and security industry thought leaders. The Journal was created as a venue to Read more…

Tags: cloud security, Friday Security Highlights, Hacktivism, McAfee Security Journal, mobile security

French Magazine Suffers Web Hack, Firebombing

To celebrate the recent victory of the Tunisian Islamist party, the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” published a special issue in which it named the prophet Muhammad (also spelled Mohammad) as its editor-in-chief. Late night, the magazine’s offices in Paris were destroyed by a Molotov cocktail attack. The entire French political establishment has condemned this Read more…

Tags: hacking, Hacktivism

The Rise and Fall of Anonymous

Following my previous blog on Francopol 2011, here are some data and slides from my own talk on the Anonymous Group. Anonymous circles are not the only component of hacktivism, merely a loose collection with the highest media profile. Other representatives of this informal protest movement include the “Indignants,” who use social networks around the Read more…

Tags: Anonymous, Hacktivism, identity exposure, identity theft

No Holidays for Hackers in France

In France, July and August are the holiday season. Like my compatriots, I abandoned my workplace for several weeks in the southern sun. But I have to confess it was not an absolute desertion. From time to time, I had a quick look into French hacktivist activities. To demonstrate that hackers and hacktivists never stop, Read more…

Tags: Anonymous Group, Hackers, Hacktivism, iframe, SpyEye

Friday Security Highlights: Social Media Catalyzes Hacktivism

Welcome to our second edition of Friday Security Highlights, a weekly roundup of top infosec news, blogs and buzz from around the web. Earlier this week, we pushed out a tweet about how excited we are to offer this blog alongside Lang Tibbils’ In Wake of the Week, another recap focused specifically on McAfee news Read more…

Tags: Focus, Friday Security Highlights, Hacktivism, intel, Patmos, social media

7 Types of Hacker Motivations

There are good and bad hackers. Here is a window into what they do and why: White Hat Hackers: These are the good guys, computer security experts who specialize in penetration testing and other methodologies to ensure that a company’s information systems are secure. These IT security professionals rely on a constantly evolving arsenal of Read more…

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‘Anonymous’ Hacktivists May Have Cybercrime Link

In December, I discussed the surprising relationship between some Anonymous group members and the Russian bulletproof hosting company heihachi.net. I summarized the Spamhaus warning concerning a particular WikiLeaks mirror–mirror.wikileaks.info (92.241.190.202), which is still not referenced at wikileaks.ch–among the 1,426 official mirror sites. I also mentioned that various anonops.ru servers and IRC facilities were linked to Read more…

Tags: Cybercrime, Email & Web Security, Hacktivism

Don’t Confuse ‘Anonymous’

With a Russian Gang

The recent WikiLeaks disclosure of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department diplomatic cables got people worked up. Running opposite much public opinion, the main WikiLeaks defender in the hacktivism field is the “Anonymous” group. After earlier engaging in various cyberdemonstrations against copyright-protection societies, Anonymous is now fully involved in a battle against WikiLeaks’ censors and Read more…

Tags: Cybercrime, Hacktivism

Malware Rises, Zeus Goes Mobile, Stuxnet Confuses in Recent Quarter

Looking at computer threats from quarter to quarter remains a busy experience for us at McAfee Labs. Through the first three quarters of the year we have analyzed and cataloged more threats than in all other years combined, and the growth in both volume and sophistication of malware and attacks shows no signs of slowing. Read more…

Tags: botnet, critical infrastructure, Cybercrime, data breach, Data Protection, Email & Web Security, encryption, Endpoint Protection, facebook, global threat intelligence, Hacktivism, malware, Mobile, Operation Aurora, phishing, privacy, seo abuse, social networking, social networks, spam, sql attacks, Stuxnet, twitter, vulnerability, Web 2.0, zeus

Odd Magazine: Disinformation at Play?

Since the end of June, the media have been talking about a possible new magazine distributed by Al-Qaeda and promoted on various Islamic websites. One reason I was interested by this document was a message I read in some extremist forums saying it could contain viruses and spyware. In searching I found two documents. Each Read more…

Tags: Cybercrime, Hacktivism