((("Flyman." Oh come on, what kind of weak sister's got a handle like "Flyman"? They're Cronenberg fans at Russian Business Network, is that it?)))
(((Nobody gets religion like the Daily Mail does – this piece is enough to get you disinfecting your sink for leftover cyber viruses.)))
Link: Do you know what your PC is up to? | the Daily Mail.
(...)
"Back in London, I meet Jart Armin, an anti-cyber-crime campaigner who spoke at a seminar last week in Cambridge in front of the university's security research group.
"Two-and-a-half weeks ago there was an attack on the Economist website that meant if you visited the sites your PC was infected. You didn't even need to click on anything." (((Gee, those Economist readers must be a tasty spearphishing bunch.)))
"It was orchestrated by a group known as Russian Business Network (RBN). I've heard it quoted that they are in some way involved in at least 60 per cent of crime committed online and I wouldn't dispute that. From my investigations they are earning at least £200 million a year."
He shows me some web pages for "anti-virus software." They look convincing, and are designed to the same professional specifications as the genuine article from companies such as Symantec, McAfee or Sophos.
"Five million people downloaded this last month," he says. "It's fake. This advert pops up, people get tricked into going to their website for a 'free scan,' which then injects malicious software on to their PC. You then have to pay them to download the full software."
That, in turn, loads more and more malicious software on to your PC.
"Clearly, RBN has hired web designers to make this look good. It is, after all, a very efficient business. It was started by young unemployed techies in St Petersburg. But then it was sponsored by ex-KGB men and Russian gangsters." (((Well, they're sure as heck "employed" now – they're the most sober, diligent darkside hackers anybody's ever heard of.)))
Earlier this year, RBN hackers broke into the Bank of India's website and installed software that meant every visitor surrendered their account details to the criminals. It was one of the first instances of drive-by downloading.
"If you're a young hacker, you can't just phone RBN and ask to use their latest software," says Jart. "You pay them. I used to be a hacker and write viruses. (((Hey, that gives him plenty of MSM credibility in my book.))) But for me it was always about intellectual games – can I take your PC offline faster than you can take mine offline? Now it's business."
"Along with a few others, I hacked into some of RBN's hidden servers. We found 200 to 300 directories full of names, bank accounts and compromised PCs. Each directory was worth around £5 million."
"As a client – someone buying accounts to steal from – you can select. You can think, 'Do I want southern England? Do I want social class A, B or C?'”
Jart admits he does not know how many people make up RBN or who its elusive hacker leader is. Known as Flyman, he is famous on the internet (hackers are thought of almost as folk heroes in Russia, where IT skills are plentiful but high-paying jobs scarce) and is being pursued by police both in Russia and around the world.
Jart also claims that legitimate businesses have been involved in RBN scams, with a major internet gambling site used to launder money.
"To watch them at work, you've got to enter the other side of the internet – Usenet," says Jart, referring to the older system that connected computer to computer directly.
"There are no Google searches
(((Uh – not exactly:
//groups.google.com/ )))
and little policing. It's all there, it's unrestricted. People have been trading stolen software for decades. I tell people to go there with armour plating and their six-gun cocked."
"When the 25 million addresses 'lost' from the British Government come up for sale on the web – and they will appear – (((the betting is open is open, ladies and gentlemen: The Lost British PlasticWare Sell-By Date))) there are only five servers in the world they are going to be appear on: all Usenet. Wholesalers will be dealing in them, not RBN themselves, but they'll be bidding for it."
Cyber-crime gangs have become more like businesses with each passing month. Stolen identities are currency to them. Compromised PCs are their weapons. Worms and viruses are crafted specifically to fit with the latest internet trends – and to spread to the maximum number of people....
(((Boy, it just rumbles on and on... well, this Yuletide season, dear reader, when your aging aunt asks "Honey, what's a Storm Worm?", you'll be going in with full armour and six shooters.)))
