More than 100 arrests, as FBI uncovers cyber crime ring

The FBI says it has cracked a major international cyber crime network after more than 90 suspected members of the ring were arrested in the US.

The suspects worked as so-called mules for fraudsters based in Eastern Europe who hacked into US computers to steal around $70m.

More people were detained in Ukraine and the UK, local police said.

The FBI said the arrests were part of "one of the largest cyber criminal cases we have ever investigated".

Most of those arrested in the US were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, a US Attorney said.

They are suspected of acting as go-betweens or mules by providing bank accounts for an elaborate cyber crime scheme.

Hackers in Eastern Europe would use spam email to infect computers of small businesses and individuals in the US with a virus known as Zeus, the FBI said in a statement.

The unnamed hackers were then able to to access users' online passwords and bank account details and used them to transfer money to the bank accounts provided by the go-betweens in the US.

The crime ring attempted to steal around $220m, the FBI added.

The arrests were the result of an international operation that kicked off in Omaha in May 2009 when FBI agents noticed a row of suspicious bank transactions.

Law enforcement agencies in the US, Ukraine, the Netherlands and the UK were also involved in the investigation.

Police in the UK arrested 19 people suspected members of the ring.

In Ukraine, police arrested five people suspected of directing the scheme, the FBI said.

SOURCE: BBC

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Cyber Childern on The Rise

Club Penguin also actively promotes online learning by allowing its user base to create paper-mache artifacts, play memory card games and also encourages real-life interactions between children across the globe logged on to Penguin's site.

Rob Beeston, Asia-Pacific head of Disney Online Studios, explains: "These kids will need to use computers at work later on in their lives. So, why not give them an opportunity early on while they are young adults?"

Beeston is probably on the right track. By 2015, India is projected to achieve an internet penetration of 18 per cent. That translates into about 200 million internet users (according to consultancy Caris & Co). Already, social networking sites account for more than 44 per cent of the country's internet traffic, if the findings of online ad firm Tyroo Media are to be believed.

The new after-school activity

For young users like Urvika Bhatodia, an eight-year-old who studies at Marble Arch School in Mumbai, Club Penguin has become the favourite after-school activity. "I often meet my school friends on Club Penguin and we play games with each other and chat about teachers. We have also thrown parties for our pets on the Club Penguin site," she says.

Bhatodia's mother, Usha, a home maker, admits that she has to keep aclose watch on her daughter's online activity. "Her school work does require a lot of web surfing. But while she is playing on Club Penguin, I make sure I keep an eye on her activity and the games played," she says.

Club Penguin allows parents to designate the time of the day and even the length of time kids can be on the site. Also, they get to monitor the children's daily activity. Club Penguin is primarily a free-to-play site, but it charges Rs 199 per month for additional benefits and features for children.

In an independent research by Professor Jackie Marsh, head of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Sheffield in England, Club Penguin was found to be the most popular online community among 52 per cent of children that reported using virtual world regularly.

Individual research showed that, after game playing, the most popular activity on Club Penguin was reading. In addition, children - particularly boys - reported being more motivated to read in Club Penguin than offline.

India's popular gaming website Games2Win, too, has launched an exclusive gaming world for children called Chimpoo. "It's a huge, yet unorganised, market in India. Chimpoo gets a hit rate of close to 300,000400,000 visitors each month," claims Mahesh Khambadkone, chief operating officer, Games2Win.

Just like other sites, Chimpoo remains free-to-play, but users can graduate to a subscription model that costs Rs 250 a month, or a virtual currency model which multiplies as users play games.

Then again, not every parent is convinced about the benefits of online gaming and the virtual world. Shipra Varkhi, a corporate communications head for a leading FMCG brand, and the mother of two kids aged nine and seven, says: "I wouldn't let my children be part of such virtual world sites as they are better off learning other skills from the computer."

Riyana Rizwi, an 11-year old Mount Mary High School student, who says: "I don't play on Club Penguin any more as my friends have moved on to sites like Togetherville and gaming sites like Zapak Girls, where we play dressup games with each other." Zapak Girls is a dedicated gaming section created by Zapak Entertainment, where users can play dress-up games, makeover games, fashion games, celebrity games and cooking games.

Kids learn the importance of keeping passwords, being accountable for online activities Many sites are available in regional languages, or soon will be Dynamic and ever-changing content dependent on local seasons and festivals Time spent online to surf, play and network needs to be monitored or planned by parents. Definitive parental controls should be pre-installed on home PCs to protect child's identity online.

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Canada Will Spend $3.5 Million To Fight Hackers and Hacking Activities

The federal government will spend $3.5 million to set up a round-the-clock Information Protection Centre to protect its computer systems from hackers and cyber attacks, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Sunday.

The money is part of this year's federal budget, which allocated $90 million over five years, and $18 million in ongoing funding, toward the Cyber Security Strategy, the government said.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior intelligence officer with Canada's spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said the government's strategy is long overdue and that Canada is far behind other Western nations in terms of readiness.

But Toews disagreed.

"Our funding builds upon significant efforts that have already been underway for some period of time," he said.

Canada's efforts are consistent with what the United States is doing, Toews said.

Juneau-Katsuya argued that to be on par with the U.S., Canada's new plan has to be implemented with speed.

Liberal MP and Public Safety critic Mark Holland agreed.

"If something happens tomorrow, we're not ready," he said. "It's very clear we're way behind the rest of the world in an area that's constantly changing, and so when you're behind you have to sprint to catch up."

Source from the CBC's Karina Roman

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Hacking Simplified - For Those Who Want to Learn Things From the Scratch

It's quite probable that you have received spam offering a hotmail hacking guide that will give you the basics on how to become a hacker. Although it sounds tempting to have the power to know the private life of other persons, most of these guides and courses are nothing but scams that are looking for new victims.

If you really want to become a hacker, you need to go to the places were they gather: a hacking facebook, a hacker's forum, free hacking tutorials or even a mailing list. The information is out there. You only need to go and find it.

Where Can You Get Material on Hacking and Information on Hacking

There are two main sources. The first one is the Internet. You will have to make a basic query in your favorite search engine with the word hacker and start looking each one of the suggested sites. Most of them will only offer you limited tutorials on how to hack (like the Hacker's Black book or the Happy Hacker book, which are outdated). Other's will give you an useful insight on this world. After some time, you will find forums were people from around the world share their experiences.

Do not expect to enter an easy world. The jargon used by a group of hackers can be quite confusing for any beginner. So don't feel that you will never be part of it. Start with the basics and read "How to become a hacker" from Eric S. Rymond. Although the document is five years old, it will give you an introductory crash course on were do you need to start.

The second source is face to face reunions. Get into the internet and search for any hacker's meeting in your vicinity. You will be surprised to find that they meet quite regularly. Of course, do not expect to find a Matrix kind of reunion. This is serious, professional people that pay their rent by hacking. Drop by and make some questions on hacking tutorials.

What Is The Hackers Bible?

The hacker's bible has two possible sources, depending on whom do you ask. For some people, it is none other but the magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. This magazine was created by Emmanuel Goldstein, and it focuses on aspects of different technologies. For example, it covers telecommunication devices as well as computers.

The magazine gives to its readers grey hacker's material. That means that it gives them information on how to augment the capacities of any electronic apparatus, such as a cell phone. This neutral posture is different to white hacking (were a hacker uses his abilities for a good cause, like detecting the vulnerabilities of a network) and black hacking (were a hacker uses his knowledge for selfish purposes, like creating a hotmail hacking guide).

The other Hacker's Bible is the Jargon File. This document is a glossary of hacker slang that has been collected since 1975, from the old days of the Arpanet (the precursor of the Internet).

TIPS TO BECOME HACKER OR ETHICAL HACKER

TIPS TO BECOME HACKER OR ETHICAL HACKER:-

What Are The Basics Needed To Become A Hacker

Everyone has heard of one individual or another that was caught while hacking computers that belonged to this or that organization. Because hacking into computers is highly illegal, it should be mentioned that this article will not mention any real specifics about the subject, and this author would rather gladly encourage you to become a real hacker - professionally.

This article, will however, give a brief overview of criminal hackers, some of their methods, and a few things you can do to make your own computer safer from hack attacks. Here are those things you need to learn on how to become a hacker.

• Learn Computers

  It should go without saying that the first thing that is needed is to learn about computers. This means study. A lot of reading is involved along with just plain old-fashioned learning how to use a computer. Then, of course, there are the special aspects of computer study. The places where the tips are learned is often two-fold: a friend who has access to a computer, and a variety of places on the Web. But this is also an interesting thing - if a young person has the ability to learn, and wants to learn can use hacking tutorials- then why not take the time to learn the right things - things that can earn him a lot of money in the legit world? Is it possibly that it could be the friend he has that turns him away from the good?