Feds Investigate Huge Computer Attack, Worldwide Hunt for Stakkato!

1000s of computer network systems serving U.S. military, NASA, research labs have been penetrated by 'single intruder or a small band, apparently based in Europe'... MORE... Spokeswoman for White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico confirmed there has been 'unauthorized access'... Developing...

Story Developing



Intruder Attack on Computer Net Is Called Broad
By JOHN MARKOFF
and LOWELL BERGMAN

SAN FRANCISCO, May 9 - The incident seemed alarming enough: a breach of a Cisco Systems network in which an intruder seized programming instructions for many of the computers that control the flow of the Internet.

Now federal officials and computer security investigators have acknowledged that the Cisco break-in last year was only part of a more extensive operation - involving a single intruder or a small band, apparently based in Europe - in which thousands of computer systems were similarly penetrated.

Investigators in the United States and Europe say they have spent almost a year pursuing the case involving attacks on computer systems serving the American military, NASA and research laboratories.

The break-ins exploited security holes on those systems that the authorities say have now been plugged, and beyond the Cisco theft, it is not clear how much data was taken or destroyed. Still, the case illustrates the ease with which Internet-connected computers - even those of sophisticated corporate and government networks - can be penetrated and also the difficulty in tracing those responsible.

Government investigators and other computer experts sometimes watched helplessly while monitoring the activity, unable to secure some systems as quickly as others were found compromised.

The case remains under investigation. But attention is focused on a 16-year-old in Uppsala, Sweden, who was charged in March with breaking into university computers in his hometown. Investigators in the American break-ins ultimately traced the intrusions back to the Uppsala university network.


NY Times

[edit on 9-5-2005 by edsinger]

[edit on 9-5-2005 by edsinger]

There, so thats how they are going to take away our Internet. The Bug that stole our Internet...I smell a huge rat...

The caps cops are around- beware

How far did they "penetrate"?

Not good.. But I would like to believe that the most important secret stuff would have enough redundant security as to be well protected.

But who knows.. Maybe someone will hack in and launch 50 or so nukes at both North Korea and Iran?

hmmm

Watch and see nuclear secrets being posted on the net within the next 24 hours.

say what

this reminds me of a movie: hackers, missiles, demands for money in an offshore bank account, that kind of stuff, govt under siege, holy crap my imagination is in overdrive and I might just scare myself.

This seems odd, and it might be spreading! Seems that the major news hasnt picked it up yet.

Keep in mind that they are saying that this happened a year ago, and they've only deigned to inform us all about it now (tho its easy to imagine some reasons why you wouldn't immediately let everyone know that the door is unlocked).

I think its pretty exciting, in a bad way anyay, that its somethign done by a small group or possibly a single man.

'A small band in europe'. Sounds like a caveman story, these guys are the cave men of the internet, following the big cisco heards across the cyber-plains. Soon they're aggregate into tribes and before long, cities and whole civilizations.

Quest for firewire!

I'd love to see the little jerk's fingers surgically removed. Or beat his parents with a broken keyboard. lol

The "service interuption" is bound to happen due to the large number of people who use the net to express their like or dislike of the corprate world. Remember the huge outage that the U.S. suffered back in '02 or 03? That act should have given all the big computer company's a heads up and to modify their security accordinly throughout the entie system. Not only is it causing the U.S. govt. major headaches and is a more than regular pain in the butt, I suspect that in the near future someone is going to die as a direct result of this stupidity. Hacking to steal is one thing and I am in no way condoning it, but hacking to the extent where it causes a death is another. It is a shame that those who hack cannot use their gift to the betterment of mankind.

Heh!
LIke I said on the other thread (Hacked).

Either ive been watching far to much 24 or this sounds all to familiar!


LOL im sorry I just can help it.

I hope he got every shread of decent data.. everything on 9-11 and Iraq and etc..etc.. And I hope.. that instead of sorting through it until he gets caught.. that he just uploads the whole thing.. to the net (here would be nice).

Anyone want to bet that GODLIKEPRODUCTIONS will hoax this information in a few days?


Actually.. if someone WAS READY to release a bunch of information they have on something (they WANT to leak something) .. this would be the time to do it, because it wouldn't be known who did it.. right?

Actually.. if someone was to HOAX 'the data' that was stolen.. how would we know that it wasn't 'the data' itself.


And there HAS to be data stolen.. has to be.