Sudan Bank Hacked, Bin Laden Info Found - Hacker

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170588.html

[I have held back on posting any of this crap from Kim Schmitz who
claims this isn't a ploy for public relations, yet this is at least
the third article I have seen about his antics and his $10 million
reward for the capture of Usama bin Laden. Now he claims that he has
information about bin Laden gained from anonymous UK hackers who have
compromised the security of a Sudanese bank, if Mr. Schmitz is truly
interested in helping in the war on terrorism I have a few ideas.

Tell the hundreds if not, thousands of hackers that listen to him to
not use hacking as a way to gain information on the Al-Qaeda network,
I'm willing to bet one of Mr. Schmitz MegaCars that there are several
government and military information operations teams already trying to
do the same thing, letting the amateurs do this might hinder existing
operations.

Donate the some or all of the reward money to various charities, the
International Red Cross could surely use whatever donations Mr.
Schmitz has to offer, one of my favorite charities, The Special
Operations Warrior Foundation ( http://www.specialops.org/ ) could
also use any money donated. This war on terrorism is going to be a
covert war, battled with the help of special operations teams, not
fought in under 100 hours, with tanks storming through the desert, 
and CNN won't be around to cover most of it.

The SOFW was founded in 1980 to serve members of the Special
Operations community. A tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization,
SOWF is dedicated to providing college scholarships, based upon need,
and educational counseling to the children surviving Special
Operations personnel killed in the line of duty. These services are
provided throughout the United States, or overseas, depending upon
where the surviving children reside.

The Warrior Foundation estimates the over 375 SOF surviving children
who will need our help will require an estimated outlay of $6.7
million by 2010.

Lastly, don't run off to the press with every new bit of information
you discover if you decide that not to use these suggestions above, I
know ISN subscribers personally who are working privately on this new
war on terrorism, who are all very humble and when they do see
something that doesn't look right, they're reporting this to the
proper authorities, not calling their agency to issue new press
releases.

I hope with this article, and now rant, this is the last we hear of
Mr. Schmitz's PR war on terrorism.  - William Knowles 9.28.01]

-=-

By Ned Stafford, Newsbytes
MUNICH, GERMANY,
27 Sep 2001, 2:46 PM CST
 
A group of U.K.-based hackers has cracked computers at the AlShamal
Islamic Bank in Sudan and collected data on the accounts of the Al
Qaeda terrorist organization and its leader Osama bin Laden, Kim
Schmitz, a flamboyant German hacker/businessman, has claimed.

Schmitz, who has offered a $10 million reward for the capture of bin
Laden, told Newsbytes that the information has been turned over to the
FBI. Bin Laden, a millionaire Saudi exile whose base is now
Afghanistan, is suspected of being the driving force behind the deadly
Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with
hijacked planes.

Newsbytes could not confirm Schmitz's claim. An FBI spokesman in
Washington declined to confirm or deny the story, saying that the
agency's policy is not to comment on information and leads it is
receiving.

"We have received a lot of information on this case," he told
Newsbytes. "Of course we appreciate the leads we are receiving from
the public, but we cannot confirm what specific information has been
provided to us or by whom."

Schmitz, 27, a former teen hacking prodigy who spent time behind bars
before starting a successful data security business, has been accused
of being press hungry. He says his recent strong anti-terrorism
pronouncements are not a PR prank, but stem from his strong desire to
wipe out terrorism. He says he has received death threats from the
Middle East.

The bank Schmitz claimed was hacked was mentioned Wednesday by Sen.
Carl Levin, D-Mich. during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
According to CNN, Levin referred to a 1996 State Department report
that said bin Laden had provided the AlShamal Islamic Bank with $50
million in start-up capital.

Schmitz told Newsbytes that he could not provide details about what
hackers found in AlShamal Islamic Bank's computers or about the
hackers themselves.

Nonetheless, he provided Newsbytes with the following outline of what
he says happened.

Last week, Schmitz, who lives in Munich, posted letters on his Web
site rallying politicians to the cause of fighting terrorism and
offering his hacking expertise.

"I received plenty of e-mails from hackers around the world offering
their services," he said.

Schmitz founded a group that numbers around 23 hackers called "Young
Intelligent Hackers Against Terror." He calls the group YIHAT, which
is similar to the word Jihad, which is Arabic for Holy War.

Schmitz said that last Friday, a Sudanese banker sent the group an
e-mail after reading about the $10 million reward, informing the group
that Al Qaeda and bin Laden have accounts at AlShamal Islamic Bank.

A team of U.K.-based hackers sprang into action, and hacked the
nameserver of AlShamal Islamic Bank, he said. They were able to gain
access to the bank's intranet by exploiting a "checkpoint firewall 1
vulnerability," he explained.

After bypassing the firewall, the hackers achieved "superuser" status
on the server, and "sniffed" eight valid user IDs, and then were able
to collect information on accounts of Al Qaeda and bin Laden.

"This information was sent to the authorities in the USA," Schmitz
said.

Schmitz sent the following e-mail to the Webmaster at the AlShamal
Islamic Bank:

"dear webmaster of sudans shamalbank,

"your bank has been hacked. information regarding Al Qaeda's and bin
Ladens accounts have been captured. all information reached the US
authorities. thanks for using products from checkpoint (firewall1).

"have a nice day, Kim "Kimble" Schmitz, Founder of "Young Intelligent
Hackers Against Terror" YIHAT"

When asked which authorities received the information from the
hackers, Schmitz said: "FBI."

He said that authorities had not given the hackers a "green light" to
undertake the hacking, that the group had done so on its own
initiative.

Schmitz said the U.K.-based hackers wish to remain anonymous.

"I am the spokesperson of the group," he said. "They don't want to be
involved with the press. What they do is illegal, unless we find a
government that legalizes our activities."

And somewhat mysteriously, he added: "If I would deliver details about
the hacks, I could get arrested. I am not hacking myself, because that
is illegal. I must keep myself out of the details to make sure that I
am still able to offer them the communication platform they need to
fight as united hackers of the world against terror."

AlShamal Islamic Bank Home Page: http://www.shamalbank.com/

Kim Schmitz's Personal Web Site: http://www.kimble.org/

Schmitz Letter to governments around the world:
http://www.kimble.org/urgent.htm

Schmitz Reward For Osama Bin Laden: 
http://www.kimble.org/mostwanted.htm 



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