Paris Hilton Hack Started With Old-Fashioned Con

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: May 29, 2005 3:14:46 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: Paris Hilton Hack Started With Old-Fashioned Con


Paris Hilton Hack Started With Old-Fashioned Con
Source Says Hacker Posed as T-Mobile Employee to Get Access to  
Information

By Brian Krebs
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, May 19, 2005; 3:24 PM

The caper had all the necessary ingredients to spark a media
firestorm -- a beautiful socialite-turned-reality TV star,
embarrassing photographs and messages, and the personal contact
information of several young music and Hollywood celebrities.

When hotel heiress Paris Hilton found out in February that her
high-tech wireless phone had been taken over by hackers, many assumed
that only a technical mastermind could have pulled off such a feat.
But as it turns out, a hacker involved in the privacy breach said,
the Hilton saga began on a decidedly low-tech note -- with a simple
phone call.

Computer security flaws played a role in the attack, which exploited
a programming glitch in the Web site of Hilton's cell phone provider,
Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile International. But one young hacker
who claimed to have been involved in the data theft said the crime
only succeeded after one member of a small group of hackers tricked a
T-Mobile employee into divulging information that only employees are
supposed to know.

The young hacker described the exploit during online text
conversations with a washingtonpost.com reporter and provided other
evidence supporting his account, including screen shots of what he
said were internal T-Mobile computer network pages.
Washingtonpost.com is not revealing the hacker's identity because he
is a juvenile crime suspect and because he communicated with the
reporter on the condition that he not be identified either directly
or through his online alias.

...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/ 
AR2005051900711.html




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