Blind Men Accused of Elaborate Hacker Schemes

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

From: hippyman <hippyman () mail alltel net>


http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/israel_cybercrime991028.html

Brothers in Cybercrime
Blind Men Accused of Elaborate Hacker Schemes
The Associated Press
T E L A V I V, Israel, Oct. 28

The Badir brothers are blind from birth and grew up in an Arab village
bypassed by the computer revolution — not the typical hacker resume. But
today, Munther and Muzhar Badir went on trial for what prosecutors say is
Israel’s most elaborate cyberscam, a crime that has raised questions about
whether the security-minded nation is equipped to fight cybercrime, or
worse — cyberterrorism. 

The ease with which the two young men allegedly broke into sensitive
computer systems, including that of Armed Forces Radio, has stunned
Israel, a high-tech powerhouse.  It took a special 10-member police task
force 15 months to collect thousands of discs and documents and bring the
Badirs’ case to trial. 

The brothers have pleaded innocent to 42 counts of fraud, bribery and
blackmail. The indictment accuses them of breaking into computer systems
to hijack phone lines and steal credit card numbers they later used for
illegal purchases. 

Toll Free Calls

In perhaps the most daring scheme, Munther Badir, 22, hacked into the
switchboard of Israel’s Armed Forces Radio, the indictment said. Using
phone lines in a shack in Tel Aviv, he created a setup that allowed
residents of Palestinian-ruled Gaza City some 45 miles to the south to
call abroad “at the expense of the Israeli armed forces,” the charge sheet
said. 

Investigators were so worried the two might hack into the main police
computer that they often worked on personal laptops while the
investigation was still unfolding. 

Police had some help from Israel’s most famous hacker, Ehud Tenenbaum, or
The Analyzer, who has been charged with breaking into the Pentagon’s
computers. 

[...]

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