'Rent-A-Hacker' Site Says It Offers Cracking For Hire

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175667.html

By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.,
04 Apr 2002, 11:44 AM CST

A group of Chicago Web site operators say they will break into school,
government and corporate computers and alter records, for fees
starting at $850. But at least one security expert thinks the
operation probably is a scam.

Among the services promised by Chicago-based 69 Hacking Services, is
changing "bad grades" and other records on elementary, high school or
college computer systems. The site is co-owned by a 23-year-old
identifying himself as Akbar "Andy" Hooda.
 
William Knowles, a computer security expert and editor of InfoSec
News, said the hacking service most likely is a scam aimed at snaring
"script kiddies" or young, naive computer users.

"I'd be curious if there is a money back guarantee if they can't get
in," said Knowles.

Even if the operation is legitimate, unauthorized access to computer
systems is a violation of federal and state computer crime laws,
according to Matt Yarborough, an attorney with Fish & Richardson and a
former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor.

The organization, which also goes by the name "Be A Hacker" (BAH),
operates a Web site at http://www.BeAHacker.com . It employs "about
15" people, according to Hooda, who said he co-owns the business with
an undisclosed partner.

A scrolling banner at the top of the BAH site's home page reads, "Got
bad grades in college/high school? We can change them! Want passwords?  
We will get them! Rent-a-hacker. Will do the job. Reasonable prices."

Hooda said his organization charges $2,100 and requires a down payment
of $799 for "cracking" into college or university computers, but does
not guarantee success.

"The down (payment) is for the time we put in to hack the desired box.  
If we complete the case, we ask for the rest of the payment," said
Hooda in an interview Wednesday.

An online database of registered corporations maintained by the
Illinois Secretary of State's office did not including listings for
BAH or 69 Hacking Services.

Hooda declined to reveal how many clients the hacking group has served
since it launched last year, nor would he disclose BAH's revenues,
except to say "it started to become a pretty big business."

In addition to hacking services, BAH offers several mail-order
products, including hacking software for $69.

"With this you can hack passwords, control computers, edit settings on
computers, edit data on computers, delete data from computers, make
another computer print from your computer, and also shut off/restart
the other person's computer. This is REAL hacking," reads a
description of the software, which can be purchased online using the
PayPal service.

While "brash," BAH's site is unlikely to prompt action by law
enforcement, according to Yarborough.

"Because of free speech laws, Web sites can advertise just about
anything. But if these guys are actually involved in unauthorized
computer access, that's a crime that state or federal prosecutors are
going to pursue," said Yarborough. He added that BAH's products could
also violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

According to PayPal's page for BAH, the group has been a member of the
online payment service for 19 months and has served 26 verified
buyers. Hooda claimed BAH had around 80 sales on PayPal and made about
$6,000 on sales of its products.

BeAHacker.com is hosted by Virginia-based XO Communications. A
spokesperson for XO, which is reportedly about to file for bankruptcy,
had no immediate comment on whether the hacking site violated its
terms of service.

According to its site, other services provided by BAH include hacking
into password-protected accounts, including AOL, CompuServe, Yahoo and
Hotmail, "so you can have access to it all the time and the owner of
the account cannot find out that you have access." BAH's fees for
password hacking begin at $399 and are payable in installments.

In the mid-1990s, a notorious hacking group called the Phone Masters
also operated a Web site that offered "professional" services such as
hacking into telephone and credit reporting databases for a fee,
according to Yarborough, who was involved in the U.S. government's
prosecution of the case. In September 1999, the leaders of Phone
Masters were convicted on hacking charges and sentenced to more than
two years in prison.

Other domains owned by BAH include Hackinghelp.com and
Hackingmall.com. Domain registration records list Amin Hooda as the
owner of the addresses. According to Akbar Hooda, Amin is a relative
who is helping with the site.

BAH is at http://www.beahacker.com 

The US computer fraud statute is at
http://www.cybercrime.gov/1030_new.html 

InfoSec News is at http://www.c4i.org/isn.html 

Reported by Newsbytes, http://www.newsbytes.com 



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