Web hackers hit US via Taiwan

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/01/11/story/0000119478

Friday, January 11th, 2002

WORLDWIDE CRIME: A Pakistan-based group of hackers claims to have
obtained top-secret data from Web sites in the US and UK through
computer systems here

Pakistani hackers have used Taiwan-based computer systems as platforms
for attacks against Web sites in the US and the UK, Chinese-language
media reported yesterday.

The FBI has informed Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau of
long-distance attacks by a hacker group called "G-Force Pakistan,"  
which used Taiwan-based computer systems as its launch pads.

The attacks targeted computers in government agencies, military, media
and academic institutions in the US and UK, the report said.

The bureau's Internet department has discovered that six Taiwan-based
computer systems have been invaded, including those of GigaMedia Ltd
and Tatung Information Enterprise Inc.

The hackers first invaded Tatung's computers and then moved on to
GigaMedia and the US and UK Web sites, the report said.

Taiwan police have notified the operators of the six hacked systems in
Taiwan and asked them to fix the loopholes in their systems, the
report said.

Both GigaMedia and Tatung expressed surprise at the news, saying they
had found no irregularities in their computer systems.

The report quoted unnamed sources from GigaMedia, an Internet service
provider, as saying the company would not launch any indiscriminate
probes into client information or its sources.

The hacker attacks began in October last year and investigators think
they may be linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

The hackers left the emblem of their organization and obscenities on
Web pages and installed "Trojan horse" sniffers in the systems, the
report said. Sniffers are computer programs that can be used to
monitor the content of computer systems and the traffic between them.

The hackers, who claimed to be supporters of the Taliban regime and
Kashmiri separatists, invaded the Taiwanese computers from Pakistan,
the report said.

The hackers vowed more attacks in the future and claimed to have
obtained top-secret US military information, which they threatened to
hand over to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.



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