Hacker threats to bookies probed

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3513849.stm

23 February, 2004

The UK's hi-tech crime squad has confirmed it is looking into
blackmail attempts, thought to be by Eastern European hackers, to
betting websites.

The gangs have threatened to flood bookmakers' sites with data,
disabling them before big events like Euro 2004.

A National Hi-Tech Crime Unit spokesperson said it had started
investigating the threats last autumn.

An Irish bookmaker said it had been attacked electronically on the
night of the Superbowl last month.

Lost business

"We are aware of it and we are investigating," said the NHTCU
spokesperson.

"We know that specific sporting events are being targeted. This could
well include the Grand National and Euro 2004," she added.  The
threats, made by e-mail, have demanded that bookmakers pay up £20,000
to £30,000 or face distributed denial of service attacks.

These attacks work by flooding targeted websites with so much
information so that no one can access the sites.

If this happened, it is estimated it would cost bookmakers hundreds or
thousands of pounds in lost bets.

Last month, Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, was targeted on the night of
the Superbowl, paralysing its site for several hours.

A spokesman said it had received an e-mail threatening an attack, but
had not been asked for a specific ransom.

"As soon as we discovered what it was, we got straight on to the
police," he said.

"We were never going to pay. It is a pretty cheap and nasty way of
trying to extort money."

Similar denial of service attacks were attempted on software sellers
SCO and Microsoft's websites earlier this year, although no blackmail
attempts were linked to the attacks.



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