Network Archives

Anatomy of a hack: How crackers ransack passwords like “qeadzcwrsfxv1331”

"Nate Anderson, Ars deputy editor, downloaded a list of more than 16,000 cryptographically hashed passcodes. Within a few hours, he deciphered almost half of them. If a reporter with zero training in the ancient art of password cracking can achieve such results, imagine what more seasoned attackers can do. Imagine no more. We asked three cracking experts to attack the same list Anderson targeted and recount the results in all their color and technical detail Iron Chef style. The results, to say the least, were eye opening because they show how quickly even long passwords with letters, numbers, and symbols can be discovered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnatomy of a hack: How crackers ransack passwords like “qeadzcwrsfxv1331”

Black Hat hackers break into any iPhone in under a minute, using a malicious charger

"Security researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built a malicious USB charger that can inject persistent, undetectable malware onto your iPhone, iPad, or other current-gen iOS device. This USB charger, called Mactans, takes less than a minute to compromise a device once it has been plugged in. Mactans, which is named after the black widow spider’s Latin taxonomy, will be demonstrated by Billy Lau, Yeongjin Jang, and Chengyu Song at the Black Hat 2013 conference in July." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBlack Hat hackers break into any iPhone in under a minute, using a malicious charger

Microsoft joins FBI in ‘major assault’ on one of world’s largest cyber crime rings

"Microsoft Corp and the FBI, aided by authorities in more than 80 countries, have launched a major assault on one of the world’s biggest cyber crime rings, believed to have stolen more than $500 million from bank accounts over the past 18 months. Microsoft said its Digital Crimes Unit on Wednesday successfully took down at least 1,000 of an estimated 1,400 malicious computer networks known as the Citadel Botnets. Citadel infected as many as 5 million PCs around the world and, according to Microsoft, was used to steal from dozens of financial institutions. The criminals remain at large and the authorities do not know the identities of any ringleaders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMicrosoft joins FBI in ‘major assault’ on one of world’s largest cyber crime rings

Carroll County passes resolution opposing new Maryland gun law

"Carroll County officials have taken a stand against Maryland's tough new gun law, voting to support law enforcement officials who use discretion in choosing when to enforce it. The Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed a Second Amendment Preservation Resolution, stating that it believes Maryland's new law is unconstitutional. Two other counties -- Cecil and Harford -- also have passed resolutions opposing the law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarroll County passes resolution opposing new Maryland gun law

Justin Raimondo: Police-State ‘Progressivism’

"Verizon and other carriers are forbidden by law from revealing the court order. A secret court, such as the FISA court – under which this order was issued – isn’t really a court in the Western sense: it is a star chamber affair, a formality that rubber-stamps whatever our rulers desire at the moment. In what sense is the United States a 'free' country, let alone the leader of the 'Free World'? Sure, we have elections: so does Iran. Yes, we have a 'free' press, but what happens when sources are afraid of talking to reporters? With a massive database that may even be tracking our location, America’s political class is making itself invulnerable to any challenge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Raimondo: Police-State ‘Progressivism’

Grand Jury Rejects Indictment of Teen Arrested for Rap Lyrics

"A grand jury has declined to indict an aspiring Massachusetts rapper whom police had accused of making 'terroristic threats,' according to the Essex County District Attorney's office. Cameron D'Ambrosio, 18, was arrested in Methuen, Massachussetts on May 2nd after posting a rap verse on his Facebook wall. The high school student has been held in jail since then without bail. Prosecutors sought to charge D'Ambrosio with threats to make a bomb or hijack a vehicle, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGrand Jury Rejects Indictment of Teen Arrested for Rap Lyrics

RFID tracking armbands forced on all residents near California music festival

" Local residents living within a one-mile radius of the venue for the popular Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which takes place annually in Indio, California, got an advanced preview of the emerging American police state this year. The Coachella's use of RFID (radio-frequency identification) wristbands to track attendees has been extended beyond just ticket holders to residents living around the Empire Polo Field where the festival takes place, even though forcing these tracking chips on the public is against the law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRFID tracking armbands forced on all residents near California music festival

US government invokes special privilege to stop scrutiny of data mining

"The Obama administration is invoking an obscure legal privilege to avoid judicial scrutiny of its secret collection of the communications of potentially millions of Americans. Civil liberties lawyers trying to hold the administration to account through the courts for its surveillance of phone calls and emails of American citizens have been repeatedly stymied by the government's recourse to the 'military and state secrets privilege'. The precedent, rarely used but devastating in its legal impact, allows the government to claim that it cannot be submitted to judicial oversight because to do so it would have to compromise national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS government invokes special privilege to stop scrutiny of data mining

Ron Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

"May was Iraq's deadliest month in nearly five years, with more than 1,000 dead – both civilians and security personnel – in a rash of bombings, shootings and other violence. Millions live in constant fear, refugees do not return home, and the economy is destroyed. The Christian community, some 1.2 million persons before 2003, has been nearly wiped off the Iraqi map. Other minorities have likewise disappeared. US support for the Syrian rebels next door has drawn the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government into the spreading regional unrest and breathed new life into extremist elements. The invasion of Iraq opened the door to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which did not exist beforehand..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

Judge Napolitano On NSA Spying: Most Extraordinarily Broad Search Warrant Ever Issued In US History

"Judge Andrew Napolitano called the situation 'a fishing expedition on the grandest scale we've ever seen in American history.' The government is looking for a select group of people, and instead of obeying the Constitution and simply getting a search warrant for their phones, the judge says, 'They got a search warrant for a 113 million phones!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano On NSA Spying: Most Extraordinarily Broad Search Warrant Ever Issued In US History