Hacker stole $100,000

In 2013 we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of hack attacks attempted against banks, 

credit unions and utility companies using various techniques including DDoS attack, SQL injection, DNS Hijacking and Zero-Day Flaws.

SQL Injection is one of the most common security vulnerabilities on the web and is successful only when the web application is not sufficiently secured.

Recently a hacking Group named 'TeamBerserk' claimed on Twitter that, they have stolen $100,000 by leveraging user names and passwords taken from a California ISP Sebastian (Sebastiancorp.com)to access victims' bank accounts.

A video proof was uploaded on the Internet, shows that how hackers used a SQL injection attack against the California ISP Sebastian to access their customers' database includes  e-mail addresses, user names and clear text passwords and then using the same data to steal money from those customers.

Let's see what SQL Injection is and how serious an attack like this actually can be.

SQL Injection is a type of web application vulnerability in which the attacker adds Structured Query Language (SQL) code to web inputs to gain access to an organization's resources. Using this technique, hackers can determine the structure and location of key databases and can download the database or compromise the database server.

Hackers took just 15 minutes to hack into the website using SQLmap (Automated SQL Injection Tool) -- stole customers' database and then immediately accesses the victim's Gmail account, linked PayPal accounts and Bank accounts also.

It's so hard to remember multiple passwords, some people just use the same one over and over. Is your Facebook password the same as your Twitter password? How about the password for your bank's website?

Now the hack explains that this us why it's extremely dangerous to use the same password on more than one Web site. In the POC video, hacker randomly chooses one Sebastian username and his relative password against Paypal, Gmail and even Citibank account logins and seriously that actually worked, because the victim is using the same passwords for all websites.

Now that you've control of the situation, don't let this happen again! If you have a bank account, a few credit cards, and several other important sensitive accounts, conduct a thorough security audit on them. Be sure that you know when you last logged in. Be sure to keep using different and Strong passwords for each website.

Hackers steal more than $450,000 from Burlington city bank

The city of Burlington is warning its employees to check their bank accounts after finding out funds have been stolen. The Skagit Valley Herald reports the money was electronically transferred to various personal and business accounts throughout the United States during a two-day period this week.

  
We really don't know exactly how it happened," said City Manager Bryan Harrison. "Multiple banks in multiple states involved." "Someone, either through the city system or Bank of America had actually accessed our electric authorization account."

The theft was first reported by the Skagit Valley Herald newspaper which said that Burlington’s finance department reported the theft Thursday. Police and the Secret Service are investigating. Burlington is a city of about 8,400 people roughly 60 miles north of Seattle.

They believe the money has been shifted to different banks around the world. Officials say they will recover the money that was stolen, and that it will not affect city business

Zeus banking Trojan in Japan

Zeus continues to strike online bank accounts and users, and technology designed to thwart these Trojan attacks continually fails to keep up. Symantec recently came across a new Zeus file targeting five major banks in Japan.

The malware, which has caused serious problems to banking customers in Europe and the U.S, now having maximum concentration on Japanese banks. Target information was reveled by Symantec after decryption of configuration file from new sample. The attacker uses Blackhole exploit kit in order to install Zeus

eus, a financially aimed malware, comes in many different forms and flavors. It can be tweaked to hijack personal PCs, or come in the form of a keylogger that tracks keystrokes as users enter them.

But once installation over, Zeus malware aims to steal online-banking credentials, and phishing schemes and drive-by downloads are most often the avenues hackers use to spread this increasingly sophisticated and evolving Trojan.

In this case, the functionality is the same as that of other Zeus variants. Once infected, Zeus monitors the Web browser visiting the targeted banks and injects HTML code that displays a message in Japanese that states in English: "In order to provide a better service to our customers, we are updating our personal internet banking system. Please re-enter the information that you provided when you first registered.".

Zeus gained notoriety in 2006 as being the tool of choice for criminals stealing online banking credentials. If your are one of the victim of Zeus, we recommend that you change your passwords for your online accounts and if you have used your credit card while Zeus Trojan was on your computer, contact the bank and let them know that you might be be victim of a phishing attack.

Your girlfriend is so stupid

British Paypal hacker jailed for stealing millions Identities

A UK cybercrook has been jailed for 26 months following his conviction for stealing millions of banking and PayPal identities. According to Report, Southwark Crown Court heard how Edward Pearson, 23, could have made about £834,000 if he chose to use the information he hacked out of people's Paypal accounts.

Pearson, an 'incredibly talented' boarding school student who carried out the crime for an ‘intellectual challenge’, has been jailed for two years and two months.

"One of his programs scanned through 200,000 accounts registered to online payment service PayPal - identifying names, passwords and current balances." according to the Daily Mail.

Pearson might have been able to cash out the compromised accounts and make hundreds of thousands in ill-gotten gains. But in the event he actually only made £2,400 before his 21-year-old student girlfriend, Cassandra Mennim, used stolen credit cards to book rooms at two upmarket York hotels, transactions that put police of the trail of the pair. Investigators then linked Pearson's email address to an online identity, G-Zero, which he was purported to have used on underground hacking forums.

The original charges show that Pearson and his girlfriend were also dealing the drug MDVP, but these were dropped. Pearson admitted to making an article for use in fraud and two counts of possession of an article for use in fraud. Mennim admitted to two counts of obtaining services dishonestly.

Pearson also is also allged to have hacked into Nokia’s network back in August 2011, prompting the telecoms giant to shut down its internal network for two weeks.