PC Security: Department
of Defense Crackdown on Security
by Ainuddin Mohamad
The top commander of the
department of Defense network operations just ordered a
crackdown on security. According to a recent article by
NetworkWorld on January 16,2006, Lt. General Charles Croom is
quoted as saying, “The attacks are coming from everywhere and
they’re getting better.” His talk was the keynote address at
the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Conference held on January
9 - 14, 2005 in Clearwater, Florida.
The event is sponsored by the
Defense Cyber Crime Center and the Joint Task Force. Over 500
computer crime specialists from the FBI and the military
attended the event.
The crackdown was related to a
recent arrest of a “Computer Virus Broker” named Jeanson
James Ancheta. On further investigation, a Department of
Justice press release from Nov 3rd, 2005 offered
the following information on this incident, “In the first
prosecution of its kind in the nation, a well-known member of
the “botmaster underground” has been indicted on federal
charges for profiting from the use of “botnets” – armies of
computers that are under the control of the botmaster and are
used to launch destructive attacks or to send huge quantities
of spam across the Internet.
Jeanson James Ancheta, 20, of Downey, California, was arrested
this morning by special agents with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Ancheta was indicted yesterday in two separate
conspiracies, as well as substantive charges of attempting to
cause damage to protected computers, causing damage to
computers used by the federal government in national defense,
accessing protected computers without authorization to commit
fraud and money laundering.”
The
press release goes on to describe more details of this scheme
that clearly show why the Deparment of Defense is so concerned
(for more information go to:
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/anchetaArrest.htm
)
“Ancheta had become an affiliate of several different
advertising service companies, and those companies paid him a
commission based upon the number of installations. To avoid
detection by network administrators, security analysts and law
enforcement, Ancheta would vary the download times and rates
of the adware installations. When companies hosting Ancheta’s
adware servers discovered the malicious activity, Ancheta
redirected his botnet armies to a different server he
controlled to pick up adware. To generate the roughly $60,000
he received in advertising affiliate proceeds, Ancheta caused
the surreptitious installation of adware on approximately
400,000 compromised computers. Ancheta used the advertising
affiliate proceeds he earned to pay for, among other things,
the multiple servers used to conduct his schemes.
Ancheta used programs powerful enough to cause the infection
of computers at the Weapons Division of the United States
Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, as well as computers
belonging to the Defense Information Systems Agency, a
component of the United States Department of Defense. Both
networks are used exclusively by the federal government in
furtherance of national defense. After being arrested this
morning at the FBI Field Office in Los Angeles, Ancheta was
transported to United States District Court in Los Angeles. It
is unclear if he will make his initial court appearance this
afternoon or tomorrow. Ancheta is charged with two counts of
conspiracy, two counts of attempted transmission of code to a
protected computer, two counts of transmission of code to a
government computer, five counts of accessing a protected
computer to commit fraud and five counts of money laundering.
Count 17 of the indictment seeks the forfeiture of more than
$60,000 in cash, a BMW
automobile
and computer equipment that the indictment alleges are the
proceeds and instrumentalities of Ancheta’s illegal activity.”
Some recent news. Ancheta
pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to violate anti-spam
and computer misuse laws, and fraud and will serve from 4-6
years in prison, under the plea agreement - plus heavy fines.
About the Author
Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of
http://www.BestWebsites.com.my which is a Directory of Best Websites. Since
July 2000
BestWebsites.com.my has featured thousands of best websites in many
categories of interest with descriptions/reviews given by leading publications
and webmasters.
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PC Security: Department of Defense Crackdown on Security
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