Meet The Hackers

[miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG 0]

I found this very inetersting article which introduces you to some of the top notch hackers/spammers/scammers of the recent years. The way they've been described, they seems to be the kingpins of cybercrime in their own domains..

Here are some short excerpts:

Dimitry Ivanovich Golubov doesn't look like an arch criminal. A baby-faced 22-year-old Ukrainian, he is described by his lawyer as an unassuming part-time student at Mechnikov University in Odessa.
Dimitry Ivanovich Golubov doesn't look like an arch criminal. A baby-faced 22-year-old Ukrainian, he is described by his lawyer as an unassuming part-time student at Mechnikov University in Odessa.....

SHIPPING AND RECEIVING Among the most pernicious scams to emerge over the past few years are so-called re-shipping rings. And U.S. officials believe the king of these is a Russian-born hacker who goes by the name Shtirlitz -- a sly reference to a fictional Soviet secret agent who spied on the Nazis. In real life, Shtirlitz is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in connection with tens of millions of dollars worth of fraud in which Americans are signed up to serve as unwitting collaborators in converting stolen credit-card data into tangible goods that can be sold for cash. "We think he is involved in the recruitment of hundreds of people," says William A. Schambura, an analyst with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Shtirlitz did not respond to e-mail requests for comment.

FALLEN ANGEL The technical tools to steal credit-card numbers and online bank account log-in data are often just as valuable as the stolen goods themselves. Smash is being investigated by the Postal Inspection Service on suspicion that he helps hackers hack. The picture, or avatar, that accompanies Smash's posts in online chat rooms shows a fallen angel. From 25 to 30 years old and based in Moscow, he is believed to be an expert in building spyware programs, malicious code which can track Web surfers' keystrokes and are often hidden in corrupted Web sites and spam e-mail. U.S. enforcement officials say Smash's Russia-based company, RAT Systems, openly hawks spyware on the Web at http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/. E-mails requesting comment were not returned.

KING OF SPAM On May 11, 2005, Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly filed a lawsuit against Leo Kuvayev and six accomplices, accusing them of sending millions of spam e-mails to peddle counterfeit drugs, pirated software, fake watches, and pornography. Kuvayev, a 34-year-old native of Russia who uses the nickname BadCow, is one of the world's top three spammers, according to anti-spam group Spamhaus. State officials allege that Kuvayev and his associates used a number of Web-hosting services from the U.S. and around the world to launch attacks. Kuvayev was charged with violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which requires that unsolicited commercial e-mail be accurate and honest.

GOT YOUR NUMBER Bank robbers rob banks because that's where the money is. For hackers, the best loot is often found inside the networks of credit-card processors, the middlemen that handle card transactions for merchants and banks.

Postal Inspection Service officials say they are investigating Roman Khoda, aka My0, on suspicion he could be connected to the theft of a million credit card numbers in recent years.

Very interesting reading....
Full article at: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[iGuest 3]

WOW! hahahaReally good and funny way to describe and defend themselves, when they are caught or found that they are hackers/spammers/scammers

[randomdood 0]

yehi think kackers are idiots in some ways. they should be working for computer companies making mega $$$ however they decide to stay in there garage and try to get into naughty sites for free lol.

[vicky99 0]

I don't think that they are idiots. For me they are very capable persons who have very good computer knowledge. But they are using it for bad reasons. They could have done wonders had they choose to use their knowledge in constructive things.I would like to learn the art of hacking if I get the opportunity to learn it.

[yeh 0]

I would agree with vicky99. Hackers, crackers etc are definitely not idiots. Of course, I am not exactly talking about amateurs who download free hacking, cracking programs from the internet. Do you guys still remember the teenager that was caught in the Blaster worm thing in US? He altered the Blaster virus into another version and was caught by the authorities. My question is, who created the first Blaster worm?I don't think the notion that crackers can earn mega$$$ if they channel their effort to a good cause is entirely true. If a person is good at penetrating security and stealing credit card information, how is he supposed to earn big bucks in a company? Companies don't just go out and hire security experts without doing a proper background check. Unless of course the cracker has a PhD in computer security from a reputable university. Having said that, I need to reiterate that cybercrimes are still crimes. If anyone is caught stealing credit card information, he/she should be treated like conventional criminals who steal credit cards the conventional way.

[Captain Jerry 0]

I would agree with vicky99. Hackers, crackers etc are definitely not idiots. Of course, I am not exactly talking about amateurs who download free hacking, cracking programs from the internet. Do you guys still remember the teenager that was caught in the Blaster worm thing in US? He altered the Blaster virus into another version and was caught by the authorities. My question is, who created the first Blaster worm?

 

I don't think the notion that crackers can earn mega$$$ if they channel their effort to a good cause is entirely true. If a person is good at penetrating security and stealing credit card information, how is he supposed to earn big bucks in a company? Companies don't just go out and hire security experts without doing a proper background check. Unless of course the cracker has a PhD in computer security from a reputable university.

 

Having said that, I need to reiterate that cybercrimes are still crimes. If anyone is caught stealing credit card information, he/she should be treated like conventional criminals who steal credit cards the conventional way.

 

I think the main point here, is that these "people" are extremely intelligent, and could be making bank at a software company (or even in a legit. business for themselves.) But yeah, if they've been "caught" they can pretty much hang up their chance at landing a job with any sort of real company (Unless they're Kevin Mitnick! LOL)

 

I'm sure there are lots of very intelligent people at lots of good companies, making very good money. I'm also sure that there are lots of very intelligent people behind bars too! LOL

 

[iGuest 3]

The most important thing when talking about hacking/cracking/phreaking is to get our definitions straight. The Hacker culture - or subculture, if you will - is an old and complicated one, and there are many terms that are used in it. White-hat hackers, black-hat hackers, script-kiddies, etc. are but a few.

 

But to keep it simple, here's the commonly agreed-upon definitions of the Hacking culture...

Hacker:

A person who is very skilled at computing in general. For example, a programmer, an IT-professional, a computer sciences expert, an ensuthiastic computer fanatic, etc.

 

Notice that this definition has a very wide range. But the media has long degraded it in convincing the masses that a hacker is a person that uses his superior computer knowledge for malicious purposes. This couldn't be further from the truth. A true is only interested in knowledge. Even if (and when) a hacker gains unauthorized access to a system, it's not because he/she wants to steal or sabotage that system, but rather because he/she wants to gain more knowledge about the ins and outs of that system, purely for fun.

Cracker:

A person who has a higher than normal degree of technical comptency, but who uses his knowledge for malicious ends. Crackers are, by definition, a sub-group of Hackers, but since no self-respecting hacker would ever support a cracker's behaviour, Hackers in general fight for making the distinction clear to the public.

 

 

Under these two broad categories, you can easily classify other definitions. So long as you follow the rule of thumb Hacker: good, Cracker: baaad!, you're going to be just fine .