Ubuntu forum defaced, breached by hackers

A website dedicated to discussion of the Ubuntu Linux distribution was breached on Saturday, with hackers gaining access to encrypted passwords and email addresses.

The site, Ubuntuforums.org, will remain offline until it can be fixed, wrote Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical, a company that develops and provides services for the free, open-source operating system.

"We have begun the process of notifying by email all users whose details have been compromised," Silber wrote. "We are continuing to investigate exactly how the attackers were able to gain access and are working with the software providers to address that issue."

According to a notice on Ubuntuforums.org, the forum was defaced around 8:11 PM UTC Saturday by hackers before it was taken offline about four minutes later. It is believed the attackers gained access to every person's local user name, encrypted passwords and email addresses from the database.

The encrypted passwords were "salted," an additional security measure that makes them more difficult to revert to their original form. Users are encouraged nonetheless to assume their passwords are now insecure, especially if people use the same password for other web services.

Hackers breach Nasdaq community forum website

Hackers have breached part of Nasdaq's website, with the stock exchange group warning members of its community forum that email and password details have been compromised.

Nasdaq sent an email to users explaining that it had been made aware of the breach following "standard security monitoring", warning that account information could have been stolen following the breach on Tuesday.
However the firm said that its trading and commerce platforms had not been affected.

Security expert Graham Cluley said on his blog that it is likely that hackers had capitalised on a deficiencies in Nasdaq's security infrastructure.

"My guess is that the servers running the NASDAQ community message board software had not been properly configured or not kept updated against vulnerabilities, and this allowed hackers an open window to access sensitive information," he said.

The website is still unavailable, though an onsite message states that the forum is offline due to upgrades being made.

Cluley added that the stock exchange group should be more clear about the security risk posed, and warned over potential phishing attacks as a result of the breach.

"What also irks me is how NASDAQ is describing the issue on the (currently shut-down) community forum itself.

"Any member of the online NASDAQ community who has missed the email advisory, won't be any the wiser from that message that the site has been hacked, and their usernames, email addresses and passwords have been compromised."

It is not the first time that the stock exchange's security has come under the spotlight following a breach. In 2011 an FBI investigation pointed to Nasdaq's ageing software and out of date security patches as part of the reason for servers being hacked.

Investigators found some PCs and servers with out of date software and uninstalled security patches, including Microsoft Windows Server 2003, while some of its firewalls ahd been incorrectly configured.

Alleged Shadowcrew member extradited to U.S. 9 years after cybercrime forum takedown

A 30-year-old Bulgarian was extradited to the U.S. from Paraguay in order to face charges related to his alleged involvement in Shadowcrew, a large cybercrime forum that was dismantled by U.S. authorities in 2004.

Aleksi Kolarov is charged with one count each of conspiracy, transferring false identification documents and offering access devices without authorization.

He is one of 19 indicted for their roles in the operation of Shadowcrew, which with around 4,000 members was the largest cybercrime forum of its time. Three of those charged remain at large.

According to the indictment, Kolarov used the online alias APK and was a Shadowcrew "vendor"—a member that sold illicit merchandise including stolen credit card, debit card and bank account information, as well as counterfeit passports, drivers' licenses, birth certificates, Social Security cards and other identification documents.

Kolarov was arrested on June 14, 2011, in a hotel in Asunción, Paraguay and had in his possession hundreds of thousands of dollars in various currencies, counterfeit payment cards and electronic devices for re-encoding cards.

After being incarcerated in Paraguay, he was extradited to the U.S., where he arrived Friday escorted by U.S. Marshals. On Monday he appeared in front of a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

If convicted, Kolarov faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy count, 15 years in prison on the identification documents count and 10 years in prison on the access device count. He could also receive a maximum $250,000 fine on each count.

U.S. authorities estimate that Shadowcrew members collectively trafficked and misused over 1.5 million stolen credit card details, resulting in losses of over $4 million to credit card companies, financial institutions and card holders.

Albert Gonzalez, the American hacker who's currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for masterminding the theft of millions of credit card details from TJ Maxx, Heartland Payment Systems and other companies, is believed to have played an important role in the Shadowcrew takedown.

Gonzalez was a high-ranking member of Shadowcrew, where he used the alias CumbaJohnny, but at the same time he served as an informant for the U.S. Secret Service.