Agape Blog

New way of fraud and internet scam (Internet Service Provider Consortium fraud)

This is to aware the chief executives of every company about the new way of fraud and internet scam. They might receive an mail (sample given below) which is scam and completely trying to compromise the system as well as network. The sender poses itself as a part of Internet Service Provider Consortium fraud team.

Here’s how the email would look like:

From: Monitoring Team
Date: 11/08/08 08:33:29
To: client
Subject: Your internet access is going to get suspended

Your internet access is going to get suspended.

The Internet Service Provider Consortium was made to protect the rights of software authors, artists.

We conduct regular wiretapping on our networks, to monitor criminal acts.

We are aware of your illegal activities on the internet which were originating from

You can check the report of your activities in the past 6 month that we have attached. We strongly advise you to stop your activities regarding the illegal downloading of copyrighted material of your internet access will be suspended.

Sincerely
ICS Monitoring Team

The analysis of cases reveal that these are new way of social engineering techniques to enter into the secure network or system. They provide attachment which is Trojan dropper, which will install after opening the detail attachment.  After installation system will be in a compromised state and the whole information of the system will be sucked  passively.

Remedial method to safeguard yourself from such an email is by deleting such an email straightaway. Also do not open the attachments.

For further assistance please mail to advice [at] agapeinc [dot] in

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is an independent information security certification governed by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (commonly known as (ISC)²). And CISSP education is a means of educating individuals about how information security works, how to go about making information secure, and how to ensure that it stays that way.

CISSP Education has to do with keeping information secure. When you want to maintain the integrity and private nature of information in the age of the internet, you need people who are trained to do just that. They have to be able to protect your information by creating a system that can defend itself against unauthorized entry from outside sources. This is the essence of CISSP Education.

Imagine the consequences of intercepted credit card numbers, social security numbers, and bank accounts that are openly accessible to anyone with enough knowledge of computer hacking. Without the existence of information security, the results would be disastrous.

Remember, a security guard may be able to protect information that is stored in a warehouse but to protect your network, you need someone with CISSP education. It is a way of policing the network.

For more information on CISSP certification, visit: http://www.isc2.org/cissp/default.aspx

Cyber terrorism and cyber crime are leading to huge losses for many individuals and organizations. There are people sitting in the comfort of their home and are attacking other systems for their malicious intent. Such activities have been discussed at many conferences and events and various solutions are discussed. But implementing these solutions is not easy, as it requires a change in the mindset and old day processes.

Here are some links which discuss modern day solutions for this serious issue.

1. EC-Council, the world’s leading e-business and security certification organization discusses about Modern Defenses against cyber crime during its inaugural Asia-Pacific Roundtable Forum in Kuala Lumpur. Read more

2. How hackers targeted the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain to trick users into downloading malware. Read more

3. Why Pakistan sets death penalty for cyber terrorism? Read more

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has raised concerns over the growing cyber crimes in US that cost tens of millions of dollars and also posing as a serious threat to US security. The FBI cyber division pointed out activities like computer spying and personal information theft as something that needs immediate measures to be curbed.

The U.S. intelligence agencies have earlier pointed fingers on Russia and China as being the two nations that have the abilities to electronic spying by breaking through U.S. computer networks. Apart from these, FBI has narrowed down 24 more countries that pose a threat to the US. Without naming the 24 countries,FBI has made this statement: “There are countries who have an interest in obtaining information from the U.S., in terms of the electronic theft of data.”

The US computer networks are being constantly attacted by Botnets by sending spam e-mails and spreading malicious code. Thus the U.S. federal agents are stepping up efforts to fight computer crime. They are also joining hands with some foreign counterparts to deal this serious issue. It is worth noting that in January this year, U.S. President George Bush had launched an effort called the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, to address the issue of comouter crimes.

Paraben Corporation, the industry leader in handheld and mobile forensics, had launched  their mobile forensic certification program – PCME. Paraben’s Certified Mobile Examiner is the premier industry certification for mobile forensic examiners. Digital forensic examiners are faced with more and more types of digital evidence. The need for specialized mobile forensic examiners has created a need for certification. The certification requirements are stringent and solid which will make sure that the best examiners are only awarded the certification, thereby helping the forensic community. Thus, PCME is must for you as not only will it test your skills in handling the latest technologies, but it will also help in giving you a strong foothold in the forensic industry.

Paraben has based its training on a slightly different approach than other companies with a comprehensive 360° system that covers not only how to use technology but how the underlying device technology works. Having the company do a certification for mobile forensics was a natural progression. But Paraben has held its commitment to quality training by awarding the best certification out there. Unlike other training programs, Paraben’s PCME doesn’t focus solely on cell phones. This comprehensive approach to certification keeps in line with Paraben’s 360° approach to forensics. By covering cell phones, PDAs, hybrid devices, SIM cards, and even GPS devices and by combining both theory and device knowledge with practical examinations and thorough testing, Paraben’s certified examiners will be prepared for whatever the world of handheld forensics throws at them.

Details about how to become PCME certified can be found at Paraben’s training website at: http://www.paraben-training.com/pcme.html

Lot has been talked about cyber crime and ways to prevent it. The rate at which it is growing is enormous. And now with teenagers jumping in this dirty trade, cyber crime is bound to rise at a rapid rate. Till now, only professional hackers used to play this dirty game but now even the 11 year old kids seem to master this trade.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2007 annual report, USA stood first in the list of countries responsible for perpetrating most cyber crimes, followed by Britain. United States accounting for 63.2%, United Kingdom with 15.3% and Canada with 9.78% are the main countries from where cyber crime is penetrating.

But the involvement of increasing number of teenagers in hi-tech crime is a cause of worry. Computer security professionals say many net forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips. And their poor technical skills make them more vulnerable in getting caught and arrested. Usually it all starts with many teenagers getting into low level crime by looking for exploits and cracks for their favorite computer games. And this is when the big players contact them via communities and forums and ask the innocent kids to swap malicious programs, knowledge and sometimes stolen data.

Such an issue needs to be addressed immediately as the teenagers on being caught can be subjected to punishment whose nature can be mild or severe. And most importantly, the teenagers will be risking their entire future if they are caught.

The ImageMASSter Solo-3 IT from ICS is a hand held, high speed data duplication tool. It integrates all the latest advanced features in data imaging. It is capable of copying data from IDE and laptop drives, Serial ATA and SCSI drives as well as Flash Cards. With the integrated Link MASSter Option, data can be copied from unopened computers using the FireWire or USB2 interface. The source’s hard drive is write protected and one can copy data to 2 targets hard drives simultaneously..

The copied data can be verified to achieve maximum reliability. On the fly MD5 or CRC32 hashing capabilities are available using the sector-by-sector copy mode to guarantee exact replica of the source’s data without modification, re-arrangement or corruption. Priced at $1,999 for the US region, the product can be obtained by placing an order with their distributors around the globe.

The official partners of ICS in India are Agape Inc and any inquiries for ImageMASSter Solo-3 IT in India can be made by contacting us.

Recently ICS has announced that their products are comatible with Mac. It released a new software option to be used with the Solo-3 Forensic and LinkMASSter units that will allow the user to acquire data in a forensic manner from  unopened MAC computer or MAC laptop through USB or FireWire ports.

With the financial crisis affecting USA severly, it has also affected other countries. This has resulted in a complete turn around in terms of the spendings worldwide. And with such tight situations, online financial fraud has witnessed a soaring growth.

Britan has been the worst affected country after witnessing a soaring cyber crime rate in 2007. A recent report published by an online firm stated that cyber crime in the UK rose by more than 9 percent in 2007. According to Tom Ilube, chief executive, Garlick, majority of the crimes committed online were in relation to fraud and abusive or threatening emails leaving more than two million people prone to online harassment.

The study further revealed that the online crimes were being committed by professionals and one could expect an overall increase owing to the credit crunch that would led many people to perform illegal activities. It’s critical in this time of financial crisis that individuals are vigilant with their personal information, because as long as the credit crunch continues, the growth in online financial fraud is bound to increase.

Online frauds and cyber crimes are causing enormous loss to many businesses. Given below are the links that focus more on the increasing problem in the cyber space.

1. Aviad Ofrat, CEO of Cellebrite discusses about mobile forensics as well as the Universal Forensic Extraction Device. Read more

2. RM3 billion lost to fraud: a loss that reflects the size of the problem for businesses regardless of size. Read more

3. Most UK individuals prefer to report online fraud directly to a dedicated e-crime agency. A thing that surely needs to be learned from the Brits. Read more

SalvationDATA is now redesigning its HD HPE PRO to HPE SP. This new product, maintains all its original capabilities, allows you to work on hard drives with spacers. Also it will have one “head comb” added to the HPE SP for separating multiple heads when the head stack replacement takes place (much easier than using the original plastic separator). The team at SalvationDATA have been working on it for a period of time, and hopefully they will have it released on in November 2008.

Anyone who is interested in this new product and wants to purchase or know more about it or have any suggestion on this new tool can contact SalvationDATA.