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AOL Security Compromised by Teenager

Posted by Zonk on from the off-the-shelf-hacking-oh-great dept.

Freaky_Friday wrote with a link to an InfoWorld article about a teenage kid accessing customer information at AOL. The alleged criminal trespass began late last year, and extended up through early April. According to the article, the guy used some 'off-the-shelf' hacking software he downloaded online to gain access to, and then transmit information from, AOL's systems. "The complaint states that Nieves admitted to investigators that he committed the alleged acts because AOL took away his accounts. 'I accessed their internal accounts and their network and used it to try to get my accounts back,' the defendant is quoted as saying in the complaint. He also admitted to posting photos of his exploits in a photo Web site, according to the complaint ... If the defendant was honest about his motivation in his reported confession, it's safe to assume that he wasn't interested in stealing data for financial gain, [Managing director of technology at FTI Consulting Mark] Rasch said. Still, it'll be interesting to find out what steps AOL is taking if customer data was in fact compromised, he said."

6 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm by NightWulf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Kid must be pretty smart if he was able to hack AOL's servers. *Reads article* Ohhhhh to get his account back...hmm forget it.

  2. This is news? by Zeebs · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean I won't even go with the obvious AOL bashing. But is it really news that Teens are committing computer crime? Isn't that the stereotype? The pimple faced dateless wonder in his parents basement 'pwning' the 'g1bs0n'?

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    1. Re:This is news? by fafalone · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, the fact that this is news can mean only one thing; AOL has massively overhauled their security system and now has state of the art, well designed, and highly effective security. Because the AOL I remember had its security severely compromised by teenagers several times a day. Serious breaches too, read my other post in this thread. It happened so incredibly often, there's no way a breach would be national news. So logically, if its now rare enough to be newsworthy, they must have stopped the endless onslaught of easily exploited holes...
      ...because a journalist would never just write up a non-story to insult AOL or do some "omg haxors" fearmongering... never...

  3. I remember... by firpecmox · · Score: 5, Funny

    I tried to hack someone once but that damn 127.0.0.1 was behind a firewall and it just messed up my computers

  4. This is news? by Bob+Cat+-+NYMPHS · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who DIDN'T own AOL when they were a teenager?

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  5. In other news... by thib_gc · · Score: 3, Funny

    Other shocking headlines: "Ape defeats security of Diebold voting machines"