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Largest Hacking Scam in Canadian History

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stole-all-the-maple-syrup dept.

vieux schnock writes "Police raided several homes across Quebec on Wednesday and arrested 16 people in their investigation, which they say uncovered the largest hacking scam in Canadian history. (...) The hackers collaborated online to attack and take control of as many as one million computers around the world that were not equipped with anti-virus software or firewalls."

15 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. Spot the key words by Silver+Sloth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The hackers collaborated online to attack and take control of as many as one million computers around the world that were not equipped with anti-virus software or firewalls

    Police won't reveal what the information was used for but investigators estimate that the network profited by as much as $45 million. Hmm... as many as, as much as, or maybe they're inflating the figures to show what macho investigators they are.
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    1. Re:Spot the key words by powerlord · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nah, nothing so covert. Its simply that, "as many as", sounds a lot better than, "three computers we know about, but we really have no clue" or "we found 5 million deposited in their bank accounts in the last month, but the accounts have been open for nine months, so who knows how much money they could have collected previously".

      Alternatively they probably have a pretty good idea of the ranges involved, but hey, high numbers make a better press release.

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  2. why does law enforcement inflate numbers? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1, Insightful

    whenever they seize some methamphetamine or cocaine, it's always "street value estimated as 20 billion dollars!"

    now we have some yahoos in canada who controlled "1 million computers and made $45 million in profit!"

    up next: "the police looked in the suspect's glove compartment and found a small bag of marijuana, with an estimated street value as high as the GNP of Australia! additionally, the suspect's cellphone was found to have cracked and controlled the computer networks of the NSA and Los Alamos! he used this vast network of hacked machines to make $20 brazilian dollars by cheating stay at home moms in a get-rich-quick scam! the suspect is also believed to be al qaeda's number 2 commander in iraq!"

    --
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  3. Re:So which is it? by Iphtashu+Fitz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Both.

    16 people were arrested.

    14 of those 16 were arrested on Wednesday.

  4. Sounds like advertising. by TwoToeWilly · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is one way for the anti-virus companies to stay in business.

  5. Re:Um, this is Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    In my limited world view, I know of at least 20 people who are still running Windows98FE,SE, and WindowsME. Not everyone buys a new computer or OS just because they can. Most of the typical users I know will wait until their machine dies (can't surf the internet or send email) before trying to fix it. Buying a new computer is a last resort.

  6. That summary needs fixing. by Shados · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The hackers collaborated online to attack and take control of as many as one million computers around the world that were not up to date with patches and didn't have users with common sense.
    There, thats better.
    1. Re:That summary needs fixing. by zakeria · · Score: 3, Insightful

      slight correction: The hackers collaborated online to attack and take control of as many as one million MS Windows computers around the world that were not up to date with patches and didn't have users with common sense.

    2. Re:That summary needs fixing. by Shados · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We're in 2008. Even non-software products now get recalled, blow up, fall apart, are defective by design, are made in china (lol), all over the place. Go to Bestbuy and buy a headset at random (close your eyes and pick one), go up, and try it. 9 to 1 that thing will break within 2 weeks, sound will be crap, and it will be barely usuable.

      All but the fanciest grocery stores will have expired stuff on the shelves if you look well enough. You have to be selective in what food you pick, make sure to read the expiration date, cook your meat to 160-170 degrees, etc.

      Nothing works out of the box anymore. The only difference is that software doesnt always have to be recalled, it can be patched. But if you don't say informed, the ground beef you have in your fridge that got recalled...you'll never know it was. Thats "common sense" in this day and age.

  7. Re:From TFA: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd assume you're always authorized to use your own computer.

    Then again, in today's climate, maybe not...

  8. Sensationalism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    scam Slang
    n.
    A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.

    tr.v. scammed, scamming, scams

    To defraud; swindle.

    So, who was defrauded or swindled in this case ?

    "Script Kiddies Busted" would have been more appropriate.

  9. Re:Really? by GreatBunzinni · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It doesn't even really matter at this point. Let's be honest... the average computer user doesn't know the difference between U2-Somesong.mp3 and U2-SomeSong.exe.

    To make matters worse, some attacks may even occur if you are dealing with safe file types, like a PNG or even PDF. Some security problems exist due to the user's ignorance or idiocy but "some" isn't exactly the same thing as "all".

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  10. Re:Really? by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 4, Insightful
    the average computer user doesn't know the difference between U2-Somesong.mp3 and U2-SomeSong.exe.

    The average user cannot tell there is a difference - because the Windows default is to hide the extension!

    It may be criminally insane, but its the default.

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  11. Re:Really? by digitalaudiorock · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The average user cannot tell there is a difference - because the Windows default is to hide the extension!

    It may be criminally insane, but its the default. That's one that's driven me crazy for years. I'm sure it goes back to early days of Windows and their attempt to look more like Mac OS 9 (which got the file type info from the resource fork). Any time I do something for anyone on their Windows machine and the extensions are hidden I just change the setting...I don't even ask if that's what they want.

    Who else here has ever been trying to walk someone though a software install over the phone and said "Now double click 'Setup'"...and they respond "which one"...because of course there's setup.exe, setup.ini, etc etc...just awful.
  12. Prison...really? by ALimoges · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's funny because now it's all over the news here in Québec, and pseudo-experts are trying to explain *how* to secure one's computer. Don't you guys understand that Windows *is* insecure!

    The people who got hacked are facing a maximum of 10 years in prison but with Québec's system, they really do 1/6 of this time so it's not that bad..

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    iTx Technologies: Open source development in Montreal