Hacking Ring Nabbed By US Authorities

Slatterz writes "The members of a hacking ring responsible for stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from retail organizations in the US have been caught and charged. The case before the US Department of Justice is believed to be the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted. The criminals allegedly obtained bank details by hacking into the retailers' computer networks and then installing 'sniffer' programs to capture card numbers and password details as the customers moved through the retailers' credit and debit processing networks."

Comments

Re:Billing department infiltration

[unfasten]

Well if you can record the call (and phone boxes aren't hard to tap, though I'm not sure how exactly it would work at a call center) then it's easy to convert the DTMF tones into numbers using a tone decoder.

Here's a link to a DIY hardware version: http://www.bobblick.com/techref/projects/tonedec/tonedec.html And a quick search should turn up software solutions, or you could write one yourself since the tones are standard. Wiki lists all the tones: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTMF#Keypad

Defendant worked for the Secret Service

[unfasten]

The main defendant in this case, Albert Gonzalez, used to be a informant for the Secret Service and cooperated in the Operation: Firewall case 4 years ago. Apparently they didn't keep a very good eye on him while he was working for them or after they were done with him. He became an informant after he was arrested around mid-2003 and the case lasted until the end of October, 2004. So according to this Washington Post article (which got the informantion from the indictment someone linked above) he was actively committing crimes at the same time he was an informant:

-- In about 2003, Gonzalez and others found an unencrypted wireless access point at a BJ's Wholesale Club store. BJ's reported a breach of its computer networks in early 2004.

-- In 2004, other members of the ID theft ring compromised an OfficeMax wireless access point in Miami, and they were able to steal credit card data. After law enforcement officials in 2006 identified OfficeMax as the victim of a data breach, the company said it hired an outside auditor to conduct an investigation and found no evidence of a security breach. An OfficeMax spokesman didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

So either the Secret Service was letting this go on just so they could make one bust, or they had no idea that their own informant was committing major breaches while under their supervision. Also, how stupid is this guy that he didn't even stop breaking the law after getting busted and becoming an informant? Some people are just begging to be sent to prison, and it looks like the prosecuters are going to grant his wish. For the rest of his life if they have their way.

P.S.: The Threat Level post with the info about him being an informant also contains a link to another case about another informant who was stealing social security numbers while working on a computer inside the Secret Service offices.

The usdoj.gov website seems to be down for me at the moment but should come back up eventually.

Re:will there be changes?

[Strilanc]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the core of the problem isn't the security of the computers, it's the fact that in order to use a credit card number you have to reveal it. There will always be some retailer or customer without a secure system. _We can't change this, it's too hard_.

I think the solution is a small device with an embedded secret key. All it has to do is sign data [secondary: show text, wireless, usb, etc].

For example, to complete a transaction, a store asks you to sign this:
[
      VISA Credit Transfer
      "here's a one-line ad because we just can't help it!"
      amount: 12.34$us
      buyer: John Doe
      seller: Matt's Grocery Store
      date: August 7, 2008
      buyer public key: 09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0
      seller public key: 4B 3D BA 71 3B D8 56 43 2B A7 E8 F4 69 CA C5 5A
      seller transaction id: 594864purplebunnies
      protocol version: 1
]
Then the store also signs it, and sends it and the signatures to VISA, or whoever.

The beauty here is that the security is now entirely encapsulated in a) the signing device, and b) the plaintext format for requesting credit.

In the example I have given the buyer only has to check that the amount is correct because all other modifications give them free groceries. The store only needs to ensure they match the format specified by VISA, and that the buyer's signature is valid. VISA takes most of the work, checking that the format is correct, the signatures are valid, the transaction id is unique for the seller, the buyer has enough credit, etc.

I'm sure there are holes, but it's a hell of a lot better than what we have now.

Re:will there be changes?

[tlhIngan]

I'm surprised that we even still use signatures now. It seems like no cashier actually looks at them, or could tell if there is even a difference. There is a strong part of me that would like the credit/debit card industry to add various biometrics that would at least be scanned by a machine so we'd actually have some ID verification other than the damn PIN number.

Actually, it's a misconception that the signature has meaning to the retailer if they match. If you look at the slip you sign, it says something to the effect of "I agree to pay this debt according to the terms of the cardholder agreement" or similar.

SIgning your card is an indication that you accept the cardholder agreement (i.e., the card is valid). Technically, a store can refuse to accept any card that is unsigned, says "CHECK ID" or similar because those cards are invalid (because you haven't indicated you accept the cardholder agreement, which covers things like... repayment of debt). The slip is used to indicate that you, the cardholder, will pay the issuer the amount listed, who will then pay the merchant that amount.

During a dispute, the best proof a merchant has is the signed slip. What makes life interesting are those places where signing the slip isn't necessary (e.g., some for transactions under $25).