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Four Charged With Stealing Army Helicopter Training Software

itwbennett writes: Four alleged members of an international computer hacking ring face charges in the U.S. of breaking into the computer networks of the U.S. Army and several tech companies and stealing several software packages, including programs used to train Army helicopter pilots, as well as software and data related to the Xbox One gaming console, the Xbox Live online gaming service and popular games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Gears of War 3.

9 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. That's odd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I didn't even know you could train helicopters.

    1. Re:That's odd by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nope, that's software for helicopter-training your dog.

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      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. SQL Injection? in 2014?sheesh by geekoid · · Score: 2

    Between January 2011 and March of this year, the four men and others allegedly hacked into the computer networks of Epic Games, Valve, Zombie Studios and the U.S. Army, as well as partners of Microsoft, using methods including SQL injection and stolen user names and passwords of company employees and software development partners.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:SQL Injection? in 2014?sheesh by Onuma · · Score: 4, Funny

      If only the DoD and US Army maintained some kind of security standard like 8570 ... oh wait.

      SQL injections. They deserved what they got.

      --
      What else can happen when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?
  3. Steal? So the army no longer has the software? by bzipitidoo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Did the perps really steal the software, or only copy it?

    Not that it matters much. The army loves to go ape on "bad" guys. The army's reputation for paranoid overreaction to any threat involving computers is such that it wouldn't be surprising if the perps end up spending a very long time in Gitmo if the army gets hold of them. They'll be held without trial as, what do they call it, an imminent threat? They'll also be "aggressively interrogated" to find out how they did it. If the army has to hold a trial, they'll be found guilty of stealing, espionage, and of course (cue dramatic music) Hacking.

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
  4. Re:Could be dangerous by PPH · · Score: 2

    Somewhere, a 3D printer is working overtime.

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    Have gnu, will travel.
  5. Hacked computer networks? by lippydude · · Score: 2

    "Between January 2011 and March of this year, the four men and others allegedly hacked into the computer networks .. using methods including SQL injection and stolen user names and passwords"

    No need to guess what Operating System these computer networks run on.

  6. Memo : read ALL the headline by OakDragon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Four Charged With Stealing Army Helicopter...

    Whhuuuuut??!?!?

    ...Training Software

    oh... meh

  7. Re:Steal? So the army no longer has the software? by bzipitidoo · · Score: 2

    Seeming isn't always correct, and espionage is not something I feel tolerant about. But is this really espionage, or is this trumped up military hysteria over well known information?

    I know the military. They exaggerate. They would like to make everything, and I do mean everything, into a secret. There is no downside to doing so. If unsure about some information, the default is to stamp it as secret. Covers their asses that way. This includes basic facts of nature that are well known, stuff that is taught in high school science and math classes. They are total suckers for Security Through Obscurity. That this strangles cooperation and collaboration is less important to them because they don't get into as much trouble if a project fails than if a "secret" gets leaked.. At the same time, they demand that their collaborators have no secrets, and go so far as to enforce this by insisting that work be done on a military base, on computers belonging to the military, and that encryption can't be used anywhere on the hardware without lots of permission. That means of course that the contractors have to get security clearances and permission to be on the base. They also want to be in control, and despite not knowing what the heck they are doing, will periodically make off the wall demands to which the contractors can't easily say no. Can really hamstring a project, so much so that it makes the difference between success and failure. It's so bad that many refuse military funding because it comes with all sorts of unreasonable strings attached. Many years ago, OpenBSD spurned military funding, and I'm sure it was because of that sort of thing. I know universities have turned them down, knowing that the money would not make up for their interference.

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"