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Romanian Ransomware Suspect Pleads Guilty To Hacking CCTVs in Washington DC (theregister.co.uk)

Posted by msmash on from the stranger-things dept.

gosand writes: The Register reports that "a Romanian woman has admitted running a ransomware operation from infected Washington DC's CCTV systems just days before President Trump was sworn into office in the US capital." The US DOJ stated that "this case was of the highest priority due to its impact on the Secret Service's protective mission and its potential effect on the security plan for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration." She could face a maximum of 25 years if convicted. She and her cohort (who is still jailed in Romania) made the classic hacker mistake of using their personal gmail accounts for the campaign, even accessing them from one of the compromised PCs.

7 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks for the tip by bobstreo · · Score: 3, Funny

    "made the classic hacker mistake of using their personal gmail accounts for the campaign, even accessing them from one of the compromised PCs."

    I mean if you wanted to shift blame to someone, you'd never think of doing this.

  2. I don't think "CCTV" means what people think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just about every TV show/movie now has people easily hacking "CCTV" systems remotely.
    Those, by definition, cannot be CCTV. Closed circuit means not accessible outside, by definition...

    1. Re:I don't think "CCTV" means what people think by Calydor · · Score: 1

      Like Xerox and Kleenex, CCTV in the common mind has become a synonym for 'Video Surveillance Camera'.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    2. Re:I don't think "CCTV" means what people think by smallfries · · Score: 1

      The closed circuit is between the camera and the storage: i.e. it not a broadcast. It does not mean that the storage is air-gapped and cannot be accessed remotely.

      --
      Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
  3. Did you forget what the T stands for? TELE by raymorris · · Score: 1

    "Tele" means remotely. That's the T in CCTV.

    The difference between closed television and broadcast television is that it's not broadcast indiscriminately to everyone; to see it one must affirmatively connect.

  4. I *would* hire him! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If anyone needs a chance to get his life back together, it's the guy who is so desperatr, to rob somebody, and so confused to do this.

    I would drop all charges, if pressed at all, and hire him, for something really simpleand small, just so he can feed himself and have a home. But offer him the ability to learn whatever he wants to learn wrt to professions at our company, exchange for more money as a reward for bringing us higher advantages.

    Yes, he'd be a messed-up individual. But I think every person is worth it, and only a stupid person does not know how to put them to good use.
    Therapy... *proper neuro-psychological one* would be astandard offering for all employees in any case.

    Aand I would be one good employee up, who would probably be more loyal than all the others, and you wouldn't.

    He would get to manage your bankrupt branch store, when'd take them over later. :)

    1. Re:I *would* hire him! by TheRealQuestor · · Score: 1

      man I wish I had some mod points!