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13 Jan, 2016

Hackers create false mosque website

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Hackers attack a Chicago-area mosque, creating a false website attempting to link the congregation with ISIL, threatening to forcibly convert the suburban community in which the mosque is located to Islam, and insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. According to the CAIR, online Islamophobic attacks create a “breeding ground” for offline issues:

Islamophobia is more acute online than anywhere else, and in many ways the typical, big anti-Muslim narratives are born online and they spread from there to political circles and onto the streets.

12 Nov, 2015

Hack reveals illegal phone records

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A hack of Securus Technologies’ cloud storage system reveals the company reveals over 70 million records of phone calls, placed by prisoners to at least 37 states, in addition to links to downloadable recordings of the calls. The calls span a nearly two-and-a-half year period, beginning in December 2011 and ending in the spring of 2014. The data includes up to 14,000 phone calls between inmates and their lawyers. Normally, prisons are allowed to record phone calls of the inmates, but are not allowed to record calls from their lawyers. ACLU:

This may be the most massive breach of the attorney-client privilege in modern U.S. history, and that’s certainly something to be concerned about. A lot of prisoner rights are limited because of their conviction and incarceration, but their protection by the attorney-client privilege is not.

Securus:

Securus is contacting law enforcement agencies in the investigation into media reports that inmate call records were leaked online. Although this investigation is ongoing, we have seen no evidence that records were shared as a result of a technology breach or hack into our systems. Instead, at this preliminary stage, evidence suggests that an individual or individuals with authorized access to a limited set of records may have used that access to inappropriately share those records…It is very important to note that we have found absolutely no evidence of attorney-client calls that were recorded without the knowledge and consent of those parties. Our calling systems include multiple safeguards to prevent this from occurring. Attorneys are able to register their numbers to exempt them from the recording that is standard for other inmate calls. Those attorneys who did not register their numbers would also hear a warning about recording prior to the beginning of each call, requiring active acceptance.

13 Oct, 2015

Data breach exposes licenses, IRS details

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Uber’s Uber Partner app is found to inadvertently give anyone access to scanned documents for almost 1,000 drivers. The material includes high-resolution pictures of drivers licenses, W-9 tax forms, livery car company articles of incorporation, and other sensitive personal documents—many of which contain social security numbers. Uber:

As soon as we were made aware of this we immediately fixed it.

1 Dec, 2010

Sends ‘Cancerman’ emails

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Canceman email 1

Keys sends a series of emails to his colleagues at Fox 40, under aliases related to the TV show, The X Files. The “Cancerman emails” outline various grievances the writer has with the company’s ethics, including claims that the station dropped a news story because the subject threatened to pull its advertisements, and that the station invaded viewers’ privacy through a contest email promotion. Keys then sends emails to the contest email list about KTXL Fox 40’s perceived misconduct. Fox40, already on edge from the threats, spends hours fielding emails from upset viewers. Later Keys admits to sending the emails saying:

The emails was, was to be antagonistic, you know…It was more or less hooliganism.

Dec 2010

Gives Tribune credentials to Anonymous

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Hacked LA Times pageKeys identifies himself on an Internet chat forum as a former Tribune Company employee and provides members of Anonymous with a login and password to the Tribune Company server. He encourages the Anonymous members to disrupt several Tribune companies and urged that the Los Angeles Times should be “demolished.” Keys:

Go f-ck some shit up.

Hackers uses the credentials provided by Keys to log in to the Tribune Company server and make changes to the web version of a Los Angeles Times news feature, changing a headline to read: “Pressure builds in House to elect CHIPPY 1337.”

Hacker: [T]hat was such a buzz having my edit on the LA Times
Keys: Nice

Keys also changes the access credentials of FOX40 employees, interfering with their ability to access company servers, and obtained email addresses for FOX40 viewers, to whom he sends disparaging emails about the company. According the the company Keys’ actions caused the mobile version of the Times to be offline for a day, and resulted in thousands of dollars in costs for the Tribune Company in responding to the breach of its systems by shutting backdoor access credentials and assessing the full extent of the damage.

Nov 2010

Hijacks Fox 40 Facebook, Twitter accounts

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According to the FBI, after he leaves the company Keys retains the passwords to Fox40’s social media accounts, and prevents access to them by the company. He sends messages from the accounts to the public. He also deletes thousands followers from the company’s  account.