'Bot Roast' nets cyber criminals

The FBI's operation to combat botnets, dubbed Bot Roast, has succeeded in securing the convictions of an array of cyber criminals, it has been reported.

After commencing in 2005, Bot Roast has moved into its second phase and the FBI has so far discovered over $20 million in losses caused by botnets. It has also announced that it has secured guilty pleas from two hackers, indicted three and sentenced three more.

In addition, a teenager based in New Zealand, who is believed to be the ringleader of a sizable botnet gang, has been arrested. The teenager cannot be named, but is known by his online alias of Akill.

Allegedly Akill and his gang skimmed millions of dollars from those who use online banking. According to the FBI, up to 1.3 million computers were under Akill's direct control. If convicted, the teenager could face up to a decade in prison.

Symantec protects smartphones

Security software company Symantec has launched its new security product for mobile devices.

Dubbed Norton Smartphone Security, the product provides protection for devices which use both Windows Mobile and Symbian OS. As well as Norton Antivirus, the new product also has a firewall and antispam for text messaging. Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec, said: "Smartphones are expanding consumer freedom to communicate and access important information anytime, anywhere.

"However, unsecure public Wi-Fi or network connections can put users at risk. In addition, web and email viruses can directly infect smartphones, enabling hackers to remotely control the device, access sensitive information or disable applications." Mr Trollope added that Smartphone Security "runs discreetly in the background" and provides users the knowledge that they are safe to email, browse the internet or even bank online from a mobile device. Meanwhile, it has been reported that businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are to spend at least $2.8 billion on IT security a study from Access Markets International found.

Hackers target Black Friday

Experts have warned that hackers are preparing to step up their activities to target online holiday shoppers, reports PC World.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, known to retailers as Black Friday, will mark the start of a shopping free-for-all, but will also be the signal to cyber criminals to augment their efforts, Secure Computing has warned. Black Friday is followed by what has been deemed Cyber Monday, when thousands of Americans shop online for gifts from their places of work.

Paul Henry, vice president of strategic accounts at Secure Computing, told PC World: "The holiday season in general is a huge time for hackers ... [and] Black Friday is typically the start. "This year, my biggest concern for consumers is all the web-borne malware out there." He added that online consumers should be especially wary of unsolicited emails which advertise amazing shopping deals. These are often just bait, created by cyber criminals. For more information on digital products and services visit Broadband National.

Hacker hits eBay

The popular internet auction site eBay has been broken into by a hacker who has locked some members out of the site.

Only a "very small" number of members were affected by the break-in, eBay has insisted. The news site AuctionBytes was the first to report the incident. Last month a hacker broke into the site and stole personal information about eBay users and posted it on a forum. Of this most recent incident, Nichola Sharpe, a spokeswoman for eBay, was quoted by PC World as saying: "We were able to block the fraudster quickly before any permanent damage had been done.

"At no point did the fraudster get any access to financial information or other sensitive information." She maintained that rather than hacking into the eBay website itself, the hacker responsible broke into "externally visible servers".

The site is involved in an "ongoing battle" against those trying to compromise its security, Ms Sharpe continued.

Jailed hacker offered jobs

Since being sentenced to four years in jail for constructing one of the more damaging viruses seen recently, a Chinese hacker has seen a deluge of job offers.

Li Jun, 25, created the Fujacks worm, which infected computers worldwide and stole passwords and usernames. Earlier this week the hacker was convicted in a Chinese court along with three accomplices and given a four-year jail sentence. Now Li's lawyer has said that up to ten companies are competing to hire the cyber criminal upon his release from incarceration.

One of the companies that wants to employ Li is Jushu Technology, based in the city of Hangzhou. It wants to give him a job paying one million yuan ($133,155) per year. Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with the software company Sophos, said that offering the hacker a job was "perverse" and rewarded his "criminal act, infamy and bad behavior".

Hackers Marketing User Friendly Tools

Hacking kits which can launch automated attacks on are going on sale over the Internet, experts have warned.

Now cyber criminals can purchase specific viruses or a kit which allows them to devise their own kind of cyber attack, the BBC reports. Some of the hacking kits even promise a year of technical support upon purchase. An expert from the software security company Sana told the BBC that sites which offer hacking tools "are starting to pop up left and right".

"It's the classic verticalization of a market as it starts to mature." There is almost "no limit" to what money can buy when it comes to hacking tool kits, he added. Among the most popular hacking toolkits of last year was the infamous MPack. Over 16,000 PCs have been infected using the kit, which is a product of Russian hackers.

MPack usually sells from $500 to $1,000.