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Hacker from Russian crime group jailed for global blackmail conspiracy

84 points by adzicg 8y ago

ccnafr 8y ago
This is clickbait... yes, clickbait on BBC The guy was a ransomware distributor who used malvertising campaigns to hijack traffic from all sort of sites, not just porn sites. NCA press release: https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/hacker-from-russian-crime-group-jailed-for-multi-million-pound-global-blackmail-conspiracy https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/hacker-from-russian-...
- Y_Y 8y ago
  It's been a while since bbc shed any notion of journalistic reputability. Now their news page is as vacuous and turpid as the next. That said there is still quality reporting being done, especially in the longform articles.
  - misnome 8y ago
    Some of the nature reporting (non-climate-change related) is also good and seems to have people who genuinely care about their area. But yes, mostly the BBC news output has become trash now. Technology/politics seems especially bad.
- MichelleT94 8y ago
  Nah. I definitely got hit by him and it was right after a swanky sesh.
- toby- 8y ago
  I'm confused. The press release says Qaiser "bought masses of advertising traffic from pornographic websites" -- so what's wrong with the BBC's reporting, here?
- bogomipz 8y ago
  It's actually been more than a few years now that www.bbc.com has been full of click bait. Scroll down to the "Editor Picks" and it's not very different from what you would see on something like Mashable.
- hliyan 8y ago
  I went through the article. I'm not seeing exactly how this is clickbait, or as some other comments that are strangely claiming, buzzfeed-like. Are we missing something here?
  - Illniyar 8y ago
    Emphasizing porn users and blackmail implies that the hacker blackmailed porn users by threatening to expose their usage (like what kind of porn they watch or somwthing). The correct title is guy got jailed for infecting computers with ransomware through regular ads. This is something that happens weekly I would assume, and is barely newsworthy.
    - adminu 8y ago
      The BBC reported though, that he claimed to have captured video of the victim which, to me, sounds like exposing their usage of porn in a very personal way. Comparing this headline to buzzfeed is not justified imho.
ianai 8y ago
I couldn’t find whether he gets to keep the money. If he does he’ll be a millionaire when he leaves prison in ~6 years.
- ahje 8y ago
  I'd guess it'll be confiscated, assuming he hasn't hidden it away somewhere the authorities can't get to it.
  - mnw21cam 8y ago
    Well, the article implies that the majority has been hidden away somewhere, and hasn't been found yet.
    - kkarakk 8y ago
      probably in some sort of tumbled crypto if he's even casually familiar with hiding money https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_tumbler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_tumbler
- ccnafr 8y ago
  You don't get to keep criminal proceeds unless you're a politician these days.
  - elicash 8y ago
    The only example I know of this happening are with Vice President Agnew.
  - ratling 8y ago
    Or a company. Or an executive of a company. Or a member of the police.
- draugadrotten 8y ago
  His fellow inmates may want to have a share, if they find out. https://www.ft.com/content/dbaea8c6-2541-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5ffdf https://www.ft.com/content/dbaea8c6-2541-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5f...
kkarakk 8y ago
bbc submissions should be mod approved. Their titles are buzzfeed level now
ohduran 8y ago
bbc is now bbzzfeed
- justtopost 8y ago
  Buzzfeed news has easily surpassed them in quality recently. I say that as someone who still harbors a strong grudge against BF for their part in this clickbait mess.
mihaifm 8y ago
Is this something that Pi-hole can protect you from? I intended to set up one for a while but never found the time. It looks like ads are not only annoying but increasingly dangerous at this point.
- mikorym 8y ago
  > ...booked advertising space on some of the world's most popular legal pornography websites... > ...visitor to the adult site who clicked on one of Qaiser's fake adverts would trigger the download... So, yes—if you filter out those domains down the pi-hole.
- ryanlol 8y ago
  Increasingly? Are you a time traveller? Ads (and web browsing in general) certainly have been getting much much safer in the past years, working exploit kits are vastly more difficult to come by than they were only a few years ago. The landscape simply is nothing like it was during blackhole kits heyday.
  - tibyat 8y ago
    unga bunga gungawunga
- adminu 8y ago
  I guess yes, but I would suggest to you to use a plugin like umatrix as I think it is more likely to catch unknown rogue player's actions. If in doubt, use both, it doesn't hurt that much but benefits a lot.
- kgwxd 8y ago
  Only if you stay on your network, either by using a VPN or never leaving the house, I recommend the latter.
derangedHorse 8y ago
“...the attack kit would have been downloaded on approximately 165,000 PCs. Some 5% of those - about 8,000 users - were likely to have fallen victim to the ransom demand” This is clearly a severe underestimation of how ignorant most people are about ransomware and how to recognize it when installed on one’s computer.
- fabricexpert 8y ago
  > If the home computer was not protected with up-to-date anti-virus software, the Angler would search for vulnerabilities and, if possible, deliver the "ransomware" that seized control of the machine. > It immediately splashed a full screen message to the user, It's unclear if this exploit / malware was capable of actually encrypting files or if it did something else which could easily be fixed without data loss. I think most peoples reaction would be to pull out their phones and google how to fix it.
  - slugiscool99 8y ago
    I think many people who aren’t as tech savvy wouldn’t think about doing this. Even if they assumed it could be fixed (which many probably didn’t), in a state of heightened emotions (of embarrassment, fear of possibly breaking the law), many people would try their best to comply with the instructions.
drewg123 8y ago
"If the home computer was not protected with up-to-date anti-virus software, the Angler would search for vulnerabilities and, if possible, deliver the "ransomware" that seized control of the machine." It is amusing that they don't mention that ad bocking extensions also protect against this sort of thing. In fact, defense in depth against malicious ads are one of the best reasons to run an adblocker.
- Zenbit_UX 8y ago
  You're shocked that an online news agency wouldn't advocate for users to install an adblocker?
  - drewg123 8y ago
    More like calling them out for it, actually.
  - proaralyst 8y ago
    It's the BBC, they're taxpayer funded and don't advertise (within the UK).
    - JulianMorrison 8y ago
      But they're really, really Establishment. They wouldn't advocate adblocking, because it would challenge the status quo.
      - duxup 8y ago
        >But they're really, really Establishment. What does that mean exactly? I see folks say 'establishment' and other phrases that seem heavily loaded and used as evidence of something they're proposing... but it isn't evidence of anything.
      - mannykannot 8y ago
        It has quite a few articles on the topic, such as this one, which has a "What's the benefit to users?" section. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34173732 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34173732
ratling 8y ago
You know how some people say, "No, no ad whitelisting. #GETOUT?" This is why.
dmix 8y ago
I'm curious if this is connected to the Danish guy who got caught laundering $450k of Bitcoin. They mentioned they found him depositing laundered money in another persons account who was arrested for hacking - but didn't mention which person it was. https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/04/08/danish-man-sentenced-bitcoin-laundering/ https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/04/08/danish-man-senten...

84 points by adzicg 8y ago

This is clickbait... yes, clickbait on BBC The guy was a ransomware distributor who used malvertising campaigns to hijack traffic from all sort of sites, not just porn sites. NCA press release: https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/hacker-from-russian-crime-group-jailed-for-multi-million-pound-global-blackmail-conspiracy https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/hacker-from-russian-...

Y_Y 8y ago
It's been a while since bbc shed any notion of journalistic reputability. Now their news page is as vacuous and turpid as the next. That said there is still quality reporting being done, especially in the longform articles.
- misnome 8y ago
  Some of the nature reporting (non-climate-change related) is also good and seems to have people who genuinely care about their area. But yes, mostly the BBC news output has become trash now. Technology/politics seems especially bad.
MichelleT94 8y ago
Nah. I definitely got hit by him and it was right after a swanky sesh.
toby- 8y ago
I'm confused. The press release says Qaiser "bought masses of advertising traffic from pornographic websites" -- so what's wrong with the BBC's reporting, here?
bogomipz 8y ago
It's actually been more than a few years now that www.bbc.com has been full of click bait. Scroll down to the "Editor Picks" and it's not very different from what you would see on something like Mashable.
hliyan 8y ago
I went through the article. I'm not seeing exactly how this is clickbait, or as some other comments that are strangely claiming, buzzfeed-like. Are we missing something here?
- Illniyar 8y ago
  Emphasizing porn users and blackmail implies that the hacker blackmailed porn users by threatening to expose their usage (like what kind of porn they watch or somwthing). The correct title is guy got jailed for infecting computers with ransomware through regular ads. This is something that happens weekly I would assume, and is barely newsworthy.
  - adminu 8y ago
    The BBC reported though, that he claimed to have captured video of the victim which, to me, sounds like exposing their usage of porn in a very personal way. Comparing this headline to buzzfeed is not justified imho.

ianai 8y ago

I couldn’t find whether he gets to keep the money. If he does he’ll be a millionaire when he leaves prison in ~6 years.

ahje 8y ago
I'd guess it'll be confiscated, assuming he hasn't hidden it away somewhere the authorities can't get to it.
- mnw21cam 8y ago
  Well, the article implies that the majority has been hidden away somewhere, and hasn't been found yet.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    probably in some sort of tumbled crypto if he's even casually familiar with hiding money https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_tumbler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_tumbler
ccnafr 8y ago
You don't get to keep criminal proceeds unless you're a politician these days.
- elicash 8y ago
  The only example I know of this happening are with Vice President Agnew.
- ratling 8y ago
  Or a company. Or an executive of a company. Or a member of the police.
draugadrotten 8y ago
His fellow inmates may want to have a share, if they find out. https://www.ft.com/content/dbaea8c6-2541-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5ffdf https://www.ft.com/content/dbaea8c6-2541-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5f...

kkarakk 8y ago

bbc submissions should be mod approved. Their titles are buzzfeed level now

ohduran 8y ago

bbc is now bbzzfeed

justtopost 8y ago
Buzzfeed news has easily surpassed them in quality recently. I say that as someone who still harbors a strong grudge against BF for their part in this clickbait mess.

mihaifm 8y ago

Is this something that Pi-hole can protect you from? I intended to set up one for a while but never found the time. It looks like ads are not only annoying but increasingly dangerous at this point.

mikorym 8y ago
> ...booked advertising space on some of the world's most popular legal pornography websites... > ...visitor to the adult site who clicked on one of Qaiser's fake adverts would trigger the download... So, yes—if you filter out those domains down the pi-hole.
ryanlol 8y ago
Increasingly? Are you a time traveller? Ads (and web browsing in general) certainly have been getting much much safer in the past years, working exploit kits are vastly more difficult to come by than they were only a few years ago. The landscape simply is nothing like it was during blackhole kits heyday.
- tibyat 8y ago
  unga bunga gungawunga
adminu 8y ago
I guess yes, but I would suggest to you to use a plugin like umatrix as I think it is more likely to catch unknown rogue player's actions. If in doubt, use both, it doesn't hurt that much but benefits a lot.
kgwxd 8y ago
Only if you stay on your network, either by using a VPN or never leaving the house, I recommend the latter.

derangedHorse 8y ago

“...the attack kit would have been downloaded on approximately 165,000 PCs. Some 5% of those - about 8,000 users - were likely to have fallen victim to the ransom demand” This is clearly a severe underestimation of how ignorant most people are about ransomware and how to recognize it when installed on one’s computer.

fabricexpert 8y ago
> If the home computer was not protected with up-to-date anti-virus software, the Angler would search for vulnerabilities and, if possible, deliver the "ransomware" that seized control of the machine. > It immediately splashed a full screen message to the user, It's unclear if this exploit / malware was capable of actually encrypting files or if it did something else which could easily be fixed without data loss. I think most peoples reaction would be to pull out their phones and google how to fix it.
- slugiscool99 8y ago
  I think many people who aren’t as tech savvy wouldn’t think about doing this. Even if they assumed it could be fixed (which many probably didn’t), in a state of heightened emotions (of embarrassment, fear of possibly breaking the law), many people would try their best to comply with the instructions.

drewg123 8y ago

"If the home computer was not protected with up-to-date anti-virus software, the Angler would search for vulnerabilities and, if possible, deliver the "ransomware" that seized control of the machine." It is amusing that they don't mention that ad bocking extensions also protect against this sort of thing. In fact, defense in depth against malicious ads are one of the best reasons to run an adblocker.

Zenbit_UX 8y ago
You're shocked that an online news agency wouldn't advocate for users to install an adblocker?
- drewg123 8y ago
  More like calling them out for it, actually.
- proaralyst 8y ago
  It's the BBC, they're taxpayer funded and don't advertise (within the UK).
  - JulianMorrison 8y ago
    But they're really, really Establishment. They wouldn't advocate adblocking, because it would challenge the status quo.
    - duxup 8y ago
      >But they're really, really Establishment. What does that mean exactly? I see folks say 'establishment' and other phrases that seem heavily loaded and used as evidence of something they're proposing... but it isn't evidence of anything.
    - mannykannot 8y ago
      It has quite a few articles on the topic, such as this one, which has a "What's the benefit to users?" section. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34173732 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34173732

ratling 8y ago

You know how some people say, "No, no ad whitelisting. #GETOUT?" This is why.

dmix 8y ago

I'm curious if this is connected to the Danish guy who got caught laundering $450k of Bitcoin. They mentioned they found him depositing laundered money in another persons account who was arrested for hacking - but didn't mention which person it was. https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/04/08/danish-man-sentenced-bitcoin-laundering/ https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/04/08/danish-man-senten...