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Phreaking

Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a subculture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, like equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks. The term "phreak" is derived from the words "phone" and "freak". It may also refer to the use of various audio frequencies to manipulate a phone system. "Phreak", "phreaker", or "phone phreak" are names used for and by individuals who participate in phreaking. Additionally, it is often associated with computer hacking. This is sometimes called the H/P culture (with H standing for Hacking and P standing for Phreaking). information on this site is for educational purposes only! Wyretap Network ©2007 - 2010

Disclaimer: The information on this site is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to encourage or teach you to break the law, that's what TV is for, albeit in a very flawed manner. The owner(s) of this website will not be held liable for anything you choose to do with the information contained on this site. If you want to learn how to rape, murder, loot, and commit acts of terror on a monumental scale, well, you won't find it here. Instead, tune-in to your nightly news and take a lesson from your 'elected' 'leaders'.

Social engineering techniques and terms

All social engineering techniques are based on specific attributes of human decision-making known as cognitive biases.[1] These biases, sometimes called "bugs in the human hardware," are exploited in various combinations to create attack techniques, some of which are listed here:
Pretexting
Pretexting is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the pretext) to persuade a targeted victim to release information or perform an action and is typically done over the telephone. It is more than a simple lie as it most often involves some prior research or set up and the use of pieces of known information (e.g. for impersonation: date of birth, Social Security Number, last bill amount) to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target. [2]
This technique is often used to trick a business into disclosing customer information, and is used by private investigators to obtain telephone records, utility records, banking records and other information directly from junior company service representatives. The information can then be used to establish even greater legitimacy under tougher questioning with a manager (e.g., to make account changes, get specific balances, etc).
As most U.S. companies still authenticate a client by asking only for a Social Security Number, date of birth, or mother's maiden name, the method is effective in many situations and will likely continue to be a security problem in the future.
Pretexting can also be used to impersonate co-workers, police, bank, tax authorities, or insurance investigators — or any other individual who could have perceived authority or right-to-know in the mind of the targeted victim. The pretexter must simply prepare answers to questions that might be asked by the victim. In some cases all that is needed is a voice that sounds authoritative, an earnest tone, and an ability to think on one's feet.
Phishing
Main article: Phishing
Phishing is a technique of fraudulently obtaining private information. Typically, the phisher sends an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate business—a bank, or credit card company—requesting "verification" of information and warning of some dire consequence if it is not provided. The e-mail usually contains a link to a fraudulent web page that seems legitimate—with company logos and content—and has a form requesting everything from a home address to an ATM card's PIN.
For example, 2003 saw the proliferation of a phishing scam in which users received e-mails supposedly from eBay claiming that the user’s account was about to be suspended unless a link provided was clicked to update a credit card (information that the genuine eBay already had). Because it is relatively simple to make a Web site resemble a legitimate organization's site by mimicking the HTML code, the scam counted on people being tricked into thinking they were being contacted by eBay and subsequently, were going to eBay’s site to update their account information. By spamming large groups of people, the “phisher” counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who already had listed credit card numbers with eBay legitimately, who might respond.
IVR or phone phishing
This technique uses a rogue Interactive voice response (IVR) system to recreate a legitimate sounding copy of a bank or other institution's IVR system. The victim is prompted (typically via a phishing e-mail) to call in to the "bank" via a (ideally toll free) number provided in order to "verify" information. A typical system will reject log-ins continually, ensuring the victim enters PINs or passwords multiple times, often disclosing several different passwords. More advanced systems transfer the victim to the attacker posing as a customer service agent for further questioning.
One could even record the typical commands ("Press one to change your password, press two to speak to customer service" ...) and play back the direction manually in real time, giving the appearance of being an IVR without the expense.
The technical name for phone phishing, is vishing.
Baiting
Baiting is like the real-world Trojan Horse that uses physical media and relies on the curiosity or greed of the victim.[3]
In this attack, the attacker leaves a malware infected floppy disk, CD ROM, or USB flash drive in a location sure to be found (bathroom, elevator, sidewalk, parking lot), gives it a legitimate looking and curiosity-piquing label, and simply waits for the victim to use the device.
For example, an attacker might create a disk featuring a corporate logo, readily available off the target's web site, and write "Executive Salary Summary Q2 2009" on the front. The attacker would then leave the disk on the floor of an elevator or somewhere in the lobby of the targeted company. An unknowing employee might find it and subsequently insert the disk into a computer to satisfy their curiosity, or a good samaritan might find it and turn it in to the company.
In either case as a consequence of merely inserting the disk into a computer to see the contents, the user would unknowingly install malware on it, likely giving an attacker unfettered access to the victim's PC and perhaps, the targeted company's internal computer network.
Unless computer controls block the infection, PCs set to "auto-run" inserted media may be compromised as soon as a rogue disk is inserted.
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo means something for something:
An attacker calls random numbers at a company claiming to be calling back from technical support. Eventually they will hit someone with a legitimate problem, grateful that someone is calling back to help them. The attacker will "help" solve the problem and in the process have the user type commands that give the attacker access or launch malware.
In a 2003 information security survey, 90% of office workers gave researchers what they claimed was their password in answer to a survey question in exchange for a cheap pen.[4] Similar surveys in later years obtained similar results using chocolates and other cheap lures, although they made no attempt to validate the passwords.[5]
Other types
Common confidence tricksters or fraudsters also could be considered "social engineers" in the wider sense, in that they deliberately deceive and manipulate people, exploiting human weaknesses to obtain personal benefit. They may, for example, use social engineering techniques as part of an IT fraud.
The latest type of social engineering techniques include spoofing or hacking IDs of people having popular e-mail IDs such as Yahoo!, GMail, Hotmail, etc. Among the many motivations for deception are:
Phishing credit-card account numbers and their passwords.
Hacking private e-mails and chat histories, and manipulating them by using common editing techniques before using them to extort money and creating distrust among individuals.
Hacking websites of companies or organizations and destroying their reputation.

The Real ID Coming Soon!!!

The Real ID Coming Soon!!!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Mass internet scams increasing rapidly

By Dene Mackenzie on Tue, 9 Mar 2010
Blogs | Internet | Mack-Line

Internet security remains an issue and although Mack-line has written about the need to be careful, a story breaking late last week has prompted a new warning.

Authorities in the United States smashed one of the world's biggest networks of virus-infected computers.

It was a data vacuum that stole credit cards and online banking credentials from as many as 12.7 million poisoned PCs.

The "botnet" of infected computers included PCs inside more than half of the Fortune 1000 companies.

More than 40 major banks were infiltrated, according to investigators.

Spanish investigators have arrested the three alleged ringleaders of the so-called Mariposa botnet, which grew into one of the biggest weapons of cybercrime.

More arrests are expected soon in other countries, and that is unusual.

The masterminds behind the biggest botnets are not often taken down.

Virus warnings have been appearing regularly on a computer owned by a friend.

Despite running regular scans, uninstalling WindowsLive, as messages with questionable links were being sent to and from Live contacts, the warnings remain.

Symantec reported last week that by the end of February, it was already seeing several of its 2010 cyber security predictions come true.

Here are some hard numbers for Mack-line readers to think about:More than 75% of businesses have suffered a cyber attack in the past 12 months.

Credit cards are the top item for sale.

Credit card information is the most commonly advertised item for sale in the underground economy, accounting for 18% of all goods and services.

Banks get phished, with 76% of brands used in phising attacks so far this year being in the financial sector.

News agendas drive attacks.

The earthquake in Haiti was sadly followed by an increase in the volume of scam and phishing messages as spammers used the event for their benefit.

While businesses and consumers alike are attracted by the flexibility of online banking, it should be noted that this, too, carries inherent security risks.

Internet security firm AVG reported that Australian Bureau of Statistics research found six million people were exposed to scams and frauds during any given year and more than 800,000 fell victim in some way.

AVG Australia-New Zealand marketing manager Lloyd Borrett said the use of the internet by cyber criminals to mass-market fraudulent schemes was unprecedented and increasing rapidly.

The threats posed by online banking might be more acute, given the dangers associated with so-called "insider threats".

Online banking provided a new channel for internal or external criminals to steal money or confidential information.

AVG research showed 85% of people now used the internet for shopping, and more than two-thirds did their banking online.

"Banks could also be doing more," he said.

"The use of drop-down menus as part of the log-in process can help defeat key-logging software."

Criminals used key-logging software to record key-strokes.

Drop-down menus could not be recorded in that way, as they were activated by the user's mouse.

Last week, Mack-line's Otago Daily Times email and various others used - Gmail, Fastmail and Yahoo!Xtra - received "requests" from three New Zealand banks to update details.

That scam is an oldie but a goodie.

Do not be fooled into providing your details.

Mack-line deals with three banks and Credit Union South.

The BNZ and the credit union both provide a second level of security when logging in.

Westpac regularly asks you to change your password.

National Bank is a new addition, so there is no update on what it's security measures are.

Be aware when you are banking or shopping online.

Check that an online internet payment system has a padlock symbol displayed in either the bottom right-hand corner of the web page or in the address bar, and never access an online payment system via a link contained in an email.

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