The World's Top Cybercriminals 175
bart_scriv writes "BusinessWeek profiles four individuals identified by law enforcement as the world's foremost online criminals. They're accused of crimes ranging from re-shipping rings to credit card theft and email fraud -- '...all are Russian. Strong technical universities, comparatively low incomes, and an unstable legal system make the former Soviet Union an ideal breeding ground for cyberscams. Also, tense political relations sometimes complicate efforts to obtain cooperation with local law enforcement.'"
Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you're caught doing something illegal, it's almost guaranteed there is some price you can pay the police to be let go.
In my opinion, this hurts local small businesses immensely. I believe that it makes them more difficult to succeed and lays the groundwork for an instable/weak capitalistic system. There's even a problem with local law enforcement and bribes in many other countries. Honestly, if there was one thing I think that would help countries get back on track, it would be better law enforcement especially on the local level. How can people be expected to work and thrive in a system when the letter of the law is uncertain? How can you expect them to run a business and distribute goods/services if a thief can pay off police when he burglarizes the store?
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:3, Insightful)
More to the point, it hurts the CITIZENS immensely.
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
I believe you'll find this is still common in the U.S., where in some states people suspected (not convicted or in some cases even charged) of drug-related crimes can have their property seized and sold at auction, with most of the proceeds going to the law-enforcement organization responsbile for the seizure.
Here's a somewhat dated story about this kind of thi [nwsource.com]
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
While I'm sure this was true of Lithuania, I can assure you that they would not have been accepted into the EU if it was still true. I'm not saying that there aren't crooked cops anywhere in Lithuania, but EU membership i
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:5, Informative)
The problem, though, is not law enforcement -- the problem is cultural. Flaunting the law is ingrained into many cultures*, and this causes the US-style capitalist economy to break, since, as you point out, there is not a level playing field.
*Very common in some of the poorer former Soviet states, where breaking the law was osmetimes necessary for survival. It just becomes habit to ignore the law, when the law makes no sense to the individual.
To put it another way, it's hard for people to respect government and the rule of law when for most of their lives, both have not served them well.
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
Perhaps so, but the phrase you want is "flauting the law".
And no, it has nothing to do with flute playing. :-)
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
See http://onelook.com/?w=flout [onelook.com]"
Apparently only some parts of ny brain work at any given time. I even googled "flaut flaunt" and found references to "flaut" as scoffing at or disdaining, thus re-inforcing my temporary mental abberation.
Re:A culture of reverse-engineering and hacking (Score:2)
At least a few years ago (Score:2)
Nothing new there... (Score:2)
Yep. It's a terrible situation. But at least we can take heart, knowing that our countries all have something in common
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
In the USA, the rule of law always prevails. (Unless you're
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
Let's compare typical ex-ussr country and USA:
Ex-USSR country:
You rape an underage girl, you get caught, you are arrested. Your friends make a call to lead investigator in the case, offers a precise amount, you get released due to lack of crime in your case. The girl has to repeatedly repeat her statements until he gets so confused and nervous tha
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:1)
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Russian Local Law Enforcement? (Score:1)
I think you mean Ochlocracy (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I think you mean Ochlocracy (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I think you mean Ochlocracy (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I think you mean Ochlocracy (Score:2)
Propertyarain embracing the police and many laws (Score:2)
Re:Propertyarain embracing the police and many law (Score:2)
Really the entire political debate is fucked in the U.S. the right/Libertarians value material things above ALL else including human rights in t
Re:Propertyarain embracing the police and many law (Score:2)
a) poison your food
b) launch a RPG from long distance (see: Mogadishu)
c) line everything beyond your property with grenades
d) see c) plus also snipers
Guns are hardly enough to defend your family in a society like Russia, where you have no idea where everything from the USSR's AK47's to their nukes and bio weapons, are being illegally stockpiled.
That's not flamebait, neo con mods (Score:2)
Your ignorance? (Score:2)
First of all, I know that Leningrad & Moscow are different than greater Russia. They might as well be considered separate countries from what I've read. I read about what happens in other countries. I try to educate myself and I form an opinion. I voice my opinion and appearantly I piss someone off. Well, you know what? Nobody's doing anything about this problem so how we start throwing out ideas?
Block them at the firewall. (Score:2, Insightful)
great idea (Score:1, Insightful)
a webserver that could then be used for phishing scams and stuff. it could easily report all the data back to me in my home country.
you're going to have to think a little harder about the problem.
Re:great idea (Score:2, Insightful)
How can you set up a webserver in Malaysia if Malaysia is blocking your IP. My router won't do much to stop them, but mine, and yours, and theirs will. Shitcan all of Russia. Everywhere. Think of it as Digital Sanctions. Until the government shapes up, no data in, no data out.
Re:great idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Russia has a lot of big problems, a lot of which can be traced back to its being basically an impoverished totalitarian nation for virtually all of its history, followed by a sudden transition into a new form of government (and economy) that they were not prepared for and had no history with. As a result, they are having issues basically with capitalism run amok without the benefit of effective controls.
The solution to this problem is more education among consumers here in the US (people who know how these scams work are less likely to fall for them) coupled with reforms in Russia that will make police less susceptible to bribery (higher wages and more training), and make criminals more likely to be caught and punished (technical training for police and harsh penalties for lawbreakers).
Re:great idea (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:great idea (Score:2)
We should firewall all countries that allow crimes.
The great firewall of China does not work. (Score:2, Troll)
Re:great idea (Score:2)
For that matter, stop postal deliveries, in case they mail CD-ROMS. Oh wait, people could swallow USB sticks... better close the border. And build a wall.
Oh, but then... nevermind, let's just nuke em. I mean, we spent a lot of money on those ICBMs.
Better idea (was Re:Block them at the firewall.) (Score:2)
The CIA and Special Forces need to sharpen their skills if they're going to find Osama Bin Laden; set them loose on these bastards. Black ops are the way to go. Even better, mercenaries. I'll start a collection. Let's see their hacking skills save them from a bullet between the eyes.
Re:Better idea (was Re:Block them at the firewall. (Score:5, Funny)
You, sir, should be running the State Department. You're a freakin' genius. Or a shill for the bomb shelter industry.
Re:Better idea (was Re:Block them at the firewall. (Score:1)
...all are Russian (Score:1, Funny)
Re:...all are Russian (Score:5, Funny)
So, umm.... in Soviet Russia, you spy on NSA?
Politics (Score:1)
hacker icons a Good Thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:hacker icons a Good Thing (Score:5, Insightful)
-matthew
Re:hacker icons a Good Thing (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:hacker icons a Good Thing (Score:5, Insightful)
The fallacy goes something like this: "On the whole, it's a good thing for people to go around randomly breaking windows. It creates jobs for the window installers and people who work in glass factories, and even helps to create new markets for shatter-proof windows!"
Although at first glance this appears to help the economy, it's an illusion; all the money that goes toward replacing the broken window is wasted money that could have been spent on actually improving economic infrastructure, rather than simply maintaining it. Perhaps new and improved shatter-resistant windows will be developed, but if there was enough demand to justify their development then it would have happened anyway.
Similarly, every dollar that people have to spend on things like antivirus software is a dollar that they weren't able to spend on improving their products, or hiring more employees of their own, or offering people cheaper prices. All this only benefits you if you are carefully placed within the market to take advantage of it. So yes, computer crime is good for you if you happen to work for a security company, but on the whole it's bad for society and the economy.
Similar to Russian nuke scientists (Score:2, Insightful)
The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:1)
It's also completely illogical. In that scenario, if all cybercriminals were identified, there would be no "best" of the group, which is clearly not correct. Even if you're not very good, you could still be the "best". Being identified, then, certainly isn't sufficient to preclude from the "honor".
Re:The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:1)
By the definition that claims the best criminal is the one who remains unsuspected of crime.
Even if you're not very good, you could still be the "best".
Ah, well, now we're getting into the realm of the Platonic Ideal vs. the Pragmatic Shadow. However, the existence of the Pragmatic Shadow does not necessarily invalidate the definition of the Platonic Ideal.
KFG
Re:The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:3, Insightful)
The mafia and cybercriminals are very similar in that regard- you don't need to be hidden in a bunker somewhere, just be very good at separating yourself (be it through proxies, wardriven connections, a hired gang or expendable street thugs)
Re:The World's Not So Top Cybercriminals? (Score:2)
Just for the confused... (Score:5, Informative)
The actual crime lies somewhere between (inclusive) credit card fraud and identity theft. The "shipping" part of that just helps launder the profits.
Just an FYI.
Re:Just for the confused... (Score:2)
Putin and spam (Score:5, Insightful)
If we want to keep people from getting spam scammed then education is the best way
cat and mouse? (Score:4, Interesting)
One thing I don't get about stories like this is why is it so difficult to go and pick up known "bad guys"?
You can look an Wikipedia and get a list of the big drug lords, read articles like this, or go to SpamHaus and see the list of the big fraud/spammers, but they keep doing what they do for a long time.
Is it because these people are so wealthy that its hard to get them? Is it because governments and law enforcement places are corrupt and get bought off or are part of the action as well?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Re:cat and mouse? (Score:2)
Re:cat and mouse? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:cat and mouse? (Score:2)
Re:cat and mouse? (Score:5, Insightful)
RICO is nice in that you can nab higher-ups if you can get two predicate acts on an underling, but a) they tend to shelve said underling after he's busted, because they have lawyers too, and b) most of these acts are against people they've intimidated, cowed, blackmailed, or are criminals themselves, which means we get a missing person and not a murder rap.
You're vastly underestimating how difficult it is to get these guys, essentially you run detectives around looking into what they did, looking for the small screwup that lets them open an investigation and start searching places. It's long and it's tough. Like I said before, "everyone knows he's doing it" isn't evidence.
Progress, not total victory (Score:2)
With informants and RICO together, they've done a really good job at breaking the back of the Italian mafia in the U.S. It's not gone completely, but it is a faint shadow of what it was even 30 years ago.
I
Difference between knowing and proof (Score:2)
Same thing for crime syndicates. The police have divisions, often called OCCB, that do nothing but watc
All are Russian... (Score:4, Insightful)
It's Ukraine. Well, the second worst spammer (BadCow is third) is Michael Lindsay, of iMedia Networks, California.
Its not surprising that they're Russian (and Ukrainian) if you choose to ignore the Americans.
Re:All are Russian... (Score:3, Funny)
expect them to do anything complex like trying to distinguish
between 2 seperate european countries.
Re:All are Russian... (Score:1)
Re:All are Russian... (Score:2)
"The official name is the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos)"/ mx.html#Govt [cia.gov]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico [wikipedia.org]
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
Re:All are Russian... (Score:1)
Re:All are Russian... (Score:2)
I recently heard a sports announcer who said "[Czech player] will be playing in the World Championships for Czechoslovakia, and [3 American players] will be on the US Team. Also, [Slovak player] was named to the Slovak team." It's all the more confusing when the guy seems to know that Slovakia is now a separate country, but can't grasp that when that happened, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.
It probably doesn't help in this case that few
Re:All are Russian... (Score:2)
And yet one of the two countries in question is twice the size of the US.
Re:All are Russian... (Score:2)
I mean, I get not knowing where Slovenia and Slovakia are in relation to each other, but Russia and Ukraine, the two biggest countries in Europe? Sure population-wise Ukraine is smaller than a few Western European countries, but if you know any from the "other" europes, you've probably heard of Ukraine.
All SOUND Russian, which is advantageous (Score:2)
Scam & fraud website (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder what would happen if I posted a link to www.theftservices.com [theftservices.com] on Slashdot. I mean, what happens to links like www.theftservices.com [theftservices.com] when they get posted to Slashdot? What effect would it have on www.theftservices.com [theftservices.com]?
Re:Scam & fraud website (Score:2)
ADvertisement
Re:Scam & fraud website (Score:2)
pork bellies [ratsystems.org]
incontinence [ratsystems.org]
squeamish ossifrage [ratsystems.org]
old ladies in tight undies [ratsystems.org]
I agree, medium business is more vulnerable (Score:1)
I've seen in the report that many hackers are atacking big sized companies like Walmart, and I can see that this affects companies that haven't got the budget to obtain intrusion detection systems provided by companies involved in machine learning.
Today the advances in neural networks, genetic algorithms, data mining and expert systems can be used in big companies to prevent credit card fraud and spam. Many of this systems use combined searching techniques with genetic programming to give outstanding res
Ouch (Score:2)
The desired solution (Score:2)
Re:The desired solution (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia... (Score:2)
From the Article (Score:2, Funny)
Strong technical universities, ... (Score:2, Insightful)
For a moment there I though you were talking about India.
To quote one of the russian hackers... (Score:2, Funny)
Communisim Works! In theory... (Score:1)
The hacker ringer leader had four computers. The goverment took three of them and gave the to his neighbors. In the traditional anarchist form black hat hackers posses, he teaches his three neighbors what he knows of duping fellow commrades out of there hard or not so hard earned money. Presto, you have the four top hackers of the world.
Ouch (Score:2)
Re:Ouch (Score:2)
Re:Ouch (Score:2)
I have plan (Score:3, Funny)
Dateline: May 29, 2006 (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score:1)
How about?
...criminals pwn you!
Someone can probably do better though...
They're on some list? (Score:2)
Russian, not Nigerian? (Score:2)
I'm disappointed. I was SO eager to help repatriate some money.
from TA, again (Score:2)
Even the existence of darkmarket and theftservices is a joke and slap in the face of the common sense. Catch the person who registered those website and execute him publicly in front of Googleland.
Where's PharmaMaster? (Score:2)
Re:They've been noticed (Score:1)
My captcha was "manure", I'll try to not take that personally!
Re:Cybercriminal? (Score:2)
Only if you cut-and-paste other people's code to get faster development cycle times.
Re:Nonsense! (Score:2)