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Two former University of Central Missouri students have been charged with hacking university databases, stealing confidential information, and attempting to sell it for profit. Joseph Camp and Daniel Fowler were indicted by a federal grand jury. They allegedly created a computer virus and spread it through email attachments and USB flash drives. They breached the personal data of about 90,000 UCM students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Camp and Fowler then tried to sell the information for $35,000. The seven-count indictment also charges them with attempting to steal university funds and using Facebook accounts to threaten potential witnesses. The charges could result in prison sentences of between two and ten years. According to a Computerworld report, "The duo used Fowler's room as their base and, over a three-month period between October and December 2009, broke into numerous university databases and computers, including one belonging to a university administrator." ...

A hacker who infected over 2,300 computers with a virus capable of stealing banking details did not have serious criminal intentions, a court has heard. Today, lawyers for Anthony Scott Harrison argued that his "youthful curiosity" led him to hack into other people's computers to steal money. Harrison's lawyer, John Edwards, explained, "Using the Google search engine, he learned all he could about hacking." "He did not start hacking with serious criminal intentions. Because he was unemployed, he then used his hacking skills to provide money," Edwards continued. "Underlying his initial attraction to hacking was not theft or greed, but youthful curiosity." Harrison, 21, of Blackforest, pleaded guilty to one count of modifying computer data to cause harm or inconvenience, two counts of possession or control of data to commit serious computer offenses, and one count of dishonestly manipulating a machine. The court heard that State and Fed...

An Adelaide hacker infected over 2,000 computers in Australia and overseas with a program designed to capture banking details, a court has heard. Anthony Scott Harrison, 20, learned hacking and programming skills online and launched his attack in 2009. He was caught when suspicious web activity was detected and tracked by federal police. Harrison also modified and sold software, allowing others to infect computers. His actions stemmed from his obsession with the world of cyber fantasy. Harrison pleaded guilty to seven charges, including four counts of modifying computer data to cause harm. Defense counsel John Edwards told the South Australian District Court that from the age of 14, Harrison had become obsessed with online computer games and was "immersed in the world of cyber fantasy." At one point, he played online for up to 15 hours a day, often using a simulated hacking game called Slave Hack. Mr. Edwards explained that Harrison became quite skilled at computer program...

WikiLeaks faced another distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on Tuesday morning, as reported by Fast Company. This attack was more intense than the one on Sunday, but it still didn't come close to shutting down the site. A computer hacker known as "The Jester" shocked officials by claiming responsibility for the cyber attack that disabled the WikiLeaks website on Sunday morning. This incident occurred just before WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. embassy cables to the public. The Jester, an ex-soldier, justified his hacking by accusing the website of “attempting to endanger the lives of our troops, 'other assets,' and foreign relations.” The self-proclaimed "hacktivist for good" turned to the web to combat terrorism and organizations that seem to support Islamic extremism after his military service. Cybersecurity expert Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure told CNN he believed The Jester was indeed behind the attack. WikiLeaks ...

A hacker who posed as a university graduate to access the emails of hundreds of students has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay more than £20,000 in costs and compensation. Daniel Woo, a 23-year-old Bulgarian national, was sentenced for offenses under the Misuse of Computers Act on November 25. Woo was arrested in November 2006 at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies after IT staff noticed anomalies in the computer network's operation. He used various hacking techniques to break into students' accounts by obtaining their passwords. Woo then installed software called 'Cain and Able' on several machines, which allowed him to collect additional student passwords and monitor traffic on the university's computer network. It was later confirmed that fraud had occurred on several compromised payment accounts. Additionally, Woo has been banned from entering any university, college, or place of higher education witho...