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The Australian police have arrested a 33-year-old man accused of hacking into nearly 100 online accounts. The Australian Federal Police’s high-tech crime unit has been monitoring the suspect since last September. This surveillance began when a local telecom company alerted the authorities to suspicious activity within its network. The man allegedly hacked into private and business Internet accounts, downloading data and engaging in other fraudulent activities. The suspect was arrested yesterday, and police confiscated his computer equipment. He now faces charges related to computer intrusion, including unauthorized access, modification, or impairment with intent to commit a serious offense. Neil Gaughan, the national manager of high-tech crime operations and assistant commissioner, stated that this arrest serves as a reminder for people to protect their online safety. "Anyone can be targeted by criminals online; it’s important to be aware of the risks and take appropriate act...

The police have changed their approach to a phone hacking incident that could affect Andy Coulson. Coulson, the media adviser for the Prime Minister, was previously an editor for the News of the World. The police have taken steps to halt the flow of information that could implicate high-ranking journalists at the News of the World. Changes in policy might have significant implications for Andy Coulson. The police have announced they will no longer provide public figures with information about phone hacking. This decision relates to data, computer records, and tapes seized from Glenn Mulcaire, a private detective. It is suspected that the data implicates senior journalists in a phone hacking incident. Allegedly, these journalists instructed Mulcaire to investigate well-known individuals, including politicians and sports stars. Police recently admitted they did not fully investigate the data during their initial inquiry. The police have stated they will not continue investigating ...

In 2006, Li Jun, a Chinese man, was jailed for creating the ‘Fujacks’ worm. Recently, he appears to be attempting to rehabilitate his public image by making a donation to a panda research center in China. Li Jun was arrested in February 2007 and charged with writing and selling the "Panda Burning Joss Sticks" worm for approximately $13,000. Interestingly, Chinese police later convinced him to create a tool to repair the damage caused by the worm to infected users. The worm earned its nickname because it replaced file icons on infected PCs with the image of a stylized panda bear holding three joss sticks. Now, having been released from prison, Li Jun has reportedly donated 50,000 yuan ($7,500) to the Chengdu Research Giant Panda Breeding Center to support the care of a bear cub born there five months ago. China has a deep fascination with pandas, making this gesture a potential PR move. However, his team seemed to overextend this theme by claiming to the Xinhua news agen...

A lot of people are gawking at Gawker Media this morning, though not for reasons that will bring much cheer to its founder, Nick Denton. Gawker, the parent company of popular blogs like Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Jezebel, and ValleyWag, has suffered a significant breach. A hacker group known as Gnosis has taken over the site. Gnosis accessed Gawker's source code and posted it on torrent sites. They also hacked into Gawker's content management system, posting a fake story on the home page linking to the source code torrents. Additionally, the group infiltrated the site's database, gaining access to the email addresses and passwords of Gawker's staff and over 1 million registered readers. These details have also been released on torrent sites, available for free download. Why is Gnosis targeting Gawker? They believe Gawker was picking on 4chan, a group known for creating the vigilante group Anonymous and various internet memes like lolcats and Rickrolling. Gnosis hacked Gawke...

When Ben Franklin famously wrote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he wasn't thinking about cybercrime. Yet, in today's world of phishing, shoulder-surfing, and spyware, his advice is more relevant than ever. Unfortunately, some people will take advantage of any opportunity to rip you off. Just as you take precautions when handling cash, you should be vigilant when using credit or debit cards, whether in person or online. Tips for Protecting Your Account Information and Avoiding Payment Card Scams Prevent Online Intrusions Use updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Only download information from trusted sites, and don’t click on pop-up windows or suspicious links in emails. These can be tricks to install spyware, which can record your keystrokes to steal account or other confidential information. Use Secure Websites When purchasing items online, look for safety symbols like the padlock icon in the browser’s status bar, an “s” after “http” in the U...