Tag Archive for: photos

New York Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Hacking, Stealing Nude Photos From College Students

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A New York man has been sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to stealing dozens of nude photos from college students.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino sentenced 25-year-old Nicholas Faber, of Rochester, to 36 months behind bars on Thursday, according to the Department of Justice. Faber was also sentenced to three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison sentence and ordered to pay over $35,000 in restitution to the State University of New York (SUNY) at Plattsburgh. He pleaded guilty to charges of computer fraud and aggravated identity theft on February 8.

Between 2017 and 2019, Faber and co-conspirator Michael Fish illegally accessed the email accounts of dozens of women who were students at SUNY Plattsburgh. The duo used information from the email accounts to gain access to the social media accounts of the women, going on to steal nude photos and videos that they later traded online. In online conversations with each other, Faber and Fish described obtaining the stolen images as “wins,” said The Press-Republican.

The email accounts were accessed after Faber and Fish correctly guessed the answers to password reset questions. They attempted to cover their tracks by using a virtual private network but were quickly tracked down during an investigation that was initiated after one of the victims noticed suspicious activity on her accounts. SUNY Plattsburgh spent over $35,000 to investigate and fix security issues after the criminal scheme was uncovered.

Nicholas Faber Sentenced Stealing Nudes Cybercrime College
Nicholas Faber was sentenced to 36 months in prison on Thursday after admitting to stealing nude photos and videos from female college students at SUNY Plattsburgh between 2017 and 2019. This undated file photo shows a person using a laptop computer in a darkened room.
Chainarong Prasertthai/Getty

Faber and Fish are both graduates of SUNY Plattsburgh and knew some of their victims personally. The university contacted the women to let them know that their accounts may have been compromised. Graduate Katie Lein, who knew Fish but not Faber, told SUNY Plattsburgh student paper Cardinal Points that she was shocked to learn of the security breach even though she had not placed much trust in Fish, who…

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Cyber Security Today – Why good passwords aren’t enough, COVID vaccine documents altered in hack, and intimate photos found unprotected.

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Why a good password isn’t good enough, COVID vaccine documents altered in a hack and intimate photos found unprotected.

Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday January 20th. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com. To hear the podcast click on the arrow below:

Another successful password attack to tell you about. It was against the OpenWRT Project. This is a group that offers a free Linux-based operating system for wireless routers, smartphones and other embedded systems. On Saturday a hacker broke into the account of an administrator of the project’s forum. That’s where software developers exchange ideas. The hacker was able to download a copy of the forum’s user list, which includes email addresses and the users’ forum names, although these may not be their real names. In a security notice the project says the victimized administrator had a good password. But they didn’t use two-factor authentication as extra protection against compromise. The hacker didn’t get user passwords. But knowing email addresses will be enough to launch phishing email against them with malicious attachments. And some of those in the forum may work for IT companies, which could be compromised if a forum member clicks on a link. As a result the forum is advising all users to change their passwords.

The lesson here is everyone should use two-factor authentication as an extra step to protect logins, especially administrators. No site is too small to be hacked.

Last week I reported that a regulator called the European Medicines Agency had been hacked and information on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was stolen. Here’s an update: Some of the data has been published on the Internet by the attackers. Not only that, some of the correspondence between people was altered in a way that could undermine trust in vaccines. In a statement the EMA makes it clear authorizations of vaccines are granted only when the evidence shows convincingly that the benefits of a serum are greater than the risks.

Police regularly warn people not to post intimate photos of themselves on social media, or text or email them to friends. You never know where they’ll end up. The…

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Ransomware Group Threatens To Release Hospital Patient Photos

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Hacking group REvil threatens to release 900GB of before-and-after photos of cosmetic surgery patients unless ransom is paid

Hackers have threatened to release before-and-after patient photos stolen from a prominent UK hospital chain specialising in cosmetic surgery and weight loss.

The Hospital Group, also known as the Transform Hospital Group, confirmed it had been hit by a ransomware attack.

“We can confirm that our IT systems have been subject to a  data security breach,” the group said in a statement provided to the BBC.

“None of our patients’ payment card details have been compromised but at this stage, we understand that some of our patients’ personal data may have been accessed.”

security and privacy dataData theft

The groups aid it has informed the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident.

Hacking group REvil, known for a May hack of celebrity law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, as well as strikes on other prominent targets, claimed responsibility for the incident on a dark web site.

The the “intimate photos of customers” were “not a completely pleasant sight” the group said, claiming it had stolen 900 gigabytes of patient photographs.

In May the REvil group, also known as Sodinokibi, demanded $42 million (£31m) from New York-based GSMS after claiming it had compromised the company’s IT systems and stolen 756 gigabytes on A-list celebrities.

GSMS’ list of clients includes well-known figures such as Lady Gaga, Madonna, Mariah Carey, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Priyanka Chopra and Bette Midler.

High stakes

The group was also behind a ransomware attack on foreign currency seller Travelex on New Year’s Eve, 2019, that crippled the company’s services.

In recent months hacking groups such as REvil, which is believed to be based in Russia, have increasingly turned to targeted attacks on high-profile targets.

The groups’ malware locks their targets’ systems, rendering them useless without the payment of a  ransom.

In addition, ransomware groups have recently begun stealing customers’ data and threatening to release it to force companies to pay.

Law enforcement authorities discourage payment, saying it fuels criminals’ activities and doesn’t…

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