* subscribe at http://techPolice.com Hackers steal info on Clinton, Gates, others Forum attendees' credit card numbers taken Copyright 2001 Gannett Company, Inc. USA TODAY February 6, 2001 Unidentified Web hackers broke into a database maintained by the World Economic Forum, the group that just finished hosting its annual summit on global economic trends in Davos, Switzerland.They made off with information on thousands of Davos attendees, past and present, including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres. The hackers, who claimed to a Swiss newspaper that they represent groups allied against economic globalization, also captured the credit card numbers of 1,400 regular WEF meeting participants. WEF spokesman Charles McLean says his group has contacted the participants whose credit card numbers were compromised. "We have no idea who did this," he said Monday night. Commenting on reports that the hackers had accessed detailed itinerary and contact information about a significant number of participants in the most recent meeting, McLean conceded that "there was some of that, but what concerned us overwhelmingly was the credit card numbers." Swiss newspaper Sonntags Zeitung said hackers delivered to the paper last weekend a CD-ROM with 161 megabytes of stolen data. McLean says the hackers tapped into a "remnant database" from last year that had collected information from WEF's 10 regional meetings. "The information that they got was pre-Davos," he said. It contained the 27,000-person mailing list for World Link, a magazine published by the forum. Included were 1,400 credit card numbers. McLean emphasized that his organization does not "view this as a prank. It's a crime. It's something we take very, very seriously." While there's no proof that it was anti-globalization activists who hacked into the database, the possibility appealed to those opposed to WEF positions. "It's a clever statement on openness and transparency," says Juliette Beck of Global Exchange, a human rights organization with a different view of free trade. "Anti-globalization activists are Web-savvy, so it doesn't surprise me that someone might get the kind of the information that these corporations get on the public and disseminate it around the world." Internet security experts weren't surprised by news of the breach. "The fact that this organization was compromised doesn't mean there was a problem with the Web site," says Tim Belcher, chief technology officer of Riptech. "The hackers could have gotten in through one weak link." "These are the risks people run when they allow their information to be stored on someone else's servers," says Ed Stroz of Stroz Associates. "You not only have to make sure your computer is secure, but you have to take steps to protect your privacy and information when you let it out to others." ============================================================ Cut Paperwork! Instantly automate routine business tasks! For FREE! Get online time cards,invoices,payroll,forms and more. Automatic reminder messages and instant reports too! http://click.topica.com/aaablyb1dhr0b1uN1Ic/Freeworks ============================================================ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] url: http://theMezz.com/alerts ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
