Dear All,
Artikel ini memperlihatkan betapa wong bule khawatir dgn kemampuan
hacking org kita
(sayangnya disini contohnya Imam samudra...:-( )
Salam hangat.,
Imam Budi P.
Referensi Maya Administrator
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: JoyoNews2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Jan 17, 2008 12:22 AM
Subject: Credit Cards and Terrorists: Imam Samudra Is A Poster Child
Of Internet Technology
CounterTerrorism Blog
January 16, 2008
Credit Cards and Terrorists
By Dennis Lormel
As Imam Samudra sits on death row in Indonesia nearing his
execution date for masterminding the Bali Nightclub Bombings in
2002, we should remember him not just as a murderous terrorist
but also as a technology savvy computer expert. It's in that
latter role we should be concerned about his legacy. He is a
poster child for the epidemic credit fraud terrorists confront
us with. The magnitude of this problem was reinforced by Younes
Tsouli, also known as (aka) Irhabi or Terrorist 007,and his two
associates, Waseem Mughal and Tariq Al-Daour. These three
al-Qaeda linked individuals pled guilty in the United Kingdom
(U.K.) on July 2, 2007, to inciting terrorist murder via the
internet. Like Samudra, they did not merely use the internet as
a terrorist propaganda, communications and recruitment tool;
they masterfully used it as a mechanism to perfect their cyber
fraud skills. We should be extremely concerned by this. It is a
threat to our National Security.
Credit card information theft and fraud has increased at a
steady pace over the last five years. It is an area of
vulnerability that has been increasingly exploited. As the
problem continues to evolve from physical theft to more
widespread use of the internet and technology to facilitate
fraudulent activity, the trend will continue to track upward.
Alarmingly, criminals do not have a monopoly on credit card
information theft and fraud. As exemplified in the above two
cases, credit card exploitation and fraud has become a growth
industry for terrorists. Although there is no empirical
statistical data establishing the nexus between credit card
exploitation and terrorism, there are ample anecdotal case
studies demonstrating how extensively terrorists rely on credit
card information in furtherance of their heinous activities.
Credit cards are extremely vulnerable to fraud. They are used
extensively by terrorists. There has been a proliferation of
hacking and theft of credit card information. The internet not
only serves as a learning tool for terrorists but also functions
as a mechanism to steal credit card information through hacking,
phishing and other means. In many instances, when terrorist
operatives are apprehended, they have multiple identifications
and credit cards in a variety of names in their possession.
Terrorists use credit cards for two purposes. They use credit
cards as a funding mechanism through credit card fraud.
Terrorists have raised many millions of dollars through various
schemes. Credit cards are also used by terrorists as an
operational mechanism. They use credit cards to support their
operational activities.
As mentioned above, there is no empirical statistical data
establishing the nexus between credit card exploitation and
terrorism. However, there are ample anecdotal case studies
demonstrating how adept terrorists are at exploiting the
internet to acquire and use credit card information in
furtherance of their jihadist agenda. The Samudra and Terrorist
007 cases underscore the critical importance for credit card
information security.
Samudra is a member of the Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group
Jamaah Islamiah in Indonesia. As noted above, he was the
mastermind behind the Bali nightclub bombings in 2002 and
intended to finance the Bali attack through cyberfraud.
Samudra is technologically savvy and a computer expert. While in
prison in 2004, he wrote a jailhouse manifesto. It was an
autobiography of his jihadist life. The book contained a
chapter, entitled "Hacking, Why Not." In it, he urged fellow
Muslim radicals to take holy war into cyberspace by attacking
U.S. computers. Samudra described America's computer network as
being vulnerable to hacking, credit card fraud and money
laundering. The chapter did not focus on specific techniques. It
focused on how to find techniques on the internet and how to
connect with people in chat rooms to perfect hacking and carding
skills. It was a course of study for aspiring hackers and
carders. Samudra discussed the process of scanning for websites
vulnerable to hacking and then went on to discuss the basics of
online credit card fraud and money laundering.
One of the concerns posed by Samudra's book was that it could
serve as a roadmap leading terrorists to more accomplished
hackers and enhancing the vulnerability to the U.S. National
Security. In 2004, Indonesian police asserted that Indonesia had
more online credit card fraud than any country in the world.
In the case of Younes Tsouli, aka Terrorist 007, and his two
associates, Waseem Mughal and Tariq al-Daour, investigators in
the United States (U.S.) and U.K.determined the trio used
computer viruses and stolen credit card accounts to set up a
network of communication forums and web sites that hosted
everything from tutorials on computer hacking and bomb making to
videos of beheadings and suicide bombing attacks in Iraq. These
individuals were not murderous terrorists like Samudra, but were
facilitators for individuals who were, making them every bit as
despicable. They raised funds through credit card information
theft and fraud, which were used to support the communications,
propaganda and recruitment for terrorists worldwide, as well as
to purchase equipment for Jihadists in the field. One expert
described their activities as "operating an online dating
service for al-Qaeda." The three men pled guilty to inciting
terrorist murder via the internet.
They were masters at committing cyber crime. Set forth below is
a snapshot of the extent of credit card information theft and
fraud they were responsible for:
• Stolen credit card numbers and identities were used to buy web
hosting services. At least 72 stolen credit card accounts were
used to register more than 180 web site domains at 95 different
web hosting companies in the U.S. and Europe.
• On one computer seized from al-Daour's apartment, some 37,000
stolen credit card numbers were found. Alongside each credit
card record was other information on the identity theft victims,
such as the account holder's address, date of birth, credit
balances and limits.
• More than $3.5 million in fraudulent charges were made using
credit card accounts stolen via online phishing scams and the
distribution of Trojan horses.
• The men purchase sophisticated equipment needed by Jihadists
in the field and other operational resources, including hundreds
of prepaid cell phones, and more than 250 airline tickets using
110 different credit cards at 46 airlines and travel agencies.
• They laundered money through online gambling sites, using
accounts set up with stolen credit card numbers and victims'
identities. The trio conducted 350 transactions at 43 different
online wagering sites, using more than 130 compromised credit
card accounts.
An important commonality between Samudra, and Terrorist 007 and
his associates is that they are extremely proficient at
exploiting and navigating the internet. They are opportunists
and will take advantage of obtaining credit card information by
any means available from any repository of information.
Troublingly, they also left a roadmap for other extremists to
follow to perpetuate and improve upon their methodologies. This
poses a serious threat to our economic well being and National
Security.
"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"
--T.S. Elliot (1888-1965)
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