Exposing Yet Another Currently Active Fraudulent and Malicious Pro-Hamas Online Infrastructure

Love them or hate them - the ubiquitous beautiful girl utilizing fake bogus and rogue Facebook accounts scam campaign courtesy of Hamas targeting Israeli soldiers has to come to an end.

In this post I'll provide actionable intelligence on a currently active Pro-Hamas malicious and fraudulent infrastructure and will discuss in-depth the tactics techniques and procedures of the cybercriminals behind it and will offer in-depth perspective on a currently active Pro-Hamas hosting provider - "Nepras for Media & IT" which is basically a legitimate front-end company currently involved in a variety of Pro-Hamas malicious and fraudulent malware-serving and propaganda spreading online infrastructure provider directly related to yet another Pro-Hamas franchise - "Modern Tech Corp".

Sample Facebook Profile Names involved in the campaign:
Elianna Amer
Aitai Yosef
Karen Cohen
Amit Cohen
Loren Ailan
Verena Sonner
Lina Kramer

Sample profile photos of Pro-Hamas fake and rogue Facebook accounts:

Sample malicious and fraudulent URL known to have participated in the campaign:
hxxp://apkpkg.com/android/?product=yeecallpro - 50.63.202.43; 50.87.148.131; 50.63.202.56

Related malicious MD5s known to have participated in the campaign:
MD5: 8f1b709ae4fb41b32674ca8c41bfcbf7
MD5: 95a782bd8711ac14ad76b068767515d7
MD5: 5b2aac6372dea167c737b0036e1bd515
MD5: f6ffa064a492e91854d35e7f225b1313
MD5: b3e40659ae0a0852e2f6eb928d402d9d
MD5: 7a9503152b4c8c1ee80ac7daf5405a91

Related malicious and fraudulent domains known to have participated in the campaign:
hxxp://goldncup.com
hxxp://glancelove.com - 204.11.56.48; 198.54.117.1; 198.54.117.198; 198.54.117.200; 198.54.117.197; 192.64.118.163
hxxp://autoandroidup.website
hxxp://mobilestoreupdate.website
hxxp://updatemobapp.website

Related malicious IPs known to have participated in the campaign:
hxxp://107.175.144.26
hxxp://192.64.114.147

Related malicious MD5s known to have participated in the campaign:
MD5: 4f9383ae4d0285aeb86e56797f3193f7
MD5: 95a782bd8711ac14ad76b068767515d7
MD5: b3e40659ae0a0852e2f6eb928d402d9d
MD5: f6ffa064a492e91854d35e7f225b1313
MD5: 8f1b709ae4fb41b32674ca8c41bfcbf7
MD5: 5b2aac6372dea167c737b0036e1bd515
MD5: 7a9503152b4c8c1ee80ac7daf5405a91

Related malicious and fraudulent phone-back C&C server IPs:
hxxp://endpointup.com/update/upfolder/updatefun.php
hxxp://droidback.com/pockemon/squirtle/functions.php

Related malicious and fraudulent domains known to have participated in the campaign:
hxxp://androidbak.com
hxxp://droidback.com
hxxp://endpointup.com
hxxp://siteanalysto.com
hxxp://goodydaddy.com

Related emails known to have participated in the campaign:
info@palgoal.ps
support@nepras.com
mtcg@mtcgaza.com

Related fraudulent and malicious domains known to have been registered using the same email - info@palgoal.ps:
hxxp://7qlp.com
hxxp://all-in1.net
hxxp://androidmobgate.com
hxxp://arabstonight.com
hxxp://collectrich.com
hxxp://krmalk.com
hxxp://motionsgraphic.com
hxxp://orchidcollege.com
hxxp://paltrainers.org
hxxp://rosomat.net
hxxp://stikerscloud.com

Related fraudulent and malicious domains known to have been registered using the same email - support@nepras.com:
hxxp://acchd.net
hxxp://ahlulquran.com
hxxp://alalbait.ps
hxxp://alnorhan.com
hxxp://alowini.com
hxxp://alresalah.news
hxxp://alshibl.com
hxxp://alwanbook.com
hxxp://arqamschools.com
hxxp://azarcnc.com
hxxp://boxmarket.org
hxxp://bstcover.com
hxxp://caades.org
hxxp://detour-bs.com
hxxp://driverup2date.com
hxxp://drmazen.com
hxxp://drmazen.ps
hxxp://eta-water.com
hxxp://fares-alarab.com
hxxp://feker.net
hxxp://fekerjaded.net
hxxp://fekerjaded.com
hxxp://gaza-health.com
hxxp://gcstv.tv
hxxp://hairgenomics.com
hxxp://idco.center
hxxp://islamicbl.com
hxxp://khaledjuma.net
hxxp://kingtoys.ps
hxxp://learningoutcome.net
hxxp://lemaghi.com
hxxp://lsugaza.org
hxxp://mailsinfo.net
hxxp://majallaa.com
hxxp://manara.ps
hxxp://mobilyapp.com
hxxp://mtsc.tech
hxxp://nepras.net
hxxp://nepras.ps
hxxp://nsms.ps
hxxp://osamaalnajjar.com
hxxp://osratyorg.com
hxxp://panorama-pvs.com
hxxp://pay2earn.net
hxxp://pharmahome.net
hxxp://saqacc.com
hxxp://saudifame.com
hxxp://scc-online.net
hxxp://sondooq.net
hxxp://syada.org
hxxp://takafulsys.com
hxxp://taqat.work
hxxp://taqat.jobs
hxxp://technologylotus.com
hxxp://thoraya.net
hxxp://vgsat.com
hxxp://yabous.net
hxxp://yourav.net

Related domains registered using "Nepras for Media & IT" infrastructure:
hxxp://googlemapsservice.com
hxxp://lipidgenomics.com
hxxp://akalgroup.net
hxxp://rami-kerenawi.com
hxxp://bestyleperfumes.com
hxxp://azarcnc.com
hxxp://go-2web.com
hxxp://jettafood.com
hxxp://mushtahatours.com
hxxp://pal4news.net
hxxp://pcr-shate.com
hxxp://saqacc.com
hxxp://shahidvideo.com
hxxp://shop8d.net
hxxp://spermgenomics.com
hxxp://tawjihips.com
hxxp://vidioarb.com
hxxp://yourav.net
hxxp://yourdialerpal.com
hxxp://freedombeacon.info
hxxp://neprastest.info
hxxp://nirmaali.com
hxxp://zaibaq-hearing.com
hxxp://bramgsoft.com
hxxp://hairgenomics.com
hxxp://dietgenomix.com
hxxp://arcadialanguages.com
hxxp://himoudco.com
hxxp://moltkaa.com
hxxp://toyoorjanna.com
hxxp://facebootshe.com
hxxp://facebootshe.net
hxxp://somoood.com
hxxp://alnorhan.com
hxxp://alwatantoday.net
hxxp://elianali.com
hxxp://sspal.net
hxxp://hi-galaxy.com
hxxp://youthn.net
hxxp://gmamalaysia.com
hxxp://cbspgaza.com
hxxp://madarikmedia.com
hxxp://website-testnew.com
hxxp://childworldsociety.com
hxxp://netmarketpal.net
hxxp://albwwaba.com
hxxp://saudib.info
hxxp://pwaha.com
hxxp://smilymedia.com
hxxp://ftyatalghad.com
hxxp://coldymedia.com
hxxp://kh-alsendawy.com
hxxp://scoutsyalla.com
hxxp://almofker.com
hxxp://rawnaqmedia.net
hxxp://pro-stud.com
hxxp://shawa-plast.com
hxxp://eta-water.com
hxxp://host4tech.net
hxxp://fekerjaded.com
hxxp://audioodrivers.com
hxxp://trsanweb.com
hxxp://3almpro.com
hxxp://neprasweb.info
hxxp://thaqefnafsak.net
hxxp://newpal21.com
hxxp://ads4market.net
hxxp://qcpalestineforum.net
hxxp://alothmanx.com
hxxp://detourbs.com
hxxp://engash.com
hxxp://anafenyx.com
hxxp://dar-pal.com
hxxp://loyal-hands.com
hxxp://sahabacomplex.net
hxxp://logintest.info
hxxp://mapartnr.com
hxxp://hejazeceramics.com
hxxp://gazaapeal.com
hxxp://tawzzef.com
hxxp://gazaappeal.com
hxxp://oqpizza.com
hxxp://arqamschools.com
hxxp://nafhacenter.com
hxxp://halaalmasry.com
hxxp://q9polls.com
hxxp://q8-polls.com
hxxp://palalghadschool.com
hxxp://servesni.com
hxxp://rose2020.com
hxxp://km-pal.com
hxxp://cfpalestine.com
hxxp://ipad2me.com
hxxp://arabsdownload.com
hxxp://projectsinturkey.com
hxxp://newmassa.com
hxxp://charitysys.info
hxxp://nepraswebsite.com
hxxp://iquds.com
hxxp://yabous.net
hxxp://appsapkandroid.us
hxxp://alltech4arab.com
hxxp://hadaf.info
hxxp://plmedgroup.com
hxxp://modhish.net
hxxp://mltaka.com
hxxp://ajelapp.com
hxxp://khmap.com
hxxp://cupsport.net
hxxp://arshdnytech.com
hxxp://gmaedu.net
hxxp://lemaghi.com
hxxp://creativityjob.com
hxxp://imes-group.net
hxxp://rawnaqmedia.com
hxxp://alwanbook.com
hxxp://fifafoot.com
hxxp://sportarabs.com
hxxp://el-qalam.com
hxxp://bawadirsoft.com
hxxp://palalghad-school.com
hxxp://mixedwork.com
hxxp://plmedgroup.com
hxxp://alowini.com
hxxp://detour-bs.com
hxxp://earningoutcome.net
hxxp://shahedcom.com
hxxp://sport-kora.com
hxxp://torathshop.com
hxxp://newsolararabian.com
hxxp://h3sk.com
hxxp://gh-gaza91.com
hxxp://watanps.com
hxxp://mobilyapp.com
hxxp://nfs-pal.com
hxxp://yousef123.com
hxxp://alhato.com
hxxp://alyawmpress.net
hxxp://technologylotus.com
hxxp://qavalues.com
hxxp://ask2play.net
hxxp://hamasld.com
hxxp://bhscfood.com
hxxp://nmanews.com
hxxp://ifcdoha4.com
hxxp://sparkpowerco.net
hxxp://archour.com
hxxp://nmanews.net
hxxp://academy-uk.net
hxxp://turkey-gate.com
hxxp://learningoutcome.net
hxxp://smattrix.com
hxxp://eradaa.net
hxxp://paltoday.com
hxxp://sugar-salt.net
hxxp://boutiqobasket.com
hxxp://ethadalpadia.com
hxxp://fonoungallery.com
hxxp://fonoungallery.com
hxxp://smattrix.com
hxxp://gazawiit.com
hxxp://alfarisnt.com
hxxp://lama-film.net

Related domains registered using "Nepras for Media & IT" infrastructure:
hxxp://lovemagazineofficial.com
hxxp://masmo7.com
hxxp://mnwrna.com
hxxp://androidbak.com
hxxp://fastdroidmob.com
hxxp://treestower.com
hxxp://aymanjoda.com
hxxp://advflameco.com
hxxp://mahmoudzuaiter.com
hxxp://libyatoda.com
hxxp://mtcpal.com
hxxp://khfamilies.com
hxxp://ch2t0.com
hxxp://dwratcom.com
hxxp://faker4.com
hxxp://orubah.com
hxxp://orchidcollege.com
hxxp://yasser-arafat.com
hxxp://wf-hall.com
hxxp://maharaty.net
hxxp://addoja.net
hxxp://arb10.com
hxxp://ajel-news.com
hxxp://rosomat.net
hxxp://sahifty.net
hxxp://looktik.com
hxxp://pstent.com
hxxp://newsmagasine.com
hxxp://gazass.com
hxxp://dooownloads.com
hxxp://androidmobgate.com
hxxp://koora-fast.com
hxxp://fitlifee.com
hxxp://share-crowd.com

Related domains registered using the "Modern Tech Corp" Pro-Hamas fraudulent and malicious infrastructure:
hxxp://atfalocom.com
hxxp://bopfile.com
hxxp://djadet.com
hxxp://ecsrs.com
hxxp://egp-gaza.com
hxxp://infoocean.net
hxxp://katakeety.com
hxxp://katakeety.net
hxxp://linefood.com
hxxp://mtcpal.net
hxxp://nawrastv.net
hxxp://shobbaik.com
hxxp://tashbik.biz
hxxp://tashbik.com
hxxp://vansac-english.com
hxxp://woodrom.com
hxxp://alfareeq.info
hxxp://tashbik.info
hxxp://cashbacksave.com
hxxp://nerab.com
hxxp://download4android.com
hxxp://altartosi.net
hxxp://fostanews.com
hxxp://silverdai.com
hxxp://selhelou.com
hxxp://albassam-co.com
hxxp://almanar-studio.com
hxxp://facekooora.com
hxxp://holylandcar.com
hxxp://qneibi.com
hxxp://shaheen-flower.com
hxxp://strong-k.com
hxxp://pioneerfoodco.com
hxxp://sinokrotex.com
hxxp://zawiaa.net
hxxp://amwwal.com
hxxp://abuamra.com
hxxp://madridista-arab.com
hxxp://donia-fm.com
hxxp://donia-fm.net
hxxp://lmasatfnya.com
hxxp://dolphinexpress1.com
hxxp://dolphinexpress1.info
hxxp://dolphinexpress1.net
hxxp://radiosurif.com
hxxp://sahaba-radio.com
hxxp://odmint.com
hxxp://ylapin.com
hxxp://ylapin.net
hxxp://mypage-pro.com
hxxp://mohdsheikh.com
hxxp://altelbany.com
hxxp://dolphinariumtours.com
hxxp://artsofali.com
hxxp://menalmuheetlelkhaleej.com
hxxp://alghaidaa.com
hxxp://ajwad-marble.com
hxxp://istakbel.com
hxxp://istaqbel.com
hxxp://istaqbil.com
hxxp://istaqbl.com
hxxp://istqbl.com
hxxp://estakbel.com
hxxp://estaqbel.com
hxxp://estaqbil.com
hxxp://estaqbl.com
hxxp://estqbl.com
hxxp://massrefy.com
hxxp://massrify.com
hxxp://amwwaly.com
hxxp://amwwaly.info
hxxp://amwwaly.net
hxxp://nawrastv.com
hxxp://stepcrm.com
hxxp://imraish.com
hxxp://zawiaa.com
hxxp://3la-kefak.com
hxxp://bsaisofamily.com
hxxp://imraish.com

Related malicious MD5s known to have participated in the campaign:
MD5: 10f27d243adb082ce0f842c7a4a3784b01f7248e
MD5: b8237782486a26d5397b75eeea7354a777bff63a
MD5: 09c3af7b0a6957d5c7c80f67ab3b9cd8bef88813
MD5: 9b923303f580c999f0fdc25cad600dd3550fe4e0
MD5: 0b58c883efe44ff010f1703db00c9ff4645b59df
MD5: 0a5dc47b06de545d8236d70efee801ca573115e7
MD5: 782a0e5208c3d9e8942b928857a24183655e7470
MD5: 5f71a8a50964dae688404ce8b3fbd83d6e36e5cd
MD5: 03b404c8f4ead4aa3970b26eeeb268c594b1bb47

Related certificates known to have participated in the campaign:
10:EB:7D:03:2A:B9:15:32:8F:BF:68:37:C6:07:45:FB:DF:F1:87:A6
9E:52:71:F3:D2:1D:C3:22:28:CB:50:C7:33:05:E3:DE:01:EB:CB:03
44:52:E6:4C:97:4B:6D:6A:7C:40:AD:1E:E0:17:08:33:87:AA:09:09
67:43:9B:EE:39:81:F3:5E:10:33:C9:7A:D9:4F:3A:73:3B:B0:CF:0A
89:C8:E2:E3:4A:23:3C:A0:54:A0:4A:53:D6:56:C8:2D:4A:8D:80:56
B4:D5:0C:8B:73:CB:A9:06:8A:B3:F2:49:35:F8:58:FE:A2:3E:2E:3A

Related malicious MD5s known to have participated in the campaign including C&C phone-back locations:
MD5: 8f1b709ae4fb41b32674ca8c41bfcbf7 - once executed the sample phones back to the following malcious domain - hxxp://jonalbertwebsite.000webhostapp.com
MD5: 95a782bd8711ac14ad76b068767515d7 - once executed the sample phones back to the following malicious domains - hxxp://107.175.144.26/apps/d/p/op.php -> hxxp://app-measurement.com/config/app/1:487050065789:android:6a899b85b4fafd55?app_instance_id=76d4b711c98c3632398d47cb8d5777a3&platform=android&gmp_version=11200
MD5: 5b2aac6372dea167c737b0036e1bd515
MD5: f6ffa064a492e91854d35e7f225b1313 - once executed the sample phones back to the followin malicious domain - hxxp://192.64.114.147/apps/d/p/op.php
MD5: b3e40659ae0a0852e2f6eb928d402d9d
MD5: 7a9503152b4c8c1ee80ac7daf5405a91

Related malicious MD5s known to have participated in the campaign:
MD5: f1b709ae4fb41b32674ca8c41bfcbf7
MD5: 95a782bd8711ac14ad76b068767515d7
MD5: 5b2aac6372dea167c737b0036e1bd515
MD5: f6ffa064a492e91854d35e7f225b1313
MD5: b3e40659ae0a0852e2f6eb928d402d9d
MD5: 7a9503152b4c8c1ee80ac7daf5405a91

Related malicious URL known to have participated in the campaign:
hxxp://bit.ly/2M7E2Zg Continue reading →

Tracking Down Internet Terrorist Propaganda

I always knew there's a team of cheap marketers behind every terrorist organization trying to market yet another multimedia killing, or put it simple fear, treats, and no respect for life. Why cheap? Mainly because there's no segmentation or niche issues to deal with, but mostly mass marketing, while harnessing the power of the never ending resonation from the media echo.

Rather biased, today's opinion on Cyberterrorism always has to do primarily with destruction as the core of the problem. Active research is already conducted on "Arabic Extremist Group Forum Messages' Characteristics" and "Terrorist Social Network Analysis", and the real issues still remain communication, research, fundraising, propaganda, recruitment and training -- I wish Dorothy Denning was also blogging on the topic!

iDefense, being the masters of CYBERINT, recently found jihadist web sites related to Zarqawi's "Successor". The interesting part :

"This website contains forums with a mix of threads covering items from the latest information on the militants in the Middle East, such as a video of militants in Syria, to hacker education, such as Microsoft Word documents available for downloading that detail CGI, unicode and php exploits. The members appear to be interested in physical and cyber-related threats. The membership of the site is growing and is already over 10,000+ members. Plus, we at iDefense/VeriSign are very interested to see what hacking issues or levels of cyber expertise may be covered on this site."

By the way, I just came across to an outstanding list of Islamic sites at Cryptome. These are definitely about to get crawled, analyzed, and for sure, under attack in the future. For instance, the most recent example of hacktivism tensions, are the hundreds of hacked Israeli web pages, in the light of Israel's military action in Gaza.

Further reading on:
Terrorism
Cyberterrorism
How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet
Jihad Online : Islamic Terrorists and the Internet
Right-wing Extremism on the Internet
Terrorist web sites courtesy of the SITE Institute
The HATE Directory November 2005 update
Recruitment by Extremist Groups on the Internet Continue reading →

Arabic Extremist Group Forum Messages' Characteristics

Ever wondered what's the font size of a terrorist forum posting? These guys are really deep into using AI for gathering intelligence on various Cyberterrorism threats, and as you can see they neatly visualize their findings. "Applying Authorship Analysis to Extremist-Group Web Forum Messages" by Ahmed Abbasi and Hsinchun Chen, University of Arizona seem to have found a way, or at least patters of ongoing terrorist communication, and of course propaganda online. What they did was :



"To explore these problems, we modified an existing framework for analyzing online authorship and applied it to Arabic and English Web forum messagesassociated with known extremist groups. We developed a special multilingual model—the set of algorithms and related features—to identify Arabic messages, gearing this model toward the language’s unique characteristics. Furthermore, we incorporated a complex message extraction component to allow the use of a more comprehensive set of features tailored specifically toward online messages. A series of experiments evaluating the models indicated a high level of success in identifying communication patterns."



Social network analysis has a lot of potential, and with data mining it seems to be the perfect match for the recent trouble with NSA's domestic spying program. DearNSA.com and the Patriot Search are aiming to solve the problem for both parties -- efficiently.



There's a lot of propaganda chat going on online all the time, and among the very few limitations that bother me about such web aggregation of open source information are the use of steganography, or plain-simple Dark Web (closed for crawlers with basic/sophisticated authentication in place) communication -- remember there's a lot of noise to sort out through as well. Continue reading →

Espionage Ghosts Busters

In previous posts, "Insider Competition in the Defense Industry", and "The anti virus industry's panacea - a virus recovery button" , I gave examples of insider trading, of malware infecting border-screening computers, or the plain truth on how U.S "manufactured" PCs are actually assembled in China these days.



Obviously, plain old paranoia without solid background still dominates as "Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) has announced that the State Department has agreed not to use 900 computers purchased from Chinese-owned Lenovo on classified computer networks. The US-China Commission, a bipartisan congressional commission, raised concerns when State announced the purchase of 16,000 desktop computers from Lenovo, with 900 to be used on secret networks connected to the Defense Department's classified SIPRnet (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network). State is changing its procurement process to better track changes in vendor ownership that could impact national security."



There's a common myth that a nation's military uses a specially dedicated networks, ones greatly differing from the standart OSI model the way we know it -- which is wrong as it would limit the usability, and increase the costs of operating. My point is that, even a PC sold by Dell would eventually run a Microsoft OS, thus exposing it to the monocultural insecurity by itself, and the human weaknesses of the person operating the PC itself, not guarding the SIPRnet
perimeter.



It would be easier for Chinese hackers or government entities to take advantage of client side attacks on any of these systems, then to ship them backdoor-ready risking too much in case of possible espionage fiasco. There have been known cases of malware leaking nuclear plant information, or employees P2Peering sensitive/classified information. Be it, hardware keyloggers, logic bombs, BIOS rootkits, given the scrutiny, even a slight ambition might have vanished in the air. Modern spy gadgets are evolving, espionage cases are still happenning and some get even public, but in case you're interested in the true ghost covert operative - stay tuned for the Stand Alone Complex Novel! Continue reading →

Terrorist Social Network Analysis

In previous posts "Visualization, Intelligence and the Starlight project" and "Visualization in the Security and New Media world" I covered various security and intelligence related projects and mostly emphasized on the future potential of visualizing data. Data mining is still everyday's reality -- social networking as well. Just came across this at DefenseTech :



"It'd be one thing if the NSA's massive sweep of our phone records was actually helping catch terrorists. But what if it's not working at all? A leading practitioner of the kind of analysis the NSA is supposedly performing in this surveillance program says that "it's a waste of time, a waste of resources. And it lets the real terrorists run free." Re-reading the USA Today piece, one paragraph jumped out: This kind of data collection from phone companies is not uncommon; it's been done before, though never on this large a scale, the official said. The data are used for 'social network analysis,' the official said, meaning to study how terrorist networks contact each other and how they are tied together. So I called Valdis Krebs, who's considered by many to be the leading authority on social network analysis -- the art and science of finding the important connections in a seemingly-impenetrable mass of data. His analysis of the social network surrounding the 9/11 hijackers is a classic in the field."



It gets even more interesting with a comparison of a Fortune 500 company's network and Al Qaeda's one. Social networks are among the driving forces of Web 2.0, and I find the concept of communication and planning online a very realistic one. And if you really want to know more about social networks in the business world, corporate anthropologist Karen Stephenson - The Organization woman is really up to it, very good article. And of course, Valdis Kreb's blog on smart economic networks. Continue reading →

Data mining, terrorism and security

I've been actively building awareness on what used to feel like an unpopular belief only - Cyberterrorism, and also covered some recent events related to Cyberterrorism in some of my previous posts.



Last week, The NYTimes wrote about "Taking Spying to Higher Level, Agencies Look for More Ways to Mine Data", and I feel that avoiding the mainstream media for the sake of keeping it objective is quite useful sometimes. From the article :



"On the wish list, according to several venture capitalists who met with the officials, were an array of technologies that underlie the fierce debate over the Bush administration's anti-terrorist eavesdropping program: computerized systems that reveal connections between seemingly innocuous and unrelated pieces of information. The tools they were looking for are new, but their application would fall under the well-established practice of data mining: using mathematical and statistical techniques to scan for hidden relationships in streams of digital data or large databases."



Interest in harnessing the power of data mining given the enormous flow of information from different parties would never cease to exist. What's more to note in this case, is the Able Danger scenario as a key indicator for usefulness of outdated information, given any has been there at the first place. Conspiracy theorists would logically conclude that the need for evidence of the power of data mining for tracking terrorists would inevitably fuel more investments in this area. So true, and here's a recent event to keep the discussing going - "Suit airs Able Danger claims: Two operatives in secret program say their lawyers were barred at hearings"



While on one hand wars are getting waged with the idea to eradicate terrorist deep from its roots, and sort of building "local presence" thus improving assets allocation and intelligence gathering, I feel the fact that a reliable communication channel could be estalibshed by a terrorist network over the Net is already gaining a lot of necessary attention. However, TIA's ambitions have always been desperately megalomaniac, what about some marginal thinking in here folks, you cannot absorb all the info and make sense out of it, and who says it has to be all of it at the first place?!



The Total Information Awareness program was prone to be abused in one way or another, like pretty much any data mining system from my point of view. And while it's supposidely down due to budget deficits and privacy violations outbreak, government legislation and ensuring key networks remain wiretaps-ready seems to be a valuable asset for any future data mining projects. TIA is still up and running folks, or even if it's not using the same name, the concept is still in between the lines of DHS's budget for 2006 and would always be, and with the majority of corporate sector's participants are opening up their networks to comply with "legal requirements", the lines between privacy and the war against terrorism, and what to exchange for what, seems to be getting even more shady these days.



In my previous posts, I also mentioned about the power of the Starlight project as existing initiative to data mine data from different and media-rich sources alltogether, and most importantly, visualize the output. If you fear BigBrother, don't fear the Eye, but fear the Eyeglasses :)



More resources on Data Mining and Terrorism :

Data Mining : An Overview
Data Mining and Homeland Security : An Overview (updated January 27, 2006)
Using data mining techniques for detecting terror-related web activities
Data mining and surveillance in the post-9.11 environment
The Dark Web Portal: Collecting and Analyzing the Presence of Domestic and International Terrorist Groups on the Web
Workshop on Data Mining for Counter Terrorism and Security
TRAKS: Terrorist Related Assessment using Knowledge Similarity
The Multi-State Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX)
A Knowledge Discovery Approach to Addressing the Threats of Terrorism - w00t
Gyre's Data Mining section
Eyeballing Total Information Awareness
Able Danger blog
EPIC's TIA section
EFF's TIA section



Technorati tags : Security, Terrorism, Cyberterrorism, Data Mining, TIA Continue reading →

Cyberterrorism - recent developments

I've once blogged about why you shouldn't stereotype when it comes to Cyberterrorism, and going through the most recent and well researched report on"Terrorism Capabilities for Cyberattack : Overview and Policy Issues"I came across great similarities to what I posted. I think cyberterrorism shouldn't be just perceived as shutting down a stock exchange, or slowing it down, the irony here is that it could actually happen for "good" on a certain occasions :)

Going back to the report, it's a very recent overview of cyberterrorism, and the way it's perceived. Flawed or not I'll leave up to you to decide. What made me an impression anyway?

- CIA's 2005 "Silent Horizon" to practice defending against a simulated widespread cyberattack directed against the United States. I really don't think frontal attack are of any interest, or are they?

- Stolen credit cards were used in the terrorist attacks in Bali. There have also been other cases, of exactly the same, using cyber activities for funding real world crime and terrorism.

- How sensitive information on a future Army command and control system was stolen from an unclassified system by at least reportedly, Chinese hackers. Unclasiffied doesn't necessarily mean someone wasn't having a false sense of security on a .mil domain I guess.

- The U.S Elite Military Hacking Crew, the so called Joint Functional Component Command for Network Warfare (JFCCNW) I feel every military forces have or should have these.

The report also highlights that the Internet is now a prime recruiting tool for insurgents in Iraq. Insurgents have created many Arabic-language Web sites that are said to contain coded plans for new attacks. Some reportedly give advice on how to build and operate weapons, and how to pass through border checkpoints .

- Other news articles report that a younger generation of terrorists and extremists, such as those behind the July 2005 bombings in London, are learning new technical skills to help them avoid detection by law enforcement computer technology

Which is exactly what I've mentioned in my post on Cyberterrorism. I feel, communication, and coordination, besides research is the ultimate goal here.

The only thing that make made me sort of a bad impression was how the only major innovation mentioned is quantum cryptography, and steganography mentioned just twice. I think that this isn't entirely the case, and breaking cryptography doesn't necessarily have to come in form of directly attacking the algorithm itself. That happens to be impossible sometimes, but the first time when I came across the fact that the AU government can use spyware on criminals with the idea too obtain keys, or whatsoever, it makes such issues irrelevant.

On the other hand, the way the Internet provides "them" with more opportunities, the more their traceability improves, or at least give clues to a certain extend.

Technorati tags :
security,information security,cyberterrorism,Terrorism,al qaeda

Continue reading →

Security quotes : a FSB (successor to the KGB) analyst on Google Earth

"Lt. Gen. Leonid Sazhin, an analyst for the Federal Security Service, the Russian security agency that succeeded the K.G.B., was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying: "Terrorists don't need to reconnoiter their target. Now an American company is working for them." A great quote, and I find it totally true. The point is, not to look for high-resolution imagery, but to harness the power of OSINT, improve their confidence by observing the targets "from the sky", and actually plan and coordinate its activities on huge territories. AJAX anyone? :)

However, the public has always been good at bringing the real issue to the rest of the world. There have been numerous attempts to spot sensitive locations, and I wouldn't be myself if I don't share the joys of the Eyeball Series with you. Of course, in case you haven't come across the initiative earlier. However, the way it gives terrorists or enemies these opportunities, it also serves the general public by acting as an evidence for the existence of espionage sentiments, here and there. Echelon's Yakima Research Station was spotted on GoogleMaps, originally by Cryptome, see the dishes there? Any thoughts in here? Can Microsft's Local Live with its highly differentiated bird eye view on important locations turn into a bigger risk the the popularity of Google's services?

Technorati tags :
Google Earth,Google Maps,satellite imagery,OSINT,security,terrorism Continue reading →