AT&T Hackers Arrested After Funneling $2 Million To Terrorists

Filipino police and the FBI arrested four people who allegedly hacked AT&T’s phone systems as part of a plan to funnel money to terrorists, escalating the debate over data security.

The suspects were reportedly planning to use the hacked information to divert funds to a Saudi-based terror group, and are identified as part of a group that helped finance the deadly 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

The suspects reportedly hacked the phone lines of different telecommunications companies, including AT&T, and diverted money stolen from the intrusion to bank accounts belonging to the terrorists. These terrorists paid the Filipino hackers on commission, according to the Philippines’ Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, or CIDG.

The hacking resulted in almost $2 million in losses incurred by AT&T, according to the CIDG. A FBI spokeswoman said hackers targeted customers of AT&T, not the carrier itself, but didn’t elaborate because the agency does not discuss investigations.

AT&T’s spokesperson declined to comment on information the scheme generated $2 million in bogus charges.

Last week, AT&T e-mailed select customers to inform them of an attempted hack on its database after its network temporarily went down in the northeast, advising them to be cautious of suspicious e-mails or text messages that ask for sensitive information.

At that time, the Dallas, Texas-based company said no accounts were breached and the less than one percent of the company’s customers were contacted, but the carrier believed it was an “organized attempt to obtain information on a number of customer accounts.”

It is unclear if the attempted hack is related to the recent arrests, or a separate incident.

The news also follows a formal Pentagon report to Congress on cyber-warfare earlier this month, which laid out a more specific role for the U.S. military in the event computer-generated attacks threaten the nation’s economy, government, or armed forces.
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The arrests in the AT&T case indicate cyber-attacks are on the rise, and companies are looking to the Department of Defense to shore up defensive strategies.

Experts predict future terrorist attacks worldwide may originate in cyberspace, and warn they may bring down financial institutions, industrial compounds and other critical systems. The DoD is working to boost defensive measures against cyber-attacks in addition to more effectively identify their sources to make cyber-terrorists pay for their actions.

In this latest case, officials in Manila are pointing the suspects’ possible links to terror networks connected to Al Qaeda. Filipino police said the country’s weak laws against cyber-crime contribute to its attractiveness as a base for these kinds of syndicates.



AT&T Hackers Arrested After Funneling $2 Million to Terrorists originally appeared atMobiledia on Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:33 pm.