I don't know if you have ever heard of BitCoins or not, but it is a virtual currency. This virtual currency is just like your country's currency since it is used to buy or sell goods or services or essentially basic trade. It is also a currency that is backed by something that is finite unlike the US dollar which the Federal Reserve creates out of thin air. BitCoins are backed with actual cryptographic meta data that will eventually cease new BitCoins from being issued.
There can only be about 21 million BitCoins, but the going rate at any BitCoin exchange at the moment will cost you about $20 for one BitCoin. After 21 million BitCoins have been issued, it will be quite an economics experiment to see how the BitCoins market will stablize. Obviously for sure, this market isnt mature yet, but the real eye opener here is that its a growing market. More & more businesses are accepting BitCoins everyday.
The real thing here is that BitCoins are a great currency alternative, and is quite remarkable in its nature in both economics and long term valuation. It would be better to invest in something like BitCoins then it would be to invest in the stock market as it is real money. Everyone knows how bad the stock market can be... remember just a few years ago?
It would be great if BitCoins would be allowed to catch on and grow, but the Fed & the banks will most likely do everything in their power to kill BitCoins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin
Monday, June 13, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
LulzSec vs The Empire
As many of you have already heard I'm sure, LulzSec (laughing at your security) has achieved quite a high profile over the past week. They were responsible for hacking Sony, PBS, Nintendo, FBI affiliates, & other IT security firms.
Major attacks
PBS
In May 2011 members of Lulz Security hacked into the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) website. They stole user data and posted a fake story on the site which claimed that Tupac Shakur was still alive and living in New Zealand.[7]
Lulz Security claimed that some of its hacks, including its attack of PBS, were motivated by a desire to defend Wikileaks and Bradley Manning.[8] A FoxNews report on the group quoted one commentator, Brandon Pike, who claimed that Lulz Security is affiliated with the Anonymous group. Lulz Security claimed that Pike had actually hired it to hack PBS. Pike denied the accusation and claims it was leveled against him; because he said Lulz Security was a splinter of the Anonymous group.[9]
Sony
In June 2011, members of the group claimed responsibility for an attack against Sony and took data that included "names, passwords, e-mail addresses, home addresses and dates of birth for thousands of people."[10] The group claimed that it used an SQL injection attack,[11] and was motivated by Sony's legal action against George Hotz for jailbreaking into the PlayStation 3. The group claims it will launch an attack that will be the "beginning of the end" for Sony.[12] Some of the compromised user information has since been used in scams.[13]
InfraGard
Lulz Security also claims to have hacked InfraGard, a company affiliated with the FBI that does work on botnet detection,[2] in June 2011. The group leaked some of Infragard's e-mails and a database of users.[14] The group defaced the website posting the following message, "LET IT FLOW YOU STUPID FBI BATTLESHIPS," accompanied with a video. LulzSec has posted the following message regarding the attack:
"It has come to our unfortunate attention that NATO and our good friend Barrack Osama-Llama 24th-century Obama [sic] have recently upped the stakes with regard to hacking. They now treat hacking as an act of war. So, we just hacked an FBI affiliated website (Infragard, specifically the Atlanta chapter) and leaked its user base. We also took complete control over the site and defaced it [...]."[15]
Canada's Conservative Party
One June 7th, Lulzsec hacked the website of Canada's Conservative Party, making it seem as if Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed to the hospital for choking on a hash brown. The prank was so well integrated that Member of Parliament Chris Alexander tweeted that he hoped the Prime Minister was okay.[16]
Nintendo
Lulz Security attempted to hack into Nintendo, but both the group and Nintendo itself report that no particularly valuable information was found by the hackers.[17] LulzSec claims that it did not mean to harm Nintendo, declaring: "We're not targeting Nintendo. We like the N64 too much — we sincerely hope Nintendo plugs the gap."[18] Additionally, LulzSec tweeted, following the incident, "Re: Nintendo, we just got a config file and made it clear that we didn't mean any harm. Nintendo had already fixed it anyway. <3 them!"
Lulzsec VS The Empire
Even though they are doing this out of what appears to be genuine hackivisim and a way to make companies more aware of their IT security needs, they are going against the status quo. They are going up against the government and big corporations which could have an unknown effect for the rest of us. The cyber war is really starting to get under way.
I wonder what the coming months will bring.
Major attacks
PBS
In May 2011 members of Lulz Security hacked into the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) website. They stole user data and posted a fake story on the site which claimed that Tupac Shakur was still alive and living in New Zealand.[7]
Lulz Security claimed that some of its hacks, including its attack of PBS, were motivated by a desire to defend Wikileaks and Bradley Manning.[8] A FoxNews report on the group quoted one commentator, Brandon Pike, who claimed that Lulz Security is affiliated with the Anonymous group. Lulz Security claimed that Pike had actually hired it to hack PBS. Pike denied the accusation and claims it was leveled against him; because he said Lulz Security was a splinter of the Anonymous group.[9]
Sony
In June 2011, members of the group claimed responsibility for an attack against Sony and took data that included "names, passwords, e-mail addresses, home addresses and dates of birth for thousands of people."[10] The group claimed that it used an SQL injection attack,[11] and was motivated by Sony's legal action against George Hotz for jailbreaking into the PlayStation 3. The group claims it will launch an attack that will be the "beginning of the end" for Sony.[12] Some of the compromised user information has since been used in scams.[13]
InfraGard
Lulz Security also claims to have hacked InfraGard, a company affiliated with the FBI that does work on botnet detection,[2] in June 2011. The group leaked some of Infragard's e-mails and a database of users.[14] The group defaced the website posting the following message, "LET IT FLOW YOU STUPID FBI BATTLESHIPS," accompanied with a video. LulzSec has posted the following message regarding the attack:
"It has come to our unfortunate attention that NATO and our good friend Barrack Osama-Llama 24th-century Obama [sic] have recently upped the stakes with regard to hacking. They now treat hacking as an act of war. So, we just hacked an FBI affiliated website (Infragard, specifically the Atlanta chapter) and leaked its user base. We also took complete control over the site and defaced it [...]."[15]
Canada's Conservative Party
One June 7th, Lulzsec hacked the website of Canada's Conservative Party, making it seem as if Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed to the hospital for choking on a hash brown. The prank was so well integrated that Member of Parliament Chris Alexander tweeted that he hoped the Prime Minister was okay.[16]
Nintendo
Lulz Security attempted to hack into Nintendo, but both the group and Nintendo itself report that no particularly valuable information was found by the hackers.[17] LulzSec claims that it did not mean to harm Nintendo, declaring: "We're not targeting Nintendo. We like the N64 too much — we sincerely hope Nintendo plugs the gap."[18] Additionally, LulzSec tweeted, following the incident, "Re: Nintendo, we just got a config file and made it clear that we didn't mean any harm. Nintendo had already fixed it anyway. <3 them!"
Lulzsec VS The Empire
Even though they are doing this out of what appears to be genuine hackivisim and a way to make companies more aware of their IT security needs, they are going against the status quo. They are going up against the government and big corporations which could have an unknown effect for the rest of us. The cyber war is really starting to get under way.
I wonder what the coming months will bring.
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