20-Year-Old in Seoul Hacks 104 Websites, Steals 280,000 Private Records

Status
Not open for further replies.

Exterminator

Community Manager
Thread author
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Oct 23, 2012
12,527
A young man, known by the surname Jang, in the South Korean capital city Seoul has broken the security settings of various websites across the world, amassing an incredible collection of 280,000 private records before being arrested.

The information stolen from the websites included credentials for social networking accounts like Facebook and Twitter, along with details about employees of national or international government agencies, taken from North Korean websites.
Attacker wanted to prove himself to the hacker community
It appears that some of the stolen data has been posted online, on his blog, where he would explain the steps for carrying out the attack and reaching the information. In some cases, Jang would create video tutorials and publish them on YouTube. He was also sharing tips on hacker forums.

It is believed that 13,000 personal records were made public in one way or another. The stolen data would be stored in cloud storage accounts.

The authorities say that the hacking spree lasted from November 2013 until August 2014, and sites in 24 countries were impacted.

According to Korea Joongang Daily, the hacker told the police that the motivation behind his attacks was to prove himself among fellow hackers.

However, the authorities say that the deeds also started to have a financial angle, apart from simply showing off the skills; evidence has been produced by the police that Jang tried to make purchases using stolen credit card information.

One of the victims was a Korean official, who had made a purchase on an online shopping mall. The hacker also took over the official’s email account.
Hacker attacked websites with weak security
Only sites with weak security measures in place seem to have been targeted by the perpetrator.

Oftentimes, private data such as passwords was not encrypted, which made it a sitting duck. It would be safe to assume that if such basic protection was not in place, the targeted websites were probably riddled with easy to exploit bugs and weaknesses.

SQL injection is the most common and basic form of attack, but it is also highly efficient on sites that do not take some precautions against intruders.

Drupal alerted in the middle of October of a highly critical SQL injection vulnerability that would not require too much knowledge to be exploited. At the end of the month, the developers of the CMS warned that websites that had not been patched within hours from the initial disclosure of the glitch should be considered compromised.

The methods used by the hacker have not been disclosed by the authorities though.
 

jasonX

Level 9
Apr 13, 2012
421
Nice news info there ;)

To prove himself among hackers.....but then again there's the lure of MONEY...he's a thief with ego trips...plain and simple!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top