Web Security News

Police to employ NZ hacker

Thursday, July 17, 2008

A New Zealand computer hacker responsible for a botnet virus which stole millions of dollars from private bank accounts may be employed by police looking to catch other cyber-criminals.

Following a court ruling ordering Owen Thor Walker to pay damages for developing the computer virus, officials said they were keen to use his skills in the fight against various IT security threats.

While the judge ordered reparations for his role in developing the botnet virus, she dismissed charges made against him for breaching network security at a US university.

The BBC reported that Judge Judith Porter told the court that convicting him of these charges would undoubtedly jeopardize his "bright" career opportunities.

Elsewhere, the Telegraph reported that detectives were astonished to discover that Walker was the mastermind behind the multimillion dollar botnet program, which he sold to an international gang of computer hackers known as the A-Team.

The teenager is not thought to have benefited financially from the group's use of the program, which involved committing multimillion dollar identity theft and fraud.ADNFCR-1765-ID-18689078-ADNFCR

Related News:

Network security concerns prompt postponement of Google phones in China - 1.20.2010
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has decided to indefinitely postpone the launch of two of its Android smartphones to the Chinese market, which pundits have taken as further proof of the growing rift between the search giant and the Chinese government.

Cloud network security concerns prompt Microsoft to propose new laws - 1.20.2010
Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, told an audience at the Brookings Institution today that the government should step in to regulate the emerging cloud computing industry and help protect businesses and consumers from fraud and abuse.

Network security experts unmask command servers behind Google attack - 1.19.2010
Researchers at VeriSign's iDefense lab have published a report claiming that the Chinese government was responsible for the recent large-scale cyber attacks that targeted Google and other U.S. companies.

Out-of-band IE patch to fix widespread vulnerability - 1.19.2010
Microsoft will issue a patch to its Internet Explorer browser software before its next scheduled update, intended to fix the flaw that enabled hackers to launch a damaging cyber attack on numerous U.S. companies.

France and Germany warn citizens to avoid using Internet Explorer - 1.18.2010
The governments of both France and Germany have issued official warnings to their citizenry, saying that, until Microsoft releases a patch for the widely-used Internet Explorer web browser, it is a threat to network security and should not be used.
View Related Resources
Or
Watch an Online Demo
Or
Have us call you now