Three indicted for hacking 2,500 company phone systems
Monday, June 15, 2009
The acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey unsealed indictments Friday for three people in the Philippines charged with hacking the private branch exchanges (PBX) of more than 2,500 companies for stealing pass codes they sold to call center operators in Italy.
Italian officials allege the sale of the pass codes helped finance terrorist activities, IDG News Service reported. On Friday, Italian officials arrested at least five people in raids on 10 call centers.
The three indicted in the U.S. are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, unauthorized access to computers and other charges, according to U.S. attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr.
"The hackers we've charged enabled their conspirators in Italy and elsewhere to steal large amounts of telecommunications capacity, which could then be used to further or finance just about any sort of nefarious activity here or overseas," Marra said.
Pakistani nationals in Italy used the stolen codes to offer cheap calls to their clients on the PBXs of commercial companies in the United States, Australia and Europe.
Some of the profits from the scam were used to finance the activities of Islamist extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Italian officials said, according to the IDG News report.
Marra said the hackers dialed into the PBXs and used a process known as a brute force attack to hit vulnerable points of the PBX systems.
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