Tag: FBI

Facebook and Twitter Users: The FBI Is Watching You

The FBI is shopping around for a contractor to do some snooping for them on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.

In a document called “Social Media Application” (pdf) released on January 19, it was revealed that the Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) at the FBI is looking for a company to provide software that can analyze any publicly available information, including tweets, Facebook statuses, notes, etc. and flag anything that the FBI wants to know about.

The plan is to use this information along with a mapping software to locate threats.

From the white paper:

This must be a secure, light weight web application portal, using mash-up technology. The application must have the ability to rapidly assemble critical open source information and intelligence that will allow SIOC to quickly vet, identify, and geo-locate breaking events, incidents and emerging threats. The product must have the capacity to allow the user to retain control of cached and real-time proprietary data; the ability to share it with selected partners, and ultimately enhancing coordination, synchronized-awareness and synergy at the operational level.

Notice the specific mention of “cached and real-time” data. This would enable them to build a database of information to trace patterns and compile profiles.

Among the things the FBI wishes to monitor closely are news organizations (Fox News, CNN and MSNBC were specifically mentioned), Facebook, and Twitter. They specified that they wish to keep tabs on:

1) US Domestic Terror Data
2) Worldwide Terror Data
3) US Embassies, Consulates and Military Installations
4) Weather Conditions and Forecasts
5) Traffic Video

That last item was particularly interesting because they expanded on it.

Trafﬁc Video- Ability to display video feeds ﬁom traffic cameras to
monitor traffic patterns, obstructions, bottle necks, protesters, and ﬂash
mobs.

The FBI wants to be able to have video feeds of protesters and to monitor flash mobs. With facial recognition software, license plate readers, plenty of public monitoring cameras, and a large cache of information waiting to be mined, this is a conspiracy theorists dream/nightmare come true.

January 26, 2012
MegaUpload Shut Down By Feds

MegaUpload, one of the world’s most popular file sharing sites, has been shut down by the federal government.

Washington has released a press release today saying that they have shut down MegaUpload and Vestor Limited. They have also charged seven individuals with for “running an international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works.” The Justice Department and the FBI announced that they also believe the Web sites generated more than $175 million in “criminal proceeds” and more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners.

They claim that this action is among the largest “criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets misuse of a public content storage and distribute site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime.”

The individuals and two companies were indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on January 5. They were charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.

For all the crimes listed, the individuals charged face a maximum penalty of 55 years in prison if they are found guilty of all of them.

The indictment alleges that the criminal enterprise is led by Kim Dotcom, 37, a resident of both Hong Kong and New Zealand. He is the founder of MegaUpload and Vestor Limited.

The others charged in the case are Finn Batato, chief marketing officer; Julius Bencko, graphic designer; Sven Echternach, head of business development; Mathias Ortmann, chief technical officer and co-founder; Andrus Nomm, software programmer and head of the software development; and Bram van der Kolk, who oversees programming and the underlying network structure of the Mega Web sites.

Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk were arrested today in New Zealand, under provisional arrest warrants requested by the United States. Bencko, Echternach and Nomm remain at large. Law enforcement executed 20 search warrants in the United States and eight countries. They also seized $50 million in assets and targeted sites where MegaUpload had servers.

The indictment states that MegaUpload and the other Mega sites (i.e. MegaVideo) have “unlawfully” reproduced and distributed infringing copies of copyrighted works on a “massive scale.”

The indictment states that MegaUpload’s sole business model was expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works. The indictment also alleges that the site was structured to discourage its users from using MegaUpload for long-term personal storage by automatically deleting content that was not regularly downloaded. They also allege that MegaUpload used financial incentives to encourage users to upload popular content to drive traffic to their site. More damning is that they allege MegaUpload paid users to specifically upload popular works and publicize the links around the world.

This all comes full circle with the allegation that MegaUpload didn’t allow people to search for files on their service because of their “conspiracy” to not publicize such content on their Web site.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, Organized Crime and Gang Section and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section also assisted with the case.

This is being presented as one more effort being taken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property to stop the theft of IP.

Of course, all this comes the day after the SOPA/PIPA protest blackout. Way to stay classy, Justice Department.

January 19, 2012
FBI Child ID App Aims To Help You Find Your Missing Kid

I’m not a parent, but I can imagine that one of the scariest things any parent can imagine is losing a child in a public place. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has just released an app that can help parents if this worst case scenario ever happens to them.

Called the FBI Child ID app, its main function is a place to store vital information about your child that can aid law enforcement in the event that they go missing. With the app, parents can store multiple photos of their child along with other basic information like height and weight. This way you can quickly pull up all of this info to show anyone who is helping in the search.

Probably the most helpful function of the app is that it allows you to quickly email your child’s photos and physical description to the authorities in just a few steps.

The app also includes safety tips and guidance for what steps to take in the hours following a child disappearance.

In the future, the FBI says that the app will be updated to add more features.

The FBI Child app is free. Currently, it is only available on iOS. The FBI says that they “plan to expand this tool to other types of mobile devices in the near future.”

I can already see the question forming in your head, as it popped into mine right away – What about that information, where does it go?

Here’s what they say about that –

An important note: the FBI (and iTunes for that matter) is not collecting or storing any photos or information that you enter in the app. All data resides solely on your mobile device unless you need to send it to authorities. Please read your mobile provider’s terms of service for information about the security of applications stored on your device.

According to their blog, a child goes missing every 40 seconds in the United States. I guess it couldn’t hurt to put your child’s information down in the app on the off chance that something unexpected happens.

August 6, 2011
Facebook Data Aiding Federal Agencies During Investigations

Remember when that idiot posted all the illegal stuff that he did during the Vancouver riots on Facebook? That idiot was Brock Anton and he posted such gems as “flipped some cars” and “burnt some some cop cars” on Facebook in the aftermath of the heavy rioting.

That’s one (relatively simplistic) way that Facebook can aid in law enforcement. Want to know the other way?

The way that doesn’t involve drunk hockey hooligans has to do with U.S. agencies, federal judges, warrants and something called a “neoprint.” According to Reuters, Federal agencies are relying more and more on data collected from Facebook to aid in their law-enforcement operations.

In the past few years, there has been an increase in warrants granted by Federal judges to agencies like the FBI, DEA and ICE to conduct “Facebook searches” of people’s social data.

What kind of juicy information can Facebook provide to the FBI? Just your private messages, statuses, event calendars, photos, wall posts and even rejected friend requests. Manuals exist for law-enforcement agencies to learn the proper way to request such information from Facebook, assuming a warrant has been issued. The terms that describe these sets of user data are called “Neoprints” and “Photoprints” according to Reuters.

Basically those are detailed packets of user info, containing everything that I outlined above and more.

Reuters reviewed the Westlaw legal database and determined that since 2008, at least a couple dozen warrants have been granted to get a specific user’s information from Facebook. And in 2011, at least 11 warrants have already been authorized, double the amount that were authorized last year. That means that the practice may be becoming more popular within the law-enforcement community (at least at a federal level).

And even more interesting perhaps than the info-grabbing itself is the fact that the people whose info is being grabbed are not being notified by Facebook.

From Reuters –

None of the warrants discovered in the review have been challenged on the grounds that it violated a person’s Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure, according to a review of the cases.

Some constitutional-law experts said the Facebook searches may not have been challenged because the defendants – not to mention their “friends” or others whose pages might have been viewed as part of an investigation — never knew about them.

By law, neither Facebook nor the government is obliged to inform a user when an account is subject to a search by law enforcement, though prosecutors are required to disclose material evidence to a defendant.

Basically this all boils down to a privacy issue, involving the Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches and seizures. Do these warrants violate that right in some way?

A 1970’s Supreme Court ruling determined that third parties need not notify people when they turn over records to federal agencies. That case was The United States v. Miller and it involved a bank as the third party and the ATF as the federal agency.

But now social media is the third party, and that opens up a whole new can of constitutional worms. Given, none of this should be too shocking to anyone. We’ve known for quite some time that if complete privacy is something you treasure, Facebook is probably not the thing for you.

What do you think about this issue of privacy? Should law-enforcement be able to “search” Facebook like they can search your place of residence with a warrant? Let us know how you feel.

July 12, 2011
Anonymous Hacks Government Contractors IRC Federal, Claim Today #F*ckFBIFriday

Today another target was hit in the #AntiSec movement, as IT company IRC Federal was attacked by hacktivist group Anonymous.

IRC Federal is a government-contracted IT firm that, according to the Anonymous release, boats ties with the FBI, Army, Navy, NASA and The Department of Justice. They say that IRC Federal “brags about their multi-million dollar partnerships” so Anonymous “laid nuclear waste to their systems.” Indeed, on the pastebin release, a mushroom cloud graces the header.

So what were the spoils of their hack? Here’s what anonymous says on the release –

In their emails we found various contracts, development schematics, and internal documents for various government institutions including a proposal for the FBI to develop a “Special Identities Modernization (SIM) Project” to “reduce terrorist and criminal activity by protecting all records associated with trusted individuals and revealing the identities of those individuals who may pose serious risk to the United States and its allies”. We also found fingerprinting contracts for the DOJ, biometrics development for the military, and strategy contracts for the “National Nuclear Security Administration Nuclear Weapons Complex”.

Additionally we found login info to various VPNs and several Department of Energy login access panels that we are dumping *live* complete with some URLs to live ASP file browser and upload backdoors – let’s see how long it takes for them to remove it (don’t worry we’ll keep putting it back up until they pull the box ;D)

According to a tweet, this hack was part of #FuckFBIFriday

@AnonymousIRC
AnonymousIRCA wild release appears: http://bit.ly/p3Ar73 | Dismantling ircfederal.com | #FuckFBIFriday #AntiSec | Happy Hacker Independence Day! 2 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

The data dump can also be accessed on The Pirate Bay, with a torrent titled Fuck FBI Friday II: IRC Federal.

In the release, Anonymous has a personal message for the employees of IRC Federal. They tell them to “stop working for the oligarchy” if they “place any value on freedom.” They cite corporate and governmental greed and power abuse as well. They then quote Martin Luther King Jr. and say –

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it.”

They also claim that they defaced the IRC Federal website, but as of the writing of this article, the site is actually down.

July 8, 2011
UK Police Claim LulzSec Arrest, LulzSec Says “You Got the Wrong Guy”

Not to self, when arresting somebody, make sure they are who you think they are before you go bragging about it. Just ask the Metropolitan Police, who are housed in the United Kingdom. After claiming they made an arrest of a 19-year old who was apparently part of a DDoS attack, it was hinted that the teen was a member of the infamous hacking group, LulzSec. While the report didn’t mention any group by name, a connection to LulzSec was made.

Now, it’s not certain whether the British police, who were working with the FBI to secure the arrest, intimated the LulzSec the rumor or if some enterprising publication simply assumed the arrested youth was in the LulzSec gang. Seeing the world “group” has that effect, apparently. While either way wouldn’t be surprising, once you read the report, you see word “group” inviting someone to make a connection:

The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group.

The teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act, and Fraud Act offences and was taken to a central London police station, where he currently remains in custody for questioning.

It makes sense that someone could see the “DDoS” acronym, along with the “the same hacking group” portion and assume the group in question is LulzSec, but then again, without confirmation, you’d think publications would wait before rushing a “LulzSec has been arrested” article out. Of course, I may be guilty of wishful thinking.

Nevertheless, as they are wont to do, LulzSec responded to the arrest reports with their standard zeal and air of defiance:

@LulzSec
The Lulz BoatSeems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested, it’s all over now… wait… we’re all still here! Which poor bastard did they take down? 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

Which was followed up by a “it wasn’t us” tweet:

@LulzSec
The Lulz BoatJust saw the pastebin of the UK census hack. That wasn’t us – don’t believe fake LulzSec releases unless we put out a tweet first. 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

That, of course, doesn’t mean the LulzSec group wouldn’t welcome someone hacking the UK government, either:

@LulzSec
The Lulz BoatBut hey, if someone out there hacked the UK government in the name of #AntiSec, well done sirs! 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

And so, here we are. The British, with the help of the FBI, arrested a hacker who made use of the DDoS method and said he was in a “group.” This, naturally, leads to LulzSec as the suspected group, seeing how they are the popular hacker group of the moment. A month or two ago, the arrested soul would probably be associated with Anonymous. This, of course, could not go without the appropriate response from LulzSec, as the group clearly revels in its notoriety.

With that in mind, would one arrest bring down LulzSec as it is? The group is undoubtedly adept at hiding in plain sight, and without any direct knowledge of its members, no one would know unless the captured party admitted their allegiance. Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure: to LulzSec, no press is bad press.

June 21, 2011
PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker Sites Seized by FBI [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Following Friday’s online poker crackdown, some dubbed it the “Black Friday” of poker. The poker world reacted on Twitter with all kinds of comments – serious, sarcastic and everything in between.

Reuters and CNBC have just reported that top online poker sites Pokerstars.com, Fulltiltpoker.com and Absolutepoker.com have been seized by the FBI and their owners, a total of 11 people have been charged.

The charges, according to Reuters were filed in Manhattan by federal prosecutors and are for violation of internet anti-gambling laws as well as fraud by “tricking regulators and banks into processing billions of dollars in illegal internet gambling proceeds.”

@Reuters
Reuters Top NewsInternet gambling sites Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars owners charged with fraud http://t.co/KqkugHe 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@CNBC
CNBCThree Largest Internet Poker Companies Charged With Fraud, Illegal Gambling – Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, & Absolute Poker – Charged 2 hours ago via Seesmic Desktop · powered by @socialditto

Going to one of these sites will yield this warning:

April 21, 2011
FBI: Internet Crime Complaints Top 300,000 In 2010

In 2010 there were 303,809 complaints of Internet crime, the second-highest total in 10 years according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

The IC3 received an average of 25, 317 complaints per month in 2010. Non-delivery of payment or merchandise accounted for the most common complaints (14.4%). Scams using the FBI’s name (13.2%) and identity theft (9.8%) rounded out the top three types of complaints.

In 2010, IC3 referred nearly half of all complaints (121,710) to law enforcement
for further investigation. New technology developed for IC3 allows investigators to work on cases spanning jurisdictional boundaries. IC3 analysts also provide support for various investigative efforts.

“Internet crime has affected millions across the country, and the great thing about IC3 is that we have adapted our resources to meet this threat,”said NW3C Director Don Brackman.

“We have implemented new tools to help law enforcement bring online criminals to justice.”

Gordon M. Snow, assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, added, “We encourage individuals to report Internet crime through the IC3 web portal. The IC3 is a unique resource for federal, state, and local law enforcement to intake cases efficiently, find patterns in what otherwise appear to be isolated incidents, combine multiple smaller crime reports into larger, higher priority cases, and ultimately bring criminals to justice.”

February 25, 2011
FBI Launches Online Tool For Recovering Stolen Art

The FBI has introduced a free online tool aimed at allowing people to search a database of thousands of stolen artworks and contact the agency if the have information about the items.

The tool called the National Stolen Art File has about 7,000 images in its database and allows people to search a variety of categories, including books, bowls, stamps, stained glass or enter keywords such as an artist’s name, period date, or artwork title.

“It’s impossible for the FBI to look for every piece of stolen art in the country,” said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, who manages the FBI art theft program.

“Having this online, searchable database accessible to the public as well as local law enforcement takes advantage of our technological resources to help curb the age-old problem of art theft.”

Search for “Monet,” for example, and several stolen works are returned. Click on an image and it enlarges. In many cases, details are provided about the artwork, including the work’s dimensions and other identifying information.

Any object stolen within the U.S. with a value of more than $2,000 can be listed. There are some international pieces in the file, but this is primarily a resource for reporting the theft of artwork within the United States.

“If a collector or gallery owner checks our site and sees that a piece of art is stolen, that’s an immediate red flag, and they can contact us,” Magness-Gardiner said.

“We want to solicit any and all information from the public about the stolen material .”

“And we in turn will provide this information to a much wider audience. This is a first step, and as we grow, we look forward to working with local law enforcement, the art community, and the public.”

December 2, 2010
FBI Picks a Fight with Wikipedia

This week, the New York Times and BBC News both reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent the Wikimedia Foundatation a letter, ordering the removal of an image of the Bureau’s seal from its Wikipedia entry. The Wikimedia Foundation’s response thus far has basically been, "no."

Should the seal be removed from Wikipedia? Share your thoughts.

The NYT provides copies of both the FBI’s letter, and the Wikimedia Foundation’s response. Pretty entertaining stuff. The FBI’s letter, signed by Deputy General Counsel David C. Larson, begins:

It has come to our attention that the FBI seal is posted, without authorization, on Wikipedia at the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US-FBIShadedSeal. svg . As the site itself notes, "Unauthorized use of the FBI seal . . . is subject to criminal prosecution under Federal criminal law, including 18 U.S.C. 701."

The FBI Seal is an official insignia of the Department of Justice. Its primary purpose is to authenticate the official communications and actions of the FBI. Unauthorized reproduction or use of the FB I Seal is prohibited by 18 United States Code, Section 701, which provides:

Whoever manufactures, sells, or possesses any insignia, of the design prescribed by the [Department head] or any colordble imitation thereof, or photographs, prints, or in any other manner makes or executes any engraving, photograph, print, or impression in the likeness of any such insignia, or any colorable imitation thereof, except as authorized under regulation made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both…

See the whole letter here (pdf).

The Wikimedia Foundation’s letter, signed by General Counsel Mike Godwin, begins:

Dear Deputy Director Larson,

First, thank you for taking my call Thursday, and congratulations on your imminent retirement after so many years of service. It’s unfortunate that on such an otherwise happy occasion I must inform you that the Bureau’s reading of 18 U.S.C. 701 is both idiosyncratic (made especially so by your strategic redaction of important language) and, more importantly, incorrect.

I’m writing you, of course, regarding your recent letter reiterating the Bureau’s invocation of 18 U.S.C. 701 and your demand for removal of the image of the FBI Seal on Wikipedia (images of which are widely available elsewhere, including on the Encyclopedia Britannica website, last I checked). You may recall that in my initial email response to your estimable Assistant General Counsel, Mr. Binney, I pointed to cases construing Section 701 and that, in a subsequent email, I broadly hinted that ejusdem generis, a standard accepted canon of statutory construction, demonstrates that this statute is inapposite to the use of an image of the seal on an encyclopedia.

It’s clear that you and Mr. Binney took the hint, although perhaps not in the way I would have preferred. Entertainingly, in support for your argument, you included a version of 701 in which you removed the very phrases that subject the statute to ejusdem generis analysis. While we appreciate your desire to revise the statute to reflect your expansive vision of it, the fact is that we must work with the actual language of the statute, not the aspirational version of Section 701 that you forwarded to us…

See that whole letter here.

Clearly, the Wikimedia Foundation firmly believes that it is not in the wrong here, and is prepared to go to court with the FBI, if it comes to that, as Godwin notes in the letter.

It will be interesting to see if the FBI pursues this, as everyone else wonders why the FBI isn’t focused on more pressing matters. I can’t imagine what harm the FBI’s seal is doing on a non-profit community encyclopedia site aimed at spreading knowledge.

Which side do you agree with? The FBI’s or the Wikimedia Foundation’s? Let us know.

August 9, 2010
Mariposa Botnet Creator Taken Down In Slovenia

The FBI, the Slovenian Criminal Police and the Spanish Guardia Civil announced the arrest of the suspected creator of the Mariposa Botnet used by hackers worldwide.

Last week, the Slovenian Criminal Police arrested the Mariposa Botnet’s suspected creator, a 23-year-old Slovenian known as "Iserdo."

The Mariposa Botnet was built with a computer virus known as "Butterfly Bot" and was used to steal passwords for websites and financial institutions. It stole computer users’ credit card and bank account information, launched denial of service attacks, and spread viruses. Industry experts estimated the Mariposa Botnet may have infected as many as 8 million to 12 million computers.

"In the last two years, the software used to create the Mariposa botnet was sold to hundreds of other criminals, making it one of the most notorious in the world," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III.

"These cyber intrusions, thefts, and frauds undermine the integrity of the Internet and the businesses that rely on it; they also threaten the privacy and pocketbooks of all who use the Internet."

In February, the Spanish Guardia Civil arrested three suspected Mariposa Botnet operators: "Netkairo," "Jonyloleante," and "Ostiator," aka Florencio Carro Ruiz, Jonathan Pazos Rivera, and Juan Jose Bellido Rios. These individuals are being prosecuted in Spain for computer crimes.

The FBI said the case is significant because it targeted not only the operators of the botnet but also the creator of the malicious software that was used to build and operate it.

July 28, 2010
Man Indicted For Hacking And Email Threat To VP Biden

A Minnesota man had indicted in federal court for hacking into his neighbor’s Wi-Fi connection and allegedly posing as the neighbor to make threats to kill Vice President Biden and email child pornography.

The indictment, filed today, charges Barry Vincent Ardolf, 45, of Blaine with two counts of identity theft, one count of making threats to the president and successors to the presidency, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that in February 2009, Ardolf hacked into his neighbor’s Wi-Fi connection and created multiple Yahoo email accounts in that person’s name. Then,on May 6, 2009, he allegedly used one of those accounts to email the office of the vice president. In the email he stated:

This is a terrorist threat! Take this seriously. I hate the way you people are spending money you don’t have…. I’m assigning myself to be judge jury and executioner. Since you folks have spent what you don’t have it’s time to pay the ultimate price. Time for new officials after you all are put to death by us….

The e-mail, which also was sent to the governor and a U.S. senator from Minnesota, went on to threaten to kill the officials one at a time, with the first being dead by June 1. Ardolf allegedly signed the e-mail with the name of the neighbor from whom he stole Internet access as well as the name of that person’s wife. The indictment alleges that Ardolf sent the e-mail using the wireless router belonging to the neighbor, intending for the e-mail to be traced back to that person.

In addition to sending the threatening e-mail described above, the indictment alleges that in February 2009, Ardolf posed as the identity-theft victim and used the e-mail accounts he created in the victim’s name to send sexually themed e-mails to three of the victim’s co-workers. Again, the defendant sent the e-mails through the victim’s Wi-Fi connection, intending for them to be traced to the victim’s Internet account. In one of the e-mails, Ardolf attached an image containing child pornography. Ardolf also allegedly created a MySpace page in the victim’s name, on which he posted the same image of child pornography.

If convicted, Ardolf faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the distribution of child pornography charge, 10 years on the pornography possession charge, five years on both the unauthorized access to a computer and the threats to the vice president, and a mandatory two-year minimum prison sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

June 24, 2010
Agency Marks 10 Years Fighting Cybercrime

The Internet Crime Complaint Center is marking its 10-year anniversary of fighting cybercrime.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established in May 2000 as a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since its launch IC3 has received more than 1.5 million complaints of cybercrime.

"This year marks the first decade of our partnership with NW3C addressing nearly 1.5 million Internet crime complaints to IC3," said Bill Hinerman, FBI Unit Chief for IC3.

"This partnership has increased law enforcement’s ability to collect, analyze, and refer Internet crime complaints to our domestic and international law enforcement partners."

IC3 gives victims of cybercrime an easy way to report and alert authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. IC3 provides law enforcement and regulatory agencies with a central referral system for complaints involving Internet-related crimes.

"Since its creation in 2000, we have seen the number of complaints coming into IC3 increase year after year. Cybercrime is not going away and, in fact, is only going to continue as criminals become savvier," said Don Brackman, Director of the NW3C. "We are so proud to be partners with the FBI in operating IC3 to address this growing global issue."

"No one would have thought 10 years ago that we would have as many reports of cybercrime as we have today," Brackman said. "As the Internet keeps evolving and as criminals keep thinking up new ways to take advantage of the public, IC3 will continue to look for ways we can help combat these types of crimes."

May 10, 2010
California Man Indicted For Cyber Extortion

A California man has been indicted for cyber extortion after demanding New York Life Insurance pay him $200,000 if they didn’t refund his insurance premiums.

According to the Department of Justice, Anthony Digati, 52, allegedly threatened in emails and on a website he created to make false public statements and send millions of spam emails in an effort to damage the reputation of New York Life and cost the company millions of dollars.

In January, Digati sought the return of his Life Insurance premiums from New York Life after he purchased variable life insurance and became dissatisfied with the performance of the insurance. New York Life told Digati that those premiums would not be returned.

In response, Digati sent an email to more than a dozen employees, executives, and one board member of New York Life directing them to visit the website he created. On the website Digati wrote," My demand is now for $198,303.88. This amount is NOT negotiable."

"I am going to drag your company name and reputation, through the muddiest waters imaginable. This will cost you millions in lost revenues, trust and credibility. The process is in motion and will be released on March 8th, 2010. If you delay and the site goes live, The price will then be $3,000,000.00."

He added, "By the way: Yes, I am crazy. Yes, I am vindictive. Yes, I am extremely upset. Yes, I will do everything that I said. I have absolutely nothing to lose or any fear of retaliation, no judge in the world is going to rule for a 200 billion dollar company when there is a lonely customer that you stole from!"

Digati is charged with one count of extortion through interstate communications. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000.

April 23, 2010
FBI Arrests Man Who Made YouTube Threat Against Cantor

A Philadelphia man has been arrested and charged for threatening to kill Republican Party Whip Eric Cantor in a video on YouTube, according to the FBI.

Norman Leboon, 33, threatened to kill congressman Cantor and his family in a YouTube video uploaded sometime in late March. In the video Leboon allegedly said: "Remember, Ericour judgment time, the final Yom Kippur has been given." The video then refers to Cantor as "Lucifer, you’re a pig you’re an abomination."

"The Department of Justice takes threats against government officials seriously, especially threats to kill or injure others," said United States Attorney Michael L. Levy.

"Whether the reason for the threat is personal or political, threats are not protected by the First Amendment and are crimes."

Cantor’s office issued this statement about the threats. "Over the weekend, Congressman Cantor was notified by law enforcement that a threat was made against his life. Law enforcement officials informed Congressman Cantor that the threat was determined as credible and they were responding accordingly. The Congressman was later notified that an arrest was made and a suspect was in custody."

"At this time, the Congressman will have no further comment on this threat or the investigation, and asks that inquiries be directed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Congressman is deeply grateful for, and would like to dearly thank all local and federal law enforcement involved, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Virginia and Philadelphia, U.S. Capitol Police and the Henrico Police Department in Virginia."

If convicted of all charges Leboon faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and fine of up to $500,000.

March 29, 2010
FBI Takes Down Cable Modem Hacker

The FBI has announced it arrested a man on Thursday for allegedly selling hacked cable modems that provided free Internet access.

Matthew Delorey, 26, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence on each count of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Delorey ran a now shuttered website called Massmodz.com which sold cable modems which were hacked and reconfigured to allow them to be used for free, untraceable access to the Internet.

Delorey, through his website sold two hacked modems to an undercover FBI agent posing as a customer.

Delorey marketed his hacked modems in a Craigslist post advertising "Massmodz Free Internet- Get free untraceable Internet." He also appeared in instructional videos he posted on YouTube, including videos entitled Massmodz.com How to Get Free Internet Free Cable Internet Comcast or any Cable ISP – 100% works"; "Massmodz.com How to bypass Comcast registration page with premod cable modem SB5100, SB 5101"; "Massmodz.com Cable Modem Hack Cable Modem Mod"; and "Massmodz.com How to get back online Comcast new secure area with cable modem premod, Comcast ready."

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January 29, 2010