Cybercrime presentation

BASIC QUESTION
What is cyber
crime?

2

What is cyber crime?
Use of a computer/internet to do something that
would be a crime in any case.

BASIC EXAMPLES:
CREDIT CARD FRAUD
IDENTITY THEFT
SPAM
VIRUSES

3

1. (a) Theft of Services
Theft of services is, in many ways, the first "cyber" or
"network-oriented" crime (albeit one which was originally
committed against a phone network or a cable TV network
rather than a modern packet-switched computer network)
Phone phreaking involved things such as toll fraud, the
"creative routing" of calls in non-optimal ways (e.g., call next
door, but do so over long distance circuits nailed up literally
around the world), and other things that folks weren't
supposed to be doing
Cable TV theft of service typically involved unauthorized
reception of basic or premium channel traffic, or the
interception of microwave TV signals, w/o payment to the TV
company
Some of these crimes, or their Internet analogs, continue
today, although the world is a vastly different place today, and
most theft-of-service crimes have evolved over time…
4

1. (b) Computer Intrusions
O.R.S. 164.377 (see also 18 USC 1030 for the Federal computer crime
statute):
(2) Any person commits computer crime who knowingly accesses,
attempts to access or uses, or attempts to use, any computer, computer
system, computer network or any part thereof for the purpose of:
(a) Devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud;
(b) Obtaining money, property or services by means of false or
fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises; or
(c) Committing theft, including, but not limited to, theft of
proprietary information. [* * *]
(4) Any person who knowingly and without authorization uses, accesses
or attempts to access any computer, computer system, computer
network, or any computer software, program, documentation or data
contained in such computer, computer system or computer network,
commits computer crime.
(5)(a) A violation of the provisions of subsection (2) or (3) of this section
shall be a Class C felony. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this
subsection, a violation of the provisions of subsection (4) of this section
shall be a Class A misdemeanor. 5

Who Commits Cyber Intrusions?
Traditional journalism-speak answer: "hackers"

Note: journalists really should be saying crackers, not
hackers, but we both understand the casual/popular misuse
of the "hacker" term instead of the more strictly correct
"cracker" nomenclature.

Some more specific possible answers to the question of
"Who commits cyber intrusions?" might be…

-- Disgruntled/untrustworthy (former) insiders
-- Juveniles
-- Ideologically motivated individuals
-- Sophisticated professionals
6

1. (c) Computer Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses,
Spyware & Other Malware
 Computer virus: program which can copy itself and surreptitiously
infect another computer, often via shared media such as a floppy disk,
CD, thumb drive, shared directory, etc. Viruses are always embedded
within another file or program.
 Worm: self-reproducing program which propagates via the network.
 Trojan horse: program which purports to do one thing, but secretly
does something else; example: free screen saver which installs a
backdoor
 Root kit: set of programs designed to allow an adversary to
surreptitiously gain full control of a targeted system while avoiding
detection and resisting removal, with the emphasis being on evading
detection and removal
 Botnet: set of compromised computers ("bots" or "zombies") under the
unified command and control of a "botmaster;" commands are sent to
bots via a command and control channel (bot commands are often
transmitted via IRC, Internet Relay Chat).
 Spyware: assorted privacy-invading/browser-perverting programs
 Malware: an inclusive term for all of the above -- "malicious software"
7

Example: David Smith & The Melissa Virus
Creator of Melissa Computer Virus Sentenced to 20 Months in
Federal Prison

The New Jersey man accused of unleashing the “Melissa” computer virus in
1999, causing millions of dollars in damage and infecting untold numbers of
computers and computer networks, was sentenced today to 20 months in
federal prison, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and state Attorney
General David Samson announced. David L. Smith, 34, of Aberdeen
Township in Monmouth County, was ordered to serve three years of
supervised release after completion of his prison sentence and was fined
$5,000. U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. further ordered that,
upon release, Smith not be involved with computer networks, the Internet
or Internet bulletin boards unless authorized by the Court. Finally, Judge
Greenaway said Smith must serve 100 hours of community service upon
release. [* * *] In a cooperating federal plea agreement Smith acknowledged
that the Melissa virus caused more than $80 million in damage by
disrupting personal computers and computer networks in business and
government. [emphasis added]

http://www.cybercrime.gov/melissaSent.htm
8

The Pace of Malware Release is Accelerating
"At the start of 2007, computer security firm F-Secure had
about 250,000 malware signatures in its database, the result
of almost 20 years of antivirus research. Now, near the end of
2007, the company has about 500,000 malware signatures.

"'We added as many detections this year as for the previous
20 years combined,' said Patrik Runald, security response
manager at F-Secure.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20071206/tc_cmp/204701370
December 5th, 2007

9

Signature-Based Antivirus
Software is "Struggling" <cough, cough>
Assume updated antivirus signatures are being released once
or maybe twice a day; similarly, let's assume some
miscreants are releasing new malware variants every hour
(because they are)

Also assume it takes antivirus companies at least a few hours
to collect a sample of any new malware and generate a
signature which can detect the new malware variant

Combining those facts means that there will ALWAYS be a
window of time during which at least some new malware will
NOT be detected even if you are running the absolute latest
antivirus definitions from the best antivirus companies in
the business.
10

Example: "Video Codec" Malware
If you Google for a sex-related term and limit the returned
results to the cn domain (although I wouldn't recommend
that you actually do this), it is virtually assured that one or
more of the top search results will likely be a web page
which will attempt to trick you into downloading a "new
video codec"
that's "required" for you to view free sex-related videos.
If you do intentionally (or accidentally) end up downloading
and running that "new codec" you will actually be infecting
your system with rather poorly detected malware (checking
an example of this malware at Virustotal, only 5 of 32
antivirus products detected this malware, and the two
antivirus products with the largest market share, Symantec
and McAfee, don't catch it at all at the time I tested the
malware).

11

1. (d) Distributed Denial of Service
(DDoS) Attacks
Using a distributed denial of service (“DDoS”) attack, miscreants can flood
servers or wide area network connection with traffic from thousands of
hosts, thereby taking virtually any networked site “off the Internet” for as
long as they want -- or at least they can make you work very hard in order to
stay on.

How/why do miscreants use DDoS attacks? There are a variety of reasons:

At one point, it was common for cyber gangs to targeting online gambling
sites for extortion ("Pay, or we'll DDoS your web site and shut you down!")

Multi gigabit/second DDoS attacks have been observed (see
http://www.icann.org/committees/security/dns-ddos-advisory-31mar06.pdf )
targeting critical Internet infrastructure, and distributed denial of service
attacks have even been used to attack entire countries (such as Estonia).

Sometimes a DDoS is just something done by a disgruntled competitor. 12

"Why Couldn't I Just Block That
DDoS With My Firewall???"
 Answer: because by the time the firewall sees the traffic, it's too late.

 Consider a denial of service attack which is attempting to flood your network
connection with unsolicited traffic. Your firewall is located at your company or
institution, interposed between you and the world. That firewall is connected
to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) by a comparatively small (and
comparatively expensive) network connection. A DoS attack will FILL that
network connection BEFORE it encounters and is blocked by your firewall. If
you attempt to offset the attack traffic by increasing the size of your network
connection, the bad guys or bad gals will just send you more traffic to
compensate (they can scale up their operations cheaper/quicker than you can)

 Thus, even though your firewall may protect your hosts from seeing DoS
traffic, your firewall will NOT protect your network connection from being
filled to the brim (and beyond) with huge volumes of unwanted traffic which
will effectively squeeze out all the good traffic you do want to receive.
13

2. Internet Fraud
CRIMES OF DECEPTION

2. (a) Internet Auction Fraud
 "In 2006, IC3 [the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center]
processed more than 200,481 complaints that support Internet crime
investigations by law enforcement and regulatory agencies nationwide.
[* * *] Internet auction fraud was by far the most reported offense,
comprising 44.9% of referred complaints. [* * *]
"Statistics contained within the complaint category must be viewed
as a snapshot which may produce a misleading picture due to the
perception of consumers and how they characterize their particular
victimization within a broad range of complaint categories. It is also
important to realize IC3 has actively sought support from many key
Internet E-Commerce stake holders. As part of these efforts, many of
these companies, such as eBay, have provided their customers
links to the IC3 website. As a direct result, an increase in referrals
depicted as auction fraud has emerged."

2006 Internet Crime Report, [FBI] Internet Crime Complaint Center,
http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2006_IC3Report.pdf
at pdf pages 3 and 7, emphasis added.

15

2. (b) Pay-Per-Click Click Fraud
Many leading Internet companies earn a majority of their
revenue by selling pay-per-click advertisements. In pay-per-
click (PPC) advertising models, true to the model's name, an
advertiser agrees to pay whenever someone clicks on one of
their ads.
PPC ads are placed both on things like search engine results,
and on relevant syndicated web pages authored by 3rd parties.
To compensate 3rd parties for inserting ads on their web
pages, the advertising company shares part of what they've
been paid with the 3rd parties.
Priority for ad placement is determined by what advertisers
are willing to pay -- the highest bids get the best placement
on a given page which contains the term of interest
An example of pay-per-click rates for one advertising program
for terms related to fishing boats can be seen on the next
page…
17

2. (c) Nigerian Advanced Fee Fraud (4-1-9)
From: "Mr. Don Peter" To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Dear Friend
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:39:10 -0400
Reply-to: hellen_doris1@yahoo.fr

Dear Friend

It has been long we communicate last, am so sorry for the delay, I want to
Inform you that your cheque of ($850.000.00) Which my boss asked me to
mail to you as soon as you requested it, is still with me.

But due to some minure issue you fails to respond at the Approprete time,
and presently the cheque is with me here in LAGOS-NIGERIA Though i
had a new contact from a friend of mine who works with one security
company here in NIGETIA that will deliver you your cheque at your door
step with a cheeper rate, which the company said that it will cost you the
sum of $198.00 usd, So you have to Contact them and register with them
now.

20

Considering That Sample…
 The actual 419 scam sample you've just seen is so full of spelling and usage
errors that it may be hard to believe that anyone would take it seriously.

 Yet we know that people do fall for these sort of 4-1-9 scams…

21

2. (d) "High Yield Investment Programs"
 Well-known banks and credit unions in the Eugene-Springfield area are
currently paying 0.10%-0.50% (one tenth of one percent to half of one
percent) per year on regular savings accounts. <cough>
 So imagine what a surprise it would be if someone offered to pay you two
to three percent PER DAY!!! Wow! Gee!
 Oh yeah, naturally, this is a complete and total scam/ripoff!
 How HYIP/"Prime Bank" fraud schemes often work:
-- a web site promises you an outrageously great rate of return, often for a
convoluted but allegedly "riskless" investment
-- "investments" are sent in online, usually via an irrevocable online e-
currency
-- the investment program prohibits withdrawal of your "investment" for a

period of time, perhaps 90 or 180 days
-- when it IS finally time to withdraw your money (and receive your
lucrative
interest payment), surprise!, the program you "invested" in has vanished
-- in other cases, the HYIP may have a Ponzi-scam like component, with
funds from later investors used to pay (some) early investors (for a
while) 22

2. (e) Degree/Diploma Scam

23

2. (f) "Free" Product and Service Offers

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/11/free.shtm
24

2. (g) Bogus Diet Patches and
Other Dubious Health-Related Products

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/04/040429canspam.shtm
25

2. (h) Bogus Charity Sites Soliciting Donations

houston.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/ho11282007a.htm (Nov 28, 2007)
26

2. (j) Phishing, Carding
and Money Laundering
 "Phishing is a form of online identity theft that employs both social
engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal
identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering
schemes use 'spoofed' e- mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites
designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as account
usernames and passwords. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers
and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to
respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to
steal credentials directly, often using key logging systems to intercept
consumers online account user names and passwords, and to corrupt
local and remote navigational infrastructures to misdirect consumers to
counterfeit websites and to authentic websites through phisher-
controlled proxies that can be used to monitor and intercept consumers’
keystrokes."

http://www.antiphishing.org/reports/apwg_report_sept_2007.pdf at pdf
page 1
27

[Total phishing reports made to APWG 10/06-9/07: 318,887]
28

Carding and Money Laundering
The corporate defendant WESTERN EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL,
INC., through its managerial agents VADIM VASSILENKO, YELENA
BARYSHEVA, and TETYANA GOLOBORODKO, provided financial
services designed to conceal the source and destination of funds earned
through the trafficking of stolen credit card numbers and other personal
identifying information, as well as the identity of individuals engaged in
such transactions. They used conventional banks and money transmitters
to move large sums of money for their clients, thus permitting their
clients to remain anonymous and insulated from reporting requirements.
They also provided information and assistance to other members of the
group through the WESTERN EXPRESS websites Dengiforum.com and
Paycard2000.com.
The investigation revealed that, in a four year period, over $35
million flowed through numerous bank accounts set up by WESTERN
EXPRESS.
[* * *]
The Western Express Cybercrime Group is responsible for over $4
million worth of identified credit card fraud, and trafficked in well over
95,000 stolen credit card numbers.

[ http://www.manhattanda.org/whatsnew/press/2007-11-07.shtml ]
29

3. (a) Spam
 You've seen spam (unsolicited commercial email) show up as a
component of some cybercrimes we've already discussed, but I think that
ultimately it also deserves its own listing here, because at least in some
cases bulk mail may be legal or illegal based solely on what's being sent
and how it is being delivered.
 In some jurisdictions, any or all commercial email is permissible, but in
other jurisdictions, such as the United States, unsolicited commercial
email is regulated.
 In the US, spam is regulated by the CAN-SPAM Act (15 USC 7701) and
18 USC 1037, "Fraud and related activity in connection with electronic
mail"

31

A Historical Artifact: The First Spam
The first spam, (sent to Usenet news groups, not to email accounts, BTW). It
was sent by lawyers… Grr!

From: Laurence Canter (nike@indirect.com)
Subject: Green Card Lottery- Final One?
Newsgroups: alt.brother-jed, alt.pub.coffeehouse.amethyst
View: Complete Thread (4 articles) | Original Format
Date: 1994-04-12 00:40:42 PST

Green Card Lottery 1994 May Be The Last One!
THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED.

The Green Card Lottery is a completely legal program giving away a certain
annual allotment of Green Cards to persons born in certain countries. The
lottery program was scheduled to continue on a permanent basis. However,
recently, Senator Alan J Simpson introduced a bill into the U. S. Congress
which could end any future lotteries. THE 1994 LOTTERY IS SCHEDULED
TO TAKE PLACE SOON, BUT IT MAY BE THE VERY LAST ONE.
[continues] 32

Spam Volumes Today

http://www.senderbase.org/home/detail_spam_volume?action=&screen=&ord
er=&displayed=lastmonth
33

3. (b) Child Exploitation/Child
Pornography and Illegal Obscenity
 Internet porn is a multi-billion dollar-per-year industry with content
ranging from the risque to the hardcore; thus, it is hardly surprising that
there is a variety of content-related cyber crimes associated with this
online content area.
 In the United States, sexually explicit content is subject to federal
regulation:
-- 18 USC 1466A and 18 USC 2252 prohibit child pornography
-- 18 USC 2257 levies specific record keeping requirements on the
adult industry, meant to insure that all individuals appearing in sexually

explicit pictures or movies are of legal age at the time the material was
made
-- 42 USC 13032 requires electronic communication service providers (e.g.,
ISPs), to report child pornography they may discover to the National
Center
for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
-- plus there are additional federal, state and local laws and regulations.
34
 WARNING: Perhaps more than any other online crime related area, child

Example Child Porn Sentence: 8 Years
Portland Resident Receives 96 Months Prison Sentence for
Distribution of Child Pornography

Portland, Ore. - Ronald Vandel Thoreson, 62, of Portland, was sentenced
on December 10, 2007 to 96 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge
Garr M. King. On July 12, 2007, Thoreson pled guilty to an indictment
charging him with distribution of child pornography during the months of
July through October, 2005. Thoreson became the subject of an
investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following
reports by the German National Police that an Internet access account,
associated with defendant’s account, was used to download a number of
images containing child pornography using the file sharing program
Limewire. [continues]

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/2007/20071211_Thoreson.ht
ml

35

Not Only Child Porn: Rape/Sexual Torture
TWO MEN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON ON OBSCENITY
CONVICTION
Clarence Thomas Gartman, age 35, and his brother-in-law, former
Houston Police Officer, Brent Alan McDowell, age 37, were sentenced
today in Dallas, announced Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher for
the Criminal Division and United States Attorney Richard B. Roper. The
Honorable Barefoot Sanders, United States Senior District Judge,
sentenced Gartman to 34 months in prison and McDowell to 30 months in
prison. [* * *]
The case was initially investigated by the Dallas Police Department
after they received a tip from a German citizen who told them that a
website selling rape videos was registered to a Garry Ragsdale. At that
time, Garry Ragsdale was a Dallas Police Department officer. [* * *]
The government provided evidence at trial that beginning in 1998,
Gartman and McDowell maintained a web site on the Internet,
“forbiddenvideos.com.” The web site was used to advertise and distribute
obscene videos by VHS cassettes, CDs, and streaming video, depicting rape
scenes, sexual torture and other explicit sex acts. [continues]
36

http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/annualreports/pr2007/sect2/p6-25.pdf
37

3. (c) Warez
 "Warez" (pronounced "wearzz," NOT "wahr-ez") are pirated copies of
proprietary commercial software, typically distributed over the Internet
after the program's copyright protection mechanisms (if any) have been
disabled. Pirated music, pirated movies and pirated games may also be
distributed.
 Individuals in the warez scene may amass and freely share huge
collections of programs (even if they have no personal use for particular
programs) as a competitive matter or to increase their status with their
peers; others may avoid an emphasis on sheer volume, focusing instead on
how quickly they can get and distribute newly developed programs or
particularly obscure or expensive ones.
 Others may accumulate titles to build an inventory of programs which can
be sold to retail customers online. These pirates typically attempt to
explain their unusually low prices (and unorthodox distribution
mechanisms) by falsely claiming that the downloadable software they're
selling is an "original equipment manufacturer" ("OEM") version which is
inexpensive because it is being distributed without physical media,
manuals or or fancy packaging.
In reality, of course, that software is sold cheaply because it's been stolen.
38

3. (d) Online Sale of "Replica" (Counterfeit)
Trademarked Products
 Some stats from Union des Fabricants' "Counterfeiting and Organized
Crime"
http://www.interpol.int/Public/FinancialCrime/IntellectualProperty/Public
ations/
UDFCounterfeiting.pdf (2003):
-- "According to European customs statistics, nearly 100 million products
were
seized in 2001, i.e. 39% more than in 2000. Globally, an OECD report
published in 1998 estimated that counterfeiting was generating €250
billion in
illegal earnings annually and represented 5 to 7% of world trade, while a
press
release issued by the World Customs Organisation on 27th January 2003
valued unlawful trade at €450 billion."
-- "On 9th July 2002, a consignment of 2.6 tonnes of counterfeit watches
originating from Hong Kong and bound for Spain was seized at Roissy."
-- "On 24th November 2002, an attempt was made to murder Konstantin
Zemenchov, head of the RAPO (Russian Anti-Piracy Organisation).
Everything points to this attack being related to raids carried out a few39

"[…] electrical cords, batteries, handbags, wallets, suitcases, shoes,
hats, sunglasses, watches, key holders, umbrellas, and different items
of clothing and accessories […]"
Five Individuals Indicted for Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods
[* * *] on December 22, 2005, a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida,
returned two (2) separate Indictments against five (5) individual
defendants, Lizhou Shao, Changbiao Fu, Li Fen Fu, Ji Wu Chen, and Meihua
Li. The grand jury Indicted the defendants on three (3) separate charges: (1)
conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods, in violation of Title 18, United
States Code, Section 371; (2) trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 2320(a); and (3) concealing and selling
imported counterfeit goods, in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Section 545. The defendants were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge
Stephen T. Brown in Miami at 10:00 A.M.
The maximum statutory sentences for each count in the Indictments
are: five (5) years in prison and a $2 million fine for conspiracy to traffic in
counterfeit goods; ten (10) years in prison and a $2 million fine for
trafficking in counterfeit goods; and five (5) years in prison and a $250,000
fine for illegally concealing and selling counterfeit goods. [continues]
[ http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/shaoIndict.htm ] 40

3. (f) Online Gambling
 Internet gambling, like Internet porn, is big business – a USA Today article
( http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2007-04-27-internet-gambling-
bill_N.htm ) puts its value at $12 billion dollars per year, and Calvin Ayre
(of the Bodog Internet gambling empire) even made Forbes list of
billionaires, see http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0327/112.html and
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/GCUD.html
 While Internet gambling is legal in some jurisdictions, in the United
States, with only narrow exceptions, Internet gambling is NOT legal as a
result of statutes including:
-- 18 USC 1084: "The Wire Act,"
-- 18 USC 1952: "The Travel Act,"
-- 18 USC 1955: "The Illegal Gambling Business Act,"
-- 31 USC 5361 et. seq., The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of

2006, Title VIII of HR 4954, the SAFE Port Act, available online at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:h4954:
 The FBI has been pursuing a variety of online gambling-related cases,
including… 41

Thanks For the Chance To Talk Tonight!
Are there any questions?

42

Cybercrime presentation

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