As anticipated by activists claiming to be Anonymous on the internet, 8th of December has been a full day of attacks and hacks on French entities. Mostly a couple of public websites have been down because of DDoS attacks, and more severely, the release of sensitive personal information of 1400 civil servants of the French Republic.

Security expert Damien Bancal has been updating the public through social media about the doxing and continuous cyber attacks.

Around noon of 8th of December 2018, journalist Damien Bancal found traces of a list containing the names, e-mail, and phone numbers of 1400 French public servants, including the Ministry of Justice. The authors, who claim to support the Yellow Vests, are trying to spread the list as widely as possible to further cause instability. It has been indicated that the hacking group might have anarchist beliefs.

When asked about the validity of the list, Damien replied:

“In my opinion, this does not come from a ministry. The data looks credible, but it’s impossible to know at this time whether this list is from last week or a year ago.”

According to the expert, the groups are trying to disseminate as much chaos and fear through the leaking of personal information.

The second part of the day brought about several cyber attacks which resulted in the crashing of several institutional websites. In order of crashing: The Bank of France, The Ministry of Culture, The Cohesion Territories, The National Security Agency of Information Systems, and The Artisanal, Commerce, and Tourism website.

Commercial companies such as Total or Saint-Globe have also taken a hit. Even the DynDNS website went under heavy strokes of DDoS initiatives.

The majority of such attacks were committed using the help of two pieces of software available on the clear net. More precisely, hping3 and Loic. Hping3 is a network program able to send custom TCP/IP packets and to display target replies, while Loic (Low Orbit Ion Cannon) is also an open-source software written in C# capable of generating massive network traffic and analyzing responses. These programs are used by motivated groups to commit cyber attacks and are accessible to anyone online, legally. More software names include HOIC, XOIC, HULK (HTTP Unbearable Load King), R-U-Dead-Yet, DDOSIM—Layer 7 DDOS Simulator, etc.

Many hackers are mobilizing for another wave of attacks on 8th of December against French institutions and companies. A first wave was committed on 3rd and 4th of December.

Activists advertising themselves as Anonymous collective members called for mobilizations on Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, and Internet Relay Chat against Carrefour, Total, EDF, Orange, La Française des Jeux, and especially government sites, the National Police, and media posts like TF1 and BFM.TV. They claim that such entities are worth attacking because they’re acting against the interest of the people.

Anonymous France denies any involvement in a video posted on YouTube:

“This commendable fight has been hijacked by left-wing and right-wing extremists, which we deplore given the violence.”

The cyber-intelligence teams of the American company FireEye observed attacks on at least five French institutional websites: the French social welfare collection agencies, the Ministry of Justice, the Université Paris- South, the University of Lorraine, and the Franco-American Foundation. The primary method used was distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks which consists of traffic overloading from different sources in the hopes of crashing the website.

David Grout, the FireEye expert who detected the first cyber attacks, said the perpetrators are “classic” hacker groups, formed well before the Yellow Vests movement:

“The cyber attacks were first claimed by anti-Israeli and pro-Erdogan hacktivist groups, and hackers claiming Anonymous, French-speaking hacktivists, then came forward, not ‘yellow vests’ but hackers who have decided to support the ‘Yellow Vests’ by attacking institutional sites.”

When asked about his opinion on the motivations of the hackers, David Grout responded:

“The common thread between hacktivists in general and ‘yellow jackets’ is their anti-establishment. A social movement the size of that of ‘Yellow Vests’ is an opportunity for them to strike a big blow,” believes the cyber analyst.

France is bracing itself for yet another hot day of protests and threats. Most probably, the attacks are going to consist of DoS or DDoS initiatives. Propaganda messages are also to be expected against the French establishment which seems to unite both the Yellow vests and the hackers.

Source: https://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/internet/des-hackers-soutiennent-les-gilets-jaunes-et-annoncent-le-chaos-le-8-decembre-800353.html

Operation Green Heart, launched on 19th of November 2018,  has come to an end. Mandated raids were executed across 13 European countries in 300 apartments and resulted in the arrest of 235 people. The majority of the interventions were executed between the 3rd and 6th of December 2018.

The EUROPOL-coordinated operation was possible thanks to the arrest in June 2018 of a significant counterfeit money printer from Leoben, Styria, Austria. The 33-year-old man is estimated to have sold over half of million euros over the darknet, especially in Europe and the Alpine countries. Most interestingly, the banknotes displayed a type of Chinese hologram. The tickets were produced in fifty, twenty, and ten euro notes.

“Green Heart” operation was named after the Austrian federal state of Styria located in the central part of the country, similar to that of a heart. As poetic as it may seem, the raids weren’t at all. It involved hundreds of officers, months of intel gathering and sharing across international intelligence agencies, and resulted in the mandated raid of 300 apartments across Europe: 180 searches were carried out in Germany, 28 in France, 20 in Italy, 20 in Austria, as much in Spain, and others in Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

In Germany, searches were carried out on more than 160 suspects in all federal states. Just this Wednesday, 5th of December 2018, four suspects were arrested in Offenbach for buying and selling counterfeit notes. More noteworthy is the arrest of three suspects in Unterföhring, Bavaria who had previously purchased the equivalent of 100 thousand euros in fake money from Naples and brought them back to Germany.

Austria also witnesses multiple arrests. One of which involves a 21-year-old worker who bought fake euro notes to purchase marijuana off the streets.

Spain also saw the detention of 18 people throughout the state. The Spanish National police confiscated 15 thousand fake euros. Spanish law enforcement got tips from both EUROPOL and FBI.

France is one of the most affected countries of counterfeit money trafficking. This week in Montpellier, an ex-veteran wanted for robberies in the 90s, alongside two younger drug sellers were arrested with a total of 1 thousand fake tens, twenties, and fifty euro banknotes.

SOURCES:

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/eu-wide-action-against-buyers-of-counterfeit-money-darknet

https://www.op-online.de/offenbach/falschgeldhandel-darknet-vier-offenbacher-verdaechtigt-10827774.html

http://www.nordbayern.de/region/neumarkt/darknet-bluten-lka-findet-falschgeld-in-der-region-1.8384556

https://www.vilaweb.cat/noticies/desmantellada-una-xarxa-de-distribucio-de-bitllets-falsos-adquirits-amb-bitcoins/

https://www.krone.at/1822451

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/kriminalitaet-falschgeld-razzia-darknet-1.4243912

https://www.midilibre.fr/2018/12/07/vente-de-faux-euros-sur-le-dark-net-arrestations-a-montpellier-et-dans-les-po,5005215.php

https://www.lavozdeltajo.com/noticia/35589/castilla-la-mancha/detenidas-18-personas-dos-en-clm-por-distribuir-dinero-falso-adquirido-en-la-darknet.html

https://www.aldia.cat/gent/noticia-successos-detingudes-18-persones-per-distribuir-diners-falsos-adquirits-darknet-20181207161555.html

https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/geldfaelscher-durchsuchungen-auch-in-unterfranken,RBYMqC6

A 21-year-old Austrian worker from the district of Scheibbs was convicted of two months in prison, 18 months of house arrest, and three years of drug and gambling counseling over multiple counts of fraud, drug use, and theft.

The Regional Court of St. Pölten gave a somewhat relaxed sentence to the young man upon hearing a full confession from the defendant, represented by attorney Martin Engelbrecht. The case in which the 21-year-old was involved could’ve carried a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Gambling addiction and drugs, predominantly cannabis, would have tempted the young man in 2014 to order 30 banknotes of twenty euros for the low sum of 120 real euros. In 2018 he ordered 20 banknotes of fifty euros and tried to pay a bar bill with some of the fake money. The attentive bartender recognized the counterfeit cash and called the police.

Following his arrest and trial, the defendant decided to admit to every wrongdoing from his past. He confessed to having found and stole the wallet of a guest at his workplace, breaking-and-entering into his employer’s office in June of 2016, buying marijuana with dark web fake euros, paying for products and services with counterfeit money, and commercial fraud against two acquaintances and a computer online retailer for a total of just under 10 thousand euros. The comprehensive and sincere confessions convinced the jury of his remorse and decided to judge him on the forgiving side.

On top of his sentence, the culprit has to pay back 8,450 euros to the two acquaintances that he had tricked into giving him money with the pretext of investing them into an allegedly successful bitcoin business. He also has to pay back 450 euros to an online computer retailer for the unpaid purchase of a computer. A device that was ultimately re-sold by the defendant for the sum of 400 euros. The court added 250 euros to be paid to the shipping company which also incurred expenses.

Source and photos: https://www.meinbezirk.at/scheibbs/c-lokales/scheibbser-bezahlte-hanfblueten-mit-euroblueten_a3085569#gallery=null

 

Shin Bet is Israel’s internal security service which decided to recruit volunteers to fight against the so-called “White September” (WS) deep web terrorist group. The Israeli government fears real-life terrorist attacks and claims that the group is financed by Iran and Hezbollah.

The initiative follows a recent and growing trend among official institutions to seek the help of civilian volunteers. The practice is growing in popularity because of its success in the United Kindom and the Netherlands. Adjacently, a successful trial program “The Xcelerator” developed by the joint Shin Bet-Tel Aviv University Ventures also offered promising results which prompted the Israeli government to move forward with the new strategy.

Its estimated that more than 150,000 people have already accessed the website, but only two have solved the requested challenge. The test verified the candidate’s familiarity with advanced technology, both hardware, and software. Subsequently, the successful candidate will have the possibility of entering an “incubation” program that will transform the initial candidate into a specialized security service. Basically, the incubator is designed for early-stage entrepreneurs with technological potential but who aren’t necessarily experienced in security.

More so, seeking civilian help comes as a natural and rational strategy against terroristic guerilla fighters that operate underground. The population of Israel is highly motivated and internet-savvy and will prove very helpful for law enforcement. However, more counter-intelligence operations mean more arrests, raids, and a general escalation of violence.

More info can be found on Israelneedsu.com:

“Hello Special Agent A from the Technology Unit of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA)

‘White September’ (WS) is a group of arch-terrorists. They are linked to the global jihadist movement and are financed by Iran and Hezbollah. A few weeks ago, they used the darknet to declare their intention to commit a mega-terrorist attack in Israel. They nicknamed the operation “September 11 Israeli”. These people are very sophisticated and ruthless.

We at ISA have received a tip that some terrorists have already infiltrated the country and our agents have launched an operation to stop them before they can carry out their project.

YOUR MISSION – Identify terrorists, locate them and foil their plans. Your missions have been sent to you via the secure system. The State of Israel needs your help! To enter the system, solve the security puzzle.”

 

SOURCE: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Want-to-join-the-Shin-Bet-Try-the-intelligence-agencys-new-challenge-573735

Two German men from the Regensburg and Kelheim areas, 25 and 33-years-old, respectively, were arrested on the 1st and 2nd of December 2018. They’re accused of ordering 1.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from the darkweb. One of the men was caught in flagrant trying to open a marked parcel.

The men placed the order for just over one kilo of the potent drug in the summer of 2018. When officers first caught with their online conversations, the two men were expecting 200 grams. The police officers sent a bait package to the two men and the 33-year-old was caught in flagrant trying to open the parcel. Furthermore, just under 200 grams of methamphetamines were discovered at the culprits’ workplace. They face from 2 to 15 years of prison.

At least in one shipment, the drugs were encased in candles and declared as “soy wax and candles.”

Policemen have secured over more than half a million units of crystal meth in Bavaria over the past eight years. Once a phenomenon only associated with the parts alongside the Czech border, today crystal meth affects almost all parts of Germany, especially the Nuremberg area. The deaths associated with methamphetamine have also increased significantly since 2010, adding up to 100. Over the past eight years, police officers in Bavaria have also discovered a total of 48 illegal Crystal laboratories.

Source: https://L2s.Pet/kqxYzuWM

 

Security researcher VriesHd tweeted, on December the 2nd of 2018, findings that indicate that up to 415 thousand MikroTik routers have been infected with a cryptojacking malware since this summer.

Internet security researchers VriesHd and Bad Packets Report have exposed a doubling in cryptocurrency-mining malware incidents since last year. More precisely, the Latvian router producer MikroTik has had its system compromised by over 16 different malware viruses. Main malware names include Coinhive, CoinImp, and Omine.

Although the majority of infections are registered in Brazil, Iran, India, and Indonesia, the attacks are worldwide. Most of the victims had no security protocol in place for their router. Casual internet users should consider using anti-malware software such as Google OnHub.

The attacks are such a common practice that for example, the Coinhive malware is suspected to have mined 5 percent of all Monero cryptocurrency in circulation. Number estimated by security company Palo Alto Networks.

Extensive article on how to secure your router: https://L2s.Pet/KF2Vmdms

 

The Netherlands successfully integrated volunteer information and communications technology professionals into their police force. The newly sworn-in white hat hackers will have bureaucratic access to tax-payer money to fight illegalities on the darknet. They become official yesterday, 4th of December, 2018.

Programmers and IT experts will now work formally within police ranks.

Bob, 31 years old, was a civilian volunteer with an acute sense of justice and now he’s looking at a full integration into the police force. He worked as a volunteer in the city of Driebergen:

“I have been a volunteer at the police since 2007. I also work as a programmer, I quickly became a source of information for my colleagues. (…) A lot of people think that they can remain anonymous, but those who are searching profoundly can certainly find an identity. “

Arieh Tal is an ex-nuclear physicist who wanted a purpose in life after his ex-girlfriend died of cancer. He fights crime on the internet to give something back to the Netherlands, his country of adoption.

More so, even local businesses give their fair share towards the effort. Theo van der Plas, a police officer from Hague, Netherlands declares:

“We can not keep up with the fast developments if we do not seek a connection with the business community. “

The volunteers were screened and have received specialized training. They’re expected to bring up arrest productivity and discourage the black market as seen in the United Kindom with similar circumstances.

Source (including photos of Bob, Arieh Tah, and Theo van der Plas): https://L2s.Pet/WvNEcwUd

 

Allen D. Lint, a 38-year-old man from Tacoma, Washington has been sentenced today, 4th of December 2018, for distributing controlled substances between May of 2016 and September of 2017. More than 3600 lysergic acid (LSD) doses were found in Allen’s residence.

Most of the trafficking happened on a deep web marketplace website called Dream Market. U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes declared:

“This defendant was a 21st-century drug dealer. From the anonymity of the dark web, he filled more than 1700 drug orders for customers who paid with cryptocurrency. Despite his special encryption software and other efforts to hide his criminal conduct, law enforcement was able to unmask his identity and hold him to account.”

U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle also imposed five years of supervision upon release, on top of the 5-year prison term.

Mr. Lint’s address has been revealed in multiple country-wide investigations, from as far away as Philadelphia. Furthermore, the mandated police officers found a variety of paraphernalia at his residence, including drugs, scales, bagging material, and customer records.

The defendant was indicted in April of 2018 and pleaded guilty in September of 2018.

On Nov. 27th, 2018, Intel has been granted a patent for the invention of a faster and more efficient SHA256 mining (bitcoin) process. The new processing systems are more “energy-efficient hardware accelerators.” More precisely, an overall reduction of power consumption by 15 percent.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Intel demonstrated innovation through the approval of the United States Patent and Trademark Office last Tuesday. Three individuals from Oregon invented the methodology, which took two years for it to be approved.

The power efficiency of the mining processor comes from newly designed hardware accelerators. Also, data pathway improvements are also included in the new system.

1) Hardware accelerators with an improved architectural design that require less power compared to past application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) computers;

2) Software improvements regarding optimized SHA-256 data paths for faster information processing time.

The improvements should lower miners’ electricity bill and accelerate the mining process. The market is eagerly waiting for patent integration in tomorrow’s bitcoin mining rigs.

PATENT: https://L2s.Pet/4ssykt3A