Hackers Bagged but Not Eliminated

The internet has the ability to aid crime as well as the ability to help catch crime. In the Shadowcrew case, a huge identity theft and credit-card trafficking network case, the internet acted as both an aid and a trap for the felons. The internet provide the 4,000 members of Shadowcrew ways to sell and auction millions off stolen credit cards, counterfeit credit-cards, stolen social security cards and email accounts. The internet gave these people a way to remain anonymous as well as collaborate with thousands of people. The members create sites to draw in like-minded people and organization in order to grow.

The members would steal personal information by sending fake emails then post stolen property on the organizations wesbite. Members could then buy and sell the information on the site. Buyers who didn’t pay for what they bought on time were punished. This was run like a business which was made possible through technology.

Computers and technology provide ways that people can hide their identities such as proxy servers, secure websites or ways to route their communication through different countries. Botnets have become more sophisticated as well as phishing. Went preventative or law enforcement responses are made the botnets simply alter their method. Previously only very clever people were able to hack into computers and use these tools but now they don’t require high levels of sophistication to use. That’s a little frightening. Any dummy can hack into computers and potentially target me or anyone else out there.

Although the hackers thought they were in the clear due to precautions they took to remain anonymous, the Shadowcrew group was caught. An individual who was working with law enforcement to catch these people became involved in the Shadowcrew to get inside information. He eventually called an online meeting to ensure that everyone was at home on their computers. Authorities had ‘tapped’ the lines to trace where the people were. What initially got the Shadowcrew business off the ground, technology, ended up being what busted it as well.

I personally think it’s scary that, with advances in technology, it becomes easier for phishing to occur. You never know exactly what or who you are giving your information to online. Although many hackers and cyber criminals are caught and prosecuted many are not. Technology helps us catch these criminals but sometimes it is not enough. The fact that your identity can be protected through different programs could be positive or negative. It could be great if I want to protect myself but if the scumbag who stole my identity has protected himself well enough I may be shit out of luck. Police have had to revert to gumshoe tactics to catch these hackers because it seems that the internet is more useful for the criminals than it is for the good guys.