Security News > 2006 > February > Brazilian police bust hacker gang
http://www.theage.com.au/news/breaking/brazilian-police-bust-hacker-gang/2006/02/15/1139890794432.html February 15, 2006 Brazilian federal police arrested 41 hackers today accused of using the internet to divert millions of dollars out of other people's bank accounts. Some 200 federal police were deployed in the operation to serve 65 arrest warrants against a gang of hackers mostly operating in Campina Grande, some 1,800km north-east of Rio. Arrests also were made in six other states. Police said over the past three months the gang invaded some 200 accounts in six banks, stealing 10 million reals ($A6.38 million) using a so-called Trojan horse virus sent via email. The program entered computers and, working in the background, copied account numbers and passwords without the users' knowledge. Police said the leader of the gang was a 19-year-old and five of those arrested so far were minors. Police were still looking for 24 other alleged gang members. While only a small percentage of Brazil's 185 million people can afford computers. Those who do have them are among the most active in the world in using online banking services and the internet. Copyright © 2006. The Age Company Ltd _________________________________ InfoSec News v2.0 - Coming Soon! http://www.infosecnews.org