From: cult hero (jerichodimensional.com)
Date: Wed Jun 02 1999 - 13:44:41 CDT

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www.infowar.com
6/1/99
Hong Kong Computer Hacking Syndicate Smashed

HONG KONG, CHINA, 1999 MAY 30 (Newsbytes) -- By Staff Writer, IT Daily.
Hong Kong police arrested an organized group of computer hackers last
week, seizing computers and CD-ROMS, after a five-month hunt.

The arrests marked the first time an organized hacking group has been
arrested in Hong Kong.

Acting on complaints from several local Internet service providers (ISPs)
that the accounts of their clients might had been hacked late last year,
officers from the Computer Crime Section of the Commercial Crime Bureau
(CCB) launched investigations in January, culminating in a series of raids
last week.

Two men, including a suspected hacker and a middleman were arrested in the
first two days of the operation starting on May 20. In all, ten men were
arrested. The suspects were aged between 16 and 21 and included three
hackers, six buyers of the passwords and a middleman who arranged the
sales.

Operating as a syndicate, the hackers stole the passwords and personal
information on legitimate Internet account holders and sold them.

The principal hacker collected information on over 200 accounts and sold
them through a middleman to users who wanted cheap, unlimited Internet
access. Hilton Chan, head of the Computer Crime Section of the CCB told
ITDaily.com that most of the end-users wanted to use the time to access
online gaming sites.

According to police, the buyers paid HK$350 (US$45.13) each for a month's
access, and clocked up Internet time worth between HK$2,000 and HK$3,000
($257.88 and $386.82) each. Most local ISPs charge under HK$150 ($19.34)
per month for unlimited usage, but users must still pay HK$1.98 ($0.26)
per hour for the Public Non-Exclusive Telecommunications (PNETS) license
fee.

The middleman communicated with its clients through telephone and the ICQ
online cmessaging service.

Investigations also showed that one of the hackers set up a Web page on
the Internet offering pirate music CDs for sale. Each disk featured over
100 songs downloaded from the Internet or dubbed from copyrighted computer
disks. The disks were selling for HK$88 ($11.35) each or HK$160 ($20.63)
for two copies.

Ten sets computers and peripheral equipment believed to be used in the
hacking and about 700 CD-ROMs were seized during the operation.

Chan said that the maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment. He also
advised users to protect themselves against hackers. "Don't store your
password on the computer terminal, and change your password more
frequently," advised Chan. He also advised users not to use easy to
replicate passwords and be careful when downloading from the Web. "If you
don't know the source of it don't download it," Chan said.

Exchange Rate: $1 = HK$7.75

-o-
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