has stated that he was disillusioned by American foreign policy bent on “killing and capturing people.” But prosecutors painted the officer not as a whistle-blower but as a traitor to his country. They said that Manning knew that enemies of the United States could turn to WikiLeaks for information and that some of the information could end up in al Qaeda’s hands.
Feds Bust Biggest Credit Card Hack in History The biggest cybercrime in U.S. history was unraveled in Newark, New Jersey, last week. Federal prosecutors have charged five men responsible for a hacking and credit card fraud spree that cost companies more $300 million. Two of the suspects are in custody. Companies targeted by the hackers include a Visa Inc. licensee, J.C. Penney Co, JetBlue Airways Corp and French retailer Carrefour SA. Authorities have been pursuing the hackers for years. Prosecutors said they conservatively estimate that the group of five men from Russia and Ukraine helped steal at least 160 million payment card numbers, resulting in losses in excess of $300 million.
Authorities in New Jersey charged that each of the defendants had specialized tasks: Russians Vladimir Drinkman, 32, and Alexandr Kalinin, 26, hacked into networks, while Roman Kotov, 32, mined them for data. They allegedly hid their activities using anonymous web-hosting services provided by Mikhail Rytikov, 26, of Ukraine. Russian Dmitriy Smilianets, 29, is accused of selling the stolen data and distributing the profits. Prosecutors said he charged $10 for U.S. cards, $15 for ones from Canada and $50 for European cards, which are more expensive because they have computer chips that make them more secure. The five hid their efforts by disabling the anti-virus software of their victims and storing data on multiple hacking platforms, prosecutors said. They sold payment card numbers to resellers, who
then sold them on online forums or to “cashers” who encode the numbers onto blank plastic cards. “This type of crime is the cutting edge,” said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. “Those who have the expertise and the inclination to break into our computer networks threaten our economic wellbeing, our privacy and our national security.” The indictment cited Albert Gonzalez as a co-conspirator. He is already serving 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to helping mastermind one of the biggest hacking fraud schemes in U.S. history, helping steal millions of credit and debit cards.
Lights Out for LIPA
In News after the green paint was found on Monday. Investigators were hoping to question her about the paint that was splattered on Friday but a language barrier delayed the interrogation. She will be charged with destruction of property.
It may take a few days for all the paint to be washed off, officials say.
Fort Hood Terrorist Still Being Paid Salary by Uncle Sam Uncle Sam has been paying criminals in the military for a long time, and Congress has finally passed a law that Last October, thousands of LIPA customers were left in the dark for the weeks and months after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast. On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill to overhaul the utility company. Under the new law, New Jersey-based utility PSEG will replace LIPA as the electric provider for Nassau and Suffolk counties. The law also freezes electric rates until the end of 2015. PSEG will take over operations on January 1, 2014. Although many LIPA customers welcome this news, some say the takeover is not necessarily a good thing for Long Island taxpayers and are calling for more oversight of the new utility.
Painting the Town Green Last week, on early Friday morning, the Lincoln Memorial was found splattered with green paint. Later in the day, symbols painted in green paint were found on another statue in Washington’s Mall. Police searched for the culprit and finally arrested someone on Monday after more paint was found splattered inside two chapels at the Washington National Cathedral. Tian Jiamel, 58, was arrested shortly
may put an end to it. When members of the military are charged with crimes, they are still kept on the payroll until they are convicted. This may sound fair, however, consider Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who allegedly gunned down more than a dozen American servicemen at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. For nearly four years since Hasan was charged, U.S. taxpayers have continued to pay his salary – to the tune of around $300,000 so far. New legislation called the “Stop Pay for Violent Offenders Act” was introduced on Monday in the House of Representatives and would authorize the military to suspend pay for Hasan and other members of the military for any serious offenses. Current law allows the military to suspend the pay of civilian employees, but an Army spokesperson explained that it cannot stop paying Hasan, who is still officially in the Army, at his usual pay grade unless he’s convicted. Hasan has admitted to shooting his fellow soldiers, saying in June that the attack on Fort Hood in Texas was done in the “defense of others,” in his case, the Taliban. Hasan has repeatedly refused to enter a Continued on page 26
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