Phone hackers divert money to al Qaeda group

NY Times:
Four people in the Philippines hacked into the accounts of AT&T business customers in the United States and diverted money to a group that financed terrorist attacks across Asia, according to police officials in the Philippines.
A statement from the Philippines Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, a law enforcement agency, said three men and one woman had been arrested in raids across the capital, Manila, last week.
According to the agency, the men were working with a group called Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda and responsible for the 2002 bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people.
The group has been held responsible for several other terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, mostly in Indonesia but including the Philippines.
If the new accusation holds up, it would point to a troubling connection between hackers and terrorist cells.
... 
AT&T needs to do a better job of blocking hackers attempting to steal money from its customers.  The hacking suggest these groups are having a harder time getting funding through their more traditional sources. Fortunately the Philippines authorities were able to trace the suspects and arrest them.

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