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05-29-2004, 04:58 PM
<font size=4>Taiwanese Trojan Author Arrested</font>
By Keith Regan
E-Commerce Times
05/28/04 9:06 AM PT
The Peep code reportedly was disguised as a game program and has been developed into two different Trojans. The first is a sniffer program that records keystrokes on a computer and transmits them back to the program's distributor. A second, more powerful version enables hackers to take control of a compromised computer remotely.
Police in Taiwan have arrested Wang An-ping, a 30-year-old man who reportedly admitted to authoring Trojan code later used to steal and destroy information on government-owned computers.
Wang reportedly told police that he developed the software as a commercial venture but eventually posted the code for free on the Web, including to some Chinese-language hacking sites.
The arrest marks the second major capture of the week in the information security enforcement arena.
Also in custody is a Canadian teenager who is accused of helping to distribute the Randex worm, which attacks unprotected machines running Microsoft Windows. Police tracked the 16-year-old, who is charged with mischief and fraudulent use of a computer, through a series of "bots" used to relay the malicious code.
Some 20 variations on the Randex worm have been identified since last summer. The most recent, labeled Randex.OL by Symantec, was spotted in March of this year.
Peeping Code
The Taiwan arrest represents a break in what has been seen as a serious case of hacking by authorities after Chinese hackers used the Peep code to break into government computers, steal protected data and then destroy that information.
The Peep code reportedly was disguised as a game program and has been developed into two different Trojans. The first is a sniffer program that records keystrokes made on a computer, including such information as bank account numbers and passwords, and transmits them back to the program's distributor.
A second, more powerful version enables hackers to take control of a compromised computer remotely, including running applications, downloading files and altering the registry files.
More on this Story (http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/34090.html)
By Keith Regan
E-Commerce Times
05/28/04 9:06 AM PT
The Peep code reportedly was disguised as a game program and has been developed into two different Trojans. The first is a sniffer program that records keystrokes on a computer and transmits them back to the program's distributor. A second, more powerful version enables hackers to take control of a compromised computer remotely.
Police in Taiwan have arrested Wang An-ping, a 30-year-old man who reportedly admitted to authoring Trojan code later used to steal and destroy information on government-owned computers.
Wang reportedly told police that he developed the software as a commercial venture but eventually posted the code for free on the Web, including to some Chinese-language hacking sites.
The arrest marks the second major capture of the week in the information security enforcement arena.
Also in custody is a Canadian teenager who is accused of helping to distribute the Randex worm, which attacks unprotected machines running Microsoft Windows. Police tracked the 16-year-old, who is charged with mischief and fraudulent use of a computer, through a series of "bots" used to relay the malicious code.
Some 20 variations on the Randex worm have been identified since last summer. The most recent, labeled Randex.OL by Symantec, was spotted in March of this year.
Peeping Code
The Taiwan arrest represents a break in what has been seen as a serious case of hacking by authorities after Chinese hackers used the Peep code to break into government computers, steal protected data and then destroy that information.
The Peep code reportedly was disguised as a game program and has been developed into two different Trojans. The first is a sniffer program that records keystrokes made on a computer, including such information as bank account numbers and passwords, and transmits them back to the program's distributor.
A second, more powerful version enables hackers to take control of a compromised computer remotely, including running applications, downloading files and altering the registry files.
More on this Story (http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/34090.html)