# Hacker stole data on 1,000 Canadian officials from U.S. intelligence firm: repor



## 57Chevy (13 Jun 2012)

From The Ottawa Citizen and shared with provisions of The Copyright Act


Hacker stole data on 1,000 Canadian officials from U.S. intelligence firm: report
Ian MacLeod, Postmedia News June 12, 2012 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Hacker+stole+data+Canadian+officials+from+intelligence+firm+report/6771605/story.html#ixzz1xiRXdZeU

OTTAWA — About 1,000 federal and provincial officials were victimized by December's vast cyber-theft of five million emails and other customer data from a private U.S. global intelligence firm, according to a federal memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

Almost 900 federal workers and 109 Ontario government officials were affected when computers owned by Texas-based Strategic Forecasting Inc. were hacked, says the Jan. 9 Public Safety Canada memo obtained under Access to Information.

The hackers obtained the client list of the company, also known as Stratfor, and released personal information such as emails, passwords, home and office addresses and credit-card data, according to reporter Andrew Mayeda.

The memo warns that officials whose data were stolen have had their finances and privacy put at risk, and could become "victims of specific and targeted attacks" in the future.

The number of Ottawa-area federal workers was not revealed. But given the nature of the global geopolitical, economic and military intelligence supplied by Stratfor, it suggests many may work at various departmental headquarters in the national capital.

A 27-year-old Chicago man pleaded not guilty in a U.S. court last month to conspiracy to commit computer hacking in the case and other charges.

The news follows the release this month of a 2011 internal government memo warning Public Safety Minister Vic Toews that cyber attacks pose a greater risk to Canada's economic prosperity than the government previously believed and the country lacks the tools to fight hackers.

"All new knowledge obtained indicates the problem is more widespread than previously thought," said the memo, written by former Public Safety Canada deputy minister William Baker.

Poor security against cyber attacks "is increasingly recognized as impacting not just national security, but also public safety and economic prosperity through growing cyber crime and loss of intellectual property," wrote Baker, who retired in April.

The federal government unveiled a "cyber-security strategy" in 2010, but some experts say Canada remains a juicy target, with highly vulnerable computer systems holding a wealth of trade, economic and policy secrets in government and industry databanks.

Last fall, for example, the Ottawa Citizen revealed a massive January 2011 cyber attack on federal computers was aimed at getting information on Saskatchewan's potash industry.

Foreign hackers masqueraded online as an aboriginal group to gain access to the Finance Department and Treasury Board networks. They then sent emails to high-ranking department officials containing a link to a webpage infected with a sophisticated virus. It opened a pathway deep into the government networks and installed spy malware. Infected PDF files were also sent and, when opened, unleashed more malicious code to target and download government secrets.

In the Stratfor case, U.S. prosecutors allege 27-year-old Jeremy Hammond and others hacked into companies and government agencies worldwide, including the U.S. Senate. Prosecutors say they stole confidential information, defaced websites and temporarily put some victims out of business.

Hammond and four other U.S. men were arrested in a federal investigation targeting the worldwide "hacktivist" group Anonymous and a splinter group, LulzSec.

Authorities say their crimes affected more than one million people.

There was no bail request at the brief federal hearing for Hammond, who is accused of pilfering information from more than 850,000 people via his attack on Stratfor and using credit card numbers to make charges of at least $700,000. Some reports allege the credit card numbers and other information associated with some Stratfor clients were posted on the Internet.

A website for Hammond's supporters, freehammond.com, describes him as "one of the few true electronic Robin Hoods."

Prosecutors say he is a menace. In one alleged online chat regarding Stratfor, he allegedly wrote, "Time to feast upon their (email databases)."


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