Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/26/stratfor_hack/
Merry Christmas, Stratfor
Hackers hand intel outfit own head on plate
Posted in Security, 26th December 2011 21:30 GMT
Watch Now : Virtual Machine Movement with Hyper-V
While L-tryptophanics were tucking in on Christmas day, private intelligence group Stratfor Global Intelligence was watching its reputation dissipate after online attackers copied e-mails and client lists.
On Christmas Eve, the attackers announced that they had broken into Stratfor’s systems and obtained access to 200 GB of e-mails.
They then extracted information, including Stratfor’s customer and donor lists along with credit card data on Pastebin [1].
Clients identified in the list include Goldman Sachs, derivatives trader MF Global, Apple, and the US Air Force.
The successful attack has been confirmed by Stratfor founder George Friedman in a letter reproduced [2] at Zero Hedge.
While the Zero Hedge post captures IRC announcements made during the attack that link the break-in to Anonymous, the collective has posted a statement [3] to Pastebin denying responsibility.
The statement attributes the attack to “Sabu”, stating that “Sabu and his crew are nothing more than opportunistic attention whores who are possibly agent provocateurs. As a media source, Stratfor's work is protected by the freedom of press, a principle which Anonymous values greatly.” ®