Spanish Police Detain Anonymous Members in PSN Cyberattacks

102w ago - Today the NY Times (linked above) and Policia.es are reporting that Spanish Police have detained three Anonymous members in connection with the recent PSN cyberattacks with 32 more arrested in Turkey.

To quote from the Times: "The Spanish police said Friday that they had apprehended three men suspected of computer hacking in connection with recent cyberattacks on Sony's PlayStation Network as well as corporate and government Web sites around the world.

The National Police identified the three as the local leadership of the shadowy international network of computer hackers known as Anonymous, which has claimed responsibility for a wide variety of attacks.

Anonymous is made up of people from various countries organized into cells that share common goals, the police said, with activists operating anonymously but in a coordinated fashion.

One of the three "hacktivists," a 31-year-old Spaniard, was detained in the southern city of Almeria sometime after May 18, the police said. He had a computer server in his apartment in the northern port city of Gijon, from which the group attacked the Web sites of the Sony PlayStation online gaming store.

The same computer was also employed in coordinated cyberattacks against two Spanish banks, BBVA and Bankia, the Italian energy company Enel, and government sites in Spain, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand, the police said.

The two other men, both also Spanish and in their early 30s, were picked up in Barcelona and Valencia. The statement did not make clear the timing of those detentions, but a spokeswoman for the police said all the detentions had occurred "recently."

The spokeswoman, who did not want to be identified per department policy, said all three were subsequently released, without bail, pending formal charges.

They were expected to be charged with forming an illegal association to attack public and corporate Web sites, a charge that carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison."

Finally, below is a translated version from Policia.es: The National Police dismantled the leadership of the organization "hacktivist" Anonymous in Spain

Arrested three makers in our country, one of which lodged in her home, a server that is coordinated and implemented computer attacks to government websites, financial or business throughout the world

On May 18 detainees launched a crackdown on the website of the Central Electoral Board and later also against the websites of the Catalan police and the UGT

The organization of hackers independent cell structure in the agreed time, generate thousands of denial of service (DDoS) web servers to collapse, sometimes via computers zombies infected worldwide

This research represents the first police operation in Spain against Anonymous and has precedents only in the U.S. and UK, due to the complex security measures to take its members to safeguard their anonymity

Technological Investigation Brigade of the National Police has been analyzed from October 2010 more than 2,000,000 lines of log chats and web pages used by the organization of hackers, to find her leadership in Spain, with capacity to make decisions and direct attacks and arrest in Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Almeria

10-Jun-2011 .- National Police agents have broken up the top of the organization "hacktivist" Anonymous in Spain. Three of its leaders in our country, decision makers and direct attacks have been arrested in Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Almeria. One of those arrested at home protecting a server from that computer attacks were coordinated and implemented a government Web pages, financial or business throughout the world. From this apartment in Gijon attacked the websites of the Sony Playstation Store, BBVA, Bankia, ENEL and the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand. On May 18 detainees launched a crackdown on the website of the Central Electoral Board and later also against the websites of the Catalan police and the UGT.

The organization of hackers independent cell structure, when agreed, throwing thousands of denial of service (DDoS) web servers to collapse, sometimes via computers zombies infected worldwide. This research represents the first police operation in Spain against Anonymous and has precedents only in the U.S. and UK, due to the complex security measures to take its members to safeguard their anonymity. Technological Investigation Brigade of the National Police has analyzed more than 2,000,000 lines of log chats and web pages to find the dome in Spain and arrested.

Attacks by the "Law Sinde" the Ministry of Culture and SGAE

The investigation began in October 2010 following a complaint by the Ministry of Culture after suffering its website a Denial of Service (DDoS) organized from various websites and chat networks. The attack was in protest at the passage through Congress and Senate of the Law of Sustainable Economy, one of whose sections is known as the "Sinde." In December 2010 the Ministry of Culture, on this occasion by the SGAE, again suffered another DDoS attack.

Anonymous face discovered in Spain

The investigation continued and Anonymous claimed responsibility for the attack on the Central Electoral Board of May 18, 2011, days before the municipal and regional elections. This latter action led investigators to arrest in Almeria one of the leaders of Anonymous in Spain, 31 years old, and the record of his house in Gijon. This person gave the organization infrastructure with a chat server located in your own home, from which you have coordinated and implemented major international Anonymous attacks like those launched against Sony's Playstation Store, BBVA, Bankia, ENEL or official sites the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.

Since the election of 22-M, is coordinated and carried out more attacks on the Congress of Deputies, the UGT and the Catalan police. Regarding these facts the agents identified two other network administrators from hackers, who have been arrested in Barcelona and Alicante.

WIFI network connections outside

The dome had broken up a vast knowledge in computer and telecommunications (logical security, vulnerabilities and intrusions), which put at the service of the organization to the success of their offensive. In one house searches has found plenty of software specifically designed for the creation of malware can infect computers of others. To try to conceal their activities, in addition to using sophisticated encryption techniques in their communications, making it virtually impossible to intercept and identification, sometimes connecting undermining the security of WiFi networks of others, since two of those arrested had no connection Internet itself.

Common vision and autonomous cells

Anonymous can be considered as a movement consists of a number of people of various nationalities which act anonymously and in a coordinated way, usually towards an agreed objective. Since its inception in 2008, attacked multinationals, financial institutions or official websites of governments around the world. Are structured in cells which share common overall goals and support each other through promotional videos, chats and other networks. This transaction represents the first "hit" police in Spain against Anonymous and has precedents in the U.S. alone and the UK, due to the complex security measures to take its members to safeguard their anonymity.

The cornerstone of this organization of "hacktivism" is the high sophistication when they are coordinated to the execution of their attacks through networks of IRC (chat), consisting of servers around the Globe. To carry out these attacks Anonymous members make use of a computer program called LOIC from which it is possible to launch denial of service (DDoS) web sites, flooding them with requests for information, until their server crashed.

Frame and computer software "zombies" in thousands of homes

Also, to facilitate and coordinate such attacks, the program LOIC remains "asleep" until it receives a command to start the attack by Anonymous managers. Then, in a coordinated manner, are released at the same time thousands of requests for information to sites that are its target. In addition to the program administrators LOIC organization can also get to take advantage of computer networks zombies (botnets), from which free up bandwidth of thousands of computers around the world

Research has been developed by the Technological Investigation Brigade (BIT), which have monitored and tracked chat networks and websites of national and international Anonymous. In total they have analyzed more than 2,000,000 lines of records that have provided information leading to the three arrests for criminal damage, discovery and disclosure of secrets and conspiracy. BIT agents have relied on the cooperation of the Judicial Police Provincial Brigades of Almeria, Gijon, Barcelona and Alicante.