New designs on hacking

A fashion designer and a news wire are the latest victims of cyber crime

The innovative methods of cyber crooks are keeping the law enforcers on tenterhooks. Fashion designer Pria Kataria Puri and Delhi-based news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) are the latest to fall prey to hackers.

Pria Kataria Puri's friends thought the slump had hit her real hard when they received her emails, requesting for cash. The appalled designer told MiD DAY over phone from Kuwait, "A few days back, I received a request, apparently from my service provider (Hotmail), asking me to confirm a password change. Later, I realised my email id was hacked."

The style guru hasn't faced any financial losses yet, but she is anxious and fears the worst. She has lodged a complaint with various American cyber security authorities, since her mail service provider, Hotmail, is based in America.

According to Web experts, Nigeria and Eastern Europe are the areas where hackers roam freely. "The legitimate sources of income are few, so youngsters there hack for easy money," said e-security specialist Vijay Mukhi.
There are primarily three reasons why glamour-driven hacking is on the rise. "The first is quick publicity for criminal groups because these segments are more in the news. The second, competition-driven hacking to combat success, and the third, an intention to hurt their dignified image," said Rajat Khare, cybercrime investigator and director of Appin Security solutions. Fame, as they say, comes at a cost.

In another instance, some of the websites of the Delhi-based news agency Indo-Asian News Service were hacked earlier this month by a suspected Pakistani group that identified itself as PakBuGs.OrG Heross. The hackers posted offensive articles on the website.

While IANS has cleaned its servers, Kataria is still awaiting relief. "I feel helpless. We need to find a solution to pre-empt cyber crimes," the miffed designer said.


Growing menace

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's fan group on Orkut has been another recent target. In the West, celebs like Paris Hilton, Madonna and Lindsay Lohan have also fallen prey to cyber crooks.