[Infowarrior] - Hackers build private IM to keep the law out

[Richard Forno]

(certainly nothing groundbreaking per se, just an informative
item........rf)

Hackers build private IM to keep the law out

CarderIM helps hackers sell personal information; product's distribution is
limited

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/28/HNhackersprivateIM_1.html

By Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service

March 28, 2007

Hackers have built their own encrypted IM (instant-message) program to
shield themselves from law enforcement trying to spy on their communication
channels.

The application, called CarderIM, is a sophisticated tool hackers are using
to sell information such as credit-card numbers or e-mail addresses, part of
an underground economy dealing in financial data, said Andrew Moloney,
business director for financial services for RSA, part of EMC Corp., during
a presentation at the International e-crime Congress in London on Wednesday.

CarderIM exemplifies the increased effort hackers are making to obscure
their activities while continuing to use the Internet as a means to
communicate with other criminals. "They're even investing in their own
custom tools, their own places to work," Moloney said.

CarderIM's logo is humorous: two overlapping half suns in the same
red-and-yellow tones as MasterCard International Inc.'s logo. The name,
CarderIM, is a reference to the practice of "carding," or converting stolen
credit-card details into cash or goods.

Often, the hackers who obtain credit-card numbers aren't interested in
trying to convert the data into cash. But other people are. On the Internet,
the two can meet. But the data buyers and sellers are constantly on the
lookout for the "rippers" -- security experts or police who are gathering
data on them, Moloney said.

It's not known how widely CarderIM is being used, but its distribution
appears to be limited, Moloney said. Searches through Google uncover a few
passing but incomplete references to the program. It's also not easy to find
a copy of it.

"To get ahold of it [CarderIM] you need to be part of one of the trusted
groups, which we have agents within," Moloney said.

During his presentation, Moloney showed a screenshot of an advertisement for
CarderIM, which addressed the need to "secure the scene." The application
supposedly uses encrypted servers that are "offshore" and does not record IM
conversations.

Hackers may have needed a more secure IM application, since most of the free
ones, such as ICQ, transmit messages in clear text, which can be
intercepted, Moloney said.

"They know that we watch and listen," Moloney said.