[Infowarrior] - Cybersecurity intern accused in huge hacking bust

[Richard Forno]

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: dan
> http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/15/technology/hacker-fireeye-intern/
> 
> Cybersecurity intern accused in huge hacking bust
> Jose Pagliery
> 
> The guy accused of being one of the world's top Android phone hackers
> is a bright young student who's been honing his skills as an intern
> at the cybersecurity firm FireEye.
> 
> On Wednesday the U.S. Justice Department announced a massive
> international bust of Darkode, an online black market for hackers.
> 
> Among those charged with crimes was Morgan Culbertson, a 20-year-old
> from Pittsburgh. He's accused of creating a nasty malware that
> infects Android phones, steals data and controls the device.
> 
> Culbertson is currently a sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University
> in Pittsburgh. He's a two-time intern at the cybersecurity software
> maker FireEye where he's been researching malware on Android
> smartphones, tearing apart viruses, and analyzing them.
> 
> According to federal investigators, Culbertson went on to create
> the infamous "Dendroid" malware. For $300, anyone who bought it
> could turn any legitimate Android app into malware. Buyers even got
> round-the-clock software support.
> 
> The Dendroid malware was so bad that the cybersecurity companies
> Trend Micro and Symantec each issued separate reports and warnings
> about it. They cautioned that it allowed hackers to remotely -- and
> quietly -- take screenshots, photos, videos and audio recordings.
> dendroid malware Hacker forums displayed Dendroid advertisement
> banners like this one.
> 
> FireEye issued a statement to CNNMoney that confirmed its intern
> was charged. The firm said it was caught be surprise.
> 
> "Mr. Culbertson's internship has been suspended pending an internal
> review of his activities," FireEye said.
> 
> The concern now is that Culbertson has compromised FireEye's software
> -- and used the corporation's knowledge and tools for criminal
> hacking.  According to his online resume, he worked with FireEye's
> elite Advanced Persistent Threat team, which investigates hackers
> and their tactics.
> 
> CNNMoney wrote an email to Culbertson but did not receive an immediate
> response.
> 
> Fellow interns at FireEye described Culbertson as "very technically
> capable." But they expressed shock at the criminal accusations,
> noting that Culbertson was sociable and not the kind of person who
> would knowingly cause such widespread damage.
>