10 Massive Security Breaches

A group apparently taking a page out of the LulzSec playbook claims to have broken into the network of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and stolen sensitive information it plans to post online.

The Crazies--which like Anonymous, AntiSec, and the now-defunct LulzSec hacking groups--said it is politically motivated to act against the federal government. It posted online SSL certificate revocation lists (CRLs) it claims are in its possession as a result of an intrusion into DISA's network.

On the document-sharing site Pastebin, the group also voiced its support for those hacktivist groups in notes about its activity, which it said was inspired by U.S. military engagement in the Middle East.

"We're fully supporting you and supporting any others who wants to get those carnivores that lives on sucking the civilians' blood as far as we saw that happening in Libya ... and before that in Iraq and Afghanistan and many others," according to the notes. "We'll expose them because we had enough of their thoughts and calls for fake freedom."

Crazies didn't go into detail about what's contained in the files it claims to have lifted from DISA's network, but said it will post them online in less than a week.

Reached via telephone, Lily Cofield from the DISA public affairs office said the agency is currently checking with the Department of Defense's U.S. Cyber Command, which keeps track of intrusions into .gov websites, to see if the group's claim is legitimate. Until then, DISA can't confirm it's been hacked, she said.

Crazies could be aspiring to be the next big politically motivated hacktivist outfit. Until it announced it was ceasing operations near the end of June, LulzSec went on a 50-day hacking spree, targets of which included the Navy, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the CIA.

Following LulzSec's self-enforced demise, AntiSec--which includes members of Anonymous and LulzSec--picked up where the latter left off in an international hacking spree as part of an "Operation Anti Security" campaign targeting government corruption around the world.

A week ago, AntiSec targeted federal contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and posted 90,000 military email addresses and passwords from the company online.

What industry can teach government about IT innovation and efficiency. Also in the new, all-digital issue of InformationWeek Government: Federal agencies have to shift from annual IT security assessments to continuous monitoring of their risks. Download it now. (Free registration required.)