AplusWebMaster
Topic Starter
FYI…
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/04/3fn_shut_down/
4 June 2009 - "Federal authorities have shut down what they said was the worst US-based web hosting provider after convincing a judge it actively participated in the distribution of child pornography, spam, malware, and other net-based menaces. The US Federal Trade Commission obtained the court order against 3FN.net, a service provider with servers mostly located in San Jose, California that also operated under the name Pricewert. Dated June 2, it commanded all companies providing upstream services to 3FN to immediately pull the plug. The order was issued in secret to prevent the operators from being able to destroy evidence or find new hosts, something FTC attorneys said was necessary given the extreme nature of the data it hosted. "This content includes a witches' brew of child pornography, botnet command and control servers, spyware, viruses, trojans, phishing-related sites, and pornography featuring violence, bestiality, and incest," they wrote in court documents. "In addition to recruiting and willingly distributing this illegal, malicious and harmful content, Pricewert actively colludes with its criminal clientele in several areas, including the maintenance and deployment of networks of compromised computers known as botnets." This week's action is the most significant shutdown since the shuttering in November of McColo, another Northern California-based service provider with ties to online crime… One of the biggest complaints among white hat hackers is the difficulty of shutting down networks that flagrantly violate the law. This week's action is the first time the FTC has used its congressional mandate to protect US consumer to sever a service provider suspected of illegal activity… Court documents are available here*."
* http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923148/index.shtm
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10257588-83.html
June 4, 2009 - "… In its filings with the district court, the FTC estimates that more than 4,500 malicious software programs are controlled by command-and-control servers hosted by 3FN. This malware includes programs capable of keystroke logging, password and data stealing, programs with hidden backdoor remote control activity, and programs involved in spam distribution. This case was brought to light with the assistance of multiple agencies and people including NASA's Office of Inspector General; the Department of Justice's Computer Crime Division; Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the Shadowserver Foundation; the Spamhaus Project; and Symantec…"
- http://www.informationweek.com/shared/prin…cleID=217701956
June 4, 2009 - "… The only entity named in the case is Pricewert. Ethan Arenson, an attorney with the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that the individuals behind the company are overseas in Eastern Europe. He declined to comment on a possible extradition effort or coordination with authorities abroad. Whether the individuals doing business as Pricewert will face charges remains an open question. Pricewert is essentially an Oregon shell corporation with some servers in San Jose…"
- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/pushdo.htm
- http://asert.arbornetworks.com/2009/06/things-in-3fn/
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/04/3fn_shut_down/
4 June 2009 - "Federal authorities have shut down what they said was the worst US-based web hosting provider after convincing a judge it actively participated in the distribution of child pornography, spam, malware, and other net-based menaces. The US Federal Trade Commission obtained the court order against 3FN.net, a service provider with servers mostly located in San Jose, California that also operated under the name Pricewert. Dated June 2, it commanded all companies providing upstream services to 3FN to immediately pull the plug. The order was issued in secret to prevent the operators from being able to destroy evidence or find new hosts, something FTC attorneys said was necessary given the extreme nature of the data it hosted. "This content includes a witches' brew of child pornography, botnet command and control servers, spyware, viruses, trojans, phishing-related sites, and pornography featuring violence, bestiality, and incest," they wrote in court documents. "In addition to recruiting and willingly distributing this illegal, malicious and harmful content, Pricewert actively colludes with its criminal clientele in several areas, including the maintenance and deployment of networks of compromised computers known as botnets." This week's action is the most significant shutdown since the shuttering in November of McColo, another Northern California-based service provider with ties to online crime… One of the biggest complaints among white hat hackers is the difficulty of shutting down networks that flagrantly violate the law. This week's action is the first time the FTC has used its congressional mandate to protect US consumer to sever a service provider suspected of illegal activity… Court documents are available here*."
* http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923148/index.shtm
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10257588-83.html
June 4, 2009 - "… In its filings with the district court, the FTC estimates that more than 4,500 malicious software programs are controlled by command-and-control servers hosted by 3FN. This malware includes programs capable of keystroke logging, password and data stealing, programs with hidden backdoor remote control activity, and programs involved in spam distribution. This case was brought to light with the assistance of multiple agencies and people including NASA's Office of Inspector General; the Department of Justice's Computer Crime Division; Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the Shadowserver Foundation; the Spamhaus Project; and Symantec…"
- http://www.informationweek.com/shared/prin…cleID=217701956
June 4, 2009 - "… The only entity named in the case is Pricewert. Ethan Arenson, an attorney with the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said that the individuals behind the company are overseas in Eastern Europe. He declined to comment on a possible extradition effort or coordination with authorities abroad. Whether the individuals doing business as Pricewert will face charges remains an open question. Pricewert is essentially an Oregon shell corporation with some servers in San Jose…"
- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/pushdo.htm
- http://asert.arbornetworks.com/2009/06/things-in-3fn/