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Could Hackers Use Your Computer To Distribute Pornography?

Aired July 12, 2003 - 15:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SCHAFFLER: Oh, we've got a new one for you now, your home computer may be running hard-core pornographic websites right now and you would never know it. A plot uncovered this month involves at least 1,000 PCs, criminal hijackers hijack home computers and turn them into part of a sex site network. The twist is that the software is hidden so you wouldn't even know it's happening to you. Computer security consultant Richard Smith uncovered the plot, he joins us from Boston.
Richard, good to talk to you.

RICHARD SMITH, COMPUTER SECURITY EXPERT: Thanks for having me.

SCHAFFLER: You know, it just sounds like such a far-fetched idea. I mean, I can just hear some guy saying, I had no idea this was going on with my computer. I mean, you can understand how it would be a very interesting alibi.

SMITH: Right. But it is happening. These -- this ring is apparently installing software on people's home computers without their knowledge and it's running in the background, providing, you know, pornographic websites, but they're mainly aimed at trying to get people to sign up for other websites.

SCHAFFLER: Yeah, so Richard...

SMITH: And so whoever's running...

SCHAFFLER: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Just, let's start off by explaining exactly, in sort of simple terms here, how it happens.

SMITH: Well, it's unclear how the server software is being installed on people's computer. That still needs to be worked out. But the idea is that once the software's on your computer, it turns your home PC into, like, a little web server and provides web pages just like a commercial website. And this is...

SCHAFFLER: How'd you find this?

SMITH: Well, I was looking at a different scam, somebody was sending out spam messages to try to get credit card numbers and this was using the PayPal service, where they claimed they -- the scammers claimed they were from the PayPal security department and they may need your credit card again and this information was being sent back to a website, and I started doing some research on this website and what was interesting was, I found it kept, every -- about every ten minutes, changing what computer it was running on and at first I didn't even think this was possible and I was, sort of, amazed and did more research and found it was really indeed, true.

I then went up to some news groups and looked around to see if anybody else was researching this and discovered some anti-spam people had noticed the same computers were being used for these pornographic websites. So, the same computers are involved for both PayPal and for the pornographic websites and there was, maybe, a half a dozen people that were monitoring this since early July.

SCHAFFLER: All right, how do we get these people responsible, then?

SMITH: Well, the scam looks like it's probably coming out of Russia. So, it's going to be hard to go after them from a law enforcement standpoint, it's hard to get people in other countries. However, in this particular case there was one sort of home-based computer that was directing all these computers and that computer was discovered on Friday, and it was shut down then and so the scam is over with for now. But, it could be started up again really, at any time.

SCHAFFLER: Is there any way to protect yourself, at all?

SMITH: Well, if you have a firewall installed on your home PC, that would prevent outsiders from getting to this software, so that's one king of protection. Another is -- these kinds of programs, many times, get installed through, you know, computer viruses. So, anti- virus software can detect these kind of programs and also shut them down. So, those are two -- you know, two ways to do it. I think one good piece of advice should -- that always should be true, many of these scams get installed on your computer using e-mail messages that have file attachments, so you never want to click on an attachment unless you really know what it's about.

SCHAFFLER: Good advice. Richard Smith, thanks for joining us from Boston. Appreciate that.

SMITH: OK, thank you for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Pornography?>


Aired July 12, 2003 - 15:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SCHAFFLER: Oh, we've got a new one for you now, your home computer may be running hard-core pornographic websites right now and you would never know it. A plot uncovered this month involves at least 1,000 PCs, criminal hijackers hijack home computers and turn them into part of a sex site network. The twist is that the software is hidden so you wouldn't even know it's happening to you. Computer security consultant Richard Smith uncovered the plot, he joins us from Boston.
Richard, good to talk to you.

RICHARD SMITH, COMPUTER SECURITY EXPERT: Thanks for having me.

SCHAFFLER: You know, it just sounds like such a far-fetched idea. I mean, I can just hear some guy saying, I had no idea this was going on with my computer. I mean, you can understand how it would be a very interesting alibi.

SMITH: Right. But it is happening. These -- this ring is apparently installing software on people's home computers without their knowledge and it's running in the background, providing, you know, pornographic websites, but they're mainly aimed at trying to get people to sign up for other websites.

SCHAFFLER: Yeah, so Richard...

SMITH: And so whoever's running...

SCHAFFLER: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Just, let's start off by explaining exactly, in sort of simple terms here, how it happens.

SMITH: Well, it's unclear how the server software is being installed on people's computer. That still needs to be worked out. But the idea is that once the software's on your computer, it turns your home PC into, like, a little web server and provides web pages just like a commercial website. And this is...

SCHAFFLER: How'd you find this?

SMITH: Well, I was looking at a different scam, somebody was sending out spam messages to try to get credit card numbers and this was using the PayPal service, where they claimed they -- the scammers claimed they were from the PayPal security department and they may need your credit card again and this information was being sent back to a website, and I started doing some research on this website and what was interesting was, I found it kept, every -- about every ten minutes, changing what computer it was running on and at first I didn't even think this was possible and I was, sort of, amazed and did more research and found it was really indeed, true.

I then went up to some news groups and looked around to see if anybody else was researching this and discovered some anti-spam people had noticed the same computers were being used for these pornographic websites. So, the same computers are involved for both PayPal and for the pornographic websites and there was, maybe, a half a dozen people that were monitoring this since early July.

SCHAFFLER: All right, how do we get these people responsible, then?

SMITH: Well, the scam looks like it's probably coming out of Russia. So, it's going to be hard to go after them from a law enforcement standpoint, it's hard to get people in other countries. However, in this particular case there was one sort of home-based computer that was directing all these computers and that computer was discovered on Friday, and it was shut down then and so the scam is over with for now. But, it could be started up again really, at any time.

SCHAFFLER: Is there any way to protect yourself, at all?

SMITH: Well, if you have a firewall installed on your home PC, that would prevent outsiders from getting to this software, so that's one king of protection. Another is -- these kinds of programs, many times, get installed through, you know, computer viruses. So, anti- virus software can detect these kind of programs and also shut them down. So, those are two -- you know, two ways to do it. I think one good piece of advice should -- that always should be true, many of these scams get installed on your computer using e-mail messages that have file attachments, so you never want to click on an attachment unless you really know what it's about.

SCHAFFLER: Good advice. Richard Smith, thanks for joining us from Boston. Appreciate that.

SMITH: OK, thank you for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Pornography?>