Authorities in different countries are increasingly taking stricter measures against cyber criminal practices. This time, digital forensics specialists report that a man from Bangladesh has been arrested for hacking more than 200 Facebook accounts.
The hacker sent messages through Facebook Messenger to compromise the victims’ accounts. Through this platform, the defendant sent messages to victims claiming that some friend or relative had been disseminating their confidential information using another Facebook account. Subsequently, the hacker sent a link to the victims, ensuring that when clicked they would find the alleged account.
“Actually, what the hacker sent is a phishing link, which redirects the victim to a site where he can capture their login credentials,” says Mishuk Chakma, a digital forensics officer at the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) of the Metropolitan Police of Dhaka.
A couple of months ago a young woman residing in Mohammadour filed a lawsuit for the hacking of her Facebook account, finally, CTTC confirmed the arrest of 20-year-old Kawsar Ahmed last Wednesday night, claiming that he is a professional cybercriminal.
Authorities claim the hacker threatened the victim with posting her private photos, as well as trying to scam some of her Facebook friends. “We’ve already received dozens of complaints about similar incidents, most hacked accounts lacked additional security layers, such as multi-factor authentication,” Chakma says.
During the hacker’s arrest, police seized 600 thousand Bangladeshi taka (about $7k USD) and two smartphones from where Kawsar operated.
International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) digital forensics specialists mention that operators of this class of practices usually try to taint victims’ connections to perform activities such as extortion or fraud. As a security measure, it is vital that social media users verify the source of any message, as a hacker may try to impersonate one of their contacts. Ignoring suspicious links received by Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or direct messages on Twitter or Instagram is also recommended.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
