The hacker who broke into CIA director John Brennan’s email last October has now hacked US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Going by the nickname ‘Cracka’ and claiming to be a teen member of the hacker group ‘Crackas with Attitude’ (CWA), the attacker told tech site Motherboard he had gained access to Clapper’s home telephone, Internet, and personal email accounts and his wife’s Yahoo email.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed the intrusion on Tuesday.
The alleged teen also changed Clapper’s settings so his incoming calls were redirected to Paul Larudee, the co-founder of the Free Palestine Movement.
The breach was probably successful due to social engineering techniques used to guess Clapper’s passwords or security questions through research into his life or by spoofing service providers to get them to reveal information.
When asked why he did it, Cracka responded, “I just wanted the gov to know people aren’t f***** around, people know what they’re doing and people don’t agree #FreePalestine”. CWA said after last year’s hack that its actions were in support of the Palestine cause.
SOURCE: Motherboard.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.