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posted by janrinok on Tuesday July 08 2014, @03:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the shouldn't-have-gone-there dept.

As the New York Times is reporting, it seems the Feds managed to arrest a Russian hacker for, among other things, breaking into cash register systems and stealing credit card data. From the article:

Roman Valerevich Seleznev was arrested on charges that he hacked into cash register systems at retailers throughout the United States from 2009 to 2011. The Secret Service would not say whether he was tied to the recent attacks that affected the in-store cash register systems at Target, Neiman Marcus, Michaels and other retailers last year.

The arrest of Mr. Seleznev provides a lens onto the shadowy world of Russian hackers, the often sophisticated programmers who seem to operate with impunity. As long ago as March 2011, the United States attorney's office in Washington State identified Mr. Seleznev, a Russian citizen, in a sealed indictment as "Track2", an underground alias that is an apparent reference to the data that can be pulled off the magnetic strips of credit and debit cards.

That data includes enough basic information--like account numbers and expiration dates--to make fraudulent purchases.

The indictment accuses Mr. Seleznev of hacking into the cash register systems of businesses across the United States and of operating computer servers and international online forums in Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere where such stolen data is traded in the digital underground.

It was not yet clear how the Secret Service arrested Mr. Seleznev, and the United States attorney's office in Washington State declined to elaborate.

In other words, the Secret Service is mum about how they got this guy to do something as foolish as going to Guam, an American territory.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @03:33PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @03:33PM (#65984)

    Luring people to US territories in the pacific in order to arrest them is an old trick. The key is that the islands have special agreements that permit entry without a visa [uscis.gov] from a variety of countries. They have that policy in order to bring in tourists and business (Saipan used to be a giant sweatshop on american soil, [cnn.com] no import duties but still legal to pay people pennies a day). So anyone too stupid to google these islands can be fooled into believing they are not US jurisdiction.

    In 2011 they caught a software pirate from Chgendu, China [arstechnica.com] in Saipan. In 2013 they caught a vietnamese national who had been selling access to records from Experian by tricking him into coming to Guam. [krebsonsecurity.com]

    Russia seems to be claiming that the guy was kidnapped from the Maldives. [reuters.com] But the kid turns out to be the son of a muckety-muck so there is going to be lots of PR spin too. How many american politicians have kids running foreign scams?

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday July 08 2014, @03:47PM

      by c0lo (156) on Tuesday July 08 2014, @03:47PM (#65997) Journal

      How many american politicians have kids running foreign scams?

      But why would they do that? I mean, isn't running domestic scams lucrative enough?

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by present_arms on Tuesday July 08 2014, @04:24PM

      by present_arms (4392) on Tuesday July 08 2014, @04:24PM (#66021) Homepage Journal

      How many american politicians have kids running foreign scams?

      I think they have enough to contend with their parents scams

      --
      http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:06PM

      by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:06PM (#66048) Journal

      Apprehended in an airport in the Maldives seems to me to be a long way from Guam, and there are closer US territories.

      Still a Seattle Blog [capitolhillseattle.com] had this to say:

      A Russian man, indicted in the Western District of Washington for hacking into point of sale systems at retailers throughout the United States was arrested this weekend and transported to Guam for an initial appearance, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.

      So maybe it was a overseas apprehension instead of a sting, but that might have required the cooperation of some third country.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 2) by Rune of Doom on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:12PM

      by Rune of Doom (1392) on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:12PM (#66055)
      • (Score: -1) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:23PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:23PM (#66061)

        > Biden's Son Now On Board Of Ukraine's Largest Private Gas Co.,

        While it is totally opportunistic, nepotism and using your family's connections is not illegal. Nobody has indicted Biden's kid for being on the board of a gas company.

    • (Score: 2) by mendax on Tuesday July 08 2014, @06:47PM

      by mendax (2840) on Tuesday July 08 2014, @06:47PM (#66107)

      Russia seems to be claiming that the guy was kidnapped from the Maldives.

      Wouldn't surprise me. As we all know, the U.S. government is not above extraordinary rendition [wikipedia.org]. They learned the trade from the masters [wikipedia.org] who managed to capture bad guys such as this rather charming fellow [wikipedia.org].

      --
      It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @07:09PM

        by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @07:09PM (#66124) Journal

        Maldives is a member state of INTERPOL.

        I suspect they pretty much wanted this guy gone, and rubber stamped his expultion when the US produced international arrest warrants. There is no extradition treaty with the Maldives, but when its not one of their own citizens many so-called non-extradition countries will honor international arrest warrants.

        --
        No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @08:21PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @08:21PM (#66165)

          > There is no extradition treaty with the Maldives, but when its not one of their own
          > citizens many so-called non-extradition countries will honor international arrest warrants.

          You are just talking out of your ass. Like all of your posts in this story.

          Indonesia - also a member of interpol: [interpol.int]

          The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Indonesia, and Simon said the FBI worked with Interpol, an international criminal police organization, to see what could be done.

          He said Indonesia would be willing to extradite an American to the United States or a German to Germany, but not a German to the United States.

          "Getting a German national exported to us from Indonesia presented a hornets nest of procedures and nobody knew how to navigate the process, and no thought it would be possible," Simon said.
          --Heckman surrenders at Honolulu Airport [thegardenisland.com]

          • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @08:29PM

            by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @08:29PM (#66170) Journal

            What the hell does the Maldives have to do with Indonesia.

            Maybe before you start telling people they are posting out of their ass you should look at a map.
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives [wikipedia.org]

            --
            No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @09:35PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @09:35PM (#66212)

              > What the hell does the Maldives have to do with Indonesia.

              Both interpol members.
              Both are "so-called non-extradition countries"
              Indonesia won't honor international warrants in the way you claimed.
              Show us one shred of evidence that Indonesia is the outlier and not the common case and then you'll have a point.

              Until then, shut the fuck up you self-important blowhard.

              • (Score: 1) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @10:16PM

                by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @10:16PM (#66230) Journal

                http://www.agoffice.gov.mv/pdf/sublawe/PC1.pdf [agoffice.gov.mv]

                Page 2 Paragraph 5.

                Where a foreign national arrives in the Maldives after
                committing an offence overseas and where the Government
                of the country in which such person is domiciled has not
                requested for his extradition, the Maldivian State shall have
                the competence on allegation of that offence, to arrest or
                detain him or deport him from the Maldives or to do
                everything that is possible to expel him from the Maldives

                where it is expedient for the purposes of preserving the
                interests of the Maldivian people or a section thereof.

                Now take you own advice, and STFU.

                --
                No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @10:45PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @10:45PM (#66240)

                  What part of "common case" do you fail to understand?
                  You cited the maldive's penal code, that's a one-off.

                  Furthermore, what you cited refers to offenses "under this law" - a laughably short 15 page document which does not list the crime that Selznev has been accused of. So, even your one-off missed the mark.

                  • (Score: 1) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @11:16PM

                    by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @11:16PM (#66248) Journal

                    If you don't like the way this tiny nation writes its laws I suggest you take it up with them.
                    They are a small country. But I'm sure they will run right out and publish hundreds of volumes of laws just to suit you.

                    How long does it have to be to no longer be laughable? The Constitution is one page. Laughably short?
                    Why don't you fly over there and tell them their law in a joke. Its an Islamic State. You probably shouldn't book a return flight, you are bound to be there for quite some time.

                    It applies to everything in the Maldives. Even the trees.

                    This Law shall be cited as the “Penal Code of the Maldivesâ€.
                    This Law shall have effect in respect of the State of the
                    Maldives, its territorial jurisdiction and every living being,
                    tree, land, sea and every other living creature within that
                    jurisdiction.

                    Why should it list the crimes he, Selznev, has been accused of?

                    The law is a general law, not specific to his case, the section quoted refers to Foreign Nationals who Commit an Offence an offense overseas. Unless Russia had asked for Extradition, (they didn't) this law says the state can dispose of him any way it wants: do everything that is possible to expel him from the Maldives . What part of that do you not understand.

                    They needed no more authority than that to hand him over. Its an islamic state.

                    Please go away. Its like arguing with a 12 year old.

                    --
                    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @11:52PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08 2014, @11:52PM (#66253)

                      > If you don't like the way this tiny nation writes its laws I suggest you take it up with them.

                      Apparently it is you who don't like them since they don't say what you claim they say.

                      > They needed no more authority than that to hand him over. Its an islamic state.

                      Please cite the verses in the quran or the hadith that specify hacking over internet is a crime.

                      Or do you think "it's an islamic state" means they don't have actual legal code?

                      But despite all that you've still failed to address your own central claim - that "many so-called non-extradition countries will honor international arrest warrants" without extradition treaties.

                      But your random bolding is amusing. At least you have that to fall back on.

  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @04:46PM

    by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @04:46PM (#66036) Journal

    As posted above, I'm willing to bet it was a sting, and they have been playing this guy for months, and probably had the cooperation of several other recently arrested scameers.

    If the US authorities aren't saying how, you know they are protecting some secret operation. It might have been as simple as a connecting flight from Korea, or Japan, the Philippines, but I doubt that.

    Russian nationals can enter Guam without the need for visa screening through U.S. consular offices or embassies. Guam and the Northern Mariana islands are authorized to allow the visa-free entry of travelers from Russia. He was arrested in the early hours of July 6, so the typical dawn raid scenario suggests he was probably not just passing through.

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    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:16PM

      by frojack (1554) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 08 2014, @05:16PM (#66058) Journal

      I take it back, its starting to look more like an international arrest than a sting.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.