Obama: Authorities Looking Into Celeb 'Secret Files' Hack
In an exclusive interview with ABC News today,
President Obama confirmed authorities were investigating whether
hackers had indeed obtained and posted online financial information
belonging to his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, and nearly a dozen
celebrity A-listers and political heavy hitters.
"We should not be surprised that if you've got hackers that want to dig
in and devote a lot of resources, that they can access this
information," Obama said. "Again, not sure how accurate but ... you've
got web sites out there that tell people's credit card info. That's how
sophisticated they are."
On Monday, a web site posted what hackers claim to be Social Security
numbers, credit reports, former addresses and personal banking
information of celebrities and top Washington, D.C., officials.
The hackers claim to have what appears to be first lady's credit report, Social Security number and phone numbers.
Other targets include Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, FBI director Robert Mueller, U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Information posted about Biden and Clinton did not include credit
reports but included addresses and other sensitive information. Sources
told ABC News that it would take a long time to track the digital trail.
Law enforcement officials including the FBI and Secret Service were
trying to determine how much of the information was authentic and how it
might have been compromised.
This morning, ABC News tried calling a number listed for Biden and it turned out to be a local business in Delaware.
"The Department is aware of the report and the FBI is investigating the
matter," a Department of Justice spokesperson told ABC News.
The site's so-called "secret files" claim to reveal everything from how
much Kim Kardashian pays for her car lease to Ashton Kutcher's American
Express bill and even Paris Hilton's credit score.
Beyonce, Jay Z, Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Hulk Hogan, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump were some of the other celebrities who
were allegedly hacked. ABC News reached out to them overnight, but they
did not respond to calls for comment.
Kardashian, Hilton and Kutcher have also not responded to ABC News' request for a comment on the hacking allegations.
Gibson's rep told ABC News that they haven't verified that he has been hacked.
ABC News is not disclosing the website's name, which appears to
originate in Russia because the Internet suffix of the site's web
address was originally assigned to the Soviet Union.
ABC News consultant and former FBI agent Brad Garrett said the entire
site could be a fraud designed to embarrass those in the public eye.
"I'm very suspect [about] information released online. It goes against
the very reason you steal them, it's to use them," Garrett said. "Is
this a prank? Is this a hoax? Is it to get attention? That wouldn't
surprise me one bit."
The possible security breach extends to Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie
Beck as 30 pages of his personal financial data appears to have been
exposed.
"If we find the individuals -- and I'm confident that we will -- that are responsible, we will prosecute them," Beck said.
"It's just a creepy thing that people do every once in a while, is put
police officer's names, their family members' names, their addresses on
web sites," Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
No comments:
Post a Comment