Jailed cybercriminal hacked into his own prison's computer system after being put in IT class

[anuseems]

Here's a piece of advice for those running classes training prisoners about information technology.

It's probably not a good idea to let notorious hackers join the course - or, if you do, to keep a very close eye on what they're up to.

Teenager Nicholas Webber ran the infamous GhostMarket.Net cybercrime website, which sold stolen credit card details and offered tutorials to budding criminals about how to commit identity theft and online scams.

With 8,500 members, GhostMarket was the biggest criminal website ever uncovered by the British authorities.

It's said that GhostMarket's activities can be linked to frauds around the world which saw £8 million stolen from 65,000 bank accounts.

Media reports have detailed the playboy lifestyle enjoyed by Nicholas Webber, GhostMarket's founder, who had only just turned 18 at the time of his arrest in October 2009.

Webber was sentenced to five years imprisonment in May 2011, and found himself at HM Prison Isis, a Category C male Young Offenders Institution, in South East London.

Normally you would expect (and hope) a hacker's criminal career to end there, but sadly that wasn't to be.

As the Daily Mail reports, Webber somehow managed to sign-up for the prison's IT class, and from there managed to hack into the prison's mainframe computer.

According to the report, a spokesman for the prison service has confirmed that Webber was involved in the hack, but has downplayed the significance of the hack:

"At the time of this incident in 2011 the educational computer system at HMP Isis was a closed network. No access to personal information or wider access to the internet or other prison systems would have been possible."

The story of the 2011 prison hack has only come to light now because Michael Fox, the IT class's teacher, is claiming unfair dismissal. Fox says that it was not his decision to admit Webber to the class, and that he was not aware of Webber's history of cybercrime.

Earlier this year, an official report claimed that HM Prison Isis was "bedevilled" by technological problems, including a breakdown in its biometric thumbprint security system.

Let's hope that they didn't ask Webber to help them fix that...

@ http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/03/04/jailed-hack-prison/

[dcs18]

"At the time of this incident in 2011 the educational computer system at HMP Isis was a closed network. No access to personal information or wider access to the internet or other prison systems would have been possible."

It's a clear pointer to what one determined Individual can accomplish despite all adversities. ^_^

[spidey]

:lol: He must be a man of One Indomitable Character.

[dcs18]

@ anuseems

Rep. for reorganizing you paras reasonably well. ;)

[DKT27]

@ anuseems

Rep. for reorganizing you paras reasonably well. ;)

I must say though, previous IPB update really messed up the copy/pasting, which was, to a lot extent, reverted back in the latest one. :)

[dcs18]

@ DKT27

There's an immense improvement in the Quotes tagging too - line-breaking has now become self-adjusting (that's a great job, done.) :D

[DKT27]

@ DKT27

There's an immense improvement in the Quotes tagging too - line-breaking has now become self-adjusting (that's a great job, done.) :D

Indeed.

As always, lots of bugs get fixed and lots of new ones are created. :P

[avmad]

LOL. There's not enough communication if a hacker is allowed to do an IT course.

A more worrying thing is what about other criminals being allowed to do other classes. An arsonist or poisoner working in the kitchen. A paedo taking a child care course etc.

They say prisoners come out with more info about crimes, and not just from other prisoners by the look of it.

[xpmule]

i was at an "open house" visit at a major medium / maximum security prison visiting my step dad

and i was allowed to go in and play on the PC's in the computer room.. this was a LONG time ago though lol

i can't imagine how bad it would be now.. like i'm surprised convicts are allowed to use them in prison at all..

you would think they would pretty much take away the privilege etc.

my mom got together with a bank robber after my real dad died when i was like 5 yrs old (i'm in my 30's now)

so i ca safely say i seen a LOT of prisons inside and out.. sooo many visits of so many years.. including

weird stuff like i was on a conjugal visit before.. an i was able to take my Sega Master System into the prison with me as a kid

inside this hardcore max security prison.. they had a couple brand new houses built on the prison grounds fully furnished.

I remember my parents smoking dope in the other room as i was playing on my Sega and my step dad asked me if i wanted some

but i felt weird about smoking with him and never did, even though i did smoke pot sometimes as a kid anyway lol

Open houses like when i used the prison computers were more interesting because i could roam around the inside of the jail Anywhere !

And the food was the best shit i ever seen in my life.. a banquets of epic proportions of the finest food and baked goods..

never had a chocolate cookie as good in my life since (they didn't eat like that everyday i think it was just a special occasion thing)

so many people think they know about jails because they seen some crap on tv.. like the whole getting raped by bubba thing lol

that made me laugh out loud right now LOL

doesn't happen.. no one is getting raped ..rapists get beat to death. For example when Jeff Dahmer was put in general population

everyone including jail guards knew he would be killed by the inmates asap.. he was almost immediately.

hence the reason they have PC wings (Protective custody)

Rapists and pedo's get "dealt with" in ANY jail on earth.. the TV / Movies fantasy that you'll get raped in jail is make belief garbage bs..

[xpmule]

another one of my stories..

i think i help keep things interesting on the net.. it can get boring sometimes lol