LAPD joining in inquiry into suspected Russian hackers who allegedly stole informationfrom Joe Biden, Beyoncé and others
The site posted Michelle Obama's purported credit report, social security number, phone number, banking details and store cards. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP
Rory Carroll in LosAngeles
The FBI and Los Angeles police are investigating suspected Russian hackers who allegedly stole and posted online sensitive financial information about Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, senior law enforcers and about a dozen Hollywood celebrities.
A website using the suffix of the former Soviet Union, .su, postedthe information on Monday. It included social security numbers,credit reports, addresses and personal bankingdetails.
Titled "the secret files", the site features a girl with heavy black eye makeup and a warning: "If you believe that God makes miracles, you have to wonder ifSatan has a few up his sleeve."
The FBI, whose director Robert Mueller is among the 17 high-profile figures listed as hacked, confirmed it was investigating. The LA police department, whose chief Charlie Beck was also targeted, was also investigating.
Forbes reported that credit agencies were making their own inquiries ."We learned about this late this afternoon [and] immediately launched an investigation," a TransUnion spokesperson said by email.
Beck said: "We'll take steps to findout who did this, and if they're within the boundaries of theUnited States, we'll prosecute them."
The site featured credit card payments and mortgage details in a mass dump of sensitive information known as being"doxxed".
Celebrity victims included Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton, Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump.
The stars' representatives did not immediately respond to mediarequests seeking confirmation the information was real, leaving open the possibility the site was a hoax, or partial hoax.
The celebrity news site TMZ, which broke the story, cited law enforcement officers on Tuesday saying that in addition to posting the information the hackers had been"using" it, suggesting theft or fraud. The FBI has reportedly told victims to apply additional safeguards on their bank accounts.
The site posted the first lady's purported credit report, social security number, phone number, banking details and store cards."Blame your husband. We still love you, Michelle," it taunted.
Some of Biden's information was also hacked, but when ABC phoned a telephone number for him it turned out to be a business in Delaware .
Other political figures who weretargeted includedSarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, Eric Holder, the attorney general,and Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state.
Beck speculated he was included because of his force's involvement in last month's huntfor Christopher Dorner, a rogue, former LAPD officer who murdered four people before being killed in a dramatic shootout. "You can't corner the Dorner," said the site. Last month the hacker group Anonymous had threatened cyber retaliation for Dorner's death.
The site linked toa Twitter accountthat since Monday had posted two tweets in Russian. "Hello world, we are revealed. Our aimis to show you allthat this is just one of a few tricks up our sleeves," said one.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/mar/12/lapd-fbi-hacking-michelle-obama

President Obama metwith more than a dozen corporate chief executives to seek their support forstalled cyber-security legislation amid increasing evidence that government agencies, businesses and individuals are vulnerable to computer network break-ins.
The closed-door session Wednesday at the White House came a day after the nation's top intelligence officials warned in a Senate hearing that cyber attacks and digital spying have eclipsed terrorism as the top threat to national security. They said the chance of a majorattack is remote in the near term, but digital thefts of intellectual property are putting U.S. competitiveness at risk.
As if on cue, authorities reported numerous new cyber attacks Wednesday, and hackers believed to be operating from servers in Russia posted online what appeared to be personal financial information about former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney , golfer Tiger Woods and others.
The FBI is investigating whether credit reports, banking information and other financial information from Vice President JosephBiden and First Lady Michelle Obama were illegally obtained andpublished online Tuesday. Also that day, hackers posted financial data that appears to be from former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton , Atty. Gen. Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller III and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
"What is absolutely true is that we have seen a steady ramping up of cyber-security threats," Obama said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Some are state-sponsored. Some are just sponsored by criminals."
A wave of computer attacks also targeted New York's JPMorgan Chase & Co., the nation's biggest bank. Hackers bombarded the Chase website with phony requests, blocking legitimate customers from Internet access to their bank accounts Tuesday and early Wednesday.
No customer data was compromised, and the bank's mobile, telephone and ATM networks continued to function, spokesman Michael Fusco said.
A group identifying itself as Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has mounted denial-of-service attacks against American banks off and on since September. Thegroup, based in the Middle East, says the attacks are retaliation for an online video, produced last year byamateur U.S. filmmakers, that mocks the prophet Muhammad.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-obama-hacking-20130314,0,2583428.