Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3)
Scam Alerts
December 29, 2011
This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends, new twists to previously-existing cyber scams, and announcements.
Popular Passwords
An Internet site who manages passwords recently posted an article pertaining to the lack of secure passwords being utilized which may be a factor in data breaches — past, present, and future. One reason for the lack of security is the amount of passwords a user is required to remember to access the many databases, applications, multiple networks, etc., used on a daily basis. Sharing passwords among users in a workplace is becoming a common theme to continue the flow of operations. Users have prioritized convenience over security when establishing passwords.
The article provided a list of millions of stolen passwords posted on-line by hackers and ranked the top 25 common passwords.
- password
- 123456
- 12345678
- qwerty
- abc123
- monkey
- 1234567
- letmein
- trustno1
- dragon
- baseball
- 111111
- iloveyou
- master
- sunshine
- ashley
- bailey
- passw0rd
- shadow
- 123123
- 654321
- superman
- qazwsx
- michael
- football
Operation In Our Sites
On November 28, 2011 (Cyber Monday), the Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin announcing that 150 Web site domain names were seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the National Intellectual Property rights Coordination Center, the Department of Justice, and the FBI Washington Field Office. These domains were illegally selling and distributing counterfeit merchandise. The seized domains are now in the custody of the federal government, and visitors to these sites will find a banner indicating the domain has been seized by federal authorities. The entire bulletin is available at http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSICE-1e5f08.