Security news
Security news1 September 2006
Man admits blackmailing schoolgirls via webcam spyware
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned of hackers exploiting webcams to spy on children as a man pleads guilty to blackmailing schoolgirls.
Adrian Ringland, from the British town of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, has admitted forcing schoolgirls to send him explicit pictures after he infected their computers with a Trojan horse.
36-year-old Ringland posed as a teenager called "Ant Jones" in a chatroom, in order to plant the malware onto girls' PCs. Victims believed they were opening a picture of their new online friend, but the attached file was really a Trojan horse that allowed Ringland to take over computers. Unemployed Ringland used information he stole from the childrens' PCs, and his ability to control their computers (using tricks such as opening their CD tray remotely), to blackmail them into sending more and more explicit pictures.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police traced Ringland to his home address in the United Kingdom, where he was arrested and bailed. This did not stop Ringland's activities who was later discovered having sex with a 14-year-old girl he had groomed over the internet.
"Pedophiles are able to use the internet in a variety of ways when hunting for children to abuse. That they are also using modern technology such as webcams to spy and take photos and movies of their victims will be a worry for any parent whose children have computers in their bedroom," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Childrens' PCs must be protected by the latest anti-virus software, security patches and firewalls. Young people also need to be given guidance as to how to behave safely online, to reduce the chances of being exploited by sick hackers."
- Find out more about how to protect children from online threats at www.getsafeonline.org
- Find out about the Virtual Global Taskforce - a group of police forces working around the world to fight online child abuse
In late August, Ringland pleaded guilty to two counts of indecency with a child, four counts of blackmail, 10 counts of making indecent photos and five counts of unauthorized modification of computers. Ringland's victims included a 14-year-old schoolgirl from Manitoba, Canada and three British girls - two aged 14 and one who was 13 years old. Charges of near identical offences in respect of two other Canadian girls aged 14 and 15 and a 15-year-old British girl were ordered to remain on file.
Ringland's sentencing has been scheduled for a later date.
"The Canadian and British authorities should be congratulated for bringing this case to a conclusion, especially as initially Ringland tried to blame his partner's teenage son," continued Cluley. "Sadly this isn't the first time we have heard of internet voyeurs taking over innocent peoples' webcams for their own perverted ends, and it's unlikely to be the last."
Sophos reported on a similar case last year of a Cypriot man who took compromising pictures of a teenager via her webcam, and threatened to send the pictures to her friends unless she posed naked. In February 2005, a Spanish student was fined for a similar offence.
Sophos recommends that companies protect their email gateways with a consolidated solution to defend against viruses, spyware and spam, as well as secure their desktop and servers with automatically updated protection.
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About Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises all over the world to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Sophos's network access control, endpoint, web and email solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, Sophos protects over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with its reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for its high level of customer satisfaction and powerful yet easy-to-use solutions, Sophos has received many industry awards, as well as positive reviews and certifications.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com
