• Broadband

Can somebody please help. I've had my old ntlworld email account hacked and they are sending corrupt emails to people using this account. I no longer have an account with virgin media so I am unable to deactivate the account.

In the first case of its kind, a Pennsylvania man faces federal criminal charges for allegedly selling hacked cable modems capable of stealing free, anonymous internet service from broadband providers.

Thomas Swingler was charged Thursday in federal court in New York with trafficking in unlawful access devices for his online business cablehack.net. The site, still in operation, sells 'pre-modded' Motorola Surfboard modems for between $38 and $58 that can be customized by the owner without a cable company's knowledge. Among other things, the user can set their own upload and download rates, and change the MAC address — the unique identifier normally hard-coded into a modem.

'If you decide to use one of these modems to get free internet, then you're committing theft of service and we will take no responsibility for what may happen to you if you're caught,' the site cautions in its FAQ.

The prosecution treads on a gray area largely avoided by federal law enforcement until now. Modified modems and detailed hacking tutorials have long been available over the internet, with much of the hacking aimed at 'uncapping' modems to get higher speeds than offered by providers. The hacking is effective because, unlike old-fashioned telephone service, in which the phone company exerts independent control of every line, cable modem systems hang an entire neighborhood off a common backbone in the field. To bill customers and set individual bandwidth limits, they rely on their ability to track and control the modems attached to their network.

Customizable modems can also have legitimate uses. But despite his public disclaimer, Swingler knew exactly why people were buying his hacked modems, according to the FBI, which set an informant on Swingler last June. 'The modem steals the internet,' he allegedly said in an online chat with the snitch. He described his business as 'modem modification where you can get free cable internet.'

'It's 100 percent legal,' he boasted. 'What the end user does is theft-of-service. Not my problem.'

Using a cloned or fictitious MAC address could not only provide free broadband, it would frustrate law enforcement efforts to track down an internet user committing other crimes online. 'You could do mad fraud off it,' Swingler allegedly explained in another chat session. Swingler declined to comment for this story.

It's not clear how many modems Swingler has sold, but the online forum attached to his site boasts over 4,000 users, and the FBI's review of Swingler's PayPal account showed 'numerous sales of modems to individuals around the world.'

In July, FBI agent Milan Patel ordered a modem (.pdf) from Swingler and sent it to Motorola for analysis. The company verified for the FBI that the device had been hacked to allow users to change their MAC address.

Because the hacked modems have legitimate uses, Swingler's statements to the informant could make all the difference in the case, says Mark Rasch, a former Justice Department cybercrime prosecutor.

'I think the law is pretty clear that if you can convincingly say that you didn't know it was going to be used illegally, you shouldn't be prosecuted,' says Rasch. 'I don't think that argument will fly here.'

The author of Hacking the Cable Modem: What Cable Companies Don't Want You to Know, who goes by the name DerEngel, says he's familiar with cablehack.net. Last year the site licensed DerEngel's custom cable-modem firmware, called Sigma, for a flat $150 fee. 'They used to just steal it,' he says.

Like cablehack.net, DerEngel's website sells pre-modded modems loaded with Sigma, which allows users to reconfigure the modem through a built-in web interface. Among other things, the custom interface lets users to change their MAC address. But DerEngel says he doesn't support fraud, and that MAC address tinkering has legitimate uses, and is just one step in the complicated process that allows a modem to get free, untraceable internet.

'I think that's morally wrong and probably illegal,' DerEngel says. 'There's a gray area there, but theft-of-service is a crime no matter where you're at.'

According to the FBI, Swingler took up modem-modding after retiring from a career managing botnets — fleets of hacked computers used to steal consumer information and launch denial-of-service attacks.

Update: January 12, 2009 7:30:00 PM

'Tom from Cablehack' responds in the comments, denying the FBI's allegations across the board.

I have customers all the time asking me, 'Can I use this modem and cancel my sub account'

Broadband

I simply state NO. It is NOT intended for that purpose. These modems are 100% legal to sell, it is a stock Motorola diagnostic shelled firmware. This is why they are allowed to be sold on eBay, because we as modders are doing NOTHING illegal if we are just simply upgrading the firmware to shell access.

You have 7 business days to remove this report / story from your blog. if you fail to do so, I will press charges to the full extent.

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You have basic cable? Do you have a set top box?? It would be possible to hack the set top box, but if you just have the extended basic like me with no set top box, then there's no way to interupt the signal unless they have hacked the cable company. I would remove any extra wires wrapped around the cable, that could cause interference but not block the signal. Where does that wire go? You could apply 12 volts from a car battery to the wires around the cable, that would burn out any equipment it might be connected to, then all you have to do is look for the smoke or watch for anyone who comes looking for what happened to their pickup.

What they can do is to hook onto it and provide themselves with a free Cable TV feed. They Can Not affect the TV Feed that will be a physical problem with the cable.
So if the signal is dropping out it's the Cable Companies problem to fix up.
However what can be bugged are the phones even while not in use the receiver makes an excellent audio bug which no one thinks about and the more extensions that you have the more rooms that become bugged. Of course unless this is done with a Court Order this is highly illegal.
The computer is a different kettle of fish though as there are numerous ways to bug or hack one of those and the only true way to know that you are totally secure is not to use one.
Now in theory any wire that comes into your dwelling can carry out a signal or something as simple as a Gun Mic is able to listen in on conversations that you may be having but none of this stuff is cheap and it's mostly used by professional Inelegance Gatherer's. These are Massive Government Organisations not civilians with little to no money available.
In short something like this is unlikely to actually be happening unless you have taken absolutely no steps to secure your computer. So if you have no AV Product in place and no Spy Ware Products loaded, updated and regally used you can have major infections of both Virus and Spy Ware that could be sending every keystroke off site to someone else, but even this is mostly confined to bank fraud so that your bank accounts can be emptied at will.
If you are really concerned about an invasion of privacy I would suggest that you sell up and move into the wild country without any supplied Mains Power water or anything else like that and setup a shack that is sealed by some kind of metal around all the internal walls that connects together to form one complete Faraday Cage that is earthed to a good earth point that you continually pour water onto.
I would never suggest that you apply power to anything that you find wound around someone else's property as it could be legally there and if it's not legally there it's not your responsibility to do anything about as you don't own the cable and you will most likely be held responsible for any damage incurred.
Col

well just disconnect from your cable compony

You are most likely being stalked and not hacked. It sounds like the person has attached something to your electrical wires. I'd first look at any home security system you may have installed. Make sure your system is programmed to dial the police and fire department etc. Investigate powerline networking. Ask your electrical service provider if they have the ability to transmit data across their electrical wires. Doing these things is no guarantee. If you'd like to know more, please email me directly.

I'm a service tech with from a cable tv provider.
Answers:
1- no, is not possible to hack your cable
2- no data can be transmitted that way, at least not the way you're reffering.
3- your cable keeps going on and off? it can be cable box, bad primary line or plant issue.
cable tv is a closed network, there is no way for somebody to enter the system, first they need a very expensive equipment which is not available for regular people and nobody will spend millions on equipment just for hacking and beside he will be detected in a matter of minutes and second they need the key encryption which is not way to access it thru a network, in other words is impossible.

I realize this is old but must reply.I have someone who knows me hacking into my cable but with a camera.It has to be done inside.The tv was taken apart,and where the cable is hooked up is a camera.You are viewed via internet.It is realy terrible to live this way.You can tell if you are watching tv and it freezes.The post also states the power is messed with,yes that too is possible and happened to me.You have to video tape it!I would do ANYTHING to stop it and hope someone sees and replys.PLEASE!!!ANYTHING!!Rent the dvd Enough and see what that person does,its all possible.Thats the way I have to live and people dont believe me.I found a comcast gye that did and I went to a spy store that did.I have my cell phones hacked,dont instant message on your phone!!!please someone answer..dmcewenc3001@oakton.edu

if someone is, in fact, bugging/stalking/spying on you, you need to call the police. You can point them right to the evidence.
If you are that worried, unhook the cable and unplug any power cords. Try putting some tape or something on the camera lens.
You can talk to your cell phone provider as well, or switch providers. When you call the police, maybe use a different phone so the comcast guy can't hear you.
Take care.

So you can continue to complain about being hacked when you start receiving all the unsolicited SPAM heading your way!!
I expect things were slacking off a bit, huh?
Thanks for the laugh. I enjoyed it.

Not sure the career choice is a good fit. Perhaps that is the reason for a college address?

A facility where they don't allow sharp objects.
Just not got around to changing the IP address yet. That - or so's they don't scare people away!! :^0