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Britain
British 15-year-old gained access to intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be head of CIA, court hears
2018-02-02
[Telegraph] A 15-year-old gained access to plans for intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be the head of the CIA to gain access to his computers, a court has heard.

From the bedroom of the Leicestershire home he shared with his mother, Kane Gamble used “social engineering” – where a person builds up a picture of information and uses it manipulate others into handing over more – to access the personal and work accounts of some of America's most powerful spy chiefs .

The teenager persuaded call handlers at an internet giant that he was John Brennan, the then director of the CIA, to gain access to his computers and an FBI helpdesk that he was Mark Giuliano, then the agency’s Deputy Director, to re-gain access to an intelligence database. He also targeted the US Secretary of Homeland Security and Barack Obama's Director of National Intelligence from his semi-detached council house in Coalville.
The teenager persuaded call handlers at an internet giant that he was John Brennan, the then director of the CIA, to gain access to his computers and an FBI helpdesk that he was Mark Giuliano, then the agency’s Deputy Director, to re-gain access to an intelligence database.

He also targeted the US Secretary of Homeland Security and Barack Obama's Director of National Intelligence from his semi-detached council house in Coalville.

Gamble taunted his victims online, released personal information, bombarded them with calls and messages, downloaded pornography onto their computers and took control of their iPads and TV screens, a court heard.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave noted: “He got these people in his control and played with them in order to make their lives difficult.

John Lloyd-Jones QC, prosecuting, said that Gamble founded Crackas With Attitude (CWA) in 2015, telling a journalist: “It all started by me getting more and more annoyed about how corrupt and cold blooded the US Government are so I decided to do something about it.”

Mr Lloyd-Jones said that it was a common misconception that the group were hackers when in fact they used “social engineering” to gain access to emails, phones, computers and law enforcement portals.

“It involves manipulating people, invariably call centre or help desk staff, into permitting acts or divulging confidential information,” the prosecutor said.

Gamble, who has pleaded guilty to ten offences under the computer misuse act, first targeted Mr Brennan and gained access to his Verizon internet account by pretending first to be employee of the company and then Mr Brennan himself, building up an increasingly detailed picture.
Plenty of nastiness as he targetted various government muckety-mucks during an eight month reign of terror can be read at the link.
Medical experts for the defence argue that he is on the autism spectrum and at the time of his offending had the mental development of a 12 or 13-year-old.

He has no friends to speak off and is closest to his mother Ann, a cleaner who reportedly won a £1.6million lottery jackpot in 1997 but “lost all the money on doomed property deals”.

William Harbage QC said that after his arrest he told doctors “it was kind of easy” and that he had little consequences of his actions “in his bedroom on the internet thousands of miles away”.

Mr Justice Haddon-Cave will sentence him on a date to be fixed.
Posted by:Skidmark

#5  Snark of the day winner. No further entries necessary.

Posted by: Classical_Liberal   2018-02-02 11:27  

#4  Well, I don't know about that. The kid wasn't able to get hold of Obama's college transcripts or the Khalidi video, so our nation's most closely held secrets remain secure.
Posted by: Matt   2018-02-02 09:15  

#3  They are that incompetent?

Yes.
Posted by: Skidmark   2018-02-02 07:36  

#2  .....where a person builds up a picture of information and uses it manipulate others into handing over more

Social media is the perfect media. The "picture" built could be quite interesting, or even disgusting.
Posted by: Besoeker   2018-02-02 06:53  

#1  They are that incompetent?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2018-02-02 06:06  

00:00