News | Google Pulls Blog Revealing 3 Million Bank Account Numbers
03 May 2012 01:15Comments
[ tech ] Google has taken down the blog of Iranian security researcher Khosrow Zarefarid after he posted the account and pin numbers of three million customers from 22 banks across Iran.
They have not, however, revoked Zarefarid's overall privileges to blog on the Google platform, Blogger, where he maintains the site Banking Problems in Iran.
Zarefarid states on his Facebook page that he lives in Tehran. Before publishing the private banking information he hacked, Zarefarid sent a letter to the banks' CEOs waning them of the flaws in their security. Upon receiving no response, he set out to prove his point. Apparently, he didn't take any money while accessing citizens' accounts.
The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic (CBI) is urging customers to change their pin numbers. In a country with an extremely centralized banking system, the sheer number of banks compromised in this hack are likely to stir panic among private citizens whose worries already include high inflation, fluctuation in interest rates and the ripple effect of international economic sanctions.
News of this latest computer hack in Iran comes as the government advances plans to cut Iranians off from the World Wide Web and to offer a "halal" or "clean internet" in its place. The government currently blocks access to Facebook, Gmail, Google Reader and millions of other sites. Though many question the government's practical ability to do so, plans for a national intarnet would prevent Iranians from accessing all but preapproved information vetted by the government.
Copyright © 2012 Tehran Bureau
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