back to article Guilty: The Romanian ransomware mastermind who infected Trump inauguration CCTV cams

A Romanian woman has admitted running a ransomware operation from infected Washington DC's CCTV systems just days before President Trump was sworn into office in the US capital. Eveline Cismaru, 28, pled guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, …

  1. 89724102172714182892114I7551670349743096734346773478647892349863592355648544996312855148587659264921

    Why didn't they use VPNs and Burner phones to access and register their Gmail accounts?

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      1, Because this was a reverse backward double false-flag operation by the Belgian Illuminati being organised by the North Korean Bruce Forsyth appreciation society as a front for the Milk Marketing Board to allow a deep state take over of ......

      2, Because they are idiots

      1. The humble print monkey

        Albie Starvation

        The MMB - the most secretive of the TLA’s

      2. GnuTzu
        Trollface

        3. Because criminals are criminals to avoid hard work--which means they're frickin lazy.

      3. ecofeco Silver badge

        COTD YAAC. COTD.

    2. MrBlack

      A VPN to where, from where ? Do you think VPN providers are immune to handing over log files ?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Mullvad VPN does not store logs hence cannot provide logs!!!

      2. Alan Brown Silver badge

        "A VPN to where, from where ?"

        Doesn't overly matter. The more practice skiddies will bounced through a number of vpns/open proxies before launching their payloads.

        The more hops involved, the longer it takes to trace, etc.

  2. Sleep deprived
    Happy

    "ensured that the surveillance camera system was operational prior to the Inauguration"

    Had they been successful, we would not have witnessed the "biggest crowd ever for a presidential inauguration" was the first alternate fact of this new era...

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Happy

      "biggest crowd ever for a presidential inauguration"

      Instead of the rather lacklustre turnout that was not the huuuuuge turnout the Orange headed one expected.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Re: "ensured that the surveillance camera system was operational prior to the Inauguration"

      Those white areas of the mall that were filled with people in the Obama inauguration and appeared to be devoid of people in the Trump inauguration weren't actually empty. The people there were wearing all white. With pointy hoods.

      1. WolfFan Silver badge

        Re: "ensured that the surveillance camera system was operational prior to the Inauguration"

        You have a Negative Attitude. It’s not their hoods which are pointed, it’s their heads.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "ensured that the surveillance camera system was operational prior to the Inauguration"

        > "Those white areas of the mall that were filled with people in the Obama inauguration and appeared to be devoid of people in the Trump inauguration weren't actually empty."

        It's easy to claim Trump had a small crowd based on that infamous photo of his event, taken hours before the event started. The photo for Obama's crowd however, was taken during his speech. This widely disseminated deception was uncovered and debunked at the time, but some partisans refuse to this day to acknowledge it. They just don't want to have to stop "taunting" Trump supporters with this "fact."

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "ensured that the surveillance camera system was operational prior to the Inauguration"

          They were taken within minutes of each other. Sorry that you believed the Trump administration's lies to protect his fragile snowflake ego from the reality that FAR more people went to Obama's inauguration than Trump's.

          But hey, Trump did set a record by getting more than double the donations to the inaugural committee than anyone else ever had. Nevermind that no one can figure out how that money was spent, so when democrats take back the house hearings and subpeonas to figure out who ended up with all those millions of unaccounted for dollars will inevitably occur.

  3. Allan George Dyer
    Facepalm

    Why?

    "Each of their CCTV units consists of a camera attached to a Microsoft Windows-powered computer"

    Imagine the scene...

    Washington DC Police HQ, some years ago

    Heat of IT: "We've completed the desktop upgrade, but now I have a thousand Windows PCs with webcams that need secure disposal, and no budget!"

    Chief of Police: "Don't give me that. I need to deploy CCTV across the city and there's no budget for that either!"

    and the rest is history...

    1. xj25vm

      Re: Why?

      It really boggles the mind. And running Windows, of all things. It just boggles the mind.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    of course

    hack a bunch of modems and routers, get off scot free. hack a camera that's used by the feds and you're going to the slammer.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They could have swapped the Inauguration footage for the Mickey Mouse show

    and nobody would have noticed.

    1. A.P. Veening Silver badge

      Re: They could have swapped the Inauguration footage for the Mickey Mouse show

      The difference in quality would have been note worthy (in favour of MM).

    2. WolfFan Silver badge

      Re: They could have swapped the Inauguration footage for the Mickey Mouse show

      The Walt Disney Corporation would have noticed. And shortly after that, their lawyers would have been deployed. Some of the more friendly and cuddly lawyers had small parts in various Disney movies, notably “Finding Nemo”. They would be the ones with all the teeth.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I Wonder

    Would they be just as diligent apprehending and prosecuting violations of the Federal Do Not Call list if someone was phone spamming the Grand PooBah or would he get the same "Take a number and wait" that the rest of us get?

  7. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    FAIL

    Corrupted machines for a corrupted administrative city

    Each of their CCTV units consists of a camera attached to a Microsoft Windows-powered computer, and the cops noticed that these machines weren’t acting as they should.

    I don't know what's surprising about that.

  8. Crisp

    The security of the 2017 Inauguration wasn't compromised because no one showed up.

    I've seen bigger crowds watching a Z-list celebrity open a supermarket.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Prison Time

    How about some time in prison for the person/s who designed, maintained, and was responsible for patching this network of cameras?

    Or some prison time for the PHB/beancounter who set the budget for the above activities?

    1. Insert sadsack pun here

      Re: Prison Time

      The US already has the largest per capita prison population. I don't think they need encouragement to lock up more people.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: Prison Time

        I don't think they need encouragement to lock up more people.

        Clearly you haven't been to the US lately.

      2. Velv
        Coat

        Re: Prison Time

        "I don't think they need encouragement to lock up more people."

        Nope, but some of them seem quite focused on locking up just one person

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Prison Time

      What makes you think the deployment is actively managed or that there are software updates available for the CCTV components?

  10. CraPo

    The most sexy hacker in Romania...

    https://observator.tv/eveniment/eveline-cismaru-cea-mai-sexy-hackerita-romania-a-pledat-vinovata-268984.html

    Not anymore she's not!

    1. StargateSg7

      Re: The most sexy hacker in Romania...

      Lookup on Google:

      Photos of Eveline Cismaru

      as a search term!

      HOLY SMOKE IS SHE EVER SMOKIN' HOT HOT HOT!!!!!

      ---

      It's a pity that in a U.S. Women's Prison she will have her looks last about 10 days before she ends up bruised, battered and some lesboz "Prison B&*&*^^&". U.S Prisons ain't no picnic for MEN OR WOMEN!

      She's small of stature so she is toast against the multiple prison gangs of 200 lbs (80 KG) butches and gangsta babes. Women affiliates of The 18th Street Gang, Savage Skulls, Du Roc Crips, The Sex Money Murda Gang, State Line Mob, 14k Triad, Menace of Destruction and any number of HUNDREDS of other big name US-based gangs are gonna do her in BUT GOOD! Her a(**&*( is Grass in about a week of entering the system!!!! THEN add in the guards who are gonna take a "Liking To Her" She is gonna be hurtin' baaaaaaad!

      This ain't no comfy tush Euro-prison she's going to. It's a U.S. SLAMMA ... and she is gonna get SLAMMED!!!

  11. This Side Up

    Windows powered?

    "Each of their CCTV units consists of a camera attached to a Microsoft Windows-powered computer"

    Do you need to know any more?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows - nuff said

    The same malware cesspool it's been for a decade.

  13. Florida1920
    Angel

    A silver lining

    Police figured out something was wrong after checking CCTV systems ahead of the swearing in of America’s 45th president in January 2017.
    Finally, something good that came out of the inauguration!

  14. Florida1920
    Pint

    At least they had some fun before they got caught

    From Observator, translated by Google:

    But, surprisingly, they made a mistake that cost them expensive: they sent messages on these addresses from their personal mail and so they got naked, which relieved the work of the US authorities to identify the two Romanians .

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Great stuff

    Give that woman an award! As you may have guessed, I am anti-Trump........VERY!

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Great stuff

      "By all means necessary"

  16. Claverhouse Silver badge

    Apart from the Windows Failware, it's nice that the Imperial Power merely has to raise a finger and the fawning countries beyond the far-flung empire fall over themselves to surrender their citizens for [ effectually life ] imprisonment.

    The amusing bit is that Americans would genuinely gobble with rage and express a real horror thinking of it happening under Czar Nikolas I, or in the Byzantine Empire back in the day.

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