15 September,
2006 Chatmag News.
In a Dow Jones
Newswires (AP) article posted on the Northwest Florida Daily News web site,
writer Andrew Edwards explains the role of IRC chat channels in the trading
of identity theft information.
Edwards explains
that "The 363 hackers in the chat room are gathered together under the
aegis of the room's administrators, the top dogs of this particular group.
The chat room is hosted on Internet Relay Chat, more commonly known as
IRC. At any given time there are thousands of chat rooms open, about 30
to 40 discussing credit-card information."
IRC is not any
particular chat network, as Mr. Edward's article would imply, but a system
designed to enable the operation of a chat network. There are literally
thousands of IRC chat networks, how many is unknown. Individual IRC channels
number in millions, on the widest possible variety of topics.
The major IRC
networks, such as Dalnet, Undernet, Freenode, and EFnet, host channels
far removed from criminal activity. Most channels are social gathering
places for small groups with like interests, such as gamers, political
or news junkies, or on Freenode, tech minded individuals.
The vast majority
of IRC channels are populated with the average Internet user, those catering
to thieves are a very small percentage of total available IRC channels
throughout the IRC networks.
Anyone with a
server shell account can run their own network by downloading and installing
the operating program, generally referred to as IRCD.
IRC networks may
comprise one or more servers linked together to form a true "network".
The type of IRC "network" referred to by Andrew Edwards is most likely
a single running IRCD, hosted in a server farm that has little regard for
the law. IRC networks friendly to thieves have been seen operating from
servers in Brazil, China, Korea and Russia.
While the article
in question gives a wealth of good information, it also gives the impression
that IRC is an "outlaw paradise". Identity theft is a serious issue
that has been around far longer than the Internet, or IRC.The majority
of IRC network owners, administrators and IRCops strive to make their networks
a fun, safe place to chat.
--Chatmag News
Staff--
External Links:
Chatmag's
Safety Section.
Northwest
Florida Daily News: "Chat rooms are identity thieves' street corners".
