Hackers Steal $40,000 from Vancouver Island Church

The hackers appear to have gained access to the church's bank account through an employee's home computer. The Nanaimo Daily News reports that hackers recently stole $40,000 from the online bank account of a church on Vancouver Island. "40,000 dollars was taken from Ladysmith First United Church over the holiday season and it was all done by the click of a computer's mouse," writes CTV Vancouver Island's Scott Cunningham. "[The Royal Canadian Mounted Police] say over a 10 day period in late December, six withdrawals from the church’s online account racked up thousands of dollars in losses. Credit Union staff say the Internet hacker gained access to a church employee’s home computer, found vital passwords and went to work."

"Representatives of the church became suspicious over Christmas, and reported the disappearance of funds Dec. 27," writes The Nanaimo Daily News' Darrell Bellaart. "More money went missing after that, and police are working to trace the online footprint of those responsible."

"Somehow their account at one of the local financial institutions was compromised through the Internet," Cpl. Tim Desaulniers of the Royal Candian Mounted Police told Bellaart. "It's very preliminary right now. It looks like it originated down East." "So far, the crime is considered an isolated incident," Bellaart writes.

University of Western Sydney Hacked

The hackers are protesting the university's new iPad initiative, which they call 'nothing more than a marketing gimmick.' Australia's University of Western Sydney (UWS) has acknowledged that a UWS e-mail list was recently breached.

"The list has been shut down and a full investigation is underway," the university said in a statement. "We would like to assure you that this was limited to the email list and that other than an unfortunate amount of spam, your UWS Account is not under any threat. UWS IT Services apologises for the inconvenience caused and will report back with further information following the investigation."

"However, some students have reported receiving 300 spam emails as a result of the incident," writes Softpedia's Eduard Kovacs. "According to Mahmoud Elkhodr, an associate lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, one of the spam emails criticized the university’s iPad Initiative -- a program started by the institution in an effort to support learning and teaching innovations."