🐡 10 Years Ago: The Shocking Arrest of a Vietnamese Hacker on Guam Soil
🪪 The Rise and Fall of Hieu Minh Ngo: From Infamous Identity Thief to Cybersecurity Advocate
Hieu Minh Ngo was once one of the world's most notorious cybercriminals, running an identity theft service that siphoned consumer data from major data brokers, earning him over $3 million and causing an estimated $1 billion worth of new account fraud in the United States. In 2013, his greed and ambition played straight into an elaborate snare set by the U.S. Secret Service, resulting in his arrest and imprisonment in Guam in February 2013 for hacking into Experian and TLO datastores. The U.S. Secret Service apprehended him after contacting him through an intermediary in the UK and asked him to meet in Guam for an opportunity so delicious, they would have to meet in person to finalize the deal. Hieu agreed to the meeting despite the risks, as his appetite for selling data was insatiable. However, as soon as he landed in Guam, the U.S. Secret Service apprehended him. It is when he arrived Where America’s Day Begins, that his cybercrime streak would end.
Can’t knock the hustle
- Jay-Z
📖 A new chapter
After serving more than seven years in prison for his clandestine cyber activities, Ngo was realeased in 2019, and is back in his home country, Vietnam - with a renewed mission objective. Working at the National Cybersecurity Monitoring Center, he uses his unique experience to protect people and businesses in cyberspace. His LinkedIn bio reads: “It is time to give back to society with love”, and openly discloses his past cyberciminal life. Here’s a snippet from his LinkedIn profile:
🕸️ Enhance your Password Security using Spider's Web Password Generator
Tôi đã nghĩ ra một phương pháp tạo mật khẩu rất đơn giản, an toàn, tiện lợi và hoàn toàn miễn phí có tên gọi “Spider’s Web”. Không cần phải cài đặt ứng dụng, không cần phải đăng nhập vào website để sử dụng, tất cả những gì bạn cần chỉ là giấy và bút (hoặc cũng có thể sử dụng Microsoft Word).
I came up with a very simple, secure, convenient and completely free password generation method called “Spider's Web”. No need to install applications, no need to log into the website to use, all you need is just paper and pen (or you can also use Microsoft Word).
- Hieu Minh Ngo
Figure 1: An example of “Spider's Web”
Spider's Web is a password generation method that involves creating a spider web-like diagram with four circles, each containing random characters. The first and third circles are for the master password, which is a simple password that you need to remember. The second and fourth circles are for generating complex passwords for your computer or online accounts. By using this method, you can generate passwords that are hard to crack without having to remember them. The Spider's Web method allows for creative ways to generate passwords, and it's possible to generate answers to security questions that are hard to guess but easy to remember. It's important to remember the rules to create a secure password, and keep copies of the spider web diagram in safe places.
To generate a password, you can use the abbreviation of the online service you need to use plus your root password. For example, to create a new Youtube account, you can combine Youtube abbreviations like "utube" with your original password "vietnam". Then use the second and fourth circles in the spider web diagram to find your "Spider's Web" password. The final result you get from the root password "UTUBEVIETNAM" corresponds to "^1^%Rz7R1E8h", which is the password you use for your Youtube account. You can create your own version manually or use Microsoft Word, which allows you to design a "Spider's Web" with a flexible number of cells that can be changed to your liking.
Figure 2: An empty “Spider's Web” copy
You need to create a "Spider's Web" from the blank image (Figure 2) I provided above. Just make sure that the 1st and 3rd circles contain all the characters that you plan to use to generate your root passwords. You can create your own version manually or use Microsoft Word, which allows you to design a "Spider's Web" with a flexible number of cells that can be changed to your liking. Either way, when you're done, be sure to save copies – you can keep them at home, in your wallet, in your storage, and on your phone... (be sure to take good care of them though to be lost or exposed).
- Hieu Minh Ngo
