Is Your Offering The Gift That Keeps On Giving? LIGATT Security International Addresses National Hacking Ring Targeting Mega Churches

ATLANTA, GA–April 7, 2009–LIGATT Security International (OTC:IGTP) reports that computer hackers have began targeting mega churches. As a result of the recent downfall of the economy, people are running to churches at an alarming rate longing for a sense of security. Little do churchgoers know, the lack of proper Internet security characteristic in most churches has left them vulnerable to attack by computer hackers.

On Sunday mornings, you can find Pastors on television preaching in front of tens of thousands of people while broadcasting to millions. They ask for donations that can be paid over the phone via credit card or check by phone. The credit card and check information is then entered into the churches’ computers, leaving its security in the hands of the IT manager who may know slightly more than the preacher about computers, but not nearly as much as the average computer geek hacking computers from his parents’ basement. 

In August 2008, the professionals at LIGATT Security International discovered a message that was posted by computer hackers in an unidentified hacker chat room referencing a Black Enterprise magazine article that detailed the affluence of African American mega churches and their Bishops. In this chat room, a hacker was quoted saying, “I’ve been hacking churches for years and have never been caught. I have full access to over one hundred churches and sell their members’ names and addresses to illegal Mexican immigrants for their identities at $10 a pop.”

Although the security guards and off duty police officers heavily monitor the physical property of most mega churches, these professionals often focus solely on securing cash donations. Rarely do they consider that once the debit and credit card information is entered into the computer, all a computer hacker must do is open their laptop and attack. 

“One of the problems with mega churches is that they trust IT professionals to protect their computer systems, not realizing that they are not computer security professionals”, says Gregory Evans, CEO of LIGATT Security International and Certified Ethical Hacker. “Furthermore, what we have seen at many mega churches are IT professionals that began as volunteers. These individuals were usually computer enthusiasts who volunteered when the church was small and later inherited their position as the church continued to grow. Whatever the case may be, it is important for churches to understand that IT professionals are not equipped to handle computer security”, Evans reveals.

“In one specific case, I spoke with a super mega church in Dallas, Texas. The pastor of the African American ministry assured me that their IT Manager had a Master’s degree in Computers, and that they could not be hacked. However, after evaluating the church’s security, we found that we were in fact able to gain access to their information” says Gregory Evans. “Just think, if the Pentagon, TJ Maxx and Marshalls who have a $10 million a year IT budget, as well as numerous fortune 100 companies can be hacked, what makes you think that your church with a likely IT department of three people and $200,000 per year budget (that includes payroll), can’t be hacked?”

The alarming instance of hackers preying on mega churches was originally unveiled by LIGATT Security International (LIGATT.com) in 2008. The report revealed that few churches regularly perform security audits, leaving churchgoers’ private information vulnerable. Since that time multiple churches have fallen victim to hackers including the most recently breached Church of St. Joseph in Red Wing, Minnesota.

In the attack on the Church of St. Joseph, hackers utilized a computer virus to access the church’s private information, pocketing $94,000. The hackers then employed electronic money transfers to distribute the sum to several bank accounts throughout the US. Similarly, former Pastor of First Baptist Church of Ocala, Florida, Ed Johnson, fell victim to hackers that utilized a computer virus to obtain information. Johnson opened an email that appeared to be from the United Parcel Service claiming that he had an undeliverable package. Upon opening the email, hackers were granted access to his personal banking information and stole a grand total of $10,000.

“Situations like these are all too common”, says Gregory Evans, CEO of LIGATT Security International. “The problem is that too many churches do not know the true meaning of security. The pastor of these mega churches may pull up in his Rolls-Royce with a plethora of bodyguards and have police officials monitoring the premises, but they have insufficient computer security to safeguard churchgoers’ personal information; an oversight that can cost churches millions in both theft as well as federal and personal lawsuits.”

Mega church hackers rely on this misplaced sense of security to prey on innocent people. These hackers know that even if church members realize that their personal information has been accessed, the church will most likely be the last place they assume to be the origin. “One simple way to evaluate if your church has been hacked is to simply ask that all members of the congregation who have had their identities stolen stand up. More than likely the majority of the congregation will rise, and what is the common denominator between these individuals? The church”, Evans asserts.

Although hackers most often target big organizations, the process of finding the common denominator between individuals that have been hacked is no easy feat. This fact was made evident by the infamous case of TJX, where hackers accessed over 45.7 million credit cards, worth over $200 million and went undiscovered for 17 months.

This Sunday, millions of people will put on their finest Easter dresses and suits, enter their places of worship, and leave with their belongings “safe” in their possession. However, the question is if they will be the only ones leaving with their information.