January 8, 2001 Internet scam leader agrees to turn in partners to cut jail time William Caudell, who offered investors a wholesome Internet business opportunity but instead cheated them of more than $13 million, promised Monday to help prosecute his partners, including the reputed organized crime figures who funded his company, in an effort to work off an 11-year prison sentence for mail fraud. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/014663.htm http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/01/08/internet.scheme.ap/index.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/213722p-2064519c.html - - - - - - - - 17-year-old agrees to repay $900,000 swindled from investors. A 17-year-old has agreed to turn over some $900,000 he allegedly swindled from investors in a sports betting scheme he ran on the Internet, the government announced. The latest case pursued against a youngster by federal securities regulators shows that ``just about anyone even a 17-year-old high school student -- can mastermind a securities fraud over the Internet, '' Stephen Cutler, enforcement director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Monday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/082108.htm http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173466.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft pirates roam Pacific Microsoft announced Monday that law enforcement authorities had seized more than 45,000 copies of counterfeit software in the Asia-Pacific region last month. Items seized during raids on software dealers in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India included pirated versions of the software giant's newly launched Windows XP operating system, its Office XP package and its Windows NT Server. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2837126,00.html http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101312,00.html - - - - - - - - IRS missing over 2,300 agency computers The Internal Revenue Service, which holds taxpayers strictly liable for accurate tax returns, is working to account for more than 2,300 computers that have gone missing over the past three years. A recent Treasury Department audit was unable to determine whether the laptops and other small computers were lost, stolen or simply not properly documented. The IRS is reasonably sure that none contained sensitive taxpayer data or could provide a way for hackers to break into the tax agency's secure main computers. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/080154.htm - - - - - - - - MSN pulls child porn pix from communities site This afternoon I called Microsoft's MSN in the UK and told them an MSN communities site at latam.msn.com (Latin America) was hosting large quantities of child pornography. There were 15 pages with about nine pictures apiece, and several clearly involved children. Within a couple of hours, the site was gone - rapid response or what? http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/23590.html - - - - - - - - Shockwave computer virus found, threat low Computer security experts on Tuesday said they had found the first virus designed to attack Macromedia Inc. Shockwave Flash animation files, which are predomininantly used in Internet advertising and on glitzy Web sites. The virus, dubbed SWF/LFM.926, is low risk because it must be downloaded manually and cannot spread itself to other computers over e-mail or through Web pages like many other viruses can, experts said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1726028l.htm http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8410601.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173474.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/23594.html - - - - - - - - Linux world dismisses new Trojan risk A Remote Shell Trojan (RST) is making its way around the Linux community, but security experts say it should not pose a risk if users are vigilant with the programs they run. The Trojan is a more complex variant of an earlier RST that hit Linux systems last October. In order to propagate, RST.b requires a user to run an infected binary, which then opens up a remote shell and allows an attacker to access the machine http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2836656,00.html - - - - - - - - German judge puts SuSE Linux on hold Linux company SuSE will have to temporarily stop distributing copies of its software in Germany, following legal action on Tuesday. German lawyer Gunter Freiherr von Gravenreuth was awarded a temporary injunction by a court in Munich (Landgericht I) against the company on Tuesday. The identity of the plaintiff is not yet known. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101397,00.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2102195,00.html - - - - - - - - Hackers target governments worldwide Politically motivated hacking attempts have more than tripled in the UK over the last year, according to figures released today by analysts at the mi2g Intelligence Unit. In the UK alone, attacks on government domains have risen by 378 per cent, from nine attacks in 2000 to 43 last year. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128072 - - - - - - - - U.S. computers vulnerable to attacks Report: Firms arent using available security measures. U.S. computer systems are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, partly because companies are not implementing security measures already available, according to a new report released Tuesday. http://www.msnbc.com/news/684020.asp http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/01/08/security.reut/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,49570,00.html - - - - - - - - Report: Al Qaeda a potential cyberthreat An obscure report issued December 21 by the Canadian Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Services raises the specter of a possible future cyberattack by agents or sympathizers of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/01/08/cyberterror.report.idg/index.html - - - - - - - - Report: Cybervandalism jumped in 2001 The number of vandalized Web sites recorded by defacement archive Alldas.de jumped in 2001 to 22,379, over five times more than the 4,393 defacements logged in 2000. Mostly Brazilian cybervandals are responsible for the surge in defacements, according to Fredrik Ostergren, a Sweden-based security analyst and spokesperson for Alldas.de. He also said that more Internet users in general are trying out tools to hack into Web sites. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/01/08/cybervandal.jump.idg/index.html - - - - - - - - 'Punish software makers for bad security' - NAS Congress should make it easier to punish companies that produce insecure software that puts business and consumers at risk, a panel assembled by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences (NAS) said Tuesday. "Policy makers should consider legislative responses to the failure of existing incentives to cause the market to respond adequately to the security challenge," the NAS' computer and telecommunications board wrote in a draft report on the nation's computer-security systems in the wake of Sept. 11. "Possible options include steps that would increase the exposure of software and systems vendors and system operators to liability for system breaches." http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/23595.html - - - - - - - - Anti-anthrax irradiation zaps digital data Digital dream gadgets are being irreparably zapped by an irradiation process the U.S. Postal Service has used since October to sanitize mail against anthrax threats, an electronics trade group said Tuesday. Compact flash memory cards used to store data on many name-brand digital cameras and handheld computers face not just data loss but become entirely inoperable when subjected to electron beam irradiation, the CompactFlash Association said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/085480.htm http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,2837116,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/3/23584.html - - - - - - - - Go Hack Thyself, Urges NRC To defend themselves against a rising tide of electronic attacks, companies, agencies and other organizations should routinely try to crack their own secure systems, according to a report released today. To ensure cybersecurity, individual organizations should "conduct frequent, unannounced red-team penetration testing of deployed systems and report the results to responsible management," wrote the authors of "Cybersecurity Today and Tomorrow," a report issued today by the National Research Council. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173481.html - - - - - - - - States seek voice in setting cybersecurity strategy Several state groups are asking Richard Clarke, the nation's cyber-security adviser, to ensure that federal efforts to protect the nation's computer systems are in line with state and local efforts. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and the National Governors' Association (NGA) are asking for a meeting with Clarke to make sure groups at all levels are coordinating efforts to improve information- gathering systems and increase cybersecurity. NASCIO sent a letter to Clarke on Dec. 21, and NGA plans to send one to him this week. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/010802td2.htm - - - - - - - - Homeland security IT spending lags Most of the federal money made available after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is not going to information technology projects, but technology will play a larger role as agencies determine their homeland security needs during the coming months, industry experts said Jan. 7 at the Federal Convention on Emerging Technologies in Las Vegas. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0107/web-geia-01-08-02.asp - - - - - - - - Terror-security tab $142 million so far Governor Davis Wants Federal Reimbursement California's state and local governments have spent $142 million so far responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and are projected to spend an additional $420 million through this year, Gov. Gray Davis' security adviser said Monday. Davis wants the federal government to reimburse the money, arguing that homeland defense is primarily a federal responsibility. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/security08.htm - - - - - - - - Guide helps auditors assess computer security efforts Federal inspectors general and information technology executives have a new weapon in the fight against computer hackers. A new guide from the General Accounting Office and the National State Auditors Association (NSAA) describes how to create or enhance an information security auditing program. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/010702j1.htm - - - - - - - - DOD purchase card scrutiny grows Two lawmakers are broadening their investigation into questions of fraud and abuse in the Defense Department's purchase card program after DOD officials rejected a handful of recommendations that would tighten controls on the program. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0107/web-cards-01-08-02.asp - - - - - - - - Lawmaker: Legalize home CD burning A U.S. congressman said Monday that he intended to change a controversial copyright law to allow consumers to override technologies that prevent them from making digital copies of music, movies and software. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said he plans to introduce a bill that would eliminate the "anti-circumvention" clause of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a 1998 law that updated copyright laws for the digital era. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101325,00.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8410570.html - - - - - - - - Music industry reform not likely this year Legislation to force music industry reforms ranging from limits on artists' contracts to bolstering consumer access to digital music is unlikely to pass Congress this year, a top Democrat said Tuesday. Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he supported some reforms but did not expect Congress to take action as long as the House remained under Republican control. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/084047.htm http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49577,00.html http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49520,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23587.html - - - - - - - - Prof Renews Free Speech Fight Against US Encryption Law A computer science professor is renewing a constitutional challenge to U.S. encryption laws, arguing that the government's policy on restricting the export of domestic cryptographic research violates the First Amendment. Daniel Bernstein, the University of Illinois computer science professor who resurrected the lawsuit in a San Francisco district court on Monday, said he is only trying to help protect computer systems against terrorists and other criminals. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173483.html - - - - - - - - U.S. to study encoding data on driver's licenses The government is taking first steps with the states to develop driver's licenses that can electronically store information -- such as fingerprints -- for the 184 million Americans who carry the cards. Privacy experts fear the effort may lead to de facto national identification cards that would allow authorities to track citizens electronically, circumventing the intense debate over federal ID cards. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/009836.htm http://www.msnbc.com/news/683953.asp - - - - - - - - Bush taps longtime fed to be transportation security chief President Bush yesterday signed the recess appointment of John W. Magaw as chief of the newly created Transportation Security Administration. The new Transportation Department office will assume all airport security functions Feb. 17, including overseeing the systems that screen baggage and passengers. Congress mandated creation of the organization after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to focus on the security of domestic transportation services. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17731-1.html - - - - - - - - NASCIO names new liaison to federal CIO Council The National Association of State Chief Information Officers named Keith Comstock, West Virginias chief technology officer, as the organizations liaison to the Federal CIO Council. Comstock succeeds Wendy Rayner, who retired from her post as CIO of New Jersey when that states administration changed parties following the November elections. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17732-1.html - - - - - - - - Resignation rush threatens Internet watchdog A leaked document reveals that the former chair of the Internet Watch Foundation and three other board members have quit. The former chair of the British Internet watchdog has resigned from the Board and from the Funding Council, a matter of days after the chief executive announced that he will not renew his five-year contract. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2102169,00.html *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. 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