January 17, 2002 FBI Issues Net Terrorism Warning, Italy Finds Hackers An FBI official today confirmed that the agency has issued a warning that possible terrorist activity is on the horizon involving the Internet. The warning comes shortly after Italian authorities identified - but did not arrest - six young hackers who launched attacks on computer systems at the Pentagon and NASA. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173744.html http://www.nipc.gov/warnings/advisories/2002/02-001.htm FBI: Al Qaeda may have probed government sites The FBI issued an alert Wednesday to law enforcement agencies across the nation warning officials of uncorroborated information that al Qaeda agents may have been probing Web sites, including some dealing with nuclear information. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/01/17/fbi.alert/index.html - - - - - - - - Criminal Charges Settled In Distributed-Computing Case A computer technician at Georgia-run college who found himself facing criminal charges after installing software for a volunteer distributed computing effort will face probation instead of prison. David McOwen, once a systems administrator at DeKalb Technical College, faces a year of probation and a $2,100 fine for connecting a number of DeKalb computers to Distributed.net so that the spare computing cycles could assist in a communal code-breaking challenge. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173751.html - - - - - - - - Girls, 11 and 12, post nude photos on Net The story seemed unbelievable when it reached the ears of Marlboro Middle School officials: a pair of girls, ages 11 and 12, had put naked pictures of themselves on the Internet. But administrators asked the police department to check into the rumors swirling around the school and investigators discovered that the two girls had posted their own pornographic pictures, sending them to a few participants in a so- called Internet chat room. http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/marl01172002.htm - - - - - - - - Australia: Government loses laptops The Federal Attorney General department says it has nothing to hide over a number of missing laptops, despite Federal Opposition fears that the department, as well as three others, had failed to answer questions about lost computer equipment because classified information had been compromised. Labor says that 541 laptop computers, costing AU$1.5 million, and AU$230,000 worth of computer equipment were reported lost or stolen by the federal government last year. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101824,00.html - - - - - - - - FTC Settlement With Eli Lilly Comes Friday The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Friday plans to announce a settlement with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly after the company inadvertently released the names of nearly 700 Prozac users in an e-mail sent to those users. A source familiar with the talks said that the settlement will not involve Eli Lilly making any cash payments to the FTC. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173739.html - - - - - - - - KaZaA suspends downloads pending Dutch court ruling Internet company KaZaA BV on Thursday said it suspended downloads of its popular software that lets users trade songs online pending a decision in a copyright lawsuit filed against it in a Dutch court. ``Download of the KaZaA Media desktop software is temporarily and voluntarily suspended pending Dutch court decision on January 31,'' the Amsterdam-based company said in a message on its Web site. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1735145l.htm http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8513895.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173743.html - - - - - - - - Ukraine passes CD piracy law, eyes U.S. sanctions Ukraine's parliament approved a watered-down law Thursday aimed at cracking down on pirated compact discs in hopes that the move would avert $75 million in U.S. trade sanctions due next week. The bill, which aims to regulate CD production in Ukraine, one of Europe's leading producers of fake music goods, was rushed through parliament Thursday and backed by 233 deputies in the 450-seat chamber in a snap second reading. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/067906.htm http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49830,00.html - - - - - - - - The New War on Cybercrime The positive side of the government's recent battle against cybercrime is increased cooperation in catching online criminals. The U.S. government has been quietly taking some giant steps forward over the past few weeks in the fight against cybercrime. But just how serious are the feds in tracking and punishing those who perpetrate crimes online? http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/15832.html - - - - - - - - Big Questions Surround Enron E-Mail Snafu According to federal investigators seeking e-mail messages deleted by accounting firm Arthur Andersen in the Enron bankruptcy investigation, the job of recovering messages from the cyber- grave is expected to fall soon on data recovery specialists. But security experts are already asking why no third party was called in during the initial phases of the recovery process to perform an independent search of Andersen's computers and networks. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/15835.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128420 - - - - - - - - Forensic service to track with SAP The Forensic Science Service (FSS), an executive agency of the Home Office, is to implement mySAP.com to improve case tracking and the management of resources and personnel around the country. Forensic evidence is becoming increasingly important in criminal cases and the 2,500 FSS staff now handle 125,000 cases a year, twice the number of 1997, putting great pressure on resources. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128440 - - - - - - - - Orange Co. (CA) Dept lacks resources to investigate scam. The Orange County Sheriff's Department was tipped off about Internet scam suspect Cole A. Bartiromo before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the Mission Viejo teen-ager of bilking more than $1 million from investors. But the sheriff's office didn't call back until after the SEC announced its case - and still says there's no cause to open a criminal investigation of either the investment operation or complaints that Bartiromo did not deliver sports cards he sold to people over an Internet auction site. http://www.ocregister.com/local/sheriff00117cci1.shtml - - - - - - - - Stalking the Web Predator By day, Julie Posey is a 37-year-old homemaker, tidying the family's trailer at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and home-schooling her daughter. But at night, Posey logs on to the Internet as Kendra--a gum-snapping 14-year-old looking for trouble. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-011702posey.story - - - - - - - - Fighting Terror With Tech Congressional coalition wants Silicon Valley to help tighten national security. Silicon Valley companies are being enlisted into the War on Terrorism. As US airports search for ways to implement the federal mandate for improved security, Congressman Michael Honda, who represents part of Silicon Valley, says he believes the technology industry must play a fundamental role. Honda is working to create a high tech counterterrorism effort, and some Silicon Valley companies think they have ready made solutions. http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3368369,00.html - - - - - - - - U.K. considers opt-in cookie rule The British governments Office of the Information Commissioner has pledged its support for opt-in cookies, despite a recent u-turn on such standards by the European Union. Electronic tags, known as cookies, can be used to track an individual's movements on the Internet for a number of years. The information commissioner is concerned that the unauthorized use of such intrusive technology could breach data protection principles within the U.K. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,5101896,00.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2102725,00.html - - - - - - - - Black Hawk Download: Pirated Videos Thrive Online Erek Martin's selection of cable channels does not include MTV, but that has posed no obstacle to his enjoying the network's comedy show "Jackass." After a friend recommended it recently, Mr. Martin, 24, of Toronto, used a free software program called Morpheus to download an episode from another Morpheus user who had made it available to be copied over the Internet. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/technology/circuits/17VIDE.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft Makes Software Safety a Top Goal Seeking to remove the tarnish from Microsoft's reputation for developing secure and reliable software, Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, distributed a companywide memorandum on Tuesday to call on employees to put more emphasis on making the company's products "trustworthy." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/technology/17SECU.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/ms011702.htm http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101871,00.html http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101885,00.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-8509737.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/23727.html http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0114/web-micro-01-17-02.asp http://www.techtv.com/news/hackingandsecurity/story/0,24195,3368574,00.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/01/17/microsoft.security.ap/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,49823,00.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/15845.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/221093p-2134140c.html http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49826,00.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128433 Experts say `about time' on Microsoft security plan http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/075567.htm - - - - - - - - Customs profiling software nips at terrorists finances Decade-old application, designed to spot other crimes, finds a new use: sifting financial records for evidence of terrorists. The Customs Service has found a new use for the software it designed to combat money laundering, drug smuggling and tax evasion. The service is applying the decade old Numerically Integrated Profiling System to track terrorist finances. http://www.gcn.com/21_1/news/17718-1.html - - - - - - - - Wireless ushered into war on terrorism Wireless companies are enlisting in America's war on terrorism, and now that billions of dollars are available for "homeland security," officials are welcoming them into battle. Wireless services caught the eye of government officials after the Sept. 11 attacks, when Verizon Wireless quickly set up a mobile wireless network in lower Manhattan after all communications systems were shattered by the World Trade Center collapse. The network enabled rescue workers to keep in contact using mobile phones and wireless Internet access. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-8518923.html - - - - - - - - Online procurement programs need better policing, GAO says The General Services Administration is not adequately policing its two online procurement systems, according to the General Accounting Office. In a Dec. 21 letter to GSA Administrator Stephen Perry, GAO pointed out several short- comings in the documentation for GSA Advantage! and the Information Technology Solutions Shop (ITSS) that could hinder the agencys ability to keep the programs running during an emergency or disaster. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/011702t1.htm - - - - - - - - Schambach is named CIO of Transportation Security Admin. Patrick R. Schambach, CIO of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and assistant director of its Office of Science and Technology, will be the Transportation Security Administrations CIO. Schambach will join TSA on Feb. 11, an ATF spokeswoman said. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17763-1.html High Tech Security In The Wings http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0114/web-tsa-01-17-02.asp - - - - - - - - Arkansas names top IT security officer Michael A. Miller of Tracy, Calif., has been appointed chief security officer for Arkansas State Executive CIO Office. Randall Bradford, Arkansas executive CIO, named Miller to the post Monday. His diversified experience in project management and strategy development made him the best candidate to bring technology security to the state of Arkansas, Bradford said. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17760-1.html - - - - - - - - Get your future wife stalked for just $78,000 Former federal agents and police officers in the US are prepared to stalk women and tap phones so that wealthy bachelors can get a date. A US Web site - Coincidencedesign.com - claims its team of crack private investigators can carry out discreet surveillance on a potential partner before setting up a "coincidental" meeting with a suitor. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23723.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. The information is provided to you for non-profit research and educational purposes. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2002, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.