January 24, 2002 Eugene therapist accused of peddling child porn A family therapist is under house arrest after he allegedly transmitted images of children having sex with adults to New York-based agents posing as 12- and 13-year-old girls in an online chat room. Bill Wolf, 57, who works as a family therapist for Looking Glass Youth & Family Services, faces federal child pornography charges. Knowingly transmitting images of child pornography across state lines carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=39222 - - - - - - - - Jailed paedophile banned from Web An internet paedophile was jailed for six months and banned from all online chatrooms after he was trapped by a policeman posing as a 13-year old boy. Robert Coleshill was arrested by West Midlands Police paedophile unit when he suggested meeting the boy for sex, unaware he was communicating with an undercover officer. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?dir=506&story=115322 - - - - - - - - Lax security left ILA accounts wide open Millions of pounds of taxpayers money earmarked by the government for training has disappeared because of "woeful" computer security precautions, experts have claimed. The parliamentary enquiry begun on 16 January into the Department of Education and Skills' (DfES) Individual Learning Account (ILA) scheme, run by contractor Capita, will discover that it relied on inadequate single 10-digit passwords to protect the accounts. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128595 - - - - - - - - Dutch probe hack-attack on royal wedding web chat The Dutch public prosecutor launched a criminal investigation on Thursday into a hacker attack that crashed an online chat with the Dutch crown prince and his Argentine fiance earlier in the week. The royal couple, who have dominated media headlines in the Netherlands ahead of their wedding next weekend, were forced to abandon the chat after computer systems were brought down by an avalanche of page view requests, freezing screens. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1741831l.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/23815.html - - - - - - - - U.S. says it won't prosecute Datek Online The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said on Thursday it will not prosecute Datek Online Holdings Corp and its iCapital Markets LLC in the ongoing investigation of an alleged fraudulent day-trading scheme by Datek Securities Corp. Under a non-prosecution agreement reached between prosecutors and Datek and iCapital, the firms will continue to cooperate fully with the government in its probe. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1741742l.htm http://news.com.com/2100-1017-822258.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173933.html - - - - - - - - Calif. Internet firm sued for defrauding investors Federal regulators accused a California Internet start-up company on Thursday of defrauding hundreds of investors out of $3.2 million by offering unregistered stocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Emsanet Internet Services Inc. for selling stock in a private placement in sales not registered with the SEC. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1741985l.htm - - - - - - - - Singapore Oracle execs fired over fraud charges Three Oracle sales executives lose their jobs after the employees were found guilty of gross misconduct concerning a certified Oracle reseller Three key sales executives of Oracle Singapore were dismissed recently under hushed proceedings, following charges of fraudulent conduct, sources said. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-821810.html - - - - - - - - Ebay Hacking Case Gets Weird Imprisoned computer expert Jerome Heckenkamp re-hires his lawyer, while the government asks for a court order to seize and search his computer. A day of hearings Wednesday at a federal court in San Jose, Calif. ended with accused Ebay hacker Jerome Heckenkamp re-hiring his attorney, and the government accusing the 22-year-old computer expert of secretly accessing the Internet in violation his pre-trial release conditions. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/314 - - - - - - - - Cloud Nine sells up after DoS attack Following a severe denial of service attack, Cloud Nine has sold its assets to another ISP, but customers remain angry and confused Cloud Nine, the UK Internet service provider (ISP) that closed down this week after being hit by a denial of service (DoS) attack, announced early on Thursday morning that it had sold its assets and customer base to fellow ISP ZetNet. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103098,00.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-822162.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23806.html - - - - - - - - Renewed hunt for Wonderland victims Thousands of computer files were seized by the NCS Police trying to identify children in photographs circulated by the Wonderland Club paedophile ring are stepping up their hunt by using the latest facial mapping technology. The National Crime Squad (NCS) has found just 18 of the 1,200 youngsters featured in the pornographic images circulated by the club's members. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1763000/1763797.stm - - - - - - - - Inquiry launched into pornography loophole The Lord Advocate has called for an inquiry into the loophole in the law that forced authorities to free a suspected paedophile, Andrew Aspinall. The case against Mr Aspinall, a computer expert, collapsed last year when a sheriff ruled the search of his home contravened his human rights because a civilian in the investigation team entered the house but the warrant only allowed a search by police. He escaped prosecution even though police discovered more than 7,500 child pornography images at his home in Livingston in 1998. http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/uk.cfm?id=64682002 - - - - - - - - Internet pedophile law introduced to Assembly A group of state lawmakers want to keep agents on the heels of Internet pedophiles regardless of any actions by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The State Assembly introduced a bill last week that would create a specific crime for attempting to contact children through the Internet for sexual purposes. The bill comes in response to a Supreme Court case that could make it illegal to charge child enticement after offenders are caught through Internet stings. http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/local/012102-4.html - - - - - - - - Experts say Internet sex predators are relatively uncommon The leering sexual predator dangling a candy bar from his car has been replaced in the public imagination by a pedophile hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet. But child abuse and Internet experts say "travelers" - adults who strike up friendships with children and attempt to pick them up for sex - are relatively uncommon, despite the fears of parents. http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/0115net2.htm - - - - - - - - Workers using email for sex talk An Australian survey shows that a third of employees think using email to discuss their adventures is tolerable, but most think access to porn is unacceptable. One in three Australian employees believe sex talk over workplace email is tolerable with men more than women keen swap stories of their sexual feats and endeavours, according to new Internet privacy and surveillance research. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103051,00.html - - - - - - - - Costs mount from ID theft Technology gives criminals an edge. Identity theft has become the top consumer fraud complaint to the government, and it will come as no surprise to Christine and Dave Hodson of Palo Alto. The couple were among more than 30 customers of a local branch of Wells Fargo who had their bank account and Social Security information stolen recently and used in a checking-account fraud scheme. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/banks012402.htm Protect Yourself http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/docs/bankbox24.htm - - - - - - - - Judge Grants a Suspension of Lawsuit on Napster A federal judge has granted a request by four of the five major record companies to suspend their three-year-old lawsuit against Napster, the Internet music service that exploded in popularity by allowing users to freely exchange songs and was deemed by the record companies a threat to their existence. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/24/technology/ebusiness/24NAPS.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/085501.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-821800.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173924.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/693221.asp http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49977,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23805.html - - - - - - - - GovNet decision nears The White House is almost ready to make its decision on whether to go forward with the GovNet secure intranet for critical federal applications, a top federal official said Jan. 23. Within the next two weeks, federal security experts will brief Richard Clarke, President Bush's cyberspace security adviser, on the assessment of more than 160 industry proposals for building GovNet, said Sallie McDonald, assistant commissioner for information assurance and critical infrastructure protection at the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0121/web-govnet-01-24-02.asp - - - - - - - - Security costs soar, survey shows Cities across the United States are expected to spend an additional $2.6 billion on security through the end of 2002, according to a survey released Jan. 23 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. According to projections based on the survey of nearly 200 cities, officials spent an additional $525 million on security costs from Sept. 11 through Dec. 31, 2001, and are expected to spend $2.1 billion more by the end of this year. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0121/web-mayors-01-24-02.asp Bush pledges to double homeland security spending President Bush on Thursday detailed a portion of his homeland security agenda and how much funding he would request from Congress for that agenda in his fiscal 2003 budget. Addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors in the White House, Bush said his budget--to be released early next month--will include $38 billion for homeland security, double the $19.5 billion the federal government was spending in the area before the Sept.11 terrorist attacks. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/012402td1.htm - - - - - - - - Marketers brace for spam crackdown The Direct Marketing Association has created mandatory ground rules for members sending sales pitches via e-mail, a move designed to help avoid a government crackdown on commercial messages. A DMA representative said the organization plans to announce the new rules governing commercial e-mail next week. The trade group, one of the largest in the United States with 5,000 members, includes such retailers as Amazon.com, Land's End and Eddie Bauer. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-822157.html Calif. Charities May Suffer Under Proposed Privacy Law Charitable institutions could suffer billions of dollars in lost revenue each year if lawmakers succeed in passing new privacy laws that require permission-based marketing, according to a pair of studies to be released Thursday. The Direct Marketing Association will release two reports which purport to show that so-called "opt-in" laws that bar financial institutions from sharing customer data without explicit permission could cost charities as much as $16.5 billion annually. California-based charities could lose more than $1.5 billion each year, the reports found. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173889.html - - - - - - - - Serious Security Hole In AOL's ICQ Chat Software A security hole in America Online's popular Internet chat software could allow remote attackers to execute malicious programs on the users' computer, a government-funded security watchdog warned today. The vulnerability lies in a feature of AOL's ICQ Internet chat program for Windows that allows ICQ users to invite others to join them in playing online games, according to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a federally funded computer security clearinghouse at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173926.html - - - - - - - - Software Tool From CNet Opens Security Hole CNet Catchup, a popular Windows software update utility, contains a security vulnerability that could enable a remote attacker to run malicious code on the user's computer. According to CNet Networks' Catchup Dispatch newsletter, distributed Jan. 23, the vulnerability affects all previous versions of Catchup and allows an attacker "to launch Catchup and execute arbitrary code on a user's system." http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173906.html - - - - - - - - Sony's Vaio hit by security hole Company warns that users must download a fix quickly, or risk finding that their data has been deleted. Sony has warned that some models in its Vaio laptop and PC range have a security hole that would allow a malicious hacker to edit or delete data from the machine's hard drive over the Internet. The company is urging users with to download a patch from its Web site, and experts have warned that standard antivirus and security products will not offer protection. Vaios bought in Europe and America are not affected by the problem, said the company. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103127,00.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-821938.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173916.html - - - - - - - - Hackers target vulnerable 6112 ports Mysterious hackers are targeting PCs with vulnerable 6112 ports, security authority the Sans Institute said this week. The number of scans destined for port 6112 (dtspc) have increased fivefold since 21 January and Sans believes that this is because exploits exist for vulnerabilities on this port and systems are being compromised and backdoored. vnunet.com reported that this port was being actively exploited last week. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128604 - - - - - - - - Scientists: Fight flaws with laws A group of US scientists is arguing that software makers should take legal responsibility for security flaws in their products. Software makers should be legally liable for security holes in their products, according to a group of US scientists. The National Academy of Sciences is recommending that policy-makers create laws that would hold companies accountable for security breaches resulting from vulnerable products. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103056,00.html - - - - - - - - Spyware, In a Galaxy Near You The latest scandal over so-called spyware involves a mysterious and particularly insidious program that tracks your surfing, delivers pop-up ads and could even collect your credit card information. You may not have heard of the VX2 Corporation, but if you've downloaded Audio Galaxy lately, VX2 may know a lot about you. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,49960,00.html - - - - - - - - BugWatch: The threat from within Do you know how many non-work related files are entering and circulating within your company: spam, hoaxes, malware, porn images, scams and jokes? Some 6,000 pieces of spam hit billg@microsoft.com every day. In a study commissioned by the European Commission (February 2001), it was revealed that unsolicited commercial emails cost global businesses $9.4bn each year in connection costs alone. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128630 - - - - - - - - Results, Not Resolutions A guide to judging Microsoft's security progress. Last week, Bill Gates published a company-wide memo outlining a new strategic direction for Microsoft. Comparing this to the change when the company embraced the Internet, Gates elevated security to Microsoft's highest priority. By focusing on what he called "Trustworthy Computing," Gates plans on transforming Microsoft into a company that produces software that is available, reliable, and secure. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/315 - - - - - - - - Analyst 'unfair' to virus writers A member of the UK virus writing community has slammed recent analyst research as "full of irregularities and half truths". Analyst mi2g recently released a study on the virus writing community claiming that they fit the stereotype of being fairly young, male and getting no commercial benefit from their activities. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128625 - - - - - - - - Violence Hits Cybercafes Crime at some California hangouts worries police and community. Coffee shops, bowling alleys, malls, and pool halls all have seen their time as a favorite hangout. In the Internet Age, the cybercafe became the hip place to be -- especially among the Web-savvy crowd. But the Internet cafe as we know it may be evolving. In some cafes, surfing the Web and emailing is taking a backseat to online videogames. And in some cities, that cultural shift is causing concern. http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3369420,00.html - - - - - - - - Nazi leader's grandson fined over online quotes A grandson of Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess was fined for public incitement on Thursday after putting remarks by Hess on the Internet. Hess was quoted as saying there were no gas chambers in Dachau concentration camp near Munich during the Second World War and that the Americans installed them afterwards to scare tourists, Munich district court said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1741895l.htm *********************************************************** 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. 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