January 31, 2002 Kentucky teen accused of operating child porn Web site A 15-year-old boy was charged with 692 felony counts of distributing child pornography on a Web site he operated from his parents' home, and officials said he may have developed the pictures himself. The boy, who has no criminal record, faces up to 45 days in jail for each count if convicted. He is set to go to trial Feb. 22. "It operated like a bulletin board where they'd (site visitors) put some in and take some out," Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson said Wednesday. "It's just very disturbing to see this." http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/234411p-2250205c.html - - - - - - - - FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchy Site In a case that may test limits on Internet free speech in the wake of Sept. 11, armed federal agents last week raided the home of a Los Angeles teenager suspected of hacking into several Web sites to post anarchist messages and using his own site, Raisethefist.com, to publish bomb-making information. Sherman Martin Austin, 18, is believed to have violated federal computer fraud and abuse laws, as well as statutes prohibiting the distribution of bomb-making information, according to an FBI affidavit. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174122.html - - - - - - - - FBI shuts down site selling law enforcement badges Undercover investigators went onto the Internet and bought more than 900 black-market law enforcement badges, including FBI and Secret Service shields, federal authorities said Thursday. FBI spokesman Jon Stephens said a Florida man with no known ties to terrorists is a suspect in the case but has not yet been arrested. "The individual trafficking these badges was selling them for profit, including selling them to foreign nationals," FBI agent Doug Riggin said. "He had no idea what they were going to be used for." http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/31/badges-web.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/234428p-2250291c.html - - - - - - - - FL salesman settles charges of involvement in pyramid scheme. A Florida man has settled federal charges that he was part of an illegal pyramid scheme that sold dangerous dietary supplements on the Internet and scammed thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars. Robert Waitkus, of Ft. Lauderdale, has agreed to pay the government the $30,000 he earned as one of the chief salesmen for Streamline International, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/021906.htm - - - - - - - - Porn Site, 900-Number Purveyors Settle FTC Fraud Charges The owners of several adult Web sites and 1-900 lines have agreed to settle fraud charges that they illegally billed thousands of customers that had never ordered nor used the services, the FTC said today. Weston, Florida residents Donald Tetro and Edward Lipton, settled fraud charges related to services they billed for several Internet and phone sex businesses, including Automated Transaction Corp., World Telnet, Inc., WWW Provider Co. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174129.html - - - - - - - - Confab to focus on new face of security Politicians, academics and technology executives will focus on biometrics and technology's role in homeland security during a Feb. 12 congressional briefing in Washington. Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., and Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Mike Doyle, D-Penn., and Melissa Hart, R-Penn., are co-sponsoring the afternoon briefing, one of several high-profile meetings about the merits and potential privacy concerns of face-recognition technology following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-827384.html - - - - - - - - Computer Security Bill Backed By ITAA An influential high-tech lobby group today told leadership in the House of Representatives that it supports a cyber-security bill backed by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., that is "crucial" for increasing online security research. Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) President Harris Miller in a letter to House leadership said that "because research and development are vital to the nation's critical information systems, we urge Congress to act now." http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174130.html - - - - - - - - BadTrans-B tops virus charts BadTrans-B remains, two months after it was first released, the most infectious virus on the Internet. The mass-mailing email worm heads the monthly chart of virus reports compiled by antivirus vendor Sophos and accounts for 61.1 per cent of calls to its support centre this month. It was followed by MyParty-A (4.3 per cent), the short-lived mass mailing virus that caused flak earlier this week, and the Magistr-B (3.6 per cent). http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/23903.html - - - - - - - - MS drafts DOJ veteran as security czar Microsoft plans to appoint a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney to its top security position, company sources said Thursday. Scott Charney, currently the principal for digital risk management and forensics at PricewaterhouseCoopers, will become chief security strategist on April 1, overseeing the software giant's internal and product security policies. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-827468.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-827421.html - - - - - - - - N.Y. unveils counterterror net New York state officials unveiled an intelligence network Jan. 29 that eventually will enable local law enforcement agencies statewide to share information electronically in the fight against terrorism. Officials said it is the first of its kind in the nation. The Counter-Terrorism Network (CTN) will be deployed in the state's 16 law enforcement zones in a pilot program. Initially, the system will send out electronic alerts to recipients who will be provided with a stand- alone, flat-screen computer system. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0128/web-nys-01-31-02.asp - - - - - - - - Spyware company goes undercover A controversial spyware developer has disappeared from the Internet after concerns were raised about the methods it used to acquire sensitive information. A US-based spyware developer appears to have taken down its Web site after a storm of bad publicity over its practice of tracking individuals' surfing habits as well as gathering credit card information and other personal data entered online without their knowledge. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103354,00.html - - - - - - - - FTC to hit anti-spam campaign trail The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a battle against unsolicited commercial e-mail, known as spam. Howard Beales, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said Thursday that the agency will launch a "systematic attack" on deceptive spam and opt-out notices. Beales, who spoke at the 2nd Annual Privacy & Data Security Summit in Washington, D.C., added that the FTC will announce "law enforcement actions" regarding spam in a couple of weeks. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-827511.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174111.html - - - - - - - - Two industry groups plan anti-spam measures Two business groups are rolling out plans that would give Internet users greater control over the flood of junk e-mail crowding their inboxes. Both groups aim to separate responsible marketing pitches from the ``spam'' that enrages consumers and prompts calls for federal regulation. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/002561.htm http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/01/31/spam.plans.reut/index.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16096.html - - - - - - - - Will latest anti-spam plan make a dent? Privacy seal group Truste on Thursday announced the launch of a new service to help police unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam. The nonprofit group has partnered with privacy consulting and technology company ePrivacy Group to introduce a certification and seal program for commercial e-mail, much like its Web site seal program. Under the new plan, e-mail sent by volunteer "trusted sender-certified" companies will contain a seal that signifies the message is compliant with Truste's privacy rules. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-826859.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103515,00.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-826747.html http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50131,00.html - - - - - - - - Kazaa Still Up Despite Orders The website of file sharing service Kazaa remained up and running Thursday, despite a ruling by a Dutch court prohibiting its software be made available for downloads. The Amsterdam district court Thursday ordered Kazaa BV to stop the worldwide distribution of its popular software. The program, which is down- loaded from Kazaa's website, encouraged copyright infringement, which "justifies on its own a ban on the use of the website," the court ruling said. http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,50165,00.html - - - - - - - - Labels dodge scrutiny in Napster case A day before the major record labels asked for a one-month halt in their lawsuit against file-swapping start-up Napster, a federal judge told them she would turn close scrutiny on their online practices. According to transcripts of a Jan. 16 meeting, released Wednesday, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel was about to open a process examining whether the big record labels had "misused" their copyrights in their dealings with online rivals. One day later, the labels asked for a 30-day halt to the case to pursue settlement talks more vigorously. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-827552.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23906.html - - - - - - - - Ford loses hyperlink battle The carmaker has lost its battle to stop the owner of an offensive domain name linking to its site. Hyperlinks should be excluded from domain name disputes, a US judge said this week in a ruling that saw car maker Ford lose its battle to sue the owner of FuckedGeneralMotors.com for directing traffic to Ford.com. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103510,00.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-827182.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174127.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/zd/zd9.htm - - - - - - - - Digital Watermarking Makes Internet Video Splash Purdue professor Edward Delp told NewsFactor the new watermarking technique involves 'putting in bits or some other information that would prove ownership.' A new technique in digital watermarking may allow the smoothest-ever delivery of video over the Internet, allowing a secure transmission that resists attack and carries copyright protection. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16100.html - - - - - - - - EC Data Protection Amendment Could Help Heal Rift With US The European Commission has set up model contracts to facilitate the exchange of personal data between European Union nations and those outside of the E.U., E.C. spokesman Nick Foster said on Wednesday. The decision is important to enable citizens in E.U. countries to communicate personal data to non-E.U. countries. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174125.html - - - - - - - - Business should 'use privacy laws, not abuse them' The information commissioner is trying to allay business fears about using customer data. Do it - but do it within the law, says Elizabeth France. Privacy legislation need not hold back the deployment of CRM systems or other data-centric business plans, the information commissioner, Elizabeth France, told the CRM Summit in Warwickshire yesterday. "The Data Protection Act provides a fair processing framework that makes business sense," she said, adding that, "we have never seen a business plan that could not be operated within the legislation." http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103501,00.html - - - - - - - - Zero-Knowledge, in shift, targets corporate privacy market Montreal-based Zero-Knowledge Systems Inc., formed with the goal of freeing the Internet from censors and snoops, Thursday announced the first of its products designed to protect corporate privacy, completing a strategic shift announced almost four months ago. The privately held company Thursday announced the availability of its Enterprise Privacy Manager (EPM) software designed to help corporations safeguard their own confidential information and that of their customers and partners. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/001086.htm - - - - - - - - HP computers packaged with privacy software Amid growing concerns about online privacy, Hewlett-Packard Co. will preinstall privacy- protection software in its Pavilion personal computers sold in North America. With the free software, users will be able to control and block cookies sometimes used by Web sites to track surfing habits. They will also be able to activate a feature that scans outgoing Internet traffic for credit card numbers and other private information that might be sent unknowingly. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/031693.htm http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174126.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002/1/31/hp-privacy.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/233577p-2243010c.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft Exchange servers dodge worm In the somewhat calm wake of the MyParty virus, security experts have considered the possibility that, for once, users of Microsoft Exchange servers may have been better off. A discussion thread on the Virus Focus mailing list suggested that the reason the MyParty virus and its subsequent variant didn't have a high spread ratio is because it couldn't propagate via Exchange servers. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128834 - - - - - - - - Crackers exploit Cisco LAN switch flaw Cisco has warned users of a potential denial of service risk involving its popular Catalyst LAN switches. A buffer overflow vulnerability in Telnet option handling can be used to crash the process and force a Catalyst switch to reload. This operation could be repeated by an attacker to produce a denial of service attack. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/23900.html - - - - - - - - Smart card industry angles for ID As the debate over a national personal identification system intensifies in the wake of Sept. 11, the smart card industry is gearing up a campaign to make sure its chip-based technology is the leading contender for such a system. The Smart Card Alliance, the industry's trade association, released a white paper Jan. 30 that argues for the advantages of smart cards against other technologies that could be candidates for a personal ID card. The alliance will use it to initiate a concerted pitch to policy makers in the public and private sectors. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0128/web-smart-01-31-02.asp - - - - - - - - IT attracts the most crooks There are more crooks running IT companies than in any other sector of UK business, according to a leading venture capitalist. Speaking at the Regent Conference, Jon Moulton, managing partner of Alchemy Partners, said that there are more villains in IT because it is still a growth business. "They can get away with it because it's still a highly rated area and the opportunities to make money are significant," he said. "It's still fundamentally a growth business with a big market so there are opportunities to make money and get out before the facts surface." http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128851 - - - - - - - - Illegal child pornography is booming, thanks to the Internet --and the unwitting support of corporate America. Three years ago, Niki was a typical sixth grader in St. Petersburg, Russia, who loved classical music. Especially Beethoven, she says. But then she and her older sister, Nadia, began posing nude for Internet sites. My mother was on vacation and accidentally discovered a nudist beach, explains Nadia. The next day, their mother returned to the beachwith her daughters. Nadia was then 14, and Niki was 11. http://redherring.com/insider/2002/0118/1249.html - - - - - - - - Pupils and Porn and Games, Oh My It wasn't surprising that some kids started downloading pornography shortly after Virginia's Henrico County Public Schools distributed over 11,000 Apple iBooks to its high school students. Nor was it surprising that they surreptitiously played games in class and gobbled up bandwidth trading music and movie files. And what savvy person would have raised an eyebrow to hear that one ambitious yet misguided student was caught hacking into a teacher's computer in an attempt to change his grade? http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,50001,00.html - - - - - - - - Sifting For Software Vulnerabilities Drains A survey sponsored by SecurityFocus, a security- intelligence firm, has found that security professionals spend more than two hours each day hunting for the security information they need to protect their company's digital assets. The 266 respondents included system administrators, security engineers, programmers, network engineers, and security analysts. Andrew Bagrin, manager of network planning for Regal Cinema, says that despite his company's effective use of security applications, keeping a constant vigil for new vulnerabilities and viruses is always on his mind. "There's a steady flow of new information and threats you have to always keep up with," he says. http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020130S0008 - - - - - - - - Mobile Workforce Grows, Security Fears Persist - Study Technical innovations have changed forever the location of the American workplace. According to a new study, there are 78 million "remote and mobile" workers in the U.S. The study, by research firm Cahners In-Stat/MDR, said the remote and mobile category includes telecommuters, multi-site workers, non-office workers, mobile office workers and frequent business travelers who spend 20 percent or more of their work year on the road. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174131.html - - - - - - - - System proposed to track foreigners An entry/exit tracking system, to be among the border security initiatives in President Bush's fiscal 2003 budget proposal, is intended to improve the Immigration and Naturalization Service's ability to detect foreign nationals who overstay their visas. The system, which is likely to include automated document readers and databases, will enable the agency to match arrival records against departure records, said Kimberly Weissman, an INS spokeswoman. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0128/web-ins-01-31-02.asp *********************************************************** 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.