February 8, 2002 Three charged in alleged eBay glass bidding scheme Three people have been charged with running a scheme that boosted the sale prices of hundreds of pieces of collectible Rene Lalique glass auctioned on eBay, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges the bidding scheme ran between September 1999 and last month. It allegedly involved total high bids of more than $1.3 million, including individual pieces that sold for more than $15,000 on the online auction Web site. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/2627644.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1106-832983.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174349.html - - - - - - - - Just Whose Pal Is PayPal? The popular transaction service aims to ease online sales, but some customers say it aids con artists. Ask Trevor Tallman how he feels about popular online transaction service PayPal and he'll tell you, "I feel like someone has walked inside my house and stolen my belongings." At least that's what he told "CyberCrime" when we spoke with him after he purchased a new computer online, using PayPal to send the seller $2,000. The seller, though, never sent him the computer. In fact, more than 60 PayPal customers claim they sent money to the same seller via the transaction service and never received the computers for which they paid. http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/internetfraud/story/0,23008,3370214,00.html - - - - - - - - Amendment Would Expand Porn Reporting Law To IT Workers. Last summer, South Carolina enacted a law that requires computer technicians to report child pornography to law-enforcement officials when they find it during the course of their work. A similar piece of legislation will be proposed in Illinois, although with a more tempered approach. Rep. James Durkin says this week he will introduce an amendment to an Illinois law that requires film developers to report child pornography when they find it on the job. http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eFuc0BfOqd0V20Ste0A8 - - - - - - - - House Panel To Examine Another Net Security Bill Following a vote in the House of Representatives this week on an $880 million bill to fund cybersecurity research, a House subcommittee said that next week it will hold a hearing on another Internet and network security bill. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime said that it will hold a hearing Tuesday on H.R. 3482, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act. Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., the bill would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to change its guidelines on sentencing people convicted of computer crimes. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174356.html House passes computer security bill aimed at thwarting hackers http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/244182p-2315770c.html - - - - - - - - Bush Adviser Presses Industry On Cybersecurity The unusual announcements from three of the technology industry's most powerful men came just weeks apart. Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates declared that making his company's software less vulnerable to security breaches would take precedence over adding new features. Oracle Corp.'s Larry Ellison pledged to make his company's database programs "unbreakable." Cisco Systems Inc.'s John Chambers told clients at a private conference that he no longer regarded security enhancements on equipment that directs traffic across the Internet as extras but as necessities. The timing of the announcements was no coincidence. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174343.html - - - - - - - - Trademark search wars find new battle Trademarks have long given rise to novel legal tussles on the Net. Now there's a new battleground: pay-to-play search. Last week, Mark Nutritionals filed what is believed to be the first suit claiming that sites charging for placement in their search results violate trademarks. Mark Nutritionals, which makes a popular diet product, alleges that pay-for-play sites including Overture Services, AltaVista, Kanoodle and FindWhat.com are tricking consumers by presenting a list of competing products when people enter the term "body solutions" into a search bar. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-833114.html - - - - - - - - Game industry preps for copyright battle A specialty barter site has sued the creator of a popular online game over the right to swap virtual items from the game, setting the grounds for a decision that could have far-reaching copyright implications for the game industry. The founders of BlackSnow Interactive, which runs the CamelotExchange Web site, filed the suit Tuesday in the U.S. Court for the Central District of California against Mythic Entertainment, developer of the game " Dark Age of Camelot" (DAOC). DAOC is an online role-playing game (RPG) in which players spend many hours developing their characters and acquiring virtual items such as weapons and armor. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-832713.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft: We're patching MSN hole Microsoft is putting the final touches on a patch to limit an MSN Messenger feature that allowed any Web site to grab a visitor's IM nickname and buddy list. While representatives for the Microsoft Network have said no customers have fallen prey to the potential privacy problem, the group plans to release early next week an updated version of MSN Messenger that fixes the problem. "In order to implement the fix, customers will have to upgrade to the next version of MSN messenger," a representative for the software behemoth said on Friday. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-833293.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/702910.asp http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-832870.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-833154.html - - - - - - - - Tracking spam to the source Finding firms behind junk e-mail is harder than just deleting. Lose 20 pounds in 8 days ... Your Million $$$$s Is Waiting ... Exciting Home Business Opportunity!!!! Every day, were deluged with junk e-mail, popularly called spam. Fad diets, home-refinancing offers, pornography you name it pile up in our in-boxes. Weve never heard of most of the companies sending the e-mails, and many of the offers are for products and services we dont need. Almost all end up in the electronic trash can moments after we read the subject line. http://www.msnbc.com/news/702322.asp - - - - - - - - Alliance to improve home PC security A group of high-tech companies and U.S. government agencies announced Thursday a new campaign to educate home computer users and small businesses about ways to keep hackers and viruses at bay. At the core of the Stay Safe Online Campaign is a Web site with information and tips people can follow to protect the security of their computers. The campaign is aimed at home users and small businesses, who are increasingly vulnerable to attack because many of them use so-called always on cable and digital subscriber line Internet connections. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-832644.html - - - - - - - - Experts fear homeland security windfall could be misspent Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., went to the Renaissance Hotel in Fort Lauderdale on January 11 to receive an award for encouraging youth civic involvement. But several folks who approached Hastings weren't interested in his award. They wanted to know who was protecting Port Everglades, which receives more than 5,800 ships a year and is located in a densely populated section of Broward County. The residents were worried about what was being done to keep terrorists from attacking the port, or from entering the United States there. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0202/020802nj2.htm - - - - - - - - Counterterrorism database sought A nonprofit institute formed after the 1985 Oklahoma City bombing wants to develop a central Web-based repository of counterterrorism best practices and lessons learned. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism has issued a request for proposals for the development of such a database that would include reports about terrorist events and federal, state and local training exercises designed to deter terrorism or mitigate its results. The resource will only contain unclassified information for authorized users. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0204/web-mipt-02-08-02.asp http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/fcw1.htm - - - - - - - - Experts urge better information-sharing A proposed national commission to study the events of Sept. 11 must examine whether better information sharing and coordination throughout the federal government might have helped prevent the attacks, several members of past terrorism-related commissions told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0202/020802td1.htm Siebel CEO outlines critical nature of information sharing http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0202/020802td3.htm - - - - - - - - Homeland Security Is Software Firm's New Focus Days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Washington called on the private sector for anti-terrorism ideas. This week, Siebel Systems Inc. arrived armed with its version of a homeland security tool. The San Mateo, Calif.-based software company began revamping its "customer relationship management" program, which it spent $1billion and eight years developing, days after the attacks. It is now deployed in large corporations to manage customer information, including creating profiles and tracking buying habits. Now, the software can be used by the FBI and CIA to track terrorists, the company said. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174345.html - - - - - - - - Fans should 'weep' over Linux lapses Following the furore earlier this week over which operating system, Linux or Windows, suffered more security vulnerabilities throughout 2001, Linux site LWN.net set about comparing the vulnerabilities suffered by different Linux distros in 2001. Needless to say, the results were quite interesting, even prompting the Linux site to warn: "Anybody who is proud of Linux's security should have a good look and weep - it is a very long list." http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129077 - - - - - - - - Eye scan security tested at Heathrow Iris scans kept in database to identify enrolled travelers Immigration officials on Friday began testing a pioneering security system that scans a passengers eye as an alternative to checking passports at Londons Heathrow Airport. The five month-long trial will allow up to 2,000 frequent visitors to pass through immigration simply by staring into a video camera that takes a close-up image of the iris. http://www.msnbc.com/news/702603.asp?0si=- http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/02/08/airports.eyes/index.html - - - - - - - - Cybercafes serve an explosive brew If you're thinking of a cybercafe as a mellow place to check your e-mail and have a cup of coffee, Net 2 Net is definitely not for you. For starters, the only beverages sold here are sodas. And consider the dark lighting, moody orange walls, upbeat hip-hop music on the stereo and rows of computers and headphones. Most of the screens display violent game images of pistols, shotguns, assault rifles and AK-47s decimating terrorists and counterterrorists. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/02/07/cybercafe.htm - - - - - - - - Mitnick to Plead for Ham License Hacker Kevin Mitnick will soon be back in court, this time facing charges that may require him to testify on whether his bad reputation is solely a media-created myth. The Federal Communications Commission filed an action in late December to revoke Mitnick's amateur radio license. The commission does not charge that Mitnick, who spent four-and-a-half years behind bars on various hacking charges, has violated any amateur radio rules or regulations. It is rather that the court fears, based on his past actions, he might violate those rules in the future. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50298,00.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. 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.