February 15, 2002 ****** EDITOR'S NOTE ****** NewsBits will not be published on Monday, Feb. 18 due to the Presidnet's Day holiday in the US. NewsBits will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Take care and stay safe! RJL *********************************************************** Child Porn Prof Gets 15 Years A federal judge sentenced Antonio Lasaga to 15 years in federal prison yesterday, saying the former Yale University geology professor contributed to the exploitation of thousands of children by downloading pornographic images onto his computer. "For each image created, there was at least one victim," said U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Thompson. "You did not create them, but by collecting them, you lent support and encouragement to the people who create child pornography." http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/41470.htm - - - - - - - - Charges To Be Dropped Against Raisethefist.com Owner Federal charges will be dropped against the teen-aged operator of anti-government site Raisethefist.com, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in central California confirmed today. Sherman Austin, 18, was arrested Feb. 2 in New York at a demonstration against the World Economic Forum. He currently is being held in a federal transfer detention center in Oklahoma City, enroute to his home state of California. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174548.html - - - - - - - - DMCA Protection at U.S. Border U.S. Customs officials have blocked shipments from one of the largest online video game retailers, hoping to stop the import of products that may run afoul of federal copyright protections. The agency was trying to stop the import of NEO4s, a chip that allows PlayStation consoles to run DVDs with geographic encryptions and games copied on to CD-ROMs, according to sources familiar with the video game company, Lik-Sang. These chips, called "mods," have come under scrutiny by corporations claiming the Copyright Act, which restricts anyone's ability to circumvent copy protections. http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,50450,00.html - - - - - - - - Piracy costs game industry $1.9 billion The U.S. video game industry lost at least $1.9 billion to global piracy last year, half of which came from Korea and China, an industry trade group said Thursday. The Washington-based Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) said its estimate was included in a report that the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) will file with the United States Trade Representative on Friday. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1104-838452.html Trade Sanctions Urged To Curb Software Piracy http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174543.html - - - - - - - - Security board makes progress Improving the security of commercial products and increasing the level of security expertise in the government are at the top of the agenda for the Bush administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, according to Richard Clarke, the White House cyberspace security adviser. In its first 90 days of existence, the board has begun to address many basic security issues that affect the public and private sectors, as well as specific initiatives such as the high-profile GovNet intranet and an emergency personnel wireless priority system, both of which are under consideration. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0211/web-clarke-02-15-02.asp - - - - - - - - Net snooping laws 'too costly' Ministers want access to data going back seven years. Extensive snooping laws could put internet service providers out of business, an expert has warned. Tim Snape, an influential member of the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA), said the law would drive up costs. He was speaking at ISPCON, a conference for the internet industry held in London this week. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1820000/1820199.stm - - - - - - - - State AGs Urge FTC To Require Stronger Privacy Notices Forty-four state attorneys general today urged federal regulators to require financial institutions to shorten and simplify the often confusing legal notices that explain to customers how their personal and financial information is being used. In comments filed with the Federal Trade Commission today, the state AGs said financial institutions should be required to send uniform, short and easy-to-read notices that describe how companies share customer information and steps that consumers can take to "opt out" of such practices. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174559.html - - - - - - - - Sleuths Seek Computer Experts To Mine Enron Data 'Deleting' a file simply takes the file's information out of the index, letting the computer know that it may write over those clusters with new information. Stymied by shreds of Enron Corp. documents, investigators are turning to computer forensics experts to search for bits of electronic evidence lingering on hard drives. Odds are good that searches will unearth worthwhile information. The reason: Deleting a file on a computer, and even emptying a PC "recycle bin," doesn't immediately banish that information. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16369.html - - - - - - - - Scanning for SNMP vulnerabilities SANS has released a scanning tool called SNMPing which will find SNMP daemons running on a TCP/IP network. It defaults to port 161, but you can enter the port of your choice. The good news is that it's small and effective. The bad news is that it only runs on WinNT/2K. You can use TCP dump to log your attempts. You'll find that some devices can be protected with hard-to-guess community names, and that others can't, so get the straight dope on all your devices. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/24083.html 'Devices at risk' from SNMP exploits Experts have warned that the recently discovered vulnerabilities in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) could be "as big a problem as Nimda". Security watchers maintain that thousands of devices could be at risk and that we will see exploits for this vulnerability. security firm's ethical hacking unit, said: "We're going to see a lot of action here. It's too easy to launch attacks this way." http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129277 - - - - - - - - Virus smuggling risk for Outlook Express users Security researchers have identified a way to smuggle virus laden emails past AV checkers and into the in-boxes of Outlook Express users. A demo suggests it's possible to send attachments to Outlook Express users using non-standard attachment techniques, by encapsulating the data in Carriage Return () specifiers in the subject line of an email. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/24085.html - - - - - - - - Spat over MS 'flaw' gets heated A security company's assertion that a feature in Microsoft's latest software tools has a flaw morphed on Friday into an argument over whether the giant is doing enough to secure its code. The crux of the debate is now focused on whether the feature-- a software switch known as the 'GS flag' that turns on additional security--has sacrificed protection for performance, said Crispin Cowan, chief scientist at WireX Communications, maker of secure Linux applications, and the co-founder of open-source security site Sardonix.org. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-839039.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-838979.html .Net compiler flaw leaves users exposed http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129263 - - - - - - - - MS security chief: We are not stopping development In an exclusive interview with ZDNet UK, Microsoft UK's first chief security officer explains the reality behind the hype of the company's widely reported security initiative. Microsoft has appointed a chief security officer for the UK as part of its efforts to build better protection from hackers and viruses into its market- dominating software. The appointment of Stuart Okin, an e-platform technology practice manager with Microsoft Services Organisation for five years, will be publicly announced within the next few days. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2104481,00.html - - - - - - - - New technology won't rescue firefighters Firefighters and law enforcement agencies are likely the losers from this week's Federal Communications Commission decision allowing the sale of products based on ultrawideband, a superfast wireless signal. When the FCC on Thursday decided to make ultrawideband (UWB) available commercially, it set a limit on how powerful the signal can be. The FCC explained the limitations were to help allay fears that UWB's powerful signals would interfere with military operations or broadcasts from television and radio stations. As a result, companies like Florian Wireless and Time Domain say the UWB equipment they are each developing for rescue workers, with some already in trials, won't be powerful enough to be of much use. http://news.com.com/2100-1033-838935.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2104477,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/708411.asp U.S. Approves Ultra-Wideband Technology http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16374.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/02/15/wideband.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/254052p-2383498c.html - - - - - - - - Net security: Are we ever safe? Roundup: Many technology titans claim that security is a top priority. But how far have we really come in solving security problems? MSN Messenger suffers from a worm attack, and a software flaw could leave the core of the Internet open to hackers. Meanwhile, Microsoft and a security firm duke it out over an alleged .Net flaw. http://news.com.com/2009-1001-837821.html - - - - - - - - Wireless Network Aids Emergency Preparedness at Winter Games The ultimate solution would be a master switch that allows each system to talk to the others,' DOJ program manager Robert E. Lee, Jr. told Wireless NewsFactor. ' However, the costs were prohibitive, and it would've taken years to build. Some of the components have never been built.' A U.S. government team that has been quietly working on public safety concerns -- years before "homeland security" made the front pages -- has put together a quick fix to make sure emergency response agencies in and around the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics are able to communicate in the event of a crisis. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16383.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.