March 8, 2002 Man Sentenced for eBay Auction Fraud of Certain Rare Baseball and Basketball Card Sets. Emily M. Sweeney, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that on Monday, March 4, 2002, Brian D. Wildman, age 31, of 8260 Byron Avenue, Apt. 4, Miami, Florida 31141, formerly of 1650 3rd Street Apt. 2, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44221, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster to 5 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, followed by 5 months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, for his role in connection with an e-bay Internet auction fraud scheme. http://www.cybercrime.gov/wildmanSent.htm - - - - - - - - Online Data Brokers Settle Fraud Charges Three Internet research companies have agreed to settle charges that they fraudulently obtained and sold consumers' personal and financial information. The settlements are part of an ongoing Federal Trade Commission investigation into the growing gray market known as "pretexting," in which companies contract to dig up consumer financial data usually by impersonating the target's spouse or employer. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175080.html - - - - - - - - Heckenkamp Trial Delayed Prosecutors go back for a new indictment against the alleged eBay hacker, after the old one is found lacking in detail. The trial of accused eBay hacker Jerome Heckenkamp has been postponed while prosecutors prepare a new indictment against the 22-year-old computer whiz, following a motion by Heckenkamp's defense attorney to dismiss the old one on the grounds that it was too vague. Heckenkamp was scheduled to begin trial in San Jose, Calif. on March 19th on charges that he defaced online auction site eBay under the hacker handle MagicFX. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/349 - - - - - - - - Bogus Microsoft security update e-mail is actually a virus It looks like a helpful Microsoft Corp. security bulletin, but an e-mail that says it will protect a computer from viruses actually carries a virus itself, Microsoft officials warned Friday. The bogus e-mail, called ``Internet Security Update,'' reads much like a typical Microsoft security bulletin and even makes reference to a legitimate security update released several weeks ago. But the e-mail, which began circulating worldwide earlier this week, also encourages users to run an attachment, named ``q216309.exe.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/2821394.htm http://www.msnbc.com/news/721388.asp http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/08/virus.htm - - - - - - - - MyLife worm tries to delete Windows files Fortunately, a bug in the malicious code prevents it from working as intended. A worm posing as an old-fashioned photograph of a girl holding a flower is making the rounds on the Internet. MyLife (w32.mylife@mm) is a 30,720-byte worm written in Visual Basic and compressed using UPX. If executed, the worm will attempt to mail copies of itself to everyone in the user's address book and will attempt to delete critical Windows files. Fortunately, a bug in the current worm code prevents MyLife from deleting any files. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-855400.html - - - - - - - - U.S. Said to Be Ready to Indict Audit Firm Over Enron Papers U.S. Federal prosecutors have prepared a multicount criminal indictment charging Arthur Andersen & Company with obstruction of justice in the Enron (news/quote) case, people involved in the matter said yesterday. The prospect of criminal charges coming just months after the Enron investigation began is presenting Andersen with an enormous challenge that insiders admit could ultimately put its future at risk. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/09/business/09AUDI.html - - - - - - - - 'Roughing' Up Hackers New Software Technique for Spotting Computer Intruders Stopping hackers from maliciously breaking into computer networks is often a game of cat and mouse. And it seems like the mice have been one step ahead of the cats lately. Every attack on a computer system by a hacker leaves traces clues that security experts can use to prevent similar attempts in the future. But by the time such patterns are discovered and analyzed, hackers have already moved on to more sophisticated and harder to detect methods. http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/cuttingedge/cuttingedge020308.html - - - - - - - - Twinkle, twinkle little LED (now I know what's in your head) Security researchers have published a paper warning that LED status indicators on datacomms kit can leak information to eavesdroppers. A paper, Information Leakage from Optical Emanations, by Joe Loughry of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and David A.Umphress of Auburn University in Alabama explains how it's possible to correlate flickering lights with information flowing through a device. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/24347.html - - - - - - - - Hacking with a Pringles tube A crisp can is an effective tool for curious hackers Empty cans of Pringles crisps could be helping malicious hackers spot wireless networks that are open to attack. Security company i-sec has demonstrated that a directional antenna made with a Pringles can significantly improves the chances of finding the wireless computer networks being used in London's financial district. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1860000/1860241.stm http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129904 - - - - - - - - Hong Kong 'Smart' ID Card To Capture Fingerprints The Hong Kong government said a new "smart" identity card to be carried by all Hong Kong residents will contain a copy of the cardholder's fingerprints, or thumbprints to be more precise. Hong Kong is set to introduce one of the world's most advanced ID cards to replace existing national IDs held by all Hong Kong residents. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175056.html - - - - - - - - Focus on mobility, security at CeBIT Stand by for this year's digital fashion show: wild and wacky gadgets to catch the eye, and promises of life-changing technology to capture the imagination. It all takes place at CeBIT, the world's biggest and most recognised technology trade show. Exhibitors from 58 countries are descending on Hannover, Germany for this year's fair March 13-20. There will be a record total of 8,152 companies, all with wares to show and announcements to make. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/03/08/cebit.preview/index.html - - - - - - - - Consumers could lose out with proposed copy protection law Compiling your favorite tunes or a photo slide show on a compact disc could no longer be possible if the backers of a proposed federal copy-control bill prevail. The draft legislation would require nearly all digital electronic devices from PCs to digital camcorders to contain a lock of sorts that restricts the copying of music or movies. The goal, say proponents led by the entertainment industry, would be to block piracy and the Napster-like ability to make unlimited copies of digital content. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/2820764.htm - - - - - - - - 2001: vintage year for virus infections Firms were hit last year by an average of 113 virus infections per month for every 1,000 computers they own, according to a survey of end users by ICSA Labs. The ICSA Labs' seventh annual computer virus prevalence survey show the threat viruses to businesses increased throughout 2001. ICSA Labs, a division of TruSecure, polled 300 companies to for its latest survey, which concludes that the likelihood of firms falling victim to virus infection increased 15 per cent over the last two years. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/24350.html - - - - - - - - How we can save PGP -- Zimmermann PGP inventor Phil Zimmermann says PGP can be saved, and has outlined how in an interview with The Register yesterday. "PGP is an institution that's bigger than any single company, or codebase, or product," says Zimmermann. "It's in limbo right now, and limbo is a bad place to be." Network Associates Inc wrote to customers last week informing them that it was ceasing development on PGP Desktop, and while promising to honor existing support contracts, said no bugfixes or updates would be issued. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/348 Network Associates stops PGP http://zdnet.com.com/2100-11-856179.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-856132.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/08/pgp-no-more.htm - - - - - - - - Facing the new corporate security rules It wasn't too long ago that "corporate security" meant little more than posting a guard in the lobby of the office. With the rise of e-business, corporate security grew more complex -- a company's most valuable property was virtual, not tangible, so companies erected firewalls to stop hackers from swiping their electronic secrets. But even with the growing diversity of threats, only half of the Fortune 500 companies believed it necessary to have a comprehensive security policy -- until now. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-855323.html - - - - - - - - JailCenter.com promises to keep eye on inmates The trail of the ever-eager Internet entrepreneur has reached the door of the county jail. JailCenter.com promises to eliminate long waits at jail information desks for lawyers and bail bondsmen, letting them view online vital information on inmates and their alleged crimes. The site collects data on criminal charges, court dates and other information from jails. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1106-855606.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. 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