March 28, 2002 California's Top Court Rethinks Intel Critic's E-mail Ban The Supreme Court of California has agreed to listen to a former Intel Corp. worker who says he has been unjustly prohibited from sending e-mail critical of the company to thousands of its employees. Kourosh Ken Hamidi has already received a cold shoulder from the state's appeals court, which ruled in December that the disgruntled ex-employee had trespassed on Intel property when he "flooded" the company's e-mail system on six different occasions with messages to between 8,000 and 35,000 staffers. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175523.html http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_555433.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/28/email-trespassing.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/329960p-2771832c.html - - - - - - - - Feds mount defense of library porn law The U.S. government sought on Thursday to defend its bid to protect children from online pornography in public libraries, with testimony about Internet software that allows library patrons to view explicit text but not photos on the World Wide Web. David Biek, main branch manager for the Tacoma Public Library in Washington state, told the a judicial panel that such software could filter out objectionable photographs without hindering the free flow of information. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/03/28/internet.porn.reut/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/28/porn-library.htm - - - - - - - - Legal child porn comes under fire Lawmaker aims to crack down on Web sites featuring preteen models. The "Lil Amber" Web site featured a 12-year-old Florida girl who suddenly retired from her career as an Internet "model" this month, only to be replaced by a new Amber. The photos of 12-year-old Amber cavorting in a swim-suit and various skimpy outfits wouldnt have raised so much as an eyebrow if they had been posted on a family home page. But on lilamber.com one of a growing number of preteen model sites operating in the legal gray area between innocent imagery and child pornography. http://www.msnbc.com/news/730491.asp - - - - - - - - Judge: FBI must cough up Carnivore info Privacy advocates have won another round in their fight to gain access to more information about the FBI's Carnivore e-mail surveillance system. A federal judge this week ordered the FBI to expand its search for records about Carnivore, also known as DCS1000, technology that is installed at Internet service providers to monitor e-mail from criminal suspects. The court denied a motion for summary judgment and ordered the FBI to produce within 60 days "a further search" of its records pertaining to Carnivore as well as a device called EtherPeek, which manages network traffic. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-870178.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2107493,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/730861.asp - - - - - - - - Dutch court clears Web music swapping In a setback for efforts to halt copyright abuse, a Dutch appeals court on Thursday told a technology company it could distribute a software program that is designed to let people share music and films on the Internet. The ruling in the case between Internet software company Kazaa and Dutch music rights organization Buma Stemra overturned a decision in November in favor of the music industry. The music industry says rampant online piracy has severely damaged recording sales, and the movie industry fears the same could happen to it as computers become more powerful. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-870551.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-870396.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175536.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/03/28/entertainment.reut/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,51380,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/28/kazaa-ruling.htm - - - - - - - - Europe falters on Echelon spy network Nearly seven months after the European Parliament adopted a report that recognized the existence of Echelon, an international spy system designed to listen in on private and commercial communications, experts say that little has been accomplished towards dealing with the issue. Privacy experts would like to see limits placed on systems like Echelon, or at least for such spy networks to be made accountable--a need which has only been strengthened by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the advent of the international "war on terror." But taking action is made difficult partly by the public's acclimatization to a world where everyone, including the government, can be assumed to be listening in, say observers. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-870713.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2107557,00.html - - - - - - - - Another Punch for Copy Protection A political brawl over mandatory copy protection is about to spread to the U.S. House of Representatives. A Democratic legislator from the home of the Walt Disney and Warner Bros. studios is drafting a bill to reduce online piracy by implanting strict copy controls in digital devices. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51400,00.html Howling Mad Over Hollings' Bill http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,51337,00.html - - - - - - - - Bin Laden steps up holy war via email Allies fail to silence terrorist's hate campaign Fugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden is still able to send emails spreading his hate attacks throughout the world. Despite US claims that he is trapped by its military forces, a London-based Arabic newspaper says it has received an email it believes to be from bin Laden. The email to the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper denounces Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's Middle East peace plan and praises Palestinian suicide attacks. Experts say that the email's style and language is identical to previous statements by bin Laden. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1130504 - - - - - - - - ITAA lists nine ways to counter terrorism using IT The Immigration and Naturalization Service recently sent to the Office of Homeland Security recommend- ations from the private-sector on how to conduct counterterrorism operations through the use of integrated IT. Information Technology Association of America officials and member companies met with the INS and came up with nine suggestions during a meeting late last year. INS Commissioner James Ziglar said the recommendations would help provide businesses with investment advice and a better understanding of law enforcement and intelligence operations. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/18268-1.html - - - - - - - - Online gambling tops Internet card fraud Online gambling has become the number one Internet-related card fraud problem in Europe. That's according to Europay, Mastercard's European partner, which reckons that 20 per cent of online fraud is related to gambling. Online fraud accounts for five per cent of all UK credit and debit card fraud, which APACS (the Association of Payment Clearing Services) puts at PS411 million last year. That's 30 per cent up from losses of PS317 million for 2000. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/24633.html - - - - - - - - Yahoo updates privacy policy Web portal Yahoo has revised its privacy policy to more clearly describe how personal data will be treated in certain circumstances, company executives said. The new policy states that Yahoo will share information to investigate circumstances involving illegal activity such as fraud, violations of its terms of service agreement, and the use of its service for potential threats. The revision also said Yahoo will transfer user information if it is acquired by another company and abide by the acquiring company's privacy policy. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-870581.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2107549,00.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-870270.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/730862.asp - - - - - - - - Spammers Slam Anti-Spam Proposals The Direct Marketing Association admits that spam is a problem. But the group's members don't want Congress to regulate it. A lobbyist for the 4,700- member trade association said Wednesday that laws restricting companies from firing off unsolicited e-mail messages may have unintended consequences that politicians simply can't anticipate. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51370,00.html - - - - - - - - PKI Steering Committee chooses signature app The General Services Administrations Federal Public-key Infrastructure Steering Committee, in a significant move toward adopting a government-wide PKI, is finalizing plans to purchase 150 licenses of an electronic-signature application. Six months ago, GSA was skeptical about using ApproveIt Desktop from Silanis Technology Inc. of St. Laurent, Quebec. Officials werent sure if the signing tool, which works via a browser, would work with the Defense Departments PKI. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/18266-1.html - - - - - - - - New Web Cameras Allow Spying by Subscription Uses for the cameras include monitoring areas in which current surveillance cameras are generally ineffective, such as certain home security situations. A Japanese company on Thursday unveiled two new series of network cameras that can be controlled from personal computers over the Internet. The cameras, from Kyushu Matsushita Electric Co. Ltd., come equipped with a Web server function and an Ethernet port. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16996.html - - - - - - - - Exclusive: hackers make chop suey of wireless security vnunet.com investigation reveals Wagamama noodle chain has no wireless security and is open to hackers. According to underground culture, the staple diet of hackers is Jolt cola and Ramen noodles. But the food could be could be picked up for free after hackers discovered a gaping security hole in the network of noodle house Wagamama. vnunet.com today received an email from an anonymous hacker who claimed to have gained access to the wireless network at the Wagamama branch on London's Lexington Street, just down the road from vnunet.com's centre of operations and its investigative news team base. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1130542 - - - - - - - - Beware the Kindness of Strangers The Case Against Good Samaritan Hackers The Good Samaritan defence, invoked by hackers like Adrian Lamo, can too easily be distorted by those with less altruistic intentions. How would you feel if one day, while you were at the office going about your daily business, I decided to take it upon myself to check the security of your home? How would you feel if I sauntered up to the front door and, finding that it didnt sufficiently resist my efforts to open it, I walked through that door and then proceeded to meander around your house, assessing the various security risks that lay vulnerable within? http://online.securityfocus.com/columnists/70 - - - - - - - - New technology means new problems For the criminal justice community, new technology is never a simple solution. In some cases, it's a case of learning how to take full advantage of an emerging field, such as Extensible Markup Language or biometrics. In other cases, it's a matter of waiting for the technology to mature, such as voice recognition software. At the very least, new technology requires government agencies to think about the ways they do business, said law enforcement officials and technology vendors attending the 2002 SEARCH Integrated Justice Information Systems Symposium in Washington, D.C. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0325/web-search-03-28-02.asp http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/fcw1.htm - - - - - - - - Schiphol backs eye scan security Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is claiming success in a biometric security system that scans eyes and allows passengers to bypass traditional passport control. Schiphol is one of several major European airports embracing new technology to win back passenger confidence amid security fears following September 11. http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/03/27/schiphol.security/index.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.