May 30, 2002 F.B.I. Chief Admits 9/11 Might Have Been Detectable The director of the F.B.I., Robert S. Mueller III, acknowledged today for the first time that the attacks of Sept. 11 might have been preventable if officials in his agency had responded differently to all the pieces of information that were available. As a result, Mr. Mueller said he was beginning an overhaul of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to aim more resources toward what he asserted is now its fundamental mission: the prevention of new terrorist operations. The changes, he said, are designed to bolster the bureau's capability to analyze information about terrorist threats and anticipate possible attacks. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/national/30INQU.html http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/18818-1.html FBI Analysis: We Don't Compute http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,52853,00.html http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0527/web-fbi-05-30-02.asp http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/053002td2.htm http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176817.html http://online.securityfocus.com/news/456 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2111155,00.html FBI and CIA coming on-line with new powers http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/25508.html http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/053002td1.htm - - - - - - - - Feds Charge Woman With Internet Auction Fraud Internet auction fraud ranks among the top online scams, according to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) figures, but there are signs that authorities are beginning to catch up with at least some of the perpetrators. This type of fraud is often simple. The scammer registers items for sale on Internet auction sites and makes off with the victim's payments without shipping the goods. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176806.html http://online.securityfocus.com/news/455 - - - - - - - - Australian Online Store Settles Piracy Suit Australian online grocery store ShopFast has agreed to pay $35,000 compensation and implement a "comprehensive software licensing compliance program" following a tangle with the anti-piracy group Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA). http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176813.html - - - - - - - - Notorious hacker hits TheNerds.net Zilterio strikes for the fourth time in 8 months A notorious online extortionist using the name Zilterio has struck again. This time, some customers of TheNerds.Net, an electronics retailer, received e-mails from Zilterio@yahoo.com, indicating their credit card data had been stolen from the site. This is the fourth Web site in 8 months attacked by someone claiming to be Zilterio in the past, the extortionist demanded $50,000 in exchange for silence. http://www.msnbc.com/news/759029.asp - - - - - - - - News Sites Tackle E-mail 'Subversion' Security Holes Security flaws in e-mail features at several popular news sites could have been exploited by "spammers" or used to spread false information, a security specialist cautioned today. In response to the warning, Time magazine has temporarily disabled the "e-mail-a-friend" function at its Web site. Similar security flaws at sites operated by CNN and the Boston Globe were corrected earlier this week by those news organizations. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/454 - - - - - - - - Aussie spammer sues anti-spammer An alleged Australian spammer is suing an anti- spam advocate after being blacklisted by a spam prevention Web site, in what is believed to be a first of its kind case worldwide and one that could end up bigger than Ben Hur, according to a source close to the proceedings. Perth-based T3 Direct is seeking compensation of $24,708 (AU$43,750) from Joseph McNichol, whom it alleges caused the company to be blacklisted on the spews.org Web site. Blacklisted sites distribute lists of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses online that are believed to be involved in spamming activities, enabling end users to block traffic from such IP addresses. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-928673.html - - - - - - - - OMB accused of withholding computer security info from Congress The Office of Management and Budget does not plan to provide detailed information to Congress on agencies current plans to improve computer security, which could delay budget deliberations on security efforts for another year, according to the General Accounting Office. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/052902m1.htm - - - - - - - - Congressional panel issues information security report Congress' Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday issued a compilation of essays titled "Security in the Information Age" heavily focusing on cyber security and critical infrastructure protection. "We must be better aware of our vulnerabilities and develop viable strategies to detect, deter, and counter both physical and cyber-based threats to our people and infrastructures," said Chairman James Saxon, R-N.J. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/052902td2.htm - - - - - - - - Civil Liberties Stressed In Homeland Security Plans Protecting privacy and civil liberties will be key guidelines for the Bush administration as it evaluates thousands of private-sector technology proposals for fighting terrorism and protecting the nation's critical infrastructure, the White House's top science adviser said Wednesday at a press briefing. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176809.html - - - - - - - - Consumers' views differ on software piracy More than half of all U.S. Internet users regularly download commercial software without paying for it,but only 12 percent see such actions as ``piracy,'' a new industry survey concludes. The Business Software Alliance, which commissioned the survey, wants to close that gap by sending consumers a message: Downloading commercial software with- out paying the creator is the same as ripping off a packaged product from a store shelf. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3363375.htm http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/3363169.htm http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176800.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-928581.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-928562.html For movie pirates, it's full speed ahead http://news.com.com/2100-1023-928426.html Does anti-piracy law violate other rights? http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/ccarch/2002/05/30/sinrod.htm - - - - - - - - MS Exchange-2K, Excel-XP security warnings First up we have a potentially crippling exploit with Exchange 2000, in which a malformed mail attribute can spike the system CPU to 100% load while the malicious message is being processed. Re-starting the service or re-booting the Exchange server will not correct it; the process will resume automatically as soon as the service is re-started. Depending on the attacker's ingenuity, a server could be taken down for anywhere from a few seconds to several hours. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/25506.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-928091.html - - - - - - - - Fed Up with Spammers The program praised the most for its anti-spam capabilities was MailWasher. Other programs suggested by readers include Pop-Up Stopper, Ad-Aware, Ad-Watch, ZoneAlarm and many more. Unsolicited junk e-mail -- spam -- is driving Americans crazy. That's the response I received from a recent column about my problems with spam. It's bad enough wasting time deleting junk e-mail from my home computer. Now Internet pornography sites have found ways to take control of my computer. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17992.html - - - - - - - - AOL Plans Secure AIM Services Secure AIM Services' features extend way beyond the capabilities of AIM's public client, and bring the enterprise IM offering even with most other available solutions. America Online, the online arm of media Goliath AOL Time Warner, is readying a new enterprise-strength version of its immensely popular AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) product, according to Web pages and documents found by InstantMessagingPlanet. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17986.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-928415.html - - - - - - - - IBM wants to scramble your data IBM has developed new software that it hopes will make you feel safer about your privacy online. The software takes personal information and scrambles it before forwarding it to merchants. On the merchant end, the software can unscramble the data enough for a company to mine for a marketing campaign--without revealing any individual's personal information. If adopted by merchants and consumers, the new software could benefit both groups, said Rakesh Agrawal, a researcher at IBM's Privacy Research Institute. Consumers could get marketing messages targeted to them without worrying about sacrificing their private information. And merchants and marketers could get useful data without worrying about whether consumers were giving false information. http://news.com.com/2100-1017-929252.html - - - - - - - - Cannibals in cyberspace Internet governing body feasts on itself The issue of Internet governance has all the appeal of a rare intestinal disease and less political clout than an orphan drug. There is no Julia Roberts waiting in the wings to testify before Congress on behalf of democratic values in cyberspace. So as the private body tasked with overseeing the stability of the Internet hovers on the brink of disaster it comes as no surprise that few are aware of the situation and that even fewer care. http://www.msnbc.com/news/759558.asp - - - - - - - - Newest IT Job Title: Chief Hacking Officer While companies are uncomfortable hiring IT security personnel with prior criminal records, there are advantages to hiring an experienced hacker. Companies seeking to ensure they are as impervious as possible to the latest computer viruses and to the Internet's most talented hackers often find themselves in need of - the Internet's most talented hackers. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17940.html - - - - - - - - An Education in Hacking At Dan Clements' Fraud Museum, businesses can see how online scamsters operate. It's all very informative -- maybe too much so. Netrepreneur Dan Clements is a museum curator, only you won't find him working at the Met or the Louvre. Rather, Clements is the CEO of CardCops.com, an online credit-card fraud-prevention site. In February, 2001, Clements and CardCops opened the cyberdoors of their own online Fraud Museum, which contains what Clements judges to be most egregious examples of crime in the annals of hackerdom. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2002/tc20020528_8754.htm - - - - - - - - Hackers V. Colleges: Security Bolstered for University Computer Systems College officials said the threats are not just from smart and sophisticated pranksters and criminals, but also from mischievous teens who have figured ways to capture computers. Colleges and universities battle hackers and viruses every day as a matter of course, not unlike the way hospitals try to eradicate health-threatening germs and killer viruses to save lives. Neither colleges or hospitals can live apart from the pests and parasites. And the problem is growing. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17991.html - - - - - - - - Low-tech solution to password problem Could this card be answer to the password puzzle? A British inventor has come up with a low-tech answer to the problem of having a secure password. Martin Wren-Hilton has designed a simple card that could be issued to employees as a second line of defence against hackers. The card resembles a pre-paid top-up voucher for mobile phones and has a list of words and numbers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2006000/2006940.stm - - - - - - - - Intrusion Detection: Running a Hacker Simulation The cost of worldwide intellectual property theft, much of which occurs as a result of corporate espionage conducted through the Internet, may be as high as US$300 billion per year, according to industry watchers. The most powerful government and multinational corporate systems are hacked on a daily -- sometimes hourly -- basis, and many such incursions make headline news. In particular, security experts have reported a massive increase in the number of automated vulnerability scans on company networks. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17985.html - - - - - - - - Camera detects when heat is on Finding a fugitive or detecting the potential for fire in Davie, Fla., will become easier thanks to three thermal imaging cameras recently acquired by the police department. The cameras, from Raytheon Co., are mounted directly above the lights on police cruisers. Inside the car is a 5.1-inch flat screen for viewing. A joystick is located next to the screen, enabling the officer to move the camera 360 degrees around as well as in an up-and-down motion, said Lt. Gary Killam of the Davie Police Department. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0527/web-davie-05-30-02.asp - - - - - - - - Isn't your PC bulletproof? Sure, your fancy new laptop has a glitzy screen and all the latest multimedia doodads. But can it stop a bullet? That's the promise Xybernaut, a specialist in "wearable" PCs, is making from the partnership it announced Thursday with Central Lakes, Mich.-based Second Chance Body Armor, the leading U.S. manufacturer of body armor for law enforcement and the military. Xybernaut's body- mounted computer systems will be integrated into Second Chance's high-tech body armor to give soldiers and police a safe and highly portable computing system. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-929071.html http://news.com.com/2100-1040-929031.html - - - - - - - - War in Afghanistan goes online The war in Afghanistan is going online. A drab tent under the Afghan sun hides a high-tech war room that soon will become the nerve center of the campaign: Inside, tables are lined with soldiers bent over laptops. They look up at computer maps of Afghanistan projected on large screens illuminating the dim interior. All are logged onto the Tactical Web Page, a secret, secure Web site being used in combat for the first time, through which American commanders at Bagram air base and in the United States can direct the fight in Afghanistan. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/2002/05/30/web-afghan.htm http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/05/30/afghan.war.web.page.ap/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. 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