June 6, 2002 R. Kelly, R & B Star, Is Indicted on Child Sex Charges R. Kelly, the Grammy-winning R & B singer, was indicted today on 21 counts of child pornography after the authorities said he made a sexually explicit videotape with an underage girl that has been selling in bootleg versions on street corners across the country. Mr. Kelly was arrested this afternoon after leaving a home he was renting in Davenport, Fla., by Polk County sheriff's deputies and was held in jail pending a hearing on Thursday morning. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/06/national/06KELL.html - - - - - - - - Retiree Stuck in Netter's Prison A 70-year-old man has been in jail for more than three months for refusing to delete from his website addresses and other personal data of employees at the retirement home that evicted him. The jailing of Paul Trummel, a native of England who moved to the United States in 1985, has drawn fire from national and international writers' groups that support his First Amendment claims. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53021,00.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3414542.htm - - - - - - - - Hacker subpoena descends into farce New York Times cracker rejoices in DoJ 'bungle' US prosecutors last month issued a subpoena demanding that a reporter from the US MSNBC cable TV network hand over notes on a hacker with whom he had contact, it emerged yesterday. The subpoena, which ordered Bob Sullivan to hand over all contact information on Adrian Lamo, who claimed to have broken into the computer networks of the New York Times, has since been withdrawn. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132399 - - - - - - - - Hacker group defaces naval websites 'Infidelz' follows on from the 'Deceptive Duo'. Navy and government administrators may have been able to breathe more easily with hacker menace the Deceptive Duo out of the way but, following an anonymous tip-off, it looks like others may have taken up the cause. An email received by vnunet.com this morning told us to check out a Navy subdomain, tracker.hroc.navy.mil, which is apparently used to track CVs and job applications. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132407 - - - - - - - - Shakira worm rocks the Net A worm claiming to be pictures of the Grammy- winning star Shakira is spreading around the Internet via email or IRC. There's nothing new about the latest Internet worm, Shakira (vbs.vbswg-aq@mm). An email message allegedly containing photos of the Grammy-winning Colombian rock star will instead launch a flood of infected copies on other users of Microsoft Outlook or IRC. Like the Anna Kournikova worm, Shakira is the product of a VBS worm-generator kit. Most antivirus software vendors already have protection available to block it, hence the official name: Vbswg-aq. When the Shakira worm invades your PC, it displays this message: "You have been infected by the ShakiraPics Worm." http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2111486,00.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-933309.html - - - - - - - - World Cup virus kicks off Visual Basic Script worm doing the rounds. As network managers prepare to tackle the onslaught of World Cup-related emails in between catching a few games, users are warned to be on the lookout for viral emails. A Visual Basic Script worm that uses the World Cup as bait has kicked off against unsuspecting fans. Masquerading as an application for viewing match results, WorldCup spreads via email and the popular Internet Relay Chat application. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132387 - - - - - - - - Xbox hacked with $50-worth of hardware MIT student says it was 'easy'. A student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has managed to hack the security on Microsoft's Xbox, theoretically allowing him to write his own code for the machine. But because of copyright restrictions he will not be able to share the full worth of his discoveries. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132402 - - - - - - - - FBI wants to track your Web trail From the Bill Gates e-mails unveiled during the Microsoft trial to the Enron debacle, the digital trails people leave have provided stunning insight into their beliefs and habits. Now the FBI is hoping to capture and corral more of our digital detritus in the name of fighting terrorism. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-933202.html http://news.com.com/2100-1023-933183.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2111486,00.html - - - - - - - - EBay has secret weapon against fraud Internet auction leader eBay is trying to fight fraud on the site with a new software program that scans for suspicious listings and alerts company investigators, Chief Executive Meg Whitman said Wednesday. The Fraud and Abuse Detection Engine, or FADE, was deployed this spring to help the company crack down on con artists who misrepresent their merchandise or dupe buyers into paying for goods that never arrive, Whitman told investors at eBay's annual shareholder meeting. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/06/06/ebay-fraud.htm http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3406660.htm - - - - - - - - Making the Net safe for kids Parents rightfully are concerned that their children easily can be exposed to pornography, violence and other distasteful material on the Internet. Congress has attempted to legislate in this area without much success. For example, the Communications Decency Act of 1996 was struck down as infringing on free speech rights. Moreover, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 has been sidetracked by an injunction. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/ccarch/2002/06/06/sinrod.htm - - - - - - - - Government e-snoop centre set to go live Criminals will just use stronger encryption, warns expert. The UK government's new internet surveillance centre will become operational this summer, but it could make it harder rather than easier to catch paedophiles and terrorists by encouraging them to use stronger encryption. The National Technical Assistance Centre (NTAC), based at MI5 headquarters, will decrypt seized computer data and intercepted internet and email traffic on behalf of law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132384 - - - - - - - - Privacy still blights online retailers Privacy concerns have reared their ugly head again this week with the release of a new study from Jupiter Media Metrix (JMM). It found that as many as 70% of US consumers are still worried about their online privacy rights - and JMM reckons these worries will cost online businesses as much as $25 billion by 2006. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/23/25609.html - - - - - - - - Aussies warned: holes rip Yahoo Messenger Australian Yahoo Messenger users have been alerted to a number of holes in the instant messaging system, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The Australian Computer Emergency Response team (AusCERT) has warned its members of the vulnerabilities in Yahoo Messenger version 5,0,0,1064 today, following the US based Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) issuing an advisory on the flaws. Users should upgrade to version 5,0,0,1065 or later. http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20265826,00.htm - - - - - - - - Hollywood Net horror gets sequel After being closed down in Taiwan due to goverment pressure, a follow-on from the Movie88 site has opened in Iran, which does not recognise foreign copyright. A video-on-demand site that was shut down earlier this year with the help of Hollywood has seemingly sprouted a new head in Iran, underscoring vexing problems of Internet copyright enforcement for movie studios. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2111428,00.html - - - - - - - - Open Source Software May Offer Target for Terrorists, According to Study by Alexis de Tocqueville Institution's Committee for the Common Defense Business Editors. Terrorists trying to hack or disrupt U.S. computer networks might find it easier if the federal government attempts to switch to "open source" as some groups propose. "Opening the Open Source Debate", a soon to be released white paper by Alexis de Tocqueville Institution details the complex issues surrounding open source, particularly if federal agencies such as the Department of Defense or the Federal Aviation Administration use software that inherently requires that its blueprints, source code and architecture is made widely available to any person interested - without discretion. http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.053002/221502375 - - - - - - - - Microsoft takes a swipe at passwords Microsoft is developing new security software it hopes will make Web services and its entire product lineup more appealing to big companies. The software maker will announced plans on Thursday for technology code-named TrustBridge that will allow businesses to authenticate user identities between companies and applications using Web services standards. With TrustBridge-- which will debut next year--Microsoft is attempting to solve a common problem faced by workers in big companies: too many user identifications and passwords, said Adam Sohn, a product manager at Microsoft. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-933191.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18107.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-933297.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-933312.html - - - - - - - - Employee Revenge There was a time when vindictive former employees sought revenge by taking a couple of office supplies or spreading rumors about the boss. But in today's computerized offices, angry workers and disgruntled employees can access computer systems and destroy data with a click of the mouse, causing millions of dollars in damage. http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/features/story/0,23008,3386967,00.html - - - - - - - - Security through obsolescence Here's an interesting way to secure an Internet- connected computer against intruders: Make sure the operating system and software it runs are so old that current hacking tools won't work on it. This was suggested by Brian Aker, one of the programmers who works on Linux.com, NewsForge, Slashdot, and other OSDN sites; he runs several servers of his own that host a number of small non-profit sites in the Seattle area. "I have one box still running a version of Solaris that's so old none of the script kiddies can figure it out," Brian says. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/25608.html - - - - - - - - Privacy vs. Security: A Bogus Debate? David Brin is a privacy heretic. He doesn't agree with those in the intelligence and law enforcement communities who argue that Americans have to surrender freedoms to make their lives safe. Nor does he agree with advocates who argue that it makes sense to protect privacy at all costs -- certainly not if it means living with added insecurity. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2002/tc2002065_6863.htm - - - - - - - - Tightening the Internet screws In a previous column, I discussed ways to minimize exposure from e-mail-borne viruses and spurious browsing. Based on the feedback I received, I now believe that most CIOs doubt that the company derives benefits from any Internet activity that cant be directly related to an employees job and, therefore, be managed or controlled.In this column, Ill discuss some of the observations and suggestions Ive received for protecting the enterprise while maximizing employees usage of electronic mail to and from the Internet and Internet browsing. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520020530lan01.htm Get a secure grip on IM by downloading our list of IM services http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520020326wtn01.htm Understanding and managing new corporate privacy risks http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520020328ern01.htm - - - - - - - - Optimizing NIDS Performance Network intrusion detection systems (NIDSs) face some of the most gruelling challenges of any security product. Not only is the bandwidth these devices monitor increasing, so are the amount of attacks they must guard against. The combination of these two factors could overwhelm a NIDS, causing it to drop packets. To help the NIDS keep up with the demands of todays networks, and the wide variety of threats that besiege them, there are a number of things that the NIDS administrator can do to improve the performance of their NIDS. http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1589 - - - - - - - - INS broadens use of fingerprint scanning This summer, the Immigration and Naturalization Service plans to begin using electronic fingerprint scanners to check the identities of tens of thousands of foreign visitors as they arrive at airports in the United States. The fingerprints of visitors will be compared to databases of fingerprints of known and suspected criminals and terrorists in an effort to intercept terrorists trying to enter the country, Attorney General John Ashcroft said June 5. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0603/web-ins-06-06-02.asp *********************************************************** 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.