June 21, 2002 Agents Pursue Terrorists Online According to one analyst, al-Qaeda leaders prefer to use a Web site to communicate with followers, rather than telephones or mass e-mails that are much easier to trace. U.S. officials are searching the Internet for the reappearance of a Web site that they believe has been used by al-Qaeda to deliver messages, including possible instructions for its next attacks, to its operatives around the world. The Arabic Web site, recently known as alneda.com, is a "mouthpiece for al-Qaeda in exile" and one of the terrorist group's main instruments in its effort to regroup, senior U.S. law enforcement officials here say. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18331.html - - - - - - - - School hackers may face Secret Service Students at universities in four states may have been monitored by "spyware" placed on computers by online criminals to capture passwords and credit card numbers, a public safety officer at one of the schools involved said Thursday. A month ago, agents with the U.S. Secret Service notified Arizona State University officials that some of their computers may have been compromised, said Lt. John Sutton of the university's Department of Public Safety. The Secret Service seized almost 20 hard drives from computers at the university and is analyzing them for clues as part of the investigation, he said. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-938235.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2112233,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/770458.asp - - - - - - - - Kremlin's new Web site: Hacker-proof? Almost 100 hackers have tried to break into Russian President Vladimir Putin's new Web site in the first 24 hours of its existence, but none has yet succeeded, the Kremlin said Friday. And after three months of checks by the Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information, the presidential administration is certain the site, unveiled Thursday, is almost hacker-proof. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-938341.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/770480.asp http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/06/21/kremlin.internet.reut/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,53412,00.html - - - - - - - - Internet mapping points to serial killer Alleged serial killer Maury Troy was apprehended after law enforcement was able to track him through his computer. Troy had sent an Internet map to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter indicating where the body of a slain prostitute could be located. Microsoft told the FBI the Internet protocol address of the only person who had mapped the area, while WorldCom was able to pinpoint the physical location of the address. Civil libertarians are worried about the ability of law enforcement to easily track people through the Internet without the public knowing how simple the process is. http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel/pdweb.nsf/6e56f5328304fd5685256a0f005e d358/86256a0e0068fe5086256bda003f88c2?OpenDocument The story of a killer ended abruptly, left much unrevealed http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel/pdweb.nsf/da37732b0078d6c285256ad500494df3/86256a0e0068fe5086256bda004c7ea6?OpenDocument - - - - - - - - Seattle man removes Web site in free-speech dispute with judge Paul Trummel, who was thrown in jail for 111 days in a free-speech standoff with a judge over his Web site, has taken down the site rather than face more jail time. Trummel, 68, posted an ``apologia'' in which he said he would continue to fight for his First Amendment rights in court, but did not want to undermine the efforts of his attorneys ``by creating diversions that could persuade the appellate court that I lack seriousness in my pursuit of justice.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3512281.htm http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53392,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/06/21/web-jailing.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/441465p-3532160c.html - - - - - - - - Apache exploit on the warpath 'May God have mercy on our souls,' say hackers A hacker group today declared "may God have mercy on our souls" after releasing a "very friendly" exploit for the potentially devastating Apache flaw reported here on vnunet.com. The hackers, calling themselves Gobbles Security on the BugTraq mailing list, warned: "Attached is a remote Apache 1.3.X exploit for the 'chunking' vulnerability. This version of the exploit works only on OpenBSD. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132865 Apache Web Servers at Risk - Patching Urged http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18342.html http://www.idg.net/ic_877484_1794_9-10000.html - - - - - - - - Harry Potter at the mercy of pirates Copy protection on some new DVDs seems to have disappeared, raising questions about the film industry's anti-piracy plans. Technology that prevents people from copying DVDs to videotape has disappeared from some versions of Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," raising new questions about Hollywood's anti-piracy plans. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2112237,00.html - - - - - - - - House lawmaker expects cybersecurity bill to pass before recess The outlook for congressional passage of cyber- security legislation looks good this year, despite the short time remaining in the session, House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., said Thursday. The New York Republican hopes final action on his House-passed bill, to authorize research and development for computer and network security and research fellowship programs, will occur by the August congressional recess. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0602/062102cd1.htm - - - - - - - - US prepares for cyber terror Government looks to push companies into action US companies are preparing for a new government report that will set out how they will be expected to protect their networks against hackers and cyber terrorists. Although cyber attacks have generally been the preserve of amateurs, the administration is concerned that sponsored terrorist attacks are increasingly possible. The new National Strategy for Securing Cyberspace aims to set out how best to protect systems against such attacks and, after years of consultation, is expected to be published in the next few weeks. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1132852 - - - - - - - - Are hackers in hiding or aiming at new targets? U.S. government figures indicate that hacker attacks have dropped significantly since September of 2001. Other numbers show that hackers are still creating as much havoc as ever. Despite the discrepancy, it remains clear that enterprise system attacks launched by hackers are still a serious threat. The size of the threat is up for debate. Hack attacks are slowing downThe Federal Computer Incident Response Center (FedCIRC) reported a total of 15 attacks in December of 2001, down from 53 during December of 2000. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00620020326hoo01.htm - - - - - - - - Bush: Bring Back Library Filters News that the Bush administration is planning to take its library filtering battle to the Supreme Court didn't come as much of a surprise to advocates on either side of the controversy. The Justice Department on Thursday notified the Supreme Court that it planned to appeal a May U.S. Court of Appeals ruling striking down the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which required public libraries to install filters on computers to keep children from viewing porn sites or lose federal funding. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53389,00.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19122-2002Jun20.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/06/20/library.filtering.ap/index.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/441313p-3531095c.html - - - - - - - - Anti-spam service battles bugs SpamNet, the anti-spam service launched this week, is suffering from usability problems, including issues with working where a firewall is installed. A new anti-spam service launched with much fanfare this week is facing some technical hurdles out of the gate and frustration from the community it relies on to fight junk mail. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2112233,00.html - - - - - - - - DOT seeks smart card tech The Transportation Department released a broad agency announcement June 20 soliciting information on technologies, such as biometrics, that could enhance the department's smart card program in the future. DOT is in the first phase of its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) system. "The functional objective of the TWIC is to provide one standardized, common credential, supported by a single integrated and secure network of databases, to manage transportation worker access into secure transportation areas and operations," according to the announcement. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0617/web-dot-06-21-02.asp - - - - - - - - DMS passes final test for all but intelligence users The latest release of Defense Message System software has passed operational testing and evaluation for the Defense Departments general service areas. But testers found the 3.0 release unsuitable for intelligence workthe area for which its security features were designed. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/19105-1.html - - - - - - - - Big Brother at the office Software makes it easy for the boss to spy on your Net usage. How much do you think your employer would pay to make sure that you did not spend half your day browsing an online book store, watching sports, or downloading music files and that you never spent your working hours at a porn site? http://www.msnbc.com/news/769455.asp - - - - - - - - Open, closed source security about equal? Proprietary programs should mathematically be as secure as those developed under the open-source model, a Cambridge University researcher argued in a paper presented Thursday at a technical conference in Toulouse, France. In his paper, computer scientist Ross Anderson used an analysis that equates finding software bugs to testing programs for the mean time before failure, a measure of quality frequently used by manufacturers. Under the analysis, Anderson found that his ideal open-source programs were as secure as the closed-source programs. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-938229.html - - - - - - - - Foiling the fools and the fraudsters The keyboard: Tool of choice for some criminals. Despite all the stories and scares about malicious hackers, computer criminals and destructive web worms, the biggest threat to the security of a company does not come from outside. Instead, it is employees on the inside who are most likely to cause security breaches by inadvertently spreading viruses, defrauding their employer, wasting time on the net or downloading inappropriate material. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2053000/2053716.stm - - - - - - - - FBI technology upgrade more than a year away FBI agents wont have user-friendly, integrated computer programs to manage their investigations until December 2003, FBI Director Robert Mueller said Friday. Mueller said the bureau will have the basic building blocks of a modern technology system in place by the end of this year, when FBI offices throughout the country should have new computers and monitors and be connected to each other by fast networks. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0602/062102b1.htm - - - - - - - - High-tech scanners look for lies The world is becoming a trickier place for people who tell lies even little white ones. From thermal-imaging cameras, designed to read guilty eyes, to brain-wave scanners, which essentially watch a lie in motion, the technology of truth- seeking is leaping forward. At the same time, more people are finding their words put to the test, especially those who work for the government. http://www.msnbc.com/news/770594.asp http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/442387p-3539963c.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.