July 23, 2002 Internet medicine trips up doctor In the first case of its kind in California, a doctor faces the loss of his medical license for allegedly prescribing drugs illegally through the Internet. Jon Steven Opsahl is accused of writing more than 8,000 prescriptions for antidepressants and pain-killers to patients he never examined. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/475549p-3800836c.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18714.html - - - - - - - - Scottish firm busted over illegal software Norson Services fined PS12,000 after anonymous tip-off. Scottish engineering company Norson Services has been fined PS12,000 for using unlicensed software following an anonymous tip-off. The company is the latest in a string of high-profile names, including House of Fraser and WHSmith Online, to be busted by software piracy policing body the Business Software Alliance (BSA). http://www.vnunet.com/News/1133813 - - - - - - - - Army Research Web Site Hacked An attacker defaced a page on the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Web site Friday with a message criticizing the military organization for supplying weapons to Israel. The attacker, going by the handle Rivver, posted a long, profanity-laced tirade against the Unites States government and its stance in the Middle East, the military and India. The same attacker defaced another U.S. Army Web site last fall. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,390542,00.asp - - - - - - - - Virus Dials 911 Police Show Up Only to Find Infected WebTVs. A new e-mail virus has hit some WebTV devices, and its effects could have ramifications for the emergency phone network. Reports of the virus first surfaced in WebTV user group boards such as WebTV's alt.discuss news group. Those reports say that once the infected attachment is opened, the WebTV shuts down, reboots, then calls 911. Several people have reported this happening and then having a police officer show up at their door. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/techtv_911virus020723.html http://news.com.com/2100-1040-945911.html - - - - - - - - Cybercorps to extend to states The White House's national strategy to protect cyberspace, scheduled for release in September, will contain a provision that extends a federal scholarship-for-service program to the state level, said Richard Clarke, cybersecurity adviser to President Bush. The Federal Cyber Service program provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students studying computer security in exchange for two years of federal service. The first group of students is nearly finished with their first year in the program. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0722/web-cyber-07-23-02.asp - - - - - - - - NTL loses key email wiretap case on appeal A Law Lord yesterday brushed aside concerns from NTL that it might breach the law in complying with an email wiretap request from the police. Police have welcomed the ruling as a step in ensuring they get access to information they need during the course of an investigation, while critics have warned of a lack of adequate checks and balances guarding against abuse. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26336.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1133821 - - - - - - - - U.S. Internet Snooping: Still Out of Control? Federal authorities are also seeking more leeway in monitoring electronic communications, such as those on the Internet. As the public learns more about the technical workings and policy of government Internet surveillance, many are concerned that fears of privacy infringement, data mismanagement and government abuse may be all too legitimate. In a legal battle with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Justice Department, for example, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) uncovered technical information about the e-mail snooping program known as Carnivore, or DCS1000. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18700.html - - - - - - - - Hollywood heads up anti-piracy charge Hollywood's lobbyists are readying a new legislative push on Capitol Hill. On Monday, a lawyer for the Motion Picture Association of America said to expect new bills soon to assail illicit peer-to-peer file trading and curtail the piracy of digital TV broadcasts. Fritz Attaway, the MPAA's senior vice president for government relations, told an intellectual property conference that his group would, with the help of its powerful congressional allies, attempt a three-pronged approach this fall. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-945720.html Could Hollywood hack your PC? http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945923.html - - - - - - - - Ground Zero for the Secret Service World Trade Center Building 7 stood in the shadow of the North Tower. Inside the 47-story building: the US Secret Service's largest field office with more than 200 employees. On September 11 all of them escaped, but Building 7 was reduced to rubble. This week on "CyberCrime," an exclusive look into the hours, weeks, and months following 9/11 and how the US Secret Service was able to recover thanks to the largest cybercrime team in the country -- the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force (NYECTF). http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/features/story/0,23008,3378780,00.html - - - - - - - - Hey thief! You just TRY stealing this notebook "Alert! Alert! Warning! Warning!" This is what you'll hear when you try to steal my notebook. And it will get progressively louder until one of two things happens: Either you put down my notebook and walk away (and the warnings will stop), or the system lets out an ear-piercing screech that doesn't go away, even after Caveo Anti-Theft for notebooks automatically shuts the system down. http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2874992,00.html - - - - - - - - Junk mail threat scares MPs away from email UK politicians fear that campaigners will bombard them with hundreds of emails, but the offer of a free handheld computer may tempt them online The fear of being flooded with emails from protest groups is preventing many MPs from embracing electronic communications, an influential group of MPs has warned. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2119607,00.html - - - - - - - - Find a Bug? Don't E-Mail Microsoft It may be the most-used vendor bug reporting address in history. This week Redmond put "secure@microsoft.com" out to pasture in favor of a handy Web form. To improve the information- gathering phase of its security investigations Microsoft is moving away from the use of a dedicated e-mail address for contacting the company about security bugs, the company said Tuesday. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/545 - - - - - - - - US e-porn industry gets trade organisation The adult Web site industry in the US has set up a trade organisation to fight its corner. The Internet Freedom Association (IFA) claims it will work to promote the rights of the online adult entertainment industry. But it's made it clear that it will also take a strong stand against child pornography and take steps to try and prevent young people from accessing pornography online. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26325.html - - - - - - - - Can the Internet survive filtering? The Net is increasingly getting broken into cantons. The digital chain connecting one's laptop to a Web site thousands of miles away can be traversed by a single click--so long as no link within the chain refuses to carry the signal. Such refusals, though still rare, are on the rise. http://news.com.com/2010-1071-945690.html - - - - - - - - Sowing the Seeds of Legalization Canadian Marc Emery says he's leading a revolution. His goal? Marijuana for everyone! This week on "CyberCrime," we take a look at Emery's quest to legalize pot using the Web. Known as the Prince of Pot, Emery says he's the dominant marijuana seed seller in the world. At his website, Emeryseeds.com, cannabis connoisseurs can chose from hundreds of high-grade marijuana seeds. Emery says he sells over a million seeds a year, raking in more than $3 million. http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/viceonline/story/0,23008,3378664,00.html - - - - - - - - Bush security plan calls for background checks Once a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security is established, the Bush administration plans to convene a panel of government and private-sector experts to determine the legal guidelines for subjecting tens of thousands of private-sector employees to background investigations. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,72921,00.html - - - - - - - - Oracle's Ellison Says U.S. Should Centralize Data Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle Corp. on Friday renewed his campaign for a government- initiated database of U.S. medical and criminal records, the kind of sweeping and controversial project the No. 2 software vendor has offered to undertake before. "There should be one system," Ellison told some 3,000 attendees at Colorado Gov. Bill Owens' third annual technology conference in Denver. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020720/tc_nm/tech_ellison_data_dc_1 - - - - - - - - Pentagon to cede airwave space to help firms The Pentagon has agreed to shift some military communications to other frequencies, freeing up space in the airwaves for advanced mobile phones and other wireless gadgets, the Bush administration announced Tuesday. The plan is a victory for telecommunications companies that want a bigger piece of the airwaves to offer enhanced services such as streaming video and high-speed internet access to phones, handheld computers and other mobile devices. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/475431p-3800190c.html http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0702/072302td1.htm - - - - - - - - Police unveil IT plans to 2005 Hi-tech future for policing. Video ID parades, palmprint technology and a new criminal justice extranet are at the heart of the Police IT Organisation's (Pito) plans for the next three years. In its annual report, Pito chief executive Philip Webb said the organisation was "entering a period of significant re-evaluation and change. There are high expectations of what IT can deliver". http://www.vnunet.com/News/1133832 *********************************************************** 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.