September 13, 2002 Massive credit card heist suspected Over 140,000 transactions run through tiny Net firm. A Los Angeles-based Internet company said that 140,000 fake credit card charges, worth $5.07 each, were processed through its transaction system Thursday, in a computer scam that may have affected as many as 25 companies. The apparent fraud suggests that a computer criminal may have obtained a sizable list of stolen credit card numbers and was testing them for validity, credit card fraud expert Dan Clements said. http://www.msnbc.com/news/807675.asp - - - - - - - - Mac Evangelist Released From Jail Shane Anderson, the "list dad" of the Mac Evangelist, has been released from jail after striking a plea bargain on charges that he cracked into a business associate's computer. Anderson, 28, was being held at the Black Hawk County jail in Waterloo, Iowa, on charges of remotely breaking into a computer belonging to Carl Blake, owner of Macaquarium, and tampering with it. http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,55148,00.html - - - - - - - - Justice backs South Dakotas fight against Internet child crimes South Dakotas Internet Crimes Against Children unit has received a $1 million Justice Department grant to help support local authorities investigations. We will continue to make sure our computer forensics investigators are highly trained and have the best hardware and software in their lab to do their jobs well, and well keep providing our expertise, free of charge, to any law enforcement agency in South Dakota, Gov. Bill Janklow said in a statement. The Minnehaha County Sheriffs Office will share in the grant, Janklow said. So far, the state ICAC unit has opened more than 150 investigations, searched 91 computers and assisted in 18 arrests, the statement said. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/20019-1.html - - - - - - - - Caught in the Kid Porn Crusade The United States of America v. Adam Vaughn. He was a stand-up Marine, a beloved cop, and a local hero until the government branded him part of the largest kid porn ring in history. Inside Operation Candyman, the FBI's crusade to sweep the Net clean of child abuse. On October 1, 2001, a caravan of police cars drove north out of Madison, Alabama, in the middle of the night. At the wheel of the town paddy wagon was Adam Vaughn, a 34-year-old patrolman who joined the force after 12 years in the Marine Corps. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.10/kidporn.html - - - - - - - - 9/11: Cyber threats fail to emerge One broken virus provides the only incident. Despite widespread threats of cyber terrorism and virus attacks, 11 September passed almost without incident in the wired world. Antivirus firms had warned of two Windows-based worms, Chet and Nedal, which were released into the wild specifically to take effect yesterday, but both failed to make an impact. The Chet worm, which attempted to spread as an email attachment under the name september11.exe, failed spectacularly because it was so full of bugs that it was not considered to pose any sort of threat. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1135024 http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/TechTV/sept11_emailvirus020913.html - - - - - - - - Linux server worm exploits known flaw A worm spreading among Linux servers late Friday takes advantage of a flaw discovered more than a month ago in a program designed to strengthen the privacy of Internet communications. Designated "Linux.Slapper.Worm" by security firm Symantec, the self-replicating program may have originated in Europe and threatens Linux servers that offer an encryption feature known as Secure Sockets Layer, the standard method for encrypting sensitive Web traffic, through a common extension to the open-source Apache Web server. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-957987.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft warns of Word security hole A security flaw in Microsoft's flagship word processing software could allow a document to hijack files from any Windows PC on which it's opened, the software giant said Thursday. A would-be thief would have to take extraordinary care in setting up the scenario, however, including knowing the exact location and name of the desired file as well as persuading the victim to open, modify, save and then return the Word document to the sender. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-957786.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2122208,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/local/pisea/86882.asp http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/09/13/microsoft.word.bug.ap/index.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1135011 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2002-09-12-word-flaw_x.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27114.html - - - - - - - - Netscape and Mozilla leak Web surfing data A newly publicised flaw in Mozilla-based Web browsers allows servers to discover where visitors go after they leave the site. Netscape and other Web browsers based on the Mozilla development project contain a bug that leaks users' Web surfing data, according to a new report. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2122261,00.html - - - - - - - - China partially restores Google searches China is once again allowing its citizens to use the popular search engine Google, but is still blocking Internet users from content it deems politically taboo as part of a media crackdown ahead of November's pivotal Communist Party congress. Another search engine, California- based AltaVista, remained blocked on Friday, and the Chinese government appeared to be still barring Google searches on topics it regards as sensitive. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-957897.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2122255,00.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/09/12/china.google.ap/index.html http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992795 - - - - - - - - Protect Your ID Worried about identity theft? Try taking these precautions. Identity thieves have been known to acquire personal identification information by mail theft, sifting through garbage dumpsters, and rifling business databases, the Internet, and ATMs. In 1996 and 1997, identity crime was the top complaint reported to the Privacy Rights Clearing House, and experts estimate losses for the crime as high as $90 million annually. How can you protect yourself from identity theft? What do you do if you think you're a victim? Consider the following tips before you drop an envelope in the mail. http://www.techtv.com/cybercrime/privacy/story/0,23008,2103957,00.html - - - - - - - - Patently problematic An important new study shows the promise, and pitfalls, of intellectual-property rights for the poor. INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY rights (IPR), which embrace patents, copyright, trademarks and trade secrets, were once considered an esoteric, and slightly dull, bit of commercial law. http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1325219 - - - - - - - - Security companies sound off on cyberthreats Are company networks properly protected? CNET Radio hits the road to talk with some of the leading security companies about what can be done to keep networks safe. http://news.com.com/2009-1001-957121.html - - - - - - - - Study lists success factors for cross-jurisdictional e-gov projects The Industry Advisory Council and the General Services Administration today released a report outlining the characteristics of successful federal, state and local e-government projects. The study researched 23 initiatives and found five successful projects that included a federal agency working with state and/or local agencies. The report details five case studies and provides lessons learned from the research. The report says that projects go through three stages of evolution: launching the cross- jurisdictional e-government program; building momentum and managing the e-government program, and sustained delivery of digital services. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/20020-1.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.