October 2, 2002 Bugbear virus finds IE hole A new e-mail virus gained a greater foothold in unpatched Windows PCs on Tuesday, spurring antivirus companies to upgrade their estimate of the virus' danger. Known as W32.Bugbear or I-Worm. Tanatos, the mass-mailing computer virus started infecting computers via e-mail on Sunday. On Tuesday, it accounted for nearly 11,000 infected e-mail messages intercepted by e-mail service provider MessageLabs' gateway servers. That placed it second to Klez.h, which accounted for about 14,000 e-mail messages. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-960365.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2123192,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/815117.asp http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/10/01/hln.wired.bugbear.virus/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,55532,00.html Worm attack puts Australian users under siege http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20268738,00.htm - - - - - - - - Firms Respond to White House Cybersecurity Call In a coup for the Bush administration's anti- regulatory approach to cybersecurity, a handful of leading network security firms on Wednesday will launch new products to protect government and private-sector networks from the most serious Internet security threats. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28403-2002Oct1.html - - - - - - - - House strikes blow against Internet gambling The House tried to strike a blow against Internet gambling Wednesday with passage of a bill to make it illegal to use credit cards or any form of electronic payment for the illegal offshore activity. "We shut off the money, we shut off the sites," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala. The bill passed the House on a voice vote. It now goes to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future because only a few weeks are left in the legislative session. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/559216p-4404994c.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-10-02-net-gambling_x.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29102-2002Oct1.html - - - - - - - - House panel creates Office of Electronic Government A bipartisan compromise bill creating a new Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget won quick approval Tuesday from a House Government Reform subcommittee. The Electronic Government Act of 2002 (H.R. 2458), which the Technology and Procurement Policy Subcommittee passed by voice vote, aims to improve coordination and deployment of information technology across the federal government, and help agencies to achieve the IT management reforms required under the 1996 Clinger-Cohen Act. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1002/100202njns1.htm - - - - - - - - New bills aim to protect consumers' use of digital media The battle being waged in Washington over copyright in the digital age ratchets up a notch this week as new legislation is introduced aimed at clarifying consumer rights. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, plans today to introduce the ``Digital Choice and Freedom Act,'' Silicon Valley's response to a host of Hollywood-backed bills tilted in favor of copyright holders. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4193841.htm http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/4192569.htm Apple stands firm against entertainment cartel http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4193833.htm Music labels' latest anti-piracy gimmick: free tunes http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4195675.htm - - - - - - - - UK challenges EU privacy laws Government and industry want European directive softened. The UK has joined Finland, Austria and Sweden in seeking changes to the European Union's (EU's) tough data privacy directive which provides considerable protection for an individual's privacy. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1135592 - - - - - - - - Search firm caves in to privacy pressure Fast Search and Transfer's AlltheWeb.com bowed to pressure from a consumer advocate this week by adding a first-ever privacy policy disclosing its data-sharing practices. The Internet search provider, based in Oslo, Norway, responded to a complaint filed with the Norwegian government in late September by Public Information Research (PIR), a consumer advocacy group. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960509.html - - - - - - - - State consolidates servers, security Ensuring that North Carolina's information technology systems don't succumb to any interruptions, the state government is undertaking data server consolidation to bolster network security as well as save costs, according to its chief information officer. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2002/0930/web-nc-10-02-02.asp - - - - - - - - The Twenty Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities The majority of the successful attacks on operating systems come from only a few software vulnerabilities. This can be attributed to the fact that attackers are opportunistic, take the easiest and most convenient route, and exploit the best-known flaws with the most effective and widely available attack tools. They count on organizations not fixing the problems, and they often attack indiscriminately, scanning the Internet for any vulnerable systems. System compromises in the Solar Sunrise Pentagon hacking incident, for example, and the easy and rapid spread of the Code Red and NIMDA worms can be traced to exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/20164-1.html http://www.sans.org/top20/ - - - - - - - - Wireless, classified data don't mix The U.S. Defense Department has released a new wireless security policy that prohibits the use of devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants to access classified data. The new policy is actually an elaboration of a moratorium the Pentagon put in place in July 2001 in order to prevent the exploitation of wireless vulnerabilities. http://news.com.com/2100-1033-960481.html - - - - - - - - Computer entrepreneur fights Nissan over name What do a Japanese auto giant and an Israeli immigrant computer entrepreneur have in common? A name, and a fight over who should get to use it on the Internet. Nissan Motor Corp. has the fame. Uzi Nissan has the domain names "nissan.com," for a company that sells computer hardware and networking services, and "nissan.net," for a small Internet service provider. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/558914p-4402965c.html - - - - - - - - Symantec package streamlines security Software maker Symantec unveiled on Tuesday a package of network-security management tools designed to make it easier and faster for corporate administrators to protect their networks from viruses and other threats. Called the Symantec Security Management System, the package integrates standalone security products into a more- streamlined setup that can be centrally maintained. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-960361.html - - - - - - - - Lady Justice goes digital Yakima traffic offenders get their day in court via the Web. Unhappy with that speeding ticket? E-mail it to the judge. A court in Yakima, Washington is taking Lady Justice digital by allowing drivers to e-mail their excuses or explanations instead of appearing in court. Other courts allow attorneys to file briefs online. And many counties let offenders pay traffic fines on the Web. But Yakima County is believed to be the first court in the country to let defendants plead their cases via e-mail. http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/10/02/email.court/index.html - - - - - - - - LoJack hoping to give high-tech heads-up on auto theft Receiving an e-mail that your car is being stolen wouldn't be pleasant. But it could be better than the alternative. LoJack, the car-theft warning device company that claims to have helped recover more than 50,000 stolen cars nationwide, unveiled a new "early warning" product Tuesday it hopes will give customers quicker notice when thieves have made off with their cars. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2002-10-02-car-theft_x.htm - - - - - - - - New Text Msg: Joe Schmoe 4 Prez The 2002 election could be the last in which old media dominates political advertising, if recent actions by the Federal Election Commission bear fruit. In late August, the FEC granted a petition by New Jersey-based Target Wireless to waive disclosure rules for political ads beamed to wireless devices using short message service technology, meaning that SMS political ads wouldn't have to disclose who paid for them. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55199,00.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.