November 27, 2002 E-mail virus insults its victims A new computer virus has managed to infect-- and insult--less savvy Internet users, antivirus companies said on Wednesday. Known as Winevar, the computer worm arrives in e-mail as an attachment that infects Windows PCs when opened and displays a dialog box pronouncing, "What a foolish thing you have done!" Despite the playful tone however, the virus is no joke. Click Here. "Winevar has several extremely dangerous payloads, which can lead to the irrecoverable loss of data," Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Labs said in an advisory released Wednesday. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-975569.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126648,00.html http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1726 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-975569.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/11/28/insult.worm/index.html http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_717289.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/28338.html - - - - - - - - French police break hi-tech card fraud gang Four people have been arrested in Paris after police broke up a hi-tech fraud gang who used a pinhead camera to steal data at cash-machines and manufacture more than a hundred counterfeit bank cards, justice officials said Thursday. Police said the operation was the most sophisticated they have seen and probably led to the theft of several hundred thousand euros from about 150 victims. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/29/1038386298499.html - - - - - - - - Woman Gets Prison for Selling Illegal Software A woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.5 million to Microsoft for selling illegally reproduced company software. Lisa Chan, 36, of Fremont was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken. Chan will begin serving her sentence in February for conspiracy to infringe copyrights. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-sbriefs27.6nov27,0,7728676.story http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126592,00.html - - - - - - - - Finnish police arrest Sonera ex-chief executive The National Bureau of Investigation is holding the telecoms chief on suspicion of gross violation of communications secrecy. Police have arrested the former head of Finnish telecom operator Sonera after he turned himself in for questioning in connection with a phone-tracing scandal gripping the company and the nation's media. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126596,00.html - - - - - - - - California firm collared over porn scam After visiting a UK Web site, users found that their Internet calls had been routed through Madagascar at a rate of PS2.50 per minute. A California billing firm has agreed to give up $1.6m (PS1m) to settle charges that it improperly billed thousands for Internet pornography, the US' Federal Trade Commission said. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126594,00.html - - - - - - - - California's Autodesk on anti-piracy drive in India Software company Autodesk Inc. promised an aggressive campaign against software piracy in India on Wednesday, saying unauthorized use of its products had increased in the past year. ``This is simply not acceptable. India is going the wrong way. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4617858.htm - - - - - - - - Bush signs bill to improve computer security President Bush on Wednesday signed a bill authorizing $900 million in grants to spur federal agencies, industry and universities to devote more energy to cyber security research. The five-year program would require the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to bring industry and academic experts together to fund new research and to help attract top researchers to the field. It also would encourage efforts to recruit new students into cyber security programs. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4619024.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002-11-27-cybersecurity_x.htm Homeland department could transform tech industry http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1102/112702td1.htm - - - - - - - - Feds, firms unveil test for security pros A new certification program for entry-level computer-security professionals will officially get up and running Monday, said representatives of the combined industry-government group behind the exam. The Security+ certification, brainchild of the Computing Technology Industry Association, could become a minimum requirement that would help companies and government agencies hire knowledge- able network administrators. CompTIA is made up of two dozen trade and government security experts, including representatives from Microsoft, IBM and the FBI. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-975556.html http://news.com.com/2100-1001-975556.html - - - - - - - - First hackers sighted in high speed mobile phone arena T-Mobile has installed a firewall on its GPRS network in the States after a small number of users complained of receiving hacker probes when using its high-speed mobile service. The issue came to light after Mike Palmer, the technology director for the broadcast division of AP, spotted numerous probes against his PC while using T-Mobile's GPRS network, Computerworld reports. T-Mobile admitted to Computerworld that around 100 users were affected by the issue, prior to the recent introduction of a firewall on open segments of its GPRS network. Palmer told reporters that he's not spotted probes since then. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1723 - - - - - - - - Researcher offers simple computer virus defence A Hewlett-Packard researcher says he has come up with a simple way to stem the destructive flow of mass-mailing computer viruses. Dr Matthew Williamson says the best way minimise the impact of future outbreaks is to limit the number of emails an infected computer can send. Mass-mailing viruses disrupt networks by causing infected machines to send out hundreds of copies via emails. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_717078.html - - - - - - - - China criticised for Internet detentions Communist-run China has detained or imprisoned at least 33 people in the last three years for their Internet use, according to Amnesty International. Human rights group Amnesty International has called for the release of at least 30 people it said were being held in China for expressing dissident views or sharing information over the Internet. "Everyone detained purely for peacefully publishing their views or other information on the Internet or for accessing certain Web sites are prisoners of conscience," the London-based organisation said in a statement on Tuesday. "They should be released immediately and unconditionally." http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2126590,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28349.html - - - - - - - - SMS security risks highlighted by Friends Reunited hacking case Breach of trust by two dismissed mm02 workers, rather than deeper problems, led to the release of private text messages to a jealous boyfriend that sparked a campaign on revenge against his cheating girlfriend. Last week, 21 year-old student Philip Nourse was jailed for five months at Guildford Crown Court for his subsequent revenge on her. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1724 - - - - - - - - Software Isn't Perfect Protect yourself and your data by updating software often. Any program, specifically your Windows operating system, Web browser, and Outlook email clients, provide a major target and some small holes through which attackers can try to infiltrate your system. Virus writers and crackers pour through the code behind widely distributed software, such as Microsoft Windows. They look for any backdoor access available to your computer. http://www.techtv.com/news/security/story/0,24195,3409418,00.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.