January 28, 2003 Experts Track Internet Virus to Hong Kong, but Origin Uncertain Computer experts tried Monday to determine if a virus-like attack on the Internet over the weekend originated in Hong Kong as the president of South Korea, the hardest hit nation, ordered officials to safeguard that nation's computer networks. A U.S. Internet executive said by telephone that disruptions appeared first in Hong Kong before spreading to other Pacific Rim nations and then onto the United States and Europe. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/SciTech/ap20030127_1267.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-01-28-worm-probe_x.htm Microsoft not immune to Slammer Microsoft's policy of relying on software patches to fix major security flaws was questioned Monday after a series of internal e-mails revealed that the software giant's own network wasn't immune from a worm that struck the Internet last weekend. The messages seen by CNET News.com portray a company struggling with a massive infection by the SQL Slammer worm, which inundated many corporate networks Saturday with steady streams of data that downed Internet connections and clogged bandwidth. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-982305.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129418,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/865453.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/01/28/microsoft.worm.ap/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57439,00.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1138312 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-01-28-microsoft-worm_x.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/29073.html FAA was ready for the Slammer, CIO says http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/21002-1.html Worm's Disruptions Shake Preconceptions http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53442-2003Jan28.html New worm burrows into Aust systems http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20271564,00.htm How the net leaves itself open to attack http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2699071.stm - - - - - - - - FBI probes recording-industry Web site hack attack The Web site of the U.S. recording industry's trade group remained offline Tuesday, as federal officials probed the source of the hacking attack that has rendered the site unreachable since Friday. The Web site of the Recording Industry Association of America has been a favorite hacker target since at least last summer, as the trade group pursues Kazaa and other Internet ``peer-to-peer'' song-swapping sites that allow users to download music for free. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/5050072.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55127-2003Jan28.html http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57440,00.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129412,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/865604.asp - - - - - - - - St. Louis County man sentenced in child-porn case after guilty plea A St. Louis County man was sentenced Friday to two years in prison and three years of probation for possessing child pornography. Authorities arrested Ray Zimmerman, 43, in January 2002 as part of the FBI's "Operation Candyman" investigation that targeted members of three Internet discussion groups, including one called "Candyman." http://newstribune.com/stories/012503/sta_0125030024.asp - - - - - - - - Vestavia Hills Man Sentenced To Prison For Child Porn Judge Recommends Psychiatric Treatment For Former Med Student. A federal judge sentenced a former medical student to nearly three years in prison for child pornography and recommended psychiatric treatment while he's behind bars. Michael Adam Davidson, 27, of Vestavia Hills, a former medical student at the University of South Alabama, pleaded guilty in October. http://www.nbc13.com/news/1936707/detail.html - - - - - - - - Ex-minister charged with possession of child porn A former Methodist minister in Bosque County has been charged with possession of child pornography, accused of collecting and trading the illegal images on his church computer. The Rev. James Ray Jones, a 56-year-old former pastor of First United Methodist Church in Clifton, was charged last week in Waco's federal court. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1751893 - - - - - - - - Child porn distributor not a risk: psychiatrist Although he has a sexual fetish for pornographic pictures and "hoarded" hundreds of images of children engaged in sexual acts, Randy Weber finds the notion of pedophilia "repugnant", a psychiatrist has testified. But Dr. Pieter Butler admitted that when he wrote his assessment, he had no idea the Markham man initiated the online exchange of child porn and frequently visited chatrooms dedicated to the subject. http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/newscentre/markham/story/853775p-1014583c.html - - - - - - - - Crooks harvest bank details from Net kiosk Crooks, operating in the Birmingham, area, are preying on people using public access terminals for Internet banking. The scam came to light after a Reg reader discovered to his horror an authorised transfer of PS6,300 from the joint account he and his wife hold with Lloyds TSB earlier this month. When he contacted his branch, Lloyds TSB were able to reverse the transfer - so our correspondent, who has asked not to be named, is not out of pocket as a result of the crime. The explanation his bank provided, however, left him with more questions than answers about the incident. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/2175 - - - - - - - - Easynet 'categorically denies' child porn allegations Easynet has strongly denied allegations made in a Sunday newspaper that it is "peddling child porn" and "making money from child porn". The Observer article claimed that Easynet customers have access to newsgroups which contained images of children engaged in sex acts. But in a statement the ISP said: "The Observer published an article on Sunday alleging Easynet was involved with the sale of child pornography on the Internet and that it profited from this activity. "Easynet categorically denies the Observers allegations. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29062.html - - - - - - - - Defendant in music file-swapping suit files counterclaim The owners of the KaZaA file-sharing network are suing the movie and recording industries, claiming that they don't understand the digital age and are monopolizing entertainment. Sharman Networks Ltd. filed its counterclaim Monday in response to a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought by several recording labels and movie studios. That lawsuit accuses Sharman of providing free access to copyright music and films to millions of Internet users in the United States. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/5049665.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129409,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/865375.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/01/28/internet.music.ap/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57436,00.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/738988p-5376876c.html - - - - - - - - Canada pursues strategy to thwart Internet-based child porn Canada said Tuesday it was creating a national strategy to dismantle Internet-based child pornography by combining efforts by national and local police forces across the country. "I am pleased to announce today ... that the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), working with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), will create a joint steering committee to develop a national strategy on Internet- based child pornography," Canadian Solicitor General Wayne Easter told the House of Commons. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/739455p-5379326c.html - - - - - - - - U.S. Cybersecurity Czar to Resign Richard Clarke, a blunt-spoken White House adviser who raised warnings about Islamic terrorism and biological weapons years before they became nightmare headlines, will resign from government soon, people familiar with his plans said. Clarke, the president's counterterrorism coordinator at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, was disinclined to accept a senior position in the new Homeland Security Department and planned to retire after three decades with the government, these people said. He has not yet solicited an outside job, they said. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,57454,00.html http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,109031,00.asp - - - - - - - - Security breaches still being covered up UK firms prefer to stay mum rather than jeopardise corporate image. UK companies are still refusing to report cyber-crime in the workplace. According to a survey by security consultant Defcom, firms are deciding to protect their reputations rather than report hacking to the police. More than two thirds of those surveyed cited a risk to corporate image as the reason for not disclosing cyber-crime. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1138317 - - - - - - - - Hacker insurance market boosted by cyberattacks The computer worm that clogged Internet traffic and shut down vulnerable corporate networks this weekend also provided another boost to the emerging market for hacker insurance, experts said Monday. Hacker insurance, also known as ``network risk insurance,'' has been on the market for about three years, but is expected to explode from a $100 million sideshow into a $2.5 billion behemoth by 2005, according to insurance industry projections. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/5045546.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-982365.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-01-28-hacker-insurance_x.htm - - - - - - - - Worm Reopens Disclosure Debate Disruptions from the weekend attack on the Internet are shaking popular perceptions that vital national services, including banking operations and 911 centers, are largely immune to such attacks. Damage in some of these areas was worse than many experts had believed possible. The nation's largest residential mortgage firm, Countrywide Financial Corp., told customers who called Monday that its systems were still suffering. Its Web site, where customers can make payments and check their loans, was closed most of the day. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/2176 http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-worm28jan28,0,6930705.story http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/5045524.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/738912p-5376512c.html - - - - - - - - Employers fertile ground for ID theft Companies, workers wise to lock files, personal property. Forget your credit card being the prime suspect should you find your identity stolen. Your employer is easily as likely a source. Workers would be wise to check their company's policies and their own behavior to protect themselves from ID theft. Employees with access to supposedly confidential employment records can glean Social Security numbers and other personal information that allow them to take over a colleague's financial life, and evidence suggests these kinds of inside the workplace fraud jobs are growing, consumer advocates said. http://netscape5.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B138DAC65%2DEE6F%2D4786%2DB802%2DC41F79CDF967%7D&siteid=netscape&dist=special Identity theft survival guide http://money.cnn.com/2002/11/26/pf/saving/q_identity/index.htm - - - - - - - - ITunes file-sharing makes a comeback ICommune, the iTunes peer-to-peer software recently closed by Apple's lawyers, will not disappear after all. The developer of a peer- to-peer file-sharing plug-in for Apple's iTunes music application has decided to give the software a new lease on life, after it was put out of commission by Apple's lawyers earlier this month. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129456,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/865374.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/01/28/media.music.reut/index.html http://news.com.com/2100-1040-982441.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2129468,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29069.html - - - - - - - - Symantec's ManHunt Integrates With Host IDS Vendor releases ManHunt Smart Agent, which feeds events and alerts into a single console for easier digestion of and action on intrusions. Symantec Corp. bolstered its intrusion-detection system Monday with the release of ManHunt Smart Agent, which feeds events and alerts into a single console for easier digestion of and action on intrusions. http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030127S0005 - - - - - - - - Forensics on the Windows Platform, Part One Forensic examination of computer systems is commonly carried out by trained investigators using specialist hardware and software. The popularity of the Windows operating systems on both desktops and servers has made it a common source of evidence for such investigators. As a result, the range of tools available that can be used to analyze the Windows platform continues to grow. However, true forensic examination of a computer (i.e. where there may be a requirement to produce evidence in a court of law) does not take place only within the confines of a high- tech laboratory but also within the framework of current, relevant legislation and sometimes under the watchful eye of the media. http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1661 - - - - - - - - FBI's Computer Upgrade Develops Its Own Glitches A project given urgency by the war on terrorism is plagued by delays and cost overruns. Even before Sept. 11, it was on the FBI's most-wanted list -- a computer upgrade to replace the creaky, largely paper-driven information system that the bureau had relied on for decades. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-fbi28jan28001443,0,2830486.story *********************************************************** 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 2000-2003, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.