NewsBits for April 9, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ FBI reports Internet fraud complaints tripled in 2002 Fraud on the Internet rose sharply in 2002, with the FBI reporting more than 48,000 complaints referred to prosecutors -- triple the number of the year before. By far the most common complaint was auction fraud, followed by non-delivery of promised merchandise, credit card fraud and fake investments, according to the report Wednesday from Internet Fraud Complaint Center, run by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center based in Richmond, Va. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/5595492.htm http://www.securityfocus.com/news/3831 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64999-2003Apr9.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/897890.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/04/09/internet.fraud.ap/index.html http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,58409,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-04-09-net-fraud_x.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/847469p-5948502c.html - - - - - - - - - - Police officer accused of selling celebrity data to tabloids A Los Angeles police officer used department computers to access confidential law enforcement records of celebrities and sold the information to tabloids, according to a lawsuit recently settled by the city. Officer Kelly Chrisman, a 13-year veteran, acknowledged looking up the information, but said he did so at the direction of his superiors, according to internal Los Angeles Police Department records. Attorney Christopher Darden said his client never sold the information to anyone. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-04-09-police-celebrity_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Sophos questions release of OptusNet cracker Anti-virus firm Sophos has questioned the release, without penalty, of a man from Bansktown, NSW, who admitted that he had broken into OptusNet's computer systems. Stephen Craig Dendtler, 22, was released without a conviction recorded against him though he had gained access to the personal details of several thousand OptusNet customers through a back door in that company's network. His lawyer claimed that this was nothing more than an "intellectual pursuit". http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/09/1049567714193.html - - - - - - - - - - Two charged with online child solicitation Two men who each thought they were going to meet a cute 13-year-old girl with whom they had chatted online were surprised to be met by police instead. The men learned the 13-year-old was actually Mitchell Kajzer, a former South Bend police officer who is now an investigator in the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's office. Instead of meeting a young teen whose photo they believed they had seen on their computers, Matthew Richardson, 21, of Niles, and Dennis Dickinson, 24, of Westville, were arrested and charged with child solicitation. http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2003/04/09/local.20030409-sbt-MARS-D2-Two_charged_with_onl.sto - - - - - - - - - - Lawyer indicted on sex charges A prominent Atlanta attorney accused of arranging to meet a mother and daughter for sex was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday. Lou Litchfield, 56, was arrested March 14, after the airplane he was on landed at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Green. Authorities said he flew to the area expecting to meet a 12-year-old girl and her 43-year-old mom. They said he believed he chatted with them on the Internet between Feb. 10 and March 14. But the mother and daughter were actually undercover officers who posed as a woman and a girl. http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=15&ID=93775&r=1 - - - - - - - - - - Man Convicted For Computer Child Porn A former Baltimore County man has been convicted on charges that he traveled to Carroll County last year intending to have sex with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl he had met on the Internet. Instead of meeting a girl, Robert Michael Rysak, 42, ended up meeting a state trooper from the Maryland Internet task force. He was charged with using a computer for child pornography and with attempted second-degree sexual assault. http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/2100279/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Judge Tosses Copyright Law Challenge A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit that challenged the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act by seeking permission for a Harvard student to probe Internet filtering software used in schools and public libraries. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A331-2003Apr9.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-04-09-filter-suit_x.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/847463p-5948471c.html - - - - - - - - - - Republicans push Amber Alert, child-porn package House and Senate negotiators have signed off on a compromise plan to create a national Amber Alert network for child kidnap cases and to strengthen child pornography laws. The bill would ensure stricter sentences and impose tougher laws to deal with child kidnappers and child pornographers. The legislation also addresses a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a ban on virtual child porn -- computer images that appear to show children. http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=1222957 - - - - - - - - - - Child pornography bill unearths deeper concerns Oklahoma lawmakers expressed reservations Tuesday over legislation that supporters said will help stop the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. The state House overwhelmingly passed the bill requiring computer technicians to report any child pornography they find on computers they repair. But some members said unintended consequences could lead to complaints against innocent people. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-04-09-porn-bill_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - SafeCom gets new home The SafeCom national public safety wireless interoperability initiative is moving to a new office within the Homeland Security Department, in an effort to kick-start the program designed to enhance communications among first responders. SafeCom and wireless technologies are top priorities for the department. But the work performed so far under SafeCom has not produced any useable results, said Steve Cooper, chief information officer for the Homeland Security Department. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0407/web-safe-04-08-03.asp - - - - - - - - - - Focus on Software Piracy Problem Lately, the business software industry feels like a bit of an also-ran next to Hollywood's much- spotlighted war on piracy. "We tend to have gotten a little bit lost in the shuffle," said Bob Kruger, vice president of enforcement for the Business Software Alliance. "The spotlight now seems to be shining elsewhere and people shouldn't conclude from that software is not any longer being pirated on a significant scale, because it is." http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,58306,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/897720.asp - - - - - - - - - - Nokia to detail e-mail security scheme at conference Nokia's Internet Communications Division will release first details on it's Message Protector architecture at the RSA Security Conference here next week (April 14) aimed at addressing the dual problems of e-mail-based viruses and worms along with spam received over wired and wireless connections. http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20030409S0023 - - - - - - - - - - Army buys virus blocker The Army's Chief Technology Office (CTO) is using a trio of products from Trend Micro Inc., a provider of network antivirus and Internet content security solutions, to help protect the more than 1.1 million Army Knowledge Online (AKO) users from viruses, malicious content and spam. The Army CTO is responsible for building, enhancing and maintaining AKO as the service's enterprise portal for universal, secure access. It is also responsible for management and oversight of several key initiatives from the Army chief information officer. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0407/web-armycto-04-09-03.asp - - - - - - - - - - Virtual patching offers bandage to IT systems New tool gives administrators time to deal with weaknesses and stop attacks. A new 'virtual patching' tool will give administrators more time to react to hacking attacks by protecting vulnerable systems until they can be patched. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140077 - - - - - - - - - - Security Holes: Patch And Pray? IT pros know firsthand the pain of patching vulnerable software (especially that which comes out of Redmond). With bulletins coming as frequently as once every five days or up to 80 times a year (depending on the study), they may feel as if they're drowning in a sea of notifications. http://www.techweb.com/tech/security/20030409_security - - - - - - - - - - The Minister of Net Defense White House cybersecurity chief Howard Schmidt wants to protect you from weapons of mass disruption. WIRED: If there's a big cyberattack, is it likely to be by accident or by design? A hacker's project gone awry or a coordinated terrorist attack? SCHMIDT: The big one is likely to be very, very focused and very designed. We have this debate internally on a regular basis. WIRED: Who is the most likely perpetrator? http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/schmidt.html Former Bush official blasts government cybersecurity http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,80183,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Steganography Revealed Over the past couple of years, steganography has been the source of a lot of discussion, particularly as it was suspected that terrorists connected with the September 11 attacks might have used it for covert communications. While no such connection has been proven, the concern points out the effectiveness of steganography as a means of obscuring data. Indeed, along with encryption, steganography is one of the fundamental ways by which data can be kept confidential. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1684 - - - - - - - - - - Retail tracking technology could turn world into fishbowl Do you know what your underwear is saying about you? Tiny wireless transmitters promise to link tires, razors and other everyday items to the Internet, creating a world where money actually talks and the walls really do have ears. Marketing experts say the new technology, known as radio-frequency identification, or RFID, could revolutionize the retail industry as stores personalize service and manage inventory more efficiently. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-04-08-retail-tags_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - World's most stupid security measures named and shamed Privacy International today announced the results of its competition to find the world's most pointless security measures. The competition, launched in February, attracted almost 5000 nominations from 35 countries. While airlines and airports dominated the competition, nominations arose from almost all areas of private and public sector activity. The winners include JFK Airport, T-Mobile (UK), Michigan Correctional Facilities and the Australian government. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30162.html *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. An intense, 150 hour, instructor lead program that teaches you computer forensics and helps prepare you for the Certified Computer Examiner exam. For more information see; www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu *********************************************************** 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. 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