NewsBits for May 2, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Cadet Is Accused of Running Sex Club on Government Computer Reeling from a sexual assault scandal that cost its top leaders their jobs, the United States Air Force Academy is investigating accusations that a cadet ran a group sex club from his government- issued computer, academy officials said today. The unidentified male cadet, who was to graduate in three weeks, is accused of running three Web sites over the last two years that organized sex parties in the Denver and Colorado Springs area. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/02/national/02ACAD.html?th http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-academy2may02,1,5848804.story http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-02-academy-online-sex_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Cop caught in child porn sting A FORMER policeman was today given a suspended jail term for sending child pornography over the internet to a person claiming to be an 11-year-old girl. But at the end of the line was an undercover police officer posing as the pre-teen, who struck up a conversation with 27-year-old Damien Grant in an internet chatroom. Grant, whose address had been suppressed, pleaded guilty today to two counts of using online information to publish child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6371762%255E1702,00.html - - - - - - - - - - High-tech crime unit led to judge's arrest A state police high-tech crimes unit used the Internet to investigate a Superior Court judge who was arrested Wednesday on charges of possessing child pornography. The investigation into Superior Court Judge Stephen W. Thompson is continuing, and more charges could be filed against him, authorities have said. Thompson, 56, is charged with possession of child pornography, a child endangerment crime. He was released without bail Wednesday pending a grand jury hearing. Thompson was found in possession of a tape depicting a boy engaged in sex acts, prosecutors said. Police also seized a computer from his home. The state police's High Tech Crimes and Investigative Support Unit initiated a lengthy investigation targeting the veteran judge, who was arrested at his Haddon Township home, said state police Sgt. Mark Weber. http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m050203b.htm - - - - - - - - - - Teacher resigns after laptop porn pops up A teacher at Aspen Country Day School resigned this week for allegedly using a school-issued computer to access pornography on the Internet. Officials at the private school said they have no evidence that the activity occurred at school, contradicting a source close to the school who contacted The Aspen Times about the incident. The source asked not to be named. The teacher was using a laptop computer, issued by the school, which he was allowed to take home. A pornographic Web site popped up while the laptop was being used by a student at school to conduct an Internet search, according to the source. http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=AT&Date=20030502&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=305010008 - - - - - - - - - - Online job seeker duped to help con Unemployed tech worker tricked into role as middle man in auction fraud. This site appears to be a legitimate firm, but Chris Melton says it duped him nto acting as a middle man in an elaborate online auction fraud. Chris Melton was just looking for a job any job. Out of work since August, he spent endless days responding to ads on online job site Monster.com. Finally, a few weeks ago, he got a nibble from a firm claiming to be a mail forwarding company. He was told he would get $70 per package to help a company ship overseas. But last week, police were at Meltons door threatening to arrest him for online auction fraud. Melton had helped someone steal $12,500. http://www.msnbc.com/news/906733.asp - - - - - - - - - - NJ couple accused of mass ID theft An office junior at a New Jersey mortgage broker and her boyfriend have been charged with fraud by the FBI following the theft of thousands of credit reports from Weichert Financial Services. Marie Louissaint and Ronald Hyppolyte have been held without bail since their arrest on Wednesday, AP reports. Investigators believe 3,774 credit profiles on Weichert Financial's computer systems had een illegally accessed since November 2002, including 500 allegedly accessed from a PC located at an address where the couple lived earlier this year. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30543.html - - - - - - - - - - IBM denies SCO's charges in intellectual property fight Didn't do it. That's the clear message IBM sent with its reply to The SCO Group's $1 billion lawsuit in which it accuses Big Blue of illegally trying to damage Unix to build up Linux. IBM categorically declared this week that it "has not engaged in any wrongdoing" and that, contrary to SCO's allegations, it hasn't misappropriated any trade secrets, engaged in unfair competition, interfered with SCO's contracts or breached any contractual obligations to SCO. http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,80925,00.html - - - - - - - - - - IT certification scam rumbled Pearson VUE, the electronic testing business of Pearson Education, is trying to track down a rogue outfit offering guaranteed online IT certifications - at a price. An email currently doing the rounds is promising people what it calls the "easiest way to pass IT certification exams". The rogue outfit is offering guaranteed passes for Microsoft exams for $150; $300 will secure a Cisco exam. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/30542.html - - - - - - - - - - Students settle in lawsuit over file swapping The recording industry has settled lawsuits against four students it accused of creating and operating Napster-like file-trading networks on campus. The Recording Industry Association of America agreed Thursday to settlements of $12,000 to $17,500 apiece to be paid over four years, saying the case was intended to discourage unauthorized music downloading on campus -- not financially devastate the individual students. The suits initially sought penalties of up to $150,000 per pirated song. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5768232.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/02/national/02STUD.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-settle2may02001423,1,33274.story http://www.securityfocus.com/news/4403 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-999332.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2134187,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-01-students-settle_x.htm School Blocks Out File-Trading http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,58698,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Worm/Klez.G at record low Worm/Klez.E infections have dropped to their lowest levels since the virus first surfaced a year ago, says anti-virus software and computer security company Central Command. In its monthly Dirty Dozen listing of the 12 most reported viruses, the company says Worm/Klez.G (detected as Worm/Klez.E) infections have dropped to their lowest level since its inception last April. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/computing/2003/0305021016.asp - - - - - - - - - - Financial firms get new guidelines on customer IDs The U.S. Treasury Department has released final regulations designed to prevent the funding of terrorist activities and money laundering. The rules are part of the Customer Identification Program (CIP) of the USA Patriot Act. Banks and other financial institutions have until Oct. 1 to comply with the federal regulations, which require them to put in place processes that allow for a risk-based identification of all new customers. http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/policy/story/0,10801,80923,00.html - - - - - - - - - - FBI "hack" raises global security concerns A sting operation in which FBI agents downloaded data from two Russian-based computers has some high-tech lawyers concerned that the precedent may be used to justify indiscriminate, cross-border hacking. The incident came to light last week after the indictment of two Russians on charges of breaking into the networks of banks, Internet service providers and other companies. While the charges were somewhat routine, the methods the FBI used to nab the pair were novel and potentially worrisome, said security experts. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/05/Mess0203.html - - - - - - - - - - Computer crime sentences are 'not good enough' A senior policeman has called for higher sentences to combat hi-tech crime. Detective Superintendent Mick Deats, second in command of Britain's National High Tech Crime Unit, said that computer crime sentences are "not good enough". "What we're dealing with is hi-tech burglary - and sentences don't reflect that or the full impact on business of cybercrime." http://www.securityfocus.com/news/4401 The Infosecurity show highlighted new efforts to tackle online crime http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/05/Mess0207.html - - - - - - - - - - Corporate security officers describe diverse operational roles Most corporate security officers share a common strategic role. But operationally, the duties of those filling such positions -- whether the title is chief security officer (CSO), chief information security officer (CISO) or something else -- are as diverse as the IT industry itself, according to a panel of security executives. http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/story/0,10801,80918,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Government claims ID card support Public consultation received support from two- thirds of respondents. The public is coming round to the idea of ID cards, the government has claimed. A public consultation had sought views on the government's proposals to introduce the entitlement cards, which it claims will cut fraud, tackle illegal working and immigration and improve access to government services. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140607 - - - - - - - - - - Government boosts its online security US firm Entrust to provide infrastructure for new online comms systems. The government has chosen US security firm Entrust to provide authentication technology to boost the security of e-government transactions. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140606 - - - - - - - - - - Cisco's IP phone eavesdropping kit ready to go Cisco is pressing ahead with plans to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to monitor IP telephony calls. The networking equipment giant is "testing surveillance products in its labs and making the service available to customers on request", Cisco spokesman Jim Brady told AP. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30539.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-01-net-taps_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Secure Wi-Fi standard in 12 months Wireless network hardware manufacturers are keen to embrace a new security standard, but 802.11i will take another year before it is signed off. Wi-Fi product makers are lining up to lend support to a new security standard, as they try to allay concerns about transmitting data over wireless networks. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2134194,00.html - - - - - - - - - - They look at porn all day, so others won't be able to "Verifiers" at 8e6 Technologies categorize Web sites that their company can block for clients such as businesses and schools. Some days, work is so horrible that Christa Adams must leave her desk and take a walk around the building to calm down. The horrifying, violent sexual images that pop up on her computer screen still unnerve her. But she is no longer shocked. After all, she went looking for those images. It is part of the job when you are a porn-tracker. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/5756104.htm - - - - - - - - - - Stupidity trumps security It doesn't matter how good your policies are if you don't enforce them. The attorney I was chatting with over coffee smiled and then launched into what could only be called a horror story -- at least if you were her client. "My client's soon-to-be-ex-wife apparently wanted to get back at him," explained the attorney, one of the top divorce lawyers on the east coast. "So she got into his office somehow and then used his assistant's computer to send an e-mail message to everyone in the company telling of his affair with one of his coworkers." http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/05/02/18secadvise_1.html - - - - - - - - - - What goes around comes around Technology buffs usually don't pay much attention to the peregrinations of the United States Trade Representative. They ought to start taking a closer look. Sometime this month, the current post holder, Robert Zoellick, is going to request President Bush's imprimatur on a couple of free trade deals his office worked out with Singapore and Chile. If that comes about, the government may one day find itself accused of breaking the very law it nowadays uses to prosecute people accused of digital piracy. http://news.com.com/2010-1071_3-999370.html - - - - - - - - - - Bugwatch: Watch where you're snooping Monitoring every staff email and website visited is a waste of time and money. Each week vnunet.com asks a different expert from the antivirus world to give their views on recent virus and security issues, with advice, warnings and information on the latest threats. This week Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of the Wick Hill Group, offers advice on finding effective solutions to deal with the management of staff email and web use. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140620 - - - - - - - - - - Securing Windows Systems As well as ensuring that senior staff oversee security, firms also need to put a good patching mechanism in place to be used across the organisation. Trained staff, appropriate technology and a test environment are all required. A recent report on Microsoft and security suggests that the technology giant was right to embark on its Trustworthy Computing initiative to make users more confident in the security of its products. For its report, analyst firm Forrester asked IT managers for their opinions of Windows systems and found that two-thirds viewed security as the most pressing concern. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21424.html - - - - - - - - - - House chairman plans overhaul of Homeland Security Act House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Christopher Cox on Friday said he plans to offer a bill by summer's end that would make substantive revisions in the law that created the Homeland Security Department. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0503/050203td1.htm - - - - - - - - - - Senate panel prods agencies to share intelligence The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted unanimously Thursday to approve an intelligence authorization bill for fiscal 2004 that attempts to improve the sharing and analysis of critical information among intelligence agencies. The bill provides the funding necessary to establish a single governmentwide terrorist watch list, according to information released by the committee at the end of its closed-door markup. It also provides increased funding to standardize databases to facilitate access to information. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0503/050203cdam1.htm http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/21997-1.html FDA seeks data-mining tools http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/21995-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Pennsylvania universities work together on homeland security They might look like toys, but the robotic snakes being developed at Carnegie Mellon University could one day slither across the front lines of homeland security. This robotic snake's 'head' is a camera. Equipped with sensors and able to slink into tight spaces, such as pipes or air ducts, the robots could be used to probe into collapsed buildings or in hostile environments even under water. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-01-robosnakes_x.htm *********************************************************** 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. 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