NewsBits for May 15, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Coke says internal hacker got personal info on 450 employees Coca-Cola said an Atlanta employee broke into the company's computer system and copied salaries and Social Security numbers for about 450 workers. Coke believes that the information never left the building but warned employees to check bank statements and credit card records to be on the safe side. The company acknowledged the break-in Tuesday and said it had not notified the police. It said that an internal investigation continues and that the police would be notified if that was appropriate. http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/coke/0503/13cokebreak.html - - - - - - - - - - Child porn head jailed THE headteacher of a Merseyside school was yesterday exposed as a key member of an internet paedophile ring. Robert Pearson, 52, (pictured) of Cambridge Road, Crosby, was jailed for almost six years after 60,000 images of child abuse were found on his computer. He even offered to get an accomplice a job as an IT consultant at his school so he could "get closer to children". Pearson traded pictures and videos, including the torture and abuse of babies, as part of a network of 36 members stretching as The operation to break the rings, known as "Insurance" and "Holiday Party Time", was led by the National High-Tech Crime Unit and involved the FBI, Europol and police in Canada, Holland, Scotland and Israel. http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/page.cfm?objectid=12959519&method=full&siteid=50061 - - - - - - - - - - Prison time for cop convicted of sex charges A former city police officer in a mounted patrol unit convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl he knew through a horse riding club was sentenced Wednesday to 6 1/2 to 13 years in prison. Walter Helinsky, 60, was convicted in March of three felonies after testimony about the repeated sexual contact that took place in cars and barns in 2001. Helinsky bought the girl riding gear, a cell phone and perfume and promised to give her a horse for her 15th birthday, she testified. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8013631&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6 - - - - - - - - - - Ex-Nashua man sentenced to 1 1/2 years for child porn A former city man convicted of downloading and possessing child pornography will serve at least 1 1/2 years in prison. Stephen Dowman, 49, of Centerville, Mass., was sentenced to 1 1/2 to 15 years in prison after a hearing Wednesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court. He has been jailed since March 20, when he was convicted of seven counts of possessing child pornography. Dowman was arrested last year as a result of credit card records obtained during Operation Avalanche, an international investigation into an Internet child pornography ring. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=377&ArticleID=80317 - - - - - - - - - - Man gets jail time for child porn A 23-year-old West Bradford man was sentenced Wednesday to six to 12 months in Chester County prison for possessing and distributing child pornography. Common Pleas Court Judge Paula Ott ruled that Joseph Alway has until Friday to report to prison after pleading guilty to multiple felony counts of distributing and possessing sexually explicit photographs of children as young as 7, using his girlfriends computer during November and December of last year. http://www.dailylocal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8017481&BRD=1671&PAG=461 - - - - - - - - - - Connecticut man charged in porn case found in Mexico Officials say a Connecticut man wanted on child pornography charges in West Virginia has been arrested in Mexico. 37-year-old Paul David Rene of Hartford was caught in Mexico after a warrant was issued for his arrest for failing to appear at scheduled court hearings in West Virginia. Rene, who had moved from West Virginia to Connecticut, was indicted on 114 counts of possession of child pornography last year. Rene was arrested in January 2002 after employees at A-1 Computers in Martinsburg called police about files they found on a computer they were fixing in July 2001. Police said workers found pornographic pictures of children on Rene's computer while running a check of files after the computer had been struck by lightning. http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1277646&nav=3YeXFoMO - - - - - - - - - - Man accused of sexual assault out on bail Obviously disturbed by the images of child pornography allegedly seized from a Red Hill mans computer, a judge increased the mans bail on charges he sexually assaulted two girls, ages 6 and 12. "Is he a danger to the community? Yeah, I think a person who collects this type of trash is a danger to the community," Montgomery County Judge Paul W. Tressler said angrily Tuesday before increasing Christopher Scott Curleys bail to $100,000 cash. http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8017667&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 - - - - - - - - - - Hockey coach's e-mails revealed Natick High ice hockey coach Joseph Doyle e-mailed a cop posing as a 14-year-old boy more than 10 times a day, according to transcripts, first offering help with the youth's sexual confusion then arranging to meet for sex. When Doyle, 44, of 7 Emerson St., Natick, traveled to meet "Brad" in person on Monday, he discovered the "boy" was actually Keene, N.H., Police Detective James F. McLaughlin, who then arrested Doyle. Before the planned meeting, the two exchanged electronic mails for nearly two weeks, beginning on April 29, according to transcripts of the e-mails filed at Keene District Court. http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/nati_doyle205152003.htm - - - - - - - - - - Brittin teacher charged with having child porn A music teacher at Fort Stewart's Brittin Elementary has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Savannah for possession of child pornography. Patrick George Daniel, 28, was charged two counts of possession of child pornography that was allegedly on a computer disc at the school and possibly other material between Nov. 20, 2002 and Feb. 19, 2003, according to the true bill. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1389&dept_id=161954&newsid=8008774&PAG=461&rfi=9 - - - - - - - - - - Frazzled by Fizzer A new virus has made waves throughout the planet because it spreads via e-mail and Kazaa, contains a keystroke-logging Trojan horse, and could be used in a DDoS attack. Experts say the worm won't reach epic proportions but will linger. http://zdnet.com.com/2251-1110-1001787.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,81253,00.html - - - - - - - - - - U.S. still vulnerable to cyber attack 4 SECURITY AGENCIES URGED BY CONGRESS TO SPEED EFFORTS More than 20 months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United States remains ill-prepared to defend against a strike on the nation's critical computer systems because of slow-moving federal research efforts, members of Congress said Wednesday. They charged that instead of working at breakneck ``Internet time,'' the four key agencies charged with researching new technologies to combat cyber attacks are stuck in the glacial world of ``government time,'' still crafting memorandums of understanding to allow collaboration on projects. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5864653.htm Homeland setting cybersecurity priorities http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0512/web-strategy-05-15-03.asp http://www.securityfocus.com/news/4809 HSD outlines cybersecurity plans http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/22103-1.html Cities, ports to receive $700 million for homeland security http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0503/051503kp1.htm - - - - - - - - - - Resolution Urges 'Vigorous Enforcement' of Obscenity Laws A rash of porn spam hitting American home computers in recent months is prompting calls for tougher enforcement of obscenity laws, which family groups say have gone virtually unheeded since the first George Bush was president. Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions and Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith are about to introduce a resolution urging the Justice Department and all 93 U.S. attorneys around the country to be more aggressive in prosecuting pornography violators. http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200305%5CCUL20030515b.html - - - - - - - - - - I have a right to child porn, says filmmaker So convinced is documentary filmmaker Tascoe Luc de Reuck of his case that he's fighting for it in the Constitutional Court. Facing criminal charges for possession of child porn,he wants to have the absolute ban on it lifted for people who have an "innocent" reason to possess it. But the authorities are vehemently opposed to his application, reasoning that child porn is too dangerous and that its possession cannot be freely allowed, even for people who have an innocent motive. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&art_id=vn20030515021612406C259194 Law against child porn 'too vague' http://iafrica.com/news/sa/236720.htm - - - - - - - - - - Bid to Deny Porn Access on Professors' PCs Fails A Cal Poly SLO faculty panel rejects an effort to bar instructors from using state computers to view Internet sex sites. An effort to stop Cal Poly professors from viewing Internet sex sites on state-owned computers has failed. Professors can continue to view adult pornography on state-owned computers in their offices, so long as it does not create a hostile work environment, the executive committee of the Academic Senate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo decided Tuesday. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-sexsites15may15,1,4880799.story - - - - - - - - - - U.S. is cybercrime central: Study Forget Third-World cyberterrorism the top cybercriminals are Americans. A British security company called ICC Commercial Crime Services has reported that 63 per cent of the worlds cybercrime originates in the United States. The companys annual review has made a detailed analysis of the major cybercrime events from January 2002 to March 2003, and found that hacking and fraud are the most common offences. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030514.gtcrimemay14/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Hackers bigger threat than rogue staff Most security attacks on financial services organisations are coming from outside the company - not from employees as widely thought. Deloitte & Touche's 2003 Global Security Survey examined the security at 80 Fortune 500 financial companies, and found that 90 per cent of security attacks are coming from external sources. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140907 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/30722.html - - - - - - - - - - U.S., others target spammer-friendly computers Officials from the United States and four other countries took action Thursday to fix some 1,000 poorly configured computers that may be used by unscrupulous e-mail marketers to cover their tracks. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, joined by consumer protection officials from Canada, Japan, computers to fix their e-mail servers so spammers cannot use them to disguise their identities. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-15-open-relays_x.htm http://www.msnbc.com/news/914094.asp http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-1001868.html - - - - - - - - - - Declaring war on mobile hackers There is no doubt that a carefully implemented roll-out of mobile access will free key employees from the chains of their desks, and allow them to do their jobs in a more flexible and effective manner using mobile and wireless devices such as laptops, PDAs and smartphones. However, opening up networks to employees needing remote access to mission critical systems also opens up a Pandora's Box for IT mangers who need to ensure that the same remote access cannot be used by malicious hackers to wreak havoc. http://www.networknews.co.uk/Features/1140781 - - - - - - - - - - Hollywood honchos fight DVD-copying software Brian Martin, a computer consultant in Maryland, is careful when he handles the plastic discs in his DVD library of more than 200 movies. But accidents and scratches still happen. "The worst thing is, one little scratch is enough to make the movie skip forward a chapter," says Martin, who estimates his collection at more than $3,000. "That's become really annoying with a few of mine." http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-05-15-open-relays_x.htm http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,58845,00.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/914190.asp http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60547-2003May15.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/5869683.htm Court zeros in on DVD copying http://news.com.com/2009-1025_3-1003523.html - - - - - - - - - - Intuit to scratch piracy deterrent from TurboTax software Intuit Inc. announced Wednesday its top-selling TurboTax software will dump an unpopular anti-piracy feature that turned out to be more trouble than it was worth. The company disclosed its change of heart with the release of its earnings for the three months ended April 30 - Intuit's busiest quarter of the year. Although the company's sales and earnings for the period surged from last year, the improvement wasn't as dramatic as Intuit promised investors three months ago. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/888398p-6189605c.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2003-05-15-intuit-piracy_x.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1001649.html - - - - - - - - - - Security spending rising for data centers, surveys show As the director of global security at Hewitt Associates LLC, Dan Josephites is taking a multifaceted approach to bolstering defenses at his company, which is the nations largest human resources outsourcer. Firewall, antivirus and other intrusion-detection technologies are a key part of the strategy. But Hewitt is also shoring up its internal networks, performing network and application-level penetration testing, and working with developers to ensure secure code on all Web-facing applications. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,81261,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Managed firewall service Firewalls form the foundation of an organisation's security infrastructure. However, these must be configured correctly, monitored and updated, otherwise attacks and unauthorised access from both inside and outside of your organisation become more likely. A poorly configured firewall or rule base that is left unchanged over time can produce weaknesses and holes that can be exploited. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/techforum/2003/0305150721.asp - - - - - - - - - - The wrong answer to child porn on the Net Legislation recently signed by President Bush that creates the national AMBER Alert" system also includes two little-noticed sections on law and technology, each of which is likely to be challenged by First Amendment advocates. The new law is formally known as the "Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003" (and casually as the PROTECT Act). http://news.com.com/2010-1071_3-1001105.html - - - - - - - - - - Hackers use Xbox for more than games Microsoft's strategy of selling the Xbox, its video game console, at a loss has wrought an unforeseen consequence. Some users increasingly view the Xbox as a cheap appliance easily rigged to operate as a fully functioning personal computer. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2003-05-15-xbox_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hacker-Turned-Consultant Mitnick Speaks at Expo "My goal was that I wanted to be best lock-picker, in the cyber sense," legendary hacker Kevin Mitnick said. "My hobby at the time was finding vulnerabilities in devices like cell phones." Kevin Mitnick insists that he never wire-tapped the FBI. But the legendary hacker did just about everything else during the more than two years in the early 1990s when he went on a nationwide computer break-in spree -- all while evading the FBI by hacking the wireless telephone system. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21528.html - - - - - - - - - - New Book: "Problems of Cybercrimes Fighting" In May, 2003 a new book "Problems of Cybercrime Fighting have been issued. It has been written by Vladimir Golubev, the candidate of jurisprudence, director Computer Crime Research Center. The author describes basic aspects of information security, directions of its protection, formulates criminalistics characteristics of computer crimes, makes recommendation on disclosing, fixing and to withdrawal of crimes vestiges; author bases on own theoretical and practical work, experience and achievements of experts on computer crimes fighting. Author makes criminal and legal characteristic of computer crimes, tactical features of investigatory actions and technique of these crimes investigation. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/05/Mess1501.html - - - - - - - - - - IBM offering digital video systems for police cruisers Lawbreakers in Yakima, Wash., are about to find their lives a lot harder now that the citys police department has decided to outfit its cruisers with digital video systems from IBM. The digital system, which never stops recording and can be integrated with satellite Global Positioning Systems, replaces videotape-based police- car cams like those currently used by police departments across the country, the company said in a statement. http://www.computerworld.com/databasetopics/data/datamining/story/0,10801,81259,00.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. 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