NewsBits for June 3, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Italian police raiding P2P users - not! Italian Net users are in panic mode after leading newspaper and website Repubblica.it published an article last week claiming that the Guardia di Finanza (tax police) is prosecuting over 3,000 P2P users for illegal file sharing, staging a massive raid. The article has since been picked up by all media outlets, including national TV. This has evoked widespread visions of hordes of pubescent youths being dragged into jail, over mamma's high- pitched pleading with gun-toting officers, because they downloaded Eminem's latest rap track. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/31011.html - - - - - - - - - - Porn man is jailed A pervert who posed as an 11-year-old girl to send child porn images to other men by e-mail was jailed for two years. Computer programmer Mark Clement, who had continued to download child pornography from the internet even after he had been arrested, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years. Clement, 31, of Beauchamp Road, Solihull, pleaded guilty to a total of 27 charges of making indecent photographs of children and eight charges of distributing them. http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm?objectid=13027311&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=Porn%20man%20is%20jailed - - - - - - - - - - FBI HIT LIST NETS CHILD PORN MAN A website designer from South Devon who was caught in an international child pornography operation has been jailed for four months. Immature and reclusive Steven Young, 25, was on the Landslide Productions hit list supplied by the FBI to the National Crime Squad. Exeter Crown Court heard that Young was picked up as part of Operation Ore. When police raided his Galmpton home, they found more than 1,500 images and video clips containing child pornography pictures. Prosecutor Anne Redrobb said many of the images were concealed in temporary files on two computers and these had been accessed daily right up to the time of Young's arrest. http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=102060&command=displayContent&sourceNode=100885&contentPK=5887981 - - - - - - - - - - Teacher logged on to child porn A primary school teacher used school computers to look at nearly 300 child pornography images on the internet, a court heard yesterday. Jonathan Bennett, who worked at the Albert Pye primary school in Beccles, viewed 298 images both at the school and on his own computer, between February 1999 and November 2002. Bennett appeared before magistrates in Ipswich on his 31st birthday yesterday for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to 16 charges of making indecent photographs of a child at an earlier hearing. He was ordered to undertake a three-year community rehabilitation order, placed on the sex offenders' register for five years and told to pay PS118 costs. http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/News/story.asp?datetime=03+Jun+2003+07%3A20&tbrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=NEWS&category=News&brand=EDPOnline&itemid=NOED02+Jun+2003+23%3A37%3A10%3A953 - - - - - - - - - - Retired police officer to avoid jail for child porn charge A retired Waterville police officer won't go to jail for possessing child pornography. That's according to the terms of a plea agreement approved last week. Roger Martin of Fairfield pleaded guilty to one count of possession of sexually explicit materials, while a second charge of disseminating pornographic materials was dismissed. The 47-year-old was given a 364-day suspended sentence, one year of probation and a $1,000 fine. He must complete sex abuse counseling and forfeit computer equipment where investigators found lewd pictures of children. Martin was arrested after he exchanged explicit e-mails with an undercover New Hampshire police officer posing as a 14-year-old boy in an Internet chat room. http://www.wmtw.com/Global/story.asp?S=1304945 - - - - - - - - - - THE COLLECTOR It was A collection bigger than veteran child porn investigators in Canada and possibly North America had ever seen. More than one million child abuse images were found secured in a steel bunker in the basement of a luxurious Toronto home in February. Roughly 2,000 VHS tapes, between 30,000 and 50,000 photo reprints, 185 8-mm films, 20 reel-to-reel movies, plus a 30-year-old magazine collection and six computer hard drives were carted away from the house owned by a mild-mannered, well-liked professional. As well as child pornography, police also found pictures of other sexual perversions. http://www.canoe.ca/CalgaryNews/cs.cs-06-03-0044.html - - - - - - - - - - Sobig virus may be the tip of the iceberg Worse to come warn virus experts as Sobig writer hones malware skills... Sobig.C is already spreading rapidly around the world, and experts are warning that it may be succeeded in a few days by yet another upgrade. A variant of the Sobig worm appeared over the weekend and is now spreading rapidly. This is the third Sobig variant to hit the internet this year, and security experts believe more variants may already be in the pipeline. http://www.silicon.com/news/500013-500001/1/4461.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1012720.html http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-1012720.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-06-03-sobig-again_x.htm http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,81767,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Violent video game law struck down Appeals court undoes Missouri statute barring kids access. A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional a St. Louis County law limiting childrens access to violent video games. The ordinance, passed by the St. Louis County Council in 2000, requires children under 17 to have parental consent before they can buy violent or sexually explicit video games or play similar arcade games. http://www.msnbc.com/news/921697.asp http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/03/technology/games_firstamendment/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - EU Moves Against Illegal And Harmful Content Online As part of Europe's determined effort to tackle illegal and harmful content on the Internet and new delivery platforms such as mobile phones, a two year extension to the Safer Internet Action Plan has been adopted by the European Parliament and Council upon the proposal of the European Commission. To better equip parents and children with the tools and awareness they need for daily life in an Information Society, the EU Council has agreed with the European Parliament to accept the Commission's proposal for a two-year extension to the Safer Internet Action Plan. http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=52601 - - - - - - - - - - Web Site Ordered to Stop Posting Sexual Gossip A judge has ordered the operator of a raunchy Web site to stop posting details of an alleged sexual relationship he had with a former beauty queen who promotes abstinence and sobriety. The temporary order forbids Tucker Max, 27, from "disclosing any stories, facts or information, notwithstanding its truth, about any intimate or sexual act" involving Katy Johnson. Johnson founded a "Sobriety Society" and has a Web site of her own filled with tips on living a virtuous life. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-briefs3.4jun03,1,350642.story - - - - - - - - - - House folds on Net gambling bill U.S. lawmakers abruptly canceled a vote to block Internet gambling on Tuesday after it became clear the bill did not have enough support to pass the House of Representatives. House leaders pulled the bill from consideration after two Republican committee chairmen and several prominent Democrats said they would vote against it for a variety of reasons. The move underscores the difficulties lawmakers face as they try to shut down the offshore Web sites that are expected to take in roughly $2 billion from U.S. residents this year, while not interfering with legal gambling businesses such as lotteries and casinos regulated by the states. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105_2-1012731.html http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105_2-1012248.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8085-2003Jun3.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/921592.asp http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-03-net-gambling_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Record Labels Again Sue Creators of Morpheus Service Like frustrated prosecutors charging an acquitted crime boss with tax evasion, the major record labels are suing the creators of the Morpheus file-sharing network again not over the software that millions of people use to copy billons of songs for free but over a service that never launched. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-morpheus3jun03223421,1,7552757.story - - - - - - - - - - Corporate software piracy rate declines Corporations cracked down on pirated software last year, trimming the glut by a percentage point, an industry report said Tuesday. The rare bit of good news comes at a tough time for software and media conglomerates. They are battling to stem the black market trade of cut-rate or free software, music and movie copies available online and on the street. Industry lobby group Business Software Alliance (BSA) said the worldwide software piracy rate fell last year to 39 percent from 40 percent. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1012480.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2135512,00.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6236-2003Jun3.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/921606.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/06/03/software.piracy.reut/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-03-piracy-2002_x.htm UK software piracy on the rise http://www.vnunet.com/News/1141357 - - - - - - - - - - Security officials discount chances of 'digital Pearl Harbor' The notion that the cyberterrorism against the United States could create a "digital Pearl Harbor" is fading faster than the stock prices of dot-com startups did at the start of the decade, three computer-security experts agreed on Tuesday. "The first time I saw the phrase 'digital Pearl Harbor' was 1995," Jim Lewis, a Clinton administration technology policy official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during a keynote panel discussion at an information security summit. "There have been more than 1,800 international terrorist attacks" since then. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0603/060303td2.htm - - - - - - - - - - Most cyber-attacks will come from insiders Most cyber-terror attacks within the next two years will be financially or politically motivated, industry analysts have predicted. By 2005, 60 per cent of security breach costs incurred by businesses will be caused by insiders working alone or in conspiracy with outsiders - either for profit or ideology - according to market research firm Gartner. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1141354 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21654.html - - - - - - - - - - Malaysian minister warns that high CD prices fuel piracy Anti-piracy groups in Malaysia are upset at comments made by a politician blaming piracy on the recording industry itself, through its policy of charging high prices for CDs and DVDs. The refusal of recording companies to lower prices despite repeated calls by the government was helping fuel the trade in pirated movies, music and software, alleged the deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, S. Subramaniam. Music and movie companies were forcing consumers to opt for pirated versions, he said. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2135495,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Metallica strikes new Net chord The longtime opponents of Internet piracy, who sued file-swapping network Napster in federal court, are promoting downloads of their songs via Metallicavault.com, a Web site set to launch Thursday. But the site will be free only to people who buy the band's upcoming album, "St. Anger," scheduled for release the same day. The CD inset will include a unique code that people can use to access the site's video of live performances and download newly released tracks. http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-1012785.html - - - - - - - - - - Police, Microsoft team up to fight porn Toronto police and the world's largest software developer are teaming up in an effort to solve an escalating number of Web-related crimes against children. Microsoft, the American software giant, has given the sex crimes unit of the Toronto police force $60,000 worth of computer programs as well as the expertise of eight of its senior technical specialists to help track down purveyors of porn and child predators who use the Internet to find young victims. Eleven Toronto police officers will visit the Microsoft Corp. head office in Redmond, Washington, on June 24, to meet with technical specialists there and learn more about the U.S. effort to curb Internet crimes involving children. It is the first time Microsoft has been involved in such a law enforcement effort, says Paula Knight, Microsoft Canada's director of community affairs. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1052251719524&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154 - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft, VeriSign to jointly develop security software Microsoft Corp. and VeriSign Inc. will jointly develop security software, the companies announced Tuesday. Their next-generation software will focus on improving access security for remote connections and wireless networks. The new platform will is expected to be available later this year. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6004826.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1012421.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-1012689.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/921644.asp - - - - - - - - - - Aventail's SSL VPN security locks down PDAs In terms of security, PDAs should be treated the same way as a corporate desktop. Unfortunately, this is hardly ever the case. Despite the fact that the use of PDAs poses obvious security risks for companies, little is done to address these security issues. The seriousness of the problem that unprotected PDAs create is evident from a recent survey by PDA security software suppliers Pointsec and Infosecurity Europe. http://techupdate.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t507-s2135507,00.html - - - - - - - - - - You've been hacked: Now prevent future attacks We have already shown you what to do immediately following a hacker attack; now we will look at some longer term measures to prevent a future attacks. In the aftermath of a network attack, you must act quickly to recover systems and prevent further attacks. In this article, we'll focus on long-range measures you can implement to strengthen your defences after the dust settles. http://techupdate.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t481-s2135496,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Legal expertise in investigating cybercrime The most important form of using special knowledge during the preliminary and judicial investigation is an expert examination, which purpose is provided by Ukraines CPC Article 75. The examination is scheduled when scientific, technical or another special knowledge is required to resolve some problems during the investigation [1,73]. The judicial expert examination helps the inspector to study traces and other material evidences, establish the psychic condition of the criminal process participants, determine reasons of the victims death, incident, accident and answer other questions representing the inspectors interests. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/library/Polivanuk_may.html - - - - - - - - - - Lawrence Lessig's birthday spam It looks like copyright crusader Professor Lawrence Lessig needs a Mary Poppins to tidy his computer. With her supernatural powers, Disney's nanny could bring order to the most chaotic of households. During those long, anxious hours - staring into the computer, the dark forces of the copyright holders weighing heavily on his brow - the Lessig mailing database appears to have degenerated into a mess that simply won't be cleaned up by bedtime. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/31018.html - - - - - - - - - - New CIA-funded software can scour millions of photos for items The CIA is bankrolling efforts to improve technology designed to scour millions of digital photos or video clips for particular cars or street signs or even, some day, human faces. The innovative software from fledgling PiXlogic LLC of Los Altos, Calif., promises to help analysts make better use of the CIA's enormous electronic archives. Analysts also could be alerted whenever a helicopter or other targeted item appeared in a live video broadcast. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8494-2003Jun3.html *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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