NewsBits for July 1, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Court says Intel can't block e-mail Putting a crimp in corporate efforts to police internal e-mail systems, a deeply divided California Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow Intel to block a disgruntled ex-worker from bombarding its computers with thousands of electronic messages critical of the chip giant's labor practices. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6209060.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/01/technology/01SPAM.html?th http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-mail1jul01235624,1,495397.story http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2136837,00.html - - - - - - - - - - New law requires customer notification of data theft When hackers broke into a state data center last year, finding the payroll and Social Security numbers of 265,000 state employees, it took officials nearly six weeks to tell workers that their personal information might have been stolen. The delay prevented the employees from trying to protect themselves against identity theft. And it stunned lawmakers into writing a new privacy law -- one that is now forcing government agencies and businesses to rethink their security measures. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6209059.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2136833,00.html http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0630/web-calif-07-01-03.asp http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/31509.html - - - - - - - - - - US laws will 'legalise' spam New laws planned in the US will legalise spam and set a precedent for similar laws around the world which will make the problem much worse, warns an anti-spam campaigner. Speaking at the All Party Internet Group Spam Summit, Steve Linford, director and founder of Spamhaus, warned delegates that spam would actually proliferate under proposed US legislation. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1141974 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/31506.html Consumer-backed bill fails; industry measure passes committee http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-07-01-ca-spam-bills_x.htm Spam is just a byproduct of our media-saturated world The discourse level in the spam ``debate'' has reached a vitriolic low. The message is clear: People hate spam. But why? Why do people hate spam so much? Don't get me wrong. The dozens of spam e-mails I receive each day annoy me. But I'm not angered by the e-mails, and I don't understand why so many people are. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6209055.htm - - - - - - - - - - Liberties lost in hunt for music pirates It has become more than just a war against piracy. It is a war against basic American civil liberties. A few years ago, round one began with the Recording Industry Association of America filing suit against Napster, the renegade file-sharing program developed by a 19-year-old. The result was an explosive public debate about the clash between law and technology. The battleground was the Internet. Recording industry execs and ordinary citizens lined up to declare their allegiances in the question of whether downloading copyrighted music constitutes piracy or something else. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6209216.htm - - - - - - - - - - Surveillance software keeps track of rogue MP3s FutureSoft's new version of i:scan is aimed at helping enterprises keep a lid on unauthorised P2P use on their networks. FutureSoft, an enterprise content security company, has updated its DynaComm i:scan file surveillance product to allow real-time monitoring of Windows-based servers and workstations. The software is designed to search for the presence of unwanted applications, such as P2P clients, IM software or hacking tools, and allows administrators to log, block or remove the offending files. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2136844,00.html - - - - - - - - - - AOL encrypts instant messaging The latest version of AOL Instant Messenger introduces secure instant messages, as AOL attempts to improve its appeal to businesses. America Online released on Monday an updated version of its AOL Instant Messenger service that offers client-to-client encryption. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2136854,00.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,82633,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Open-source code contains 'as many flaws' as proprietary Apache source code is of the same quality as proprietary counterparts, according to a study. The source code for a newer version of the Apache Web server software is of the same quality as proprietary competitors at a similar stage of development, a new study has found. The review compared version 2.1 of the Reasoning, a company whose business is analyzing code quality, compared the recently released version to competitors in a similar stage of development. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2136843,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Vendors boost biometrics for homeland A trusted traveler program to clear prescreened passengers would use a combination of biometric technologies, industry representatives said June 30. Multimodal biometrics, such as fingerprint scans and facial recognition, are the only way to positively identify an individual, said Mike DePasquale, chief executive officer for Bio-key International Inc., which develops and licenses fingerprint technologies. He was speaking during a panel discussion at the Excellence in Government conference in Washington, D.C. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0630/web-bio-07-01-03.asp - - - - - - - - - - Legal protection of software in Ukraine Today Ukraine should protect computer programs not only with copyright norms but also with other legal ones. However, it is necessary to determine who should be protected: end user (copyright norms) or software manufacturer (both copyright and patent right norms). For example, the USA and Japan apply such a system of legal protection to develop their software. Most European countries do not employ norms of patent right to shield software but there are some facts of their indirect use in the legal practice. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/07/Mess0204.html - - - - - - - - - - What Makes Virus Writers Tick? "Everyone agrees this is a necessary evil -- you have to have antivirus software," says Trend Micros exec David Perry. "It's like the Red Queen said to Alice [in Wonderland]: 'In this country, it takes all the running you can do to stay in one place.'" What do you think of when you think of someone who writes computer viruses? A teenager out of the movie "Hackers"? A disgruntled employee? Or a misanthropic hermit -- the online version of the Unabomber? http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21837.html - - - - - - - - - - Wanted: coordination for sharing homeland security data Officials who handle homeland security data say the government lacks a mechanism for coordinating data-sharing protocols and standards, they said at the Information Sharing for Homeland Security conference today. "One thing that is missing is a shared governance," said Lee Holcomb, chief technology officer at the Homeland Security Department. This isnt a purely technical issue, he said. "Governance has more to do with maintaining the funding base to make sure the edges of the networks are connected. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/22601-1.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. 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