NewsBits for July 18, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Guilty Plea in Kinko's Keystroke Caper If you used a computer at a Kinko's in New York City last year, or the year before, there's a good chance that JuJu Jiang was watching. The 25-year-old Queens resident pleaded guilty in federal court in New York last week to two counts of computer fraud and one charge of unauthorized possession of access codes for a scheme in which he planted a copy of the commercial keyboard sniffing program Invisible KeyLogger Stealth on computers at thirteen Kinko's stores sprinkled around Manhattan. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6447 - - - - - - - - - - 72-Year-Old Man faces charges in sex case in Arkansas A 72-year-old township man is facing felony charges in North Little Rock, Ark., after police say he drove there to have sex with what he thought was an 11-year-old girl. According to Lt. Tracy Roulston, North Little Rock Police Department, Robert Soccorsi of Glenwood Avenue is charged with one count each of computer child pornography; criminal attempt of rape; and distributing, possessing and viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. He is free on $100,000 bond and will be returning to Boardman, where he will be electronically monitored until his court date in North Little Rock. Roulston said Soccorsi began communicating via e-mail in April with someone he thought was an 11-year-old girl. Soccorsi was actually corresponding with officers with the North Little Rock Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. http://www.vindi.com/local_news/295767807922224.shtml - - - - - - - - - - American man charged as child porn seized at Canadian border An American man was charged with possessing and importing child pornography after a car was stopped at the Canada-U.S. border Thursday and computer equipment seized. Provincial police and customs officers stoped the car at the Port of Lansdowne Thousand Islands Bridge Thursday following a child pornography investigation, police said Friday in a news release. A laptop computer, computer peripherals and undeclared CD-ROMs were seized and "numerous" computer graphic image files believed to be child pornography were found during the search, police said. Charged with possession of child pornography and importing Child pornography as well as various customs charges was Ephraim Stern, 24, Morristown, N.J. http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030718/CPN/22781028&cachetime=15 - - - - - - - - - - Bush's e-mail faces DoS attack The President's revamped mailbox has been hit with a denial-of-service attack, as users rushed to see if the White House's e-mail system is as awful as billed. John Markoff at The New York Times wrote an article describing the new "hide the e-mail" policy instituted by the White House, and users have reacted in force. In the good old days, citizens could make a simple plea to president@whitehouse.gov. Critical times, however, call for more complicated measures, and the White House has now set up a multi-stage process to e-mail the President. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/31829.html - - - - - - - - - - RIAA nearing 1,000 subpoenas against file-sharing suspects The music industry has won at least 871 federal subpoenas against computer users suspected of illegally sharing music files on the Internet, with roughly 75 new subpoenas being approved each day, U.S. court officials said Friday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6335275.htm http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/07/19/downloading.music.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-07-18-riaa-suits_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Porn Sites May Stream No More Acacia Media Technologies, a company that claims to have a patent on streaming video, declared a major legal victory Wednesday against several Internet pornographers it says are infringing on its intellectual property. The U.S. District Court in Orange County, California, issued preliminary injunctions against five online smut houses, barring them from sending out nudie flicks from their sites. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59666,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Senate disconnects computer dragnet funds The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to cut off funding for a widely criticized computer-surveillance program that would comb travel records, credit-card bills and other private records to sniff out suspected terrorists. In a military spending bill it passed unanimously, the Senate forbade the Defense Department to spend any portion of its $369 billion budget on the Terrorism Information Awareness program, brushing aside a request by the Bush administration to keep development efforts intact. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1027103.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21929.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,83205,00.html Congress eyes small steps on privacy legislation http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,83222,00.html Videocams Record Airline Flights http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59652,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Lawmaker Seeks Greater FBI Role in Online Piracy War Legislation designed to provide law enforcement more tools to fight online copyright theft met a warm reception Thursday afternoon by those invited to testify at a Congressional hearing and harsh words from those who weren't invited. The Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003 (H.R. 2517), introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R.-Tex.), calls for greater FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) involvement in Hollywood's ongoing war against file swappers. http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2236971 - - - - - - - - - - APEC Takes Aim at Cyber Crime, Virus Writers Fighting computer hackers, virus writers and other "cyber criminals" will be a key theme of a U.S.-sponsored meeting of Asia-Pacific government officials in Thailand next week, organizers said on Friday. Officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will discuss how to develop cybercrime law enforcement units that work closely internationally and a legal framework for prosecuting cyber criminals, the APEC Secretariat in Singapore said. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3114425 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2137821,00.html http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/07/Mess1801.html - - - - - - - - - - Fighting Cybercrime The number of non-authorized penetrations into information systems has recently increased. The Internet that became the most important information source after September 11, 2001, instantly responds to a political and economic life worldwide. On the first day after military operations were initiated in Iraq, more than 400 web sites with English and Arabian anti-war appeals were attacked. Developers of the "Iraq" computer virus sent the electronic message with an inscription Go USA!!! and offer to look through the latest photos made at a place of military events. As a result, many computers were infected. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/news/2003/07/Mess1805.html - - - - - - - - - - Mobiles 'option for child-sex crimes' CHILDREN carrying new-generation mobile phones would be open to the advances of pedophiles, a broadcast expert said today. Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) chairman David Flint told a parliamentary hearing in Sydney on cybercrime that the latest mobiles, known as 3G (third generation), were essentially small computers http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6772334%255E421,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Credit card 'skimming' costing banks millions The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) says organised crime syndicates involved in credit card "skimming" have cost the banking industry hundreds of millions of dollars in the past year. Officials from the new national intelligence agency have been making a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into cyber crime. In the ACC's submission, losses from credit card skimming in Australia have been put at $300 million a year. The commission's boss Alastair Milroy says it is a growing trend. http://www.abc.net.au/news/justin/weekly/newsnat-18jul2003-64.htm - - - - - - - - - - Library group cancels meeting on filtering pornography The American Library Association on Friday canceled a meeting with software developers over how to meet new requirements to block pornography at libraries' Internet terminals. The Aug. 14 meeting in Washington, D.C., was supposed to have let the ALA outline concerns it had with pornography-filtering software, which libraries now have to install to receive certain federal funding. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6335145.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-07-18-filtering_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Money seen as biggest obstacle to effective IT security Companies say they generally don't measure the ROI of security. Inadequate funding remains the single largest obstacle to implementing effective IT security measures at most companies, according to the results of a recently completed global survey by Ernst & Young International. Even so, a majority of the companies surveyed said they rarely or never calculate return on investment when building a case for information security budgets. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,83109,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Small.biz has crap security Small firms are at risk of disclosing their financial statements to unauthorised parties due to a lack of IT security, KPMG says. A global study carried out by KPMG found 87 per cent of those firms surveyed had suffered security breaches in the past year. According to KPMG, small businesses could be at risk of disclosing financial information such as balance sheets and profit and loss accounts to parties outside their company. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/67/31821.html - - - - - - - - - - Spammers target Wi-Fi security Unsecured connections could be used to hijack corporate mail servers. Spammers are preparing to use weaknesses in corporate wireless local area networks (Lans) to send out floods of unsolicited email, a security company chief has claimed. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1142412 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21928.html - - - - - - - - - - It's time to outlaw spam Is spam becoming just another annoying fact of life for most people, like congested freeways or telemarketing calls during dinner? Yes, according to a new Harris Interactive study. Harris researchers found that fewer people are rating spam as "very annoying." Just 64 percent said so in the company's latest study, a decline from 80 percent in December of last year. The study, released this week, is the result of two polls of U.S. adults who are online, one that surveyed 3,462 people between May 19 and May 27 of this year, and another that surveyed 655 people between June 10 and June 15. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1027252.html Is spam here to stay? http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-1027252.html Spammers beware, Beebe says http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-07-18-ark-spam-law_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Cisco Offers Patch for Network Software Flaw Companies that operate key Internet backbones scrambled to patch a serious software flaw in equipment that relays much of the global network's traffic. The vulnerability, in Cisco Systems Inc. routers and other switches, could be used by hackers to cause outages. The problem has not been exploited, according to Cisco, which released a free patch to fix the flaw in its Internetworking Operating System. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-rup18.9jul18,1,1300237.story http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/31828.html Exploit of Cisco flaw posted; no outages reported http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6334128.htm Code to exploit Cisco flaw may pose risk http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-1027326.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-07-18-cisco-hack-already_x.htm Internet Security Experts Escalate Warnings http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10941-2003Jul18.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/940968.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/07/18/cisco.vulnerability.ap/index.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/31825.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,83208,00.html Twin flaws threaten Net http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2137767,00.html - - - - - - - - - - EU passports get biometric data RFID tags loaded with biometric information will be embedded into EU passports to ensure travellers comply with strict US security regulations. New EU passports will be embedded with a radio frequency ID chip that contains biometric data, after standards bodies put the technology on a fast-track to deployment. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2137803,00.html Human tracking chips unveiled http://www.msnbc.com/news/940712.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/07/18/human.chip.ap/index.html http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030718.wchip0718/BNStory/Technology/ Luggage tracked via radio http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2137780,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Techno wave of the future? 'Smart' cards tested in Valley An American Express employee uses ExpressPay to buy an iced coffee from Melissa Pitman at Romancing the Bean in Scottsdale. It's the modern equivalent of saying, "Put it on my tab." American Express today will launch it latest "smart" pay device, dubbed ExpressPay, at 175 Phoenix metro area retailers. The Valley is the first large-scale test of the product, which could eventually roll out nationwide. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0716smartpay16.html - - - - - - - - - - Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Hackers If there's one thing Sarah Gordon understands, it's the mind of the virus writer. In her current position as a senior research fellow for the Symantec Antivirus Research Center, Gordon conducts research on the ethical implications of technology and the psychological aspects of human-computer interaction. Recently, we asked her what makes virus writers tick. http://www.idg.net/ic_1326736_9677_1-5046.html - - - - - - - - - - Fighting Cybercrimes The problem of computer crimes has attracted attention of many foreign criminalists since the introduction of electronic computers that caused some negative consequences and aggravated the situation connected with protecting information stored in computer and their system databases. These crimes have been registered since 1958. At that time they meant the damage and plunder of computers, theft of information; swindle or misappropriation of money; non-authorized use of computers or embezzlement of machine time. http://www.crime-research.org/eng/library/Gutsaluk.html - - - - - - - - - - Forensic Log Parsing with Microsoft's LogParser Investigating a web-based intrusion can be a daunting task, especially when you have no information other than knowing it was web-based. It is easy to waste precious time digging through megabytes, perhaps even gigabytes, of log files trying to locate suspicious activity. Often this search turns up little useful evidence. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1712 - - - - - - - - - - Voice of America has just started broadcasting to Iran The United States is investigating a rogue signal detected from Cuba which is thought to be blocking its satellite broadcasts into Iran. The jamming was first discovered on 6 July when the government station Voice of America launched a daily Persian-language programme aimed at Iran's domestic audience. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3077303.stm *********************************************************** 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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