NewsBits for September 17, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Teen charged in Internet worm attack pleads innocent A high school senior pleaded innocent Wednesday to a federal charge alleging he crippled more than 7,000 computers by modifying a version of the "Blaster" worm. Jeffrey Parson, 18, of Hopkins, Minn., was arrested Aug. 29 and faces one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer. The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. Parson said little in court, other than to acknowledge his identity and tell the judge "Good afternoon." Trial was tentatively set for Nov. 17 in Seattle. Parson has been placed under home detention, but is allowed to attend school. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6984 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-09-17-blaster-baby_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - ECT Act may be used against Absa hacker SThe Western Cape Directorate of Public Prosecutions is considering laying charges in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act against the accused Absa hacker Johan Jacobus Fourie, who made his fourth court appearance this week. Advocate Anthony Stephen, who heads up the state's case against Fourie, says: We are considering alternative charges, including conspiracy to commit the crimes and charges in terms of the ECT Act. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2003/0309171235.asp - - - - - - - - - - Banks in U.K, Canada hit with e-mail scam Within the past week, customers of Britain's Barclays Bank and two Canadian banks have been the victims of cybercriminals who tricked them into revealing their personal account information. In the U.K., Barclays Bank PLC warned customers on Saturday of an e-mail scam designed to get them to reveal confidential financial information. And in Canada, customers of BMO Bank of Montreal and Toronto-based Mouvement des Caisse Desjardins were hit with a variation of the same e-mail scam. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,85029,00.html Manners of misappropriation in the bank computer systems http://www.crime-research.org/eng/library/Akhtyrskaja_aug.html - - - - - - - - - - Court's Leanings Undetectable in Music Piracy Case A federal appeals panel offered few hints Tuesday on whether it would permit the music industry to continue using special copyright subpoenas to track and sue computer users who download songs over the Internet. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-piracy17sep17,1,7880405.story File-Sharing Foes Spar in Senate Hearing http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25892-2003Sep17.html http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60461,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2003-09-16-riaa_x.htm Movies on Web 'leaked from studios' http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39116438,00.htm Germany preps 'second basket' of copyright laws http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32869.html Garage Doors Raise DMCA Questions http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60383,00.html Grokster fights RIAA appeal http://www.vnunet.com/News/1143697 Study: Europe's downloaders big spenders, too http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2003-09-17-europe-downloaders_x.htm Film studios sue over DVD copying software http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-09-17-dvd-css-suit_x.htm TV fans tap into torrent of shows online http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-09-17-tv-downloads_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Man Pleads Guilty in Child Porn Case A former Cobb County teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to child pornography charges, federal officials said. Kirk George Burns, 38, of Marietta, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of receipt of child pornography. Burns is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19 by U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin. In December 2002, Burns was a teacher at Mabry Middle School. His former wife found computer discs containing "multiple images of child pornography on his computer," according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office. Cobb County Police and the FBI determined that Burns had hundreds of images involving children and sexual content. Burns admitted to acquiring the images on the Internet. He no longer works for the Cobb County School system, the press release said. http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=36694 - - - - - - - - - - Jailing - A Warning To Others! The jailing of a Lower Hutt man on Internet child porn charges is being described as a warning to others. Kevin William Edwards has been sentenced to six months on 25 charges. He was found with a collection of more than 5,000 images on his computer showing boys as young as six in sex acts and poses. Edwards was caught during an international sting across 19 countries. It was launched after British police began monitoring 30 Internet sites dealing in child pornography. http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,3762-2671649,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Two men admit to federal child porn charges Brandon Joseph Hebert, 23, of Lafayette pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Prosecutors said that Hebert downloaded several images from the Internet of juveniles having sex with adults and that Hebert had also been trading the images over the Internet. Federal agents found the pornography during a May 2002 search of Hebert's home, according to court documents. Hebert faces up to five years in prison. http://www.theadvertiser.com/todaysbriefing/html/E1544E41-4FB4-4EB6-82B2-1F5729E33B50.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Hollister Man Charged In Child Rape Case A Hollister man is being held in New York on three counts of child rape in a case involving a girl he met on the Internet. Authorities said Ronald Sheridan, 48, met the 13-year-old girl through an instant messaging service, and flew from the Central Coast to New York and had sex with her. Sheridan allegedly sent pictures of himself, including some nude photos, to the 9th-grader before flying to Rochester and picking her up from her high school. He is accused of taking to girl to a local hotel, where they had sex. http://www.theksbwchannel.com/news/2489341/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - California School Bus Driver Pleads Guild To Child Porn Possession A former Kern County school bus driver has pleaded guilty to child pornography possession. Stanley Rice, a driver in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, entered the plea Monday on the condition that he receive no more than five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Conklin said. Rice was arrested after a school district technician found remnants of child pornography on Rice's personal computer after Rice brought it in for repair. Bakersfield police also found pictures of children engaged in sex acts downloaded from the Internet at his home. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6785664.htm - - - - - - - - - - Police: Kentucky Couple Used Rented Computers For Child Porn A Winchester, Ky., couple is facing federal felony charges for allegedly returning computers to rental companies with child and adult pornography on the desktops. The three rental companies, which clean everything off computers that are returned to rent again, reported the material to police. FBI and state investigators allegedly found more than 700 images of child pornography on the three computers. The FBI also has another computer to analyze that was seized last week at the residence of the accused, Barry and Linda Robinson. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Todd ordered the couple to be held in jail pending trial. http://www.channelcincinnati.com/technology/2488253/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - California High School English Teacher Sentenced to 21 months for child porn A former Irvine teacher was sentenced to 21 months in prison because he had child pornography on his classroom computer. Kenneth Dale Fair, 32, of Tustin was an English teacher at University High School in Irvine. He left the school in October 2002 after hundreds of images of children having sex were discovered on his computer by federal investigators conducting a nationwide crackdown on computer porn. Fair, who pleaded guilty to possession of pornography, had faced up to five years in prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Lee said. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter also ordered that Fair serve three years of supervised release after he leaves prison. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030916/APN/309160846 - - - - - - - - - - San Antonio prepares to battle cyber-terrorism Fighting terrorism in the 21st Century includes setting up an army in cyberspace. Terrorism comes in many forms, and it doesn't always involve explosions. Sometimes destruction is right at a person's fingertips. "A cyber- attack to any community could be catastrophic if it wasn't managed correctly," Assistant Chief Mike Miller of the San Antonio Fire Department's Emergency Operations Division said. http://news9sanantonio.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=4976 - - - - - - - - - - Hackers distribute new software for attacks Security researchers on Tuesday detected hackers distributing software to break into computers using flaws announced last week in some versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. The threat from this new vulnerability - which already has drawn stern warnings from the Homeland Security Department - is remarkably similar to one that allowed the Blaster virus to infect hundreds of thousands of computers last month. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6787298.htm http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030917.gthacksep17/BNStory/Technology/ http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/09/17/hackers.code.ap/index.html Flaws set to spawn another Blaster http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39116405,00.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5077666.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/967786.asp http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/32874.html Internet Worms: Worst Is Yet To Come? http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22298.html - - - - - - - - - - DHS to Spearhead Cyber Security Summit In the ongoing effort to spur greater coordination among federal agencies, industry, law enforcement and academia in addressing network vulnerabilities and warding off future attacks, the Department of Homeland Security is putting together a National Cyber Security Summit, tentatively scheduled for late fall. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1271311,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - SSH security glitch exposes networks A critical security flaw in SSH has been revealed that threatens servers worldwide. SSH is a widely used encrypted remote management shell for Unix, Linux and BSD platforms. Experts say attackers have been exploiting the vulnerability to gain access to systems illegally for months. What started as quiet mumblings and rumors turned into screaming warnings yesterday as the security community slowly learned of the threat. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5077796.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,85053,00.html - - - - - - - - - - IBM posts fix for DB2 Linux security flaw A security flaw in Linux editions of IBM's DB2 database could allow unauthorized users to seize control of a database's contents, Big Blue revealed. IBM said that the problem affects version 7 of its DB2 database for Linux. The company posted a patch, called FixPak 10a, on its Web site. IBM also is expected to update its usual DB2 version 7 technical support page with the latest fix. http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-5078155.html - - - - - - - - - - RedSiren manages network security at Washington Post RedSiren Technologies Inc., a privately held provider of IT security products and services, has contracted to manage network security at The Washington Post. Pittsburgh-based RedSiren's information security staff will work with the Post to implement, monitor and maintain the newspaper's network protection devices. The contract covers the newspaper's networks at its facilities throughout the Washington, D.C., area. http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2003/09/15/daily23.html - - - - - - - - - - Cyber Wars: Defense THE computer age has spawned cyber terrorists from disgruntled computer students to organized crime and others. Between June and August 2003, computer users in Pampanga experienced an unyielding number of computer virus and computer worm attacks, three of which were a part of a widespread disruption in the global computer network. The worst of the worst were "W32.Sobig.F", "W32.Welchia.Worm" and the "W32.Blaster.Worm." http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2003/09/17/feat/cyber.wars.defense.html Some problems of investigating cybercrimes http://www.crime-research.org/eng/library/Golubev_sep.html - - - - - - - - - - America fails on information security In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, newly elected president, pledged to create a "new deal for the American people." Designed to help the United States out of its worst economic depression, the New Deal was an opportunity to rebuild the American infrastructure. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107_2-5077833.html - - - - - - - - - - It's time to tackle threats to the Net Even an Internet cheerleader like me had to pause when confronted with recent events online. The Sobig virus last month slowed down tens of millions of Internet users. Meanwhile the Viagra e-mails keep coming, no matter, it seems, what spam controls our employers put in. It's getting worse than tedious to have to spend so much time deleting the garbage. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/09/17/fortune.ff.tackle.threats/index.html Needed: A Security Blanket for the Net http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2003/tc20030916_6815_tc129.htm - - - - - - - - - - It's Not Paranoia When It's the Truth When it comes to computer and network security, I'm moving toward the doctrine adopted by Sangamon Taylor for nighttime bicycle safety. "I assume I'm wearing fluorescent clothes, and there's a million- dollar bounty going to the first driver who manages to hit me. And I ride on that assumption," says Neal Stephenson's fictional toxic-waste vigilante in the 1988 novel, "Zodiac." http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1271385,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - First responders could get access to military technologies State and local police, fire departments, and emergency medical services should use many of the militarys advanced technologies but have no structure for taking advantage of them, Defense officials say. A provision in the Defense Authorization Bill, if approved, would correct that, according to Pete Verga, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for homeland defense. "This requires the secretary of Defense to appoint a senior official to ensure the transfer of technology to first responders," Verga said. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/23582-1.html - - - - - - - - - - San Mateo police to show new Wi-Fi network The San Mateo Police Department will be demonstrating its new Wi-Fi network today, a wireless technology that allows officers more mobility when accessing internal systems. The department will be using the network throughout downtown San Mateo to give officers in the `hot zone'' quicker access to computer applications. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/6793486.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. 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