NewsBits for October 6, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ UK teenager accused of 'electronic sabotage' against US port A British teenager allegedly brought down the Internet systems of a major US port while attempting to extract revenge on a fellow IRC user, a court heard today. Aaron Caffrey, 19, allegedly slowed systems at the port of Houston in Texas to a crawl as the result of an attack actually aimed at a fellow chat-room user, called Bokkie. Bokkies anti-American remarks days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks annoyed the British teenager so much that he allegedly sought to take out her Net connection using an attack tool he had created. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33246.html - - - - - - - - - - Ex-coach guilty of sex abuse A longtime Forest Grove Little League coach pleaded guilty Friday to sex abuse charges.Kevin Roger Moore, who coached with Forest Grove Little League baseball and Little Guy football until May 1, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sodomy. Police arrested Moore in early May and accused him of buying child pornography by computer. Authorities filed more charges after an investigation. http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1065268823154690.xml - - - - - - - - - - Man charged with soliciting teens A St. Charles Township man was in a Florida jail Sunday after traveling there to pay the father of two teenage girls to have sex with them, police said. Jerry R. Dowden, 60, of 6N085 Knollwood Drive, was being held without bond Sunday at the Palm Beach County jail on charges of solicitation of sexual battery with a minor. The father Dowden believed he had been in contact with through Internet instant messaging was actually a Lantana detective working with the state's Law Enforcement Against Child Harm task force, police said. http://www.dailyherald.com/dupage/main_story.asp?intID=3790014 - - - - - - - - - - Air Patrol lets go of man charged with child porn The Civil Air Patrol has ended the membership of a Sioux Falls man who has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. Richard Buechler, 53, was charged as part of a state investigation into credit card numbers used to buy child pornography over the Internet. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November. http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/6938562.htm - - - - - - - - - - Arizona's tough child-porn law being challenged It may be a surprise to chronic Internet surfers that anyone in Arizona who clicks onto a child pornography Web site - even if nothing is downloaded -- could wind up in prison. While they do not condone the existence of child porn, some critics are questioning the fairness of Arizona's sentencing ranges for those convicted of possessing it. The state's anti-child porn law, which orders between 10 and 24 years on each conviction, is the most punitive in the country, according to a Phoenix attorney who is challenging the law. http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/stories/KMSB_local_childporn_100503.b1f4966.html - - - - - - - - - - FTC settles with firm over spam-driven credit-card scheme A Texas company agreed to repay customers $815,000 to resolve federal charges that it failed to deliver on Internet promises of providing major credit cards for a fee, regulators said Monday. The Federal Trade Commission said that ClickForMail.com Inc., doing business as AllPreApproved.com, sent e-mail ``spam'' offering approved credit cards in exchange for an advance payment of $49.95. Thousands of people who paid the fee did not get the credit cards, the FTC said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6947528.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52261-2003Oct6.html - - - - - - - - - - US cableco seeks to quash RIAA subpoenas Charter Communications, the US cableco, is challenging the RIAA's attempt to hand over the names of 150 customers who allegedly swapped music files illegally over the net. The company filed suit on Friday in its home town of St Louis, Missouri seeking to block subpoenas obtained by the RIAA. Tom Hearity, associate general counsel for Charter, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "We are the only major cable company that has not as yet provided the RIAA a single datum of information," AP reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33231.html Outlook: File Sharing http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40903-2003Oct3.html Song swappers flock to invitation-only Internet http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/10/06/underground.internet.ap/index.html Internet evolves in wake of music-swapping suits http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2003-10-05-internet-underground_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Cyber Crime Wing meets today to co-ordinate efforts Cyber Crime Wing meets in Islamabad today (Saturday) to discuss the single item agenda "co-ordinated efforts to combat cyber crime in Pakistan", sources close to the matter said. Project Director, Federal Investigation Agency would chair the wings meeting which would be attended by high officials of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and representatives of Internet service providers (ISPs) and software houses. http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2003-daily/04-10-2003/business/b1.htm - - - - - - - - - - Feds take up arms as computer crime becomes multibillion-dollar problem The rise of computer crime as a major threat to the world economy can be spelled out in a few numbers. The first is $2 billion -- the estimated damage done during just eight days in August when the so-called Blaster worm blitzed personal computers and corporate networks worldwide http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4137187.html - - - - - - - - - - Homeland security, crime are focus of tech-related bills The outcry over the 2001 antiterrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act manifested itself in new Senate legislation last week. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, authored the measure, S. 1695, which would expand the "sunset" provision in the PATRIOT Act so that additional government surveillance powers granted in the statute would expire after five years. The bill's backers said the measure would let Congress review whether the goals of the law are being met. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1003/100603td1.htm - - - - - - - - - - MPs demand spam protection for businesses The UK government has been warned that firms may 'rise up in anger' unless they are given protection from unsolicited junk mail. A group of technology- savvy MPs have warned that the British government is wrong to allow spam emails to be sent to business users, and are pushing for the "mistake" to be rectified. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39116941,00.htm Anti-spam MPs head to Washington http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144117 US should follow EU lead on spam - MPs http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33243.html Spam Fighters Turn to Identifying Legitimate E-Mail http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/06/technology/06SPAM.html - - - - - - - - - - MS software creates global security risk Microsoft has been hit with a lawsuit by a victim of identity theft, who claims that the prevalence of Microsoft software "creates a global security risk". The litigant is seeking class action status for the suit. The news follows last month's apology by Microsoft senior security strategist Steven Adler, who told delegates at the Gartner Security Summit that the company was sorry for the loss and damage caused by the recent onslaught of computer viruses that have attacked his company's software. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=7018 - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft warns on critical Explorer flaw Hackers could run code on machines using a pop-up web page. Microsoft has released a critical security patch for Internet Explorer. Covering all versions of the browser since 5.01, the new patch corrects a series of flaws, including one that would allow hackers to run code on machines using a pop-up web page. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144119 Microsoft fixes broken patch http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5086979.html - - - - - - - - - - IM menace quadruples Attacks against firms via instant messaging services are rising rapidly, according to experts. Attacks on instant messaging (IM) systems have increased by 400 percent within a year, according to the latest Internet Threat Report from security specialist Symantec. Experts predicted the growth would continue in line with the increasing use of IM as a business tool. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144103 - - - - - - - - - - Students Toil as Spyware Hunters Outraged by the damage inflicted by a fast-spreading spyware application, a pair of high school students team up to fight back. Carlino and Cross recently signed on as participants in a pending class action suit against Xupiter, joining thousands of other disgruntled users whose machines were vandalized by the spyware. http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,60694,00.html - - - - - - - - - - EU study: More privacy protections needed Terrorism-fighting tools and the rise of ``little brother'' digital devices threaten to erode Europeans' right to be left alone, according to a study released Monday by the European Commission. Policy makers need to work now to properly balance security and privacy before emerging technologies -- such as mobile phones that pinpoint drivers' locations -- become a part of daily life, the study says. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6946790.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52211-2003Oct6.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2003-10-06-eu-privacy-study_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - ID Theft Undermines Integrated Terror Watch Lists Despite the government's recent efforts to integrate dozens of watch list databases, terrorists may still be slipping through numerous cracks in the nation's homeland defenses by stealing identities and using computers to create fraudulent travel documents, officials told Congress. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,85711,00.html - - - - - - - - - - CERT and ArcSight Join Forces to Battle Cyberthreats In an era when cyberterrorism is more than just a nuisance, the need to provide effective means to thwart such attacks is critical for today's leading businesses and universities, as well as the general public. To help create technology for security information sharing and research, Carnegie Mellon University's CERT Coordination Center located at its Software Engineering Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, and enterprise security risk management software provider ArcSight, headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, have launched the Cyber Security Information Sharing Project (CSISP). http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=5551 - - - - - - - - - - Computer scientists fear voter fraud Californias touch-screen machines under scrutiny Punch-card ballots from Tuesdays historic recall election are sure to get a going-over by political activists, but some computer scientists think touch-screen voting machines deserve just as much scrutiny. http://www.msnbc.com/news/976511.asp Time to Recall E-Vote Machines? http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60713,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Smart cards get really smart Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed smart credit cards with embedded microchips. What's new about is a technique which lets ordinary card users program in their own spending parameters. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33218.html - - - - - - - - - - Fame, Infame, All the Same Blowing the lid off the altruistic computer security town-crier angle. A New York Times researcher -- that's what they're calling themselves these days -- contacted me a couple of weeks ago about a story the newspaper was considering. "The World's Most Famous Virus-writers and Hackers!" was the general idea. The researcher was preparing memos on the subject so higher-ups could decide what development path to take. Should it be a photo-essay or written exposition? The researcher wasn't even sure it would see the light of day. http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/189 - - - - - - - - - - Spotting hot spots with a cell phone An industry group has launched a free service to address a major issue with Wi-Fi hot-spots: finding one. The Wi-Fi Alliance announced Monday that individuals with cell phones or other devices that use the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) will be able to wirelessly search for and download lists of nearby hot spots wherever they happen to be. Users can access the list by entering "wap.wi-fizone.org" into their WAP-enabled device. The application can't be accessed from a computer. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5087019.html - - - - - - - - - - Web sites offer neighborhood crime statistics Residents in several area cities can learn what crimes are occurring in their neighborhoods by logging on to their computers, police spokesmen said. The Denton Police Department added a crime map to its Web site in late July, joining Euless and Irving in offering the service. Several other area cities, including Bedford and Keller, offer crime statistics without maps. http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/6933198.htm - - - - - - - - - - Confusion surrounds suicide Webcast There's confusion today over the possible suicide of a terminally ill patient due to be broadcast on the Web last Saturday. According to reports, the Webcast of a suicide during a rock concert did not take place after the Web site was floored by a denial of service attack thought to originate from Hong Kong. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33233.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. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2003, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.