NewsBits for October 7, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Alleged ID theft clan on the run Miguel Hernandez and his extended family moved into a dream, half-million-dollar hideaway home along the banks of the Columbia River in Vancouver, Wash., on April 1 the date now dripping in irony. In fact, the small palace was just one of 23 homes the family is said to have purchased in the past two years, scooping up $4 million worth of properties in and around Portland Ore., many of them adult care homes. And, it turns out, all of them purchased by identity theft, according to local police. http://www.msnbc.com/news/976760.asp - - - - - - - - - - Minister pleads guilty in online sex case A Wesleyan minister pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to traveling across state lines with the intention of engaging in sex with a minor. The Rev. Thomas David James, former superintendent of the Wesleyan Church's Northwest District based in Vancouver, entered the plea in a deal with prosecutors. He was arrested in May as part of an ongoing FBI sting called "Innocent Images." In an online chat room, James, 46, had arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl in the parking lot of a Northeast Portland convenience store. But his intended victim was an FBI agent posing as a girl, and James was arrested May 13 when he went to pick her up. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1065528410163550.xml - - - - - - - - - - Grad student arrested on Internet sex charge A University of Hawaii student has been arrested for allegedly using the Internet to try and lure a 13-year old girl for sex. Officials say 35-year-old U-H-Manoa graduate student Paul Clur arranged to meet the girl Friday at Zippy's on King Street. When he arrived, he discovered he had actually been conversing with an undercover agent and he was arrested. Clur was charged with electronic enticement of a child, a felony offense punishable by up to ten years in prison. He was freed on 50-thousand-dollars bail and is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow. http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=683 - - - - - - - - - - Hackers steal source code of popular video game Stolen copies of the source code of a highly anticipated computer game are circulating on the Internet, a sign of the video game industry's growing value -- and vulnerability. The digital blueprint of `Half-Life 2,'' a sequel to a popular first-person shooter game slated to be released this holiday season, began circulating on Web chat channels late Thursday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6953147.htm http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_405879,0003.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39116970,00.htm http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/07/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-10-07-half-life-2-compiled_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Virus Writers Probed for Terror Ties Britain's task force against high-tech crime is investigating links between virus writers and extremist groups as it prepares defenses for a possible attack, a top law enforcement officer told Reuters. The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has started working with anti-virus firms to identify patterns in the source code of the most damaging Internet worms and virus programs to determine whether they are the work of organized subversive groups or crime syndicates. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3570209 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39116981,00.htm http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/10/07/security.internet.reut/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-10-07-cybercrime_x.htm http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031007/80/eafeq.html Mobs Turn Net into Money Machine http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60735,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Australian spam legislation under fire Civil rights group Electronic Frontiers Australia has claimed legislation introduced into the federal parliament to fight spam will give investigators excessive search and seizure powers. In an analysis of the recent legislation, Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) claimed that search and seizure provisions included in the Spam (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2003 enable some government employees and police to search and seize an individual's computer and other possessions without a search warrant and without the consent of the individual. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105_2-5087709.html US needs Euro-style spam laws, says APIG http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144136 Information Commissioner 'low on power' for spam fight http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ecommerce/0,39020372,39116979,00.htm Exiled Spam King's Go-Go Life http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,60714,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Expect terrorist attacks on Global Financial System A successful terrorist attack on America's financial infrastructure could bring the US and global economies to a standstill, and the real surprise is that it hasn't been attempted yet. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33269.html - - - - - - - - - - Army data cops prepare for Iraq trials Evidence gathered from computer systems to be used in war crime cases. Forensic technology enlisted by the British Army to fight global terrorism could help find war criminals in the wake of the war in Iraq. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144124 - - - - - - - - - - Broadband makes software piracy worse Faster web access means faster illicit downloads, warns BSA. Consumers using broadband are making the problem of software piracy worse, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), which has called on the government to develop stringent copyright protection regulations. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144130 - - - - - - - - - - Latest eBay scam phishes for user details Another e-mail scam is targeting the users of eBay, claiming their use of the auction site has been restricted until they update their account information. The e-mail uses an image to display the text: "During our regular update and verification of the accounts, we couldn't verify your current information. Either your information has changed or it is incomplete. As a result, your access to bid or buy on eBay has been restricted. To start using your eBay account fully, please update and verify your information by clicking below :". http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105_2-5087756.html - - - - - - - - - - Swappers 'vulnerable to hackers' P2P service Earthstation 5 has updated its software after reports that older versions could give hackers access to users' PCs. Earthstation 5 has released a new edition of its file-swapping software, responding to reports that running older versions could let hackers delete critical files on a users' computer. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/applications/0,39020384,39116959,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hackers Attack New Holes Attackers are targeting the newest security vulnerabilities, giving businesses less time to patch and protect their systems, according to a report released last week by Symantec Corp. The security vendor's twice-annual Internet Security Threat Report, which compiles data from customers as well as from more than 20,000 sensors embedded in its global DeepSight Threat analysis system, paints an ugly picture. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=74&ncid=1212&e=10&u=/cmp/20031007/tc_cmp/15201460 - - - - - - - - - - 'Stop anonymous domain sales' - Net cop Domain name sales need closer regulation, according to Britain's top cyber cop, to stop fraudsters spoofing familiar URLs. Fraudsters and paedophiles are using lax Web site registration policies to commit an increasingly elaborate web of cyber crime, Britain's top cyber cop said on Monday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39116983,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Lawsuit opens new can of worms for Microsoft Microsoft is fighting security battles on numerous fronts, after the filing of a lawsuit alleging its products facilitated identity theft. A lawsuit faulting Microsoft for security defects in its products has added a new front in the software giant's battle against vulnerabilities in its software. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39116969,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Shift key breaks CD copy locks A Princeton University student has published instructions for disabling the new anticopying measures being tested on CDs by BMG--and they're as simple as holding down a computer's Shift key. In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony Hamilton. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5087875.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/977144.asp http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,60734,00.html Anti-RIAA group calls for CD boycott http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33270.html Prison for using KaZaA? Surely not in the UK... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33267.html - - - - - - - - - - Demonstrating ROI for Penetration Testing (Part Four) Bringing business to the Web is in and of itself risky business, just through the act of taking data from the inside network to the outside network. Data that was once protected by routers and firewalls is brought through the layers of security with remote procedure calls and database queries and made available to the public network. Part one of this series provided a general discussion of ROSI (Return on Security Investment) and likened performing penetration testing to having a health physical. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1736 Demonstrating ROI for Penetration Testing (Part One) http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1715 Demonstrating ROI for Penetration Testing (Part Two) http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1718 Demonstrating ROI for Penetration Testing (Part Three) http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1730 - - - - - - - - - - Experts describe problems caused by VeriSign's Site Finder Experts told the Internet's primary oversight body Tuesday of technical problems created when VeriSign Inc. -- a controller of most of the world's Web addresses -- made changes affecting computer users who mistype the address of some Web sites. The concerns expressed during the unusual meeting suggest that VeriSign, which manages all addresses ending in ``.com'' and ``.net,'' could run into difficulty reintroducing the modifications it made weeks ago to the Internet's architecture. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/6955513.htm http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7157 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57670-2003Oct7.html VeriSign changes tactics on security http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5087978.html - - - - - - - - - - Homeland security commission to keep open doors The commission created to oversee Nevadas homeland security efforts will hold open meetings, despite a state law allowing it to conduct its business behind closed doors, the chairman said. Retired Army Col. Jerry Bussell, chairman of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission appointed by Gov. Kenny Guinn this week, said Nevadans expect to be involved in the states security matters. http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/10/06/53464.php - - - - - - - - - - Homeland Security ready to start ordering technology The Homeland Security Department is finally "open for business" for companies offering innovative protective systems, an industry executive said Tuesday. Thousands of vendors have given up hope of landing federal security contracts after two years of waiting for the department to hire staff, announce programs or standards, and increase budgets, Edmond Woollen, vice president of Raytheon of Waltham, Mass., told a conference for Massachusetts companies weighing federal sales. But the window of opportunity is finally here. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1003/100703td2.htm Oregon pushes for DHS dollars http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2003/1006/web-rains-10-07-03.asp *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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