NewsBits for October 8, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Accused port hacker says log files were 'edited' A teenager accused of launching an attack on one of the US's biggest ports has claimed flaws in Windows allowed the real attacker to frame him. A UK teenager accused of launching a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on a major US port has said a flaw in Windows allowed hackers to take control of his machine and launch the attack without his knowledge. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39116986,00.htm 11,000 IP addresses found on accused hacker's PC http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39117005,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Galion man gets maximum A 43-year-old Galion man will spend the next 19 years and seven months in a federal prison for sexually abusing young children as part of an international child pornography ring that operated over the Internet. Edwin Bartholomew, formerly of 366 Cherry St., pleaded guilty in May to two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit children. Three other charges were dismissed. http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20031008/localnews/411327.html - - - - - - - - - - Former Manteca High School Teacher Sentenced to Prison Term A former high school teacher in Manteca, convicted of sex charges involving a 14-year-old he met on the Internet, was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday. Robert Schroeder, 33, was a teacher at Manteca High School. He was arrested in May after he posed as a teenage boy to lure a 14-year-old girl. The teen did not attend school in Manteca. http://www.kxtv10.com/storyfull.asp?id=5458 - - - - - - - - - - Medina teacher charged with importuning A Medina teacher, best known as a deejay for teen summer dances, was charged yesterday with soliciting sex from a student. Scott Foster, 29, a science teacher at A.I. Root Middle School, was arrested on a felony charge of importuning, accusing him of using the Internet to ask a 13-year-old girl to have sex. He told police the girl frequently flirted with him at school, Lt. Robert Starcher said. http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/medina/1065519207190700.xml - - - - - - - - - - 911 operator nabbed on child porn charge A Gloucester County 911 operator was arrested at his job in Clayton Tuesday for allegedly possessing child pornography. Douglas Williams, 50, of West Deptford Township, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a fourth degree crime, officials from the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced in a statement released Tuesday. Officials said on Oct. 1, a state Superior Court judge turned over approximately 41 floppy disks to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office after Williams' estranged wife turned them over to the court during a child custody hearing. http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1065600923197250.xml - - - - - - - - - - Waco teacher jailed on child porn charge An elementary school teacher was jailed after being arrested on charges of possessing and promoting child pornography. Frank F. Stuart, 48, a Provident Heights Elementary music teacher, gave permission for detectives to search his computer at school and his Waco apartment, police said. The detectives found pornography on his home computer and arrested him at the apartment after school Monday, the Waco Police Department reported. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/metropolitan/2142920 - - - - - - - - - - Napa man arrested after child porn stash found Authorities have arrested a Napa man who allegedly stored more than 1,300 child pornography images on his home computers and CD-ROMs, state officials announced this week. An investigation by the state Department of Justice Sexual Predator Apprehension Team resulted in the arrest, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Monday. According to Lockyer's office, officers with the Napa Special Investigation Bureau conducted a routine probation search last month and discovered several CD-ROMs containing child pornography. http://www.timesheraldonline.com/articles/2003/10/08/news/news06.txt - - - - - - - - - - Fan accused of sending spam from team officials' addresses An angry Philadelphia Phillies fan was arrested Tuesday, accused of sending spam e-mail attacks using the return e-mail addresses of team officials and Philadelphia newspaper reporters, a federal prosecutor said. Allan Eric Carlson, arrested at his home in Glendale, Calif., is accused of electronically breaking into computers around the country, then using the return addresses of reporters for The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News as well as e-mail accounts at the Phillies' offices to send thousands of unwanted e-mail messages. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-10-08-phillies_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Cuckold bombards Royal Mail with revenge email A jealous husband faces legal action after setting up a website accusing his wife of conducting an affair with a senior employee of the Royal Mail. To make matters worse, the unnamed man, who lives in the midlands, sent an email to chief executive Adam Crozier and other senior managers of the Royal Mail alleging that their colleague performed sex acts on his (i.e. the jealous guy's) wife on company premises. The revenge email contained a link to the web site. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33288.html - - - - - - - - - - Hacker victim files lawsuit blaming Microsoft security Marcy Levitas Hamilton, 51, CEO of TriCoast Studios, sued Microsoft last week in an attempt to hold it responsible for damage stemming from security flaws in its software. "My hope is that ... we can wake up companies and compel them to take responsibility for safeguarding their customers," Hamilton says. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2003-10-07-msftsuit_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - UK law: Two years for file swapping? UK file swappers face up to two years' imprisonment under new copyright regulations under the provisions of a European directive, that are expected to take effect in the UK this month. The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 was laid before Parliament on Friday after nearly a year's delay. It is expected to be passed in time to come into force by the end of October, according to legal experts. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5088193.html House passes P2P security bill http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/1006/web-house-10-08-03.asp http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1003/100803td2.htm http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60752,00.html Other Voices: What To Do Before The RIAA Knocks http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=15201212 - - - - - - - - - - U.K. combs source code for cyberwarfare clues 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 on Wednesday. The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has started working with antivirus companies 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://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5088392.html Syndicates edge into internet crime scene http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=272&fArticleId=255732 No techno fix for crime or terrorism cops http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33284.html Warning: virus terrorism stories may contain nuts http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33297.html - - - - - - - - - - County sheriff honored for anti-pedophile work A Bedford County, Va., sheriff will accept an award today on Capitol Hill given to a law enforcement agency that has gone "above and beyond the call of duty" to protect children using the Internet. The program was designed by Sheriff Mike Brown in 1998 to attract and catch pedophiles who troll the Internet worldwide for young boys and girls. Sheriff Brown and other members of a task force known as the Blue Ridge Thunder searched more than 100,000 Web sites, chat rooms and message boards with child-pornography content. http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20031007-102441-4388r.htm - - - - - - - - - - Gates leads battle against child porn A ``really rotten day'' at work in late January prompted a just-about-had-it Toronto police officer to e-mail a spontaneous plea to the world's richest man for help fighting child pornography. ``To be real honest, I didn't expect anything back. I didn't even save the e-mail,'' said Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, a 25-year veteran of the Toronto force. http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105_2-5088272.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/977567.asp - - - - - - - - - - 20,000 child porn images a week put on internet More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the internet every week, according to a report published today. Distributing the pictures is a "commercial, globalised cottage industry", experts say. Researchers who monitored the internet over six weeks for the NSPCC found that 140,000 child pornography images were posted. Twenty children were estimated to have been abused for the first time and more than 1,000 images of each child created. http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/news/story.jsp?story=451035 - - - - - - - - - - Anti-spam focus shifts to legitimate mail As politicians have been racing to find ways to ban the junk e-mail known as spam, Internet providers have been boasting about filtering technologies capable of identifying the sort of messages typically sent by spammers and disposing of them. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/07/BUGSQ26H7I1.DTL&type=tech CNET removes anti spam software 'made by spammers http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33296.html - - - - - - - - - - DHS, allies seek to close the top 20 software holes The Homeland Security Department today joined with its U.K. and Canadian counterparts to promote universal closing of the top 20 software vulnerabilities on the SANS Institutes annual list. We will only be successful through partnership, said Sallie McDonald, DHS director of outreach for infrastructure protection, at the lists unveiling in Washington. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/23811-1.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,85848,00.html - - - - - - - - - - IBM expands wireless security service Hoping to tap into the growth of wireless computing networks, IBM announced on Wednesday an expanded wireless-security service. Big Blue said its wireless intrusion detection service is designed to help customers protect themselves against security breaches on wireless local area networks. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5088304.html http://computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,85864,00.html - - - - - - - - - - EarthLink uncloaks tool to block spyware EarthLink on Wednesday introduced a new package that protects computers from over 1,500 different types of hidden applications, or spyware. The Internet service provider said Spyware Blocker will now be bundled for free with its TotalAccess Internet software. Subscribers can download a copy of the blocker from EarthLink's Web site. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5088291.html - - - - - - - - - - Security concerns shroud VeriSign service Critics of VeriSign's Site Finder have claimed that the service caused problems with the way some e-mail and other web applications function, and collected more information about web surfers than some other services designed to redirect mistyped URLs. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=125497 VeriSign goes on security offensive http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39116989,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - The art of self-defense in network security You know that feeling you get when you first step out of an elevator in a building you've never been in -- a little disoriented, not quite sure where you are or where you need to be? If someone were going to attack you, that would be the perfect time. The same holds true in cyberspace. Attackers are most effective when your situational awareness is low. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,85705,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Through the Fog: Who should protect you from viruses? Take a second not to blame hackers, Microsoft or the guy down in IT - the answer could be closer to home. Quocirca analyst Dale Vile considers some of the weaknesses of traditional protection from malware... Computer viruses are nothing new. They have been causing irritation and in some cases devastation for many years. Yet we sometimes seem as far away from controlling the problem as ever. http://www.silicon.com/opinion/500013/1/6334.html - - - - - - - - - - Bosses are the weakest link Senior managers may recognise the risks of lax IT security, but they seldom practice what they preach. A new report to be published today from the Economist Intelligence Unit has found that, while board members see security as one of the top issues facing their companies, their knowledge of best practices is lacking. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1144146 - - - - - - - - - - How does Skype get through Firewalls and NAT Routers? If, like some of our readers, you are either confused about how the new Skype Voice over IP system gets past firewalls and NAT routers, or you are skeptical about it, it's worth noting the answer that Niklas Zennstrom, one of the key architects of both Kazaa and Skype gave us on the subject. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/33278.html - - - - - - - - - - ID card bolstered Canada should put biometrics on its passport to test the waters before moving forward with a national ID card with the high-tech option, according to a leading U.S. lawyer. Harvard Prof. Alan Dershowitz was in Ottawa yesterday to speak at a conference on biometrics hosted by Immigration Minister Denis Coderre. Critics have said Coderre invited Dershowitz to bolster his idea of implementing a national ID card equipped with biometrics, a project estimated at $7 billion. http://www.canoe.ca/CalgaryNews/cs.cs-10-08-0035.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,85818,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Key House chairman backs secret anti-terrorism center The chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday said he backs the creation of an anti-terrorism center beyond the reach of public scrutiny. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1003/100803td1.htm - - - - - - - - - - Do-Not-Call site has AT&T web bug The FTC's popular Do Not Call page has been a runaway hit with US consumers, with over five million signing up to avoid spam calls from telemarketers. But the web site hides a little secret: a web bug. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33301.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.