NewsBits for November 13, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Man held in $50M music piracy case A federal magistrate has ordered a man known as "DJ Rock" held without bail in what federal authorities Thursday called the largest music piracy operation ever discovered in the United States. DJ Rock, whose real name is Khalid Ahmed Satary, was arrested Oct. 28 under a 15-count indictment accusing six people of music piracy. http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/13/technology/music_piracy/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - Calif. man fined for Al Jazeera hack Hacker sentenced to community service for childish prank. A Los Angeles-area man has been fined and sentenced to community service for hacking into the Web site of satellite TV network Al Jazeera during the U.S.-led war in Iraq and rerouting visitors to a page featuring an American flag and the motto Let Freedom Ring. http://www.msnbc.com/news/993187.asp - - - - - - - - - - Wireless hacking bust in Michigan In a rare wireless hacking prosecution, federal officials this week accused two Michigan men of repeatedly cracking the Lowe's chain of home improvement stores' nationwide network from a 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix parked outside a suburban Detroit store. Paul Timmins, 22, and Adam Botbyl, 20, were charged Monday with penetrating and intentionally damaging a Lowe's system in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/33959.html - - - - - - - - - - Burglary Ring Blamed for Computer Thefts Police believe that a high-tech burglary ring is responsible for the theft of numerous laptop computers from four businesses in the last week. The exact number of stolen computers is under investigation. But police said the number may be in the dozens. Authorities believe that the same people were responsible for similar burglaries in San Jose, Burlingame, Fremont and Menlo Park. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-sbriefs13.4nov13,1,7982830.story - - - - - - - - - - Man guilty of possession of child pornography pleas for compassion A man entered a plea of guilty to possession of child pornography last week and was sentenced to six years in prison, but he claims he's innocent. "I'm not a pedophile. I don't get sexual gratification looking at nude kids. I don't want sympathy, but I would like some compassion," James Carroll, 41, of Houston said in a letter to the Citizen. Carroll was arrested for possessing child pornography in June after a Pasadena business, Aaron's Sale and Lease at 3624 Spencer Highway, reported to police that Carroll's rented computer contained the illicit images from the Internet. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10498533&BRD=1579&PAG=461&dept_id=181233&rfi=6 - - - - - - - - - - Child porn man beats jail term An Auckland man who sold photos showing the torture and rape of toddlers has escaped a jail term because harsher penalties are yet to come into force. The Department of Internal Affairs said Stephen John Laing, 21, was instead fined and sentenced to 350 hours of community work after Judge Philip Recordon took into account his youth, his previously clean record, the small size of his collection and precedents from other court cases. Laing pleaded guilty in Waitakere District Court to 29 charges of trading, advertising and collecting the images. Officers who seized Laing's computer in August last year found 122 pictures of such crimes as the rape of children as young as three, toddlers being tortured and sex attacks on babies. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3533886 - - - - - - - - - - More Charges For Prep School Head Child pornography charges were filed Wednesday against John Dexter, the former Manhattan prep school headmaster who was already accused of having indecent online conversations with what he thought were young girls. Also Wednesday, the school announced that Dexter had resigned. Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said 10 images of children under 16 involved in obscene sexual performances were found at Dexter's Tarrytown home. http://www.nynewsday.com/news/education/nyc-charge1113,0,3699897.story - - - - - - - - - - Swim Coach Faces Assault Charge Police arrested a 19-year-old neighborhood swim coach in Cobb County on charges he sexually assaulted a 14- year-old female swimmer on the team. Adam Christopher Smith, of Acworth, Ga., is charged with aggravated child molestation and two counts of furnishing computer pornography. Police said Smith sent pornographic materials via the Internet to two 14-year-old girls on the team. The alleged incidents happened in July and August and police believe more victims are out there. http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=39122 - - - - - - - - - - Search uncovers images of child porn A Floral City man was arrested Monday on charges of possessing child pornography on his computer and for sex acts involving a 12-year-old. Robert Lee Hong, 39, 10577 E Gobbler Drive, was arrested at his home after detectives from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant for his home and computer. According to the arrest report, the search turned up 68 images of child pornography, some on his computer and some on prints. Hong's arrest report listed his occupation as a park ranger with the Department of Environmental Protection. A search of the agency's employee directory listed his work phone at the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park south of Bushnell. http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/12/Citrus/Search_uncovers_image.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Cyber Crimes Unit Catches Computer Criminals The Internet has become a new playground for child predators looking for unsuspecting victims. But the state Attorney General's Office is hitting the Net, looking for these unsuspecting "sex travelers." Daniel Robert McCarthy is one of those travelers. He thought he was going to meet a teenage girl at a Houston body art shop and then have sex with her. However, that girl wound up being an undercover police officer, posing as a young girl on an Internet chat room, where the two met. McCarthy is one of 21 people arrested since May when state Attorney General Greg Abbott launched Texas' Cyber Crimes Unit. http://www.click2houston.com/technology/2631592/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Cyberblackmail hits UK Britain's Hi-Tech Crime Unit is warning of a potential crime wave growing in tandem with broadband subscriptions. The rapid growth of broadband home computer connections may be inadvertently fuelling what police suspect could be the start of a new crime wave -- cyberblackmail. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39117871,00.htm http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/13/organized.hacking.reut/index.html Zombie machines fueling new cyber-crime wave http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=INFOTECH&oid=38251 East European gangs in online protection racket http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33954.html - - - - - - - - - - Banking Scam Revealed Not all people that send undesirable email (spam) are the same. Their motives differ as greatly as their tools and technical abilities. This document uncovers a spam gang who seeks to acquire your banking information, and the response from one of the targeted victims: Citibank. This document describes the unique bulk-mailing tool used for recent rash of financial email scams. These scams target financial entities such as Citibank, Wells Fargo, Halifax Bank, eBay, and Yahoo. Only one specific spam gang uses this tool for these financial scams. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1745 Trojan hides in fake Citibank e-mail http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5106793.html - - - - - - - - - - Intelligence experts comb Web for terror clues Cyber investigators are scouring the World Wide Web for clues on any future suicide bomb attacks, deploying satellites and other high-tech wizardry to hone in on suspicious Web surfing activity. Intelligence officials had warned some kind of attack would occur in Saudi Arabia before Sunday's suicide bomb blast in Riyadh after finding evidence on anonymous postings on Arabic Web sites and other forms of Internet chatter. The strike killed at least 18 people and wounded 120 others. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-11-12-seeking-terror-info_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - ATM fraud prevention tips from FNB First National Bank's Card Security Week aims to highlight the predominant fraud issues pertaining to card security. FNB is committed to providing information that can help all consumers to keep their money secure when transacting. Cardholders should always be aware of their security when using an ATM and should always follow these general tips to ensure their personal information is kept safe: http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2003/0311131111.asp - - - - - - - - - - Homeland Security CIO calls for cybersecurity, comm standards Steven Cooper, the new CIO at the Department of Homeland Security, said he has had "some pretty candid conversations" with Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and other company officials about software security concerns. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87098,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Spammers Target Instant Message Users Nicole Fann was shocked the first time it happened. Fann, a consultant at a Northern Virginia high-tech company, was working on her computer when a new window popped up. It was an instant message from someone called "hot_girl" inviting her to "come check out my website." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36039-2003Nov13.html - - - - - - - - - - Senate Bill Targets Internet Pirates People who steal copies of films and albums and post them on the Internet before their official release dates could face felony charges under legislation scheduled to be introduced Thursday in the U.S. Senate. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33028-2003Nov12.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/993203.asp Harry Potter trailer leaked early http://www.msnbc.com/news/992917.asp - - - - - - - - - - Ad groups lobby for antispam law A triumvirate of influential advertising groups is pushing Congress to pass a federal spam law before the holidays, cautioning that without it, unwanted e-mail will hamper e-commerce. The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)--trade groups that together represent more than 6,000 companies--wrote an open letter to Congress in Thursday's edition of Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newsletter. http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5107059.html - - - - - - - - - - Are you being watched online? Spyware programs say they catch cheating lovers, workers. With a client base that includes computer hackers, suspicious spouses, and employers, the use of spyware continues to spread online. Heres a sobering thought: While youre looking at your computer, it may be looking back at you. There is easy-to-get, even free, software that lets anybody spy on you, anytime you are on your computer. http://www.msnbc.com/news/992662.asp - - - - - - - - - - Don't put your app protection on your firewall, Mr Jones Networking security firm Top Layer this week announced plans to boost the speed of its intrusion prevention appliances in repelling both network and application- level cyber attacks. Top Layer's Attack Mitigator IPS 5500, due to be released in the first quarter of 2004, is designed to complement end users' existing firewall and network security infrastructure. It is touted as Top Layer's fastest and more reliable security platform to date. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33973.html - - - - - - - - - - Wal-Mart turns customers into RFID lab rats Have you ever wondered what it's like to buy lipstick while in a petri dish? Consumers in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma know this experience all too well. They were part of a real-world RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) experiment conducted earlier this year by Wal-Mart and Proctor & Gamble. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/33982.html - - - - - - - - - - Securify's CEO on security approach, IPO strategy David Peterschmidt, the former CEO of Inktomi Corp. who oversaw that company's $235 million acquisition by Yahoo Inc. a year ago, took over as CEO of network security management start-up Securify Inc. last month. Peterschmidt met with Computerworld yesterday to discuss his plans for the 5-year-old, Mountain View, Calif.-based company. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87088,00.html - - - - - - - - - - AV Voice Changer Diamond Edition 3.0.64 For fun or privacy, change your voice dramatically using a frequency morpher, huge libraries of preset 'nickvoices' and effects and a built-in MP3 player and recorder. Change pitch and treble for voice chats and PC2Phone conversations. Compatible with almost all audio-video programs for almost any use voice chat rooms, instant messengers, AV conferencing, PC2Phone and voice gaming as well as media players and recorders, DVD, CD and karaoke. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/shareware.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. 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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