NewsBits for November 14, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Phishing and viral tech combines in new menace A new computer virus targets PayPal users in an attempt to dupe consumers into divulging sensitive credit card details. Mimail-I, the latest in a series of security- threatening worms, has spread widely since its first appearance yesterday. Mimail-I typically arrives in an email with a subject line of "YOUR PAYPAL.COM ACCOUNT EXPIRES", asking recipients to provide detailed information about their credit card, claiming that PayPal is "implementing a new security policy". http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7457 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1148819 http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39116899,00.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5107764.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/993772.asp http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,87170,00.html http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24176-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Parliament grants government powers tightening Internet surveillance Reporters Without Borders has warned against the risk of abuse of an amendment to the Computer Misuse Act intended to tighten Internet security. Parliament has amended Article 15A of the Act allowing continuous surveillance of cyber-suspects thanks to real-time monitoring software and authorising their pre-emptive arrest before a crime has been committed. Cyber- criminals are liable for jail terms of up to three years. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8514 - - - - - - - - - - Bill Targets Illicit File Sharing Anyone who uses the Internet to distribute music or movies before they are officially released could face five years in prison under a bipartisan bill introduced Thursday by several U.S. senators, including Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California. Unauthorized videotaping of movies in theaters would also be outlawed under the measure put forth by Feinstein and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-movies14nov14,1,7624101.story Music labels tapping illegal song-swapping to glean fans' listening trends http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7264097.htm - - - - - - - - - - Card Security Week a success' First National Bank (FNB) says its Card Security Week, which finishes on Sunday, has boosted the fight against card fraud, which it estimates costs banks between R40 million to R60 million annually. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2003/0311141128.asp - - - - - - - - - - McAfee fixes eBay glitch Security software and services company McAfee is set to release a patch Friday to fix a glitch that prevented some users of its privacy software from accessing auction site eBay. Ardi Kazarian, senior product manager for McAfee Internet Security, said the problem popped up a few weeks ago, after eBay apparently changed some of its home page elements that run in the JavaScript language. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5107888.html - - - - - - - - - - We are influencing software industry, says Homeland Security CIO Steven Cooper, the chief information officer at the US Department of Homeland Security, said he has met with company officials including Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer about software security concerns. "And I think, believe it or not, that we're really influencing them as a community," Cooper told attendees at a CIO Symposium in Ohio. Cooper added that his agency were collaborating with companies very closely with working to improve software. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=126511 Microsoft re-issues Internet Explorer security patch http://www.securityfocus.com/elsewhere - - - - - - - - - - DOD plans central office for issuing smart cards The Defense Department late next year will open a new central facility to hand out Common Access smart cards to recruits and new personnel at very remote sites, said Mary Dixon, director of the Common Access Card Office of the Defense Manpower Data Center. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24177-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft security document contains insecure comments SOFTWARE PANJANDRUM Microsoft has sent out a document called Secure and Dependable Computing to its customers which still contains internal comments from the Volish people who put the Word files together. In fact, a footer in one document even has the giveaway line Microsoft Confidential Internal Use only. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12667 - - - - - - - - - - Freedom law fears grow The public sector's confidence that it can cope with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is ebbing away. The latest research shows that 82 per cent of respondents believe that changes to existing processes are a barrier to compliance. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1148780 - - - - - - - - - - Hairy moment for political security as emails go astray The intricacies of email have proved too much once more, with Ronnie Campbell MP's messages ending up in the safe hands of Ronnie Campbell, barber. The enthusiastic but sometimes fraught relationship that politicians enjoy with technology has suffered another glitch, after confidential information meant for an MP was accidentally emailed to a Cumbrian hairdresser. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39117907,00.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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