NewsBits for November 25, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Virus warning over 'Mary' porn photos email A new Trojan is doing the rounds, using the promise of pornographic pictures in an attempt to take over a user's PC. Sysbug, which comes with the subject line of 'Re[2] Mary', pretends to be a personal email from a friend called James who has attached photographic evidence of a recent tryst. Anyone foolish enough to open the attachment will not find what they are looking for, however, as it actually contains a malicious program that will allow their PC to be taken over. http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39117071,00.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39118109,00.htm http://www.vnunet.com/News/1150284 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/34182.html - - - - - - - - - - Dracut man nabbed in Internet sting on bondage plot with teen A Dracut man is free on $50,000 bail after being arrested Friday night for allegedly attempting to lure a young girl to a hotel room in Connecticut to have sex with him. Basil E. Doucette III, 39, had bondage paraphernalia, photographic equipment, and condoms in the hotel room where he allegedly expected to meet a 13-year-old girl, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Doucette is accused of engaging in Internet chat conversations with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Doucette "expressed interest in photographing the girl and engaging in sexual relations with her," the U.S. attorney's office said. http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~1790139,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Felony sex charges filed Felony Internet sex charges were brought Monday against a 43-year-old Adrian man snagged in a state task force investigation targeting crimes against children. Sex acts were allegedly solicited from an undercover Ann Arbor police officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl while chatting on the Internet with Charles Francis Ankney, according to the Michigan Attorney General's office. http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2003/11/25/news/news01.txt - - - - - - - - - - Internet cop testifies at sex-chat trial Rhett McQuiston is a grown man, but he reads teen magazines, follows the progress of boy bands and sprinkles his online conversations with the slang word "kewl." As a member of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, McQuiston chats in the persona of a teen to find out who is surfing for underage sex partners. http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Nov/11252003/utah/114255.asp - - - - - - - - - - Norwegian hacker cracks Apple's iTunes anti-pirating software A Norwegian who drew the ire of the Hollywood movie industry by breaking the encryption code for DVDs at age 15 has now cracked the codes for Apple Computer's online music site iTunes, a report said on Monday. Jon Lech Johansen, nicknamed "DVD Jon" by the local media, has created a programme called "QTFairUse" which he posted on an Internet site at the weekend, Norwegian online daily IT-avisen reported. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_470816,00030010.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5111426.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/997960.asp - - - - - - - - - - Scripting flaws pose severe risk for IE users A set of five unpatched scripting vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer creates a mechanism for hackers to compromise targeted PCs. The vulnerabilities, unearthed by Chinese security researcher Liu Die Yu, enable malicious Web sites and viruses to bypass the security zone settings in IE6. Used in combination, the flaws might be exploited to seize control of vulnerable PCs. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34186.html - - - - - - - - - - Senate Passes Bill to Curb Spam A bill designed to reduce the reams of unwanted e-mail -- or "spam" -- clogging the nation's in- boxes today cleared its last major hurdle on the way to the White House. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13540-2003Nov25.html http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61361,00.html http://computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/groupware/story/0,10801,87547,00.html Anti-spam law near, but critics take aim http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/24/technology/spam_law/index.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-11-24-spam-bill-issues_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Deadline for Web privacy policies looms Agencies have three weeks to beef up their Web site privacy policies as required under the E-Government Act of 2002. By Dec. 15, agencies online privacy policies must inform visitors: If providing information is voluntary and detail how information will be used... http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24295-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Senators ask P2P companies to police themselves A group of Washington lawmakers called on Friday for file-swapping companies to help stop distribution of copyrighted materials and pornography on their networks. In a letter sent to the heads of several leading companies--including Grokster, BearShare, Blubster, eDonkey2000, LimeWire and Streamcast Networks--a group of six senators called for self-regulation of peer-to-peer software companies. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5110785.html - - - - - - - - - - Government Tests Cyberattack Defenses The Homeland Security Department's first simulation of a terrorist attack on computer, banking and utility systems exposed problems with the ways victimized industries communicated vital information during the crisis, the government's new cybersecurity chief said Monday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12667-2003Nov25.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/997923.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/25/cyber.attack.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-11-25-terror-sim_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - ForeScout Introduces Appliance To Guard Against Worm Attacks ForeScout Technologies hopes to put an end to those nasty worm infestations plaguing corporate networks. The channel-only company says its new WormScout recognizes and suppresses worm activity at the network perimeter and barricades active worms within a network to stop future infection. http://www.securitypipeline.com/news/showArticle.jhtml%3Bjsessionid=IMKJ1T1X50MQWQSNDBGCKHY?articleId=16400619 - - - - - - - - - - One company arms both sides in spam war As Congress heads toward passage of legislation meant to stanch the flood of junk e-mail messages, or spam, few companies are as involved in both the sending and receiving of spam as IronPort Systems. It is among several dozen companies racing to build spam-fighting software. But IronPort, a 3-year-old Silicon Valley company, has one unusual qualification: it also makes a specialized computer with the reputation as the fastest way to send millions of junk e-mail messages. So IronPort presumably knows spam when it sees it. http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5111556.html - - - - - - - - - - Security and its discontents Mention wireless networks to an IT professional and the conversation is likely to turn immediately to security. Uncertainty about the technology remains so great that many big businesses are still reluctant to install wireless systems throughout their offices. But while perceptions are hard to change, progress is being made. A new standard is in development that should ease security fears and also cut back on confusion about how to better protect data. http://rss.com.com/2008-1039_3-5111353.html A latte, a Wi-Fi link and a hacker http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87523,00.html Wireless technology offers secure communication medium http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/techforum/2003/0311250815.asp - - - - - - - - - - Chip implant gets cash under your skin Radio frequency identification tags aren't just for pallets of goods in supermarkets anymore. Applied Digital Solutions of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card. The surgical procedure, which is performed with local anesthetic, embeds a 12-by-2.1mm RFID tag in the flesh of a human arm. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5111637.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/997952.asp http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,61357,00.html - - - - - - - - - - PS1.1m police firearms database takes aim at gun crime Police claim a new PS1.1m firearms database will help take more guns off the streets by allowing forces across the country to share vital weapons and ammunition intelligence much more easily. The National Firearms Forensic Intelligence Database (NFFID) has been set up by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and is now fully operational. http://www.silicon.com/0,39024729,39117064,00.htm *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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