NewsBits for December 2, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Appeal of DVD hacker's acquittal begins in Norway A Norwegian acquitted of piracy after he released a program that cracked DVD security codes was back in court Tuesday as prosecutors began appealing his case, a test of the country's computer protection laws. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7395466.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5112515.html - - - - - - - - - - A sensational case of "Bakhmach hackers" was closed A criminal case, initiated last year against group of so-called "Bakhmach hackers" stealing money from Bakhmach department of the Savings Bank of Ukraine (Chernigov region, Ukraine), was investigated and closed, criminals were sentenced to 7-8 years of imprisonment with property confiscation, Public Prosecutor of Chernigov region Nikolai Lesovoi informed at press conference in Chernigov. http://www.crime-research.org/news/2003/12/Mess0204.html - - - - - - - - - - Ebay takes action over child porn complaints Ebay has taken action following allegations that its online auction house was being used to trade in child pornography. One of its users - who has now been suspended from the service - bought and sold hundreds of items, many of which included pictures of naked children and babies. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34302.html - - - - - - - - - - Malaysian pirates unveil copies of Microsoft's next Windows system Software pirates in Malaysia are selling copies of an early version of the next generation of Microsoft Corp.'s flagship Windows operating system, company officials said Tuesday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7395669.htm http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/01/technology/microsoft_piracy.reut/index.htm http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151089 Pirated Longhorn found for PS1 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39118222,00.htm Useless Longhorn build on sale for $1.58 - trade slow in pirate coves? http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34296.html - - - - - - - - - - Anti-spammer rocked by porn attack Anti-spam organization Spamhaus is the victim of a devious spam e-mail doing the rounds, which makes it a target of floods of angry e-mails. Recipients are told that they have subscribed to a child pornography mail order service and that a set of CDs containing pornographic images of children is already being mailed out to them. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5112487.html Spammers attack critics http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/02/technology/internet_spam.reut/index.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/34299.html Cyber crime: Burns takes aim at spam http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/02/build/opinion/30-opinion.inc - - - - - - - - - - OFT stops domain-name scam A Swansea firm has been warned about its practice of telling companies that someone else was after a domain name that they might want. A company using "misleading" selling tactics to try and pressurise businesses into buying Internet domain names has been forced to cease the practice after an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39118230,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Virus damage costs increase fourfold Either enterprises are spending four times more cleaning up after virus and worm attacks this year, or they significantly underestimated their costs last year, according to new research. It costs four times more to clean up after a virus than previously thought, according to a survey of large enterprise IT departments. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39118226,00.htm http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39117165,00.htm "MiMail" Viruses Top November Infections http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1400299,00.asp http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151091 - - - - - - - - - - Linux kernel vulnerability is behind Debian attack The bug affects versions of the Linux kernel prior to 2.4.23, and was the method used during a recent attack on Debian's servers, according to the advisory. In that attack four Linux servers that hosted Debian's bug tracking system, mailing lists and various Web pages were compromised. http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/12/02/HNlinuxkernel_1.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5112427.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34285.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87725,00.html http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113700,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft finds flaw in server software A new glitch in one of Microsoft's server software packages is causing headaches for some small businesses. The problem affects all customers who installed SharePoint Services after Nov. 24. SharePoint, which is used to create a company intranet, is included as part of the standard and premium editions of the recently launched Small Business Server 2003 package, which also includes the Windows Server 2003 operating system and Microsoft Exchange e-mail software. The problem prevents SharePoint from installing properly. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5112754.html Glitches hit small-business, security apps http://news.com.com/2009-7355-5112786.html - - - - - - - - - - Symantec fixes product activation glitch Security software maker Symantec has fixed a problem in the company's product activation technology that was causing its Norton family of security applications to fail. The problem, as previously reported by CNET News.com, affected a small percentage of the more than 1.2 million users of the company's Norton Antivirus 2004, Norton Internet Security 2004, Norton Antispam 2004 and Norton SystemWorks 2004. http://news.com.com/2100-7355-5112771.html - - - - - - - - - - FBI Seeks Wiretap Capabilities for Phone Calls Made Over the Internet Concerned that terrorists and criminals can easily communicate without being caught, the FBI wants to tap into online phone calls. As federal regulators Monday debated how or whether to regulate the fast-growing technology of Internet phone service, the FBI and the Justice Department sought to ensure that law enforcement has the same ability to eavesdrop as it does on virtually every other form of communication. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-listen2dec02,1,1470578.story - - - - - - - - - - Training police to capture online child predators A conference to help police capture online child predators is launched today. The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) is running the four-day Conference on Computer- Facilitated Crimes Against Children at the headquarters of international police agency Interpol in Lyon, France. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34281.html - - - - - - - - - - White House chastised for use of security technology The Bush administration has failed to effectively use information technology in the war on terrorism, according to officials at the Markle Foundation, who on Tuesday proposed creating a homeland security information network. "They have not yet taken advantage of technological expertise" available in this country, said Zoe Baird, president of the New York-based foundation. "The government can set up a network that improves our ability to prevent terrorism and protect civil liberties." http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1203/120203tdpm1.htm http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24322-1.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27763-2003Dec2.html Tech Companies Oppose Government Computer Security Rules http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29036-2003Dec2.html - - - - - - - - - - Defense official defends idea of data mining Public misconceptions of privacy and civil liberties issues surrounding the Defense Department's Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA) program led to its demise, a Defense official said on Tuesday. The end of TIA, which called for "mining" commercial databases for information on potential terrorists, was the result of "lots of distortions and misunderstandings," Robert Popp, a special assistant to the director for strategic matters at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said at an event sponsored by the Potomac Institute. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1203/120203td2.htm Intelligence officials call for info-sharing organization http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/1201/web-info-12-02-03.asp Agencies to get security scores http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/1201/web-fisma-12-02-03.asp - - - - - - - - - - North Korea launches 'secure' email Little is known about how many people are online in North Korea, but the country is claiming to have have launched an email service with 'guaranteed' security. North Korea has launched an email service that "guarantees the privacy of correspondence", although it's likely very few North Koreans have Internet access at all. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39118217,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - AOL fights spyware in coming software upgrade America Online will introduce antispyware software for subscribers as part of an optional service upgrade early next year, company officials confirmed Tuesday. http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-5112843.html - - - - - - - - - - China implements new Wi-Fi security standard Chinese government agencies are prohibiting the import, manufacture and sale of Wi-Fi gear that does not use China's new security specification, which is incompatible with standards technology industry groups developed. http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5112832.html - - - - - - - - - - Network tool reins in music downloads As the success of digital music services like Apple Computer's iTunes and Napster puts new pressure on corporate and other private computer networks, a generation of tools is springing up to control the software. On Tuesday, network traffic management company Packeteer released an upgrade to its software that would allow network administrators to identify and control the use of these legal digital music services as well as their free peer-to-peer rivals http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5112799.html - - - - - - - - - - First high speed security switch to prevent DoS attacks Security switching specialist, Radware has introduced a new high security switch DefensePro. The product is claimed to be the first such product able to support intrusion prevention and real-time Denial of Service protection to secure applications across high speed networks. As malicious software such as Trojans and worms and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks continue to increase, the company believes that there is a market for a comprehensive solution able to cope with the demands of websites and other high traffic servers. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=51029 - - - - - - - - - - Study: Firewall sales to spread The market for firewall software and devices will jump 25 percent in the next two years to nearly $2.5 billion in worldwide sales, predicts research firm Meta Group in its latest report. http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5112857.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22788.html Tips on locking down your WLAN http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87705,00.html Mirage protects the LAN http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,87730,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Internet Attackers on Phishing Expeditions As I said in my 2004 Outlook column, our e-mail accounts are now filled with some recent advances in the field of "phishing." If you haven't been paying attention, the term refers to a particular type of Internet scam in which a user is tricked into giving up personal information, like bank account information. http://www.eweek.com/print_article/0,3048,a=113465,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Israel to Install Hi-Tech ID System Israel's military plans to install a sophisticated biometric identification system at a Gaza Strip checkpoint in an effort to speed the passage of entering Palestinian workers and limit what can be dangerous friction with Israeli soldiers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29209-2003Dec2.html - - - - - - - - - - SF adopts crime mapping tool San Francisco recently unveiled a crime mapping analysis tool that police expect will lead to better deployment of resources. The Crime Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (CrimeMAPS) tool, which was developed with $1.5 million in federal assistance, will enable officers to query criminal information through the Web or a desktop PC. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2003/1201/web-sf-12-02-03.asp *********************************************************** 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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