NewsBits for December 8, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Internet bank fraudsters arrested Police have arrested several suspected members of a syndicate that tried to defraud people using Internet banking facilities. The syndicate is believed to have international links. After two weeks of surveillance, police also seized more than RM15,000 (S$6,780) from the suspects and thwarted an attempt to withdraw more than RM150,000. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,223854,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Man arrested in Cambs Police iPod email phone jam scam A 21-year-old man from St Neots has been arrested after the main switchboard at Cambridgeshire police HQ was jammed by thousands of calls on Friday. Concerned callers rang the Huntingdon-based HQ after receiving an email informing them that PS399.99 would be taken out of their account to pay for an iPod music player they'd supposedly ordered. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34388.html - - - - - - - - - - Japan police arrest two for file sharing In a rare police crackdown on Internet file-sharing, two Japanese men were arrested for allegedly disseminating movies and games with software that claimed to protect users' identities. The arrests -- only the second such case in Japan -- could signal a shift toward harsh penalties for anyone caught trading copyright material online. The entertainment industry had encouraged the crackdown. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/12/08/sharing.arrests.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Chinese court sentences Internet dissident to two years A former Chinese schoolteacher who appealed on the Internet for free labor unions and other political reforms was sentenced Monday to two years in prison on subversion charges, a human rights organization said. Yan Jun was sentenced after a trial in the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Xi'an, said a statement by the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7442943.htm - - - - - - - - - - 'Dial 9' scam snares Wilts Police BT and premium rate phone watchdog ICSTIS have once again reassured punters that an alleged phone scam that could cost them PS20 a minute is a hoax. The intervention of BT and ICSTIS follows a statement by Wiltshire Constabulary published on its Web site on Friday warning people to be on their guard against the alleged scam. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34389.html - - - - - - - - - - FTC investigates PetCo.com security hole Pet supply retailer PetCo disclosed this week that its security and privacy practices are the target of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is following up on an e-commerce security gaffe that left as many as 500,000 credit card numbers accessible from the Web earlier this year. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7581 - - - - - - - - - - Porn site attracts Thai government's ire to Britain A woman living in Britain is being targeted by the Thai government for displaying the Thai flag on her porn site. A Thai woman living in Britain faces possible extradition and imprisonment for displaying the Thai national flag on her pornographic Web site. The Web site also described Bangkok as a "city of sex", the Thai government has complained. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39118346,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - NatWest warns of dodgy email NatWest has warned people to ignore an email calling for punters to disclose private information about their bank accounts. The email - the latest in a series supposedly from UK banks seeking to con people into disclosing personal information - has apparently been sent randomly to both customers and non customers of NatWest. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34399.html - - - - - - - - - - Michigan, Ohio 7th in nation for victims of online fraud Michigan is tied in seventh place with Ohio for the number of residents filing complaints about fraud cases involving Internet auction sites, according to a federal agency. The Internet Fraud Complaint Center, created three years ago by the FBI, says about 2,500 people in each state filed such complaints last year. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/7438164.htm - - - - - - - - - - True cost of virus attacks to UK businesses is greater than feared Each virus and worm incident costs UK companies an average of PS122,000 - significantly higher than previously thought - according to research from user group, the Corporate IT Forum (Tif). The estimate, based on responses from Tifs 140 blue-chip IT users, comes after the worst year ever for worm and virus attacks, including the likes of MS Blaster/Welchia, Sobig and SQL Slammer. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=127072 - - - - - - - - - - Police hot on trail of computer crooks There's a little Big Brother in every personal computer, laptop and operating system produced today. That's bad news for what police and prosecutors call a growing number of criminals who use computers to victimize people. It's good news for city police Detective Howard Ommert, who uses the technology to catch them. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/news/s_168873.html - - - - - - - - - - Cybercops and robbers growing trickier on World Wide Web In the biggest sting operation of its kind in the history of the Internet, a German-led sweep this autumn smashed more than 30 child pornography rings and netted some 26,500 suspects in 61 countries. The secretly coordinated raids marked one of the most impressive victories against Internet crime to date, and heralded the gradual emergence of long overdue international cooperation in cyberspace law enforcement. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1005154.htm - - - - - - - - - - Feds, CIOs Unite on IT Security In a major change of heart for both sides, government representatives and corporate CIOs are for the first time pledging to share more information with each other in an effort to improve security across the nation's critical IT infrastructure. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1406161,00.asp Curbing cyberthreats depends on public-private partnerships, lawmakers say http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24362-1.html UK cold on mandatory security audits http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39118359,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spam spreads past filters Experts are questioning the effectiveness of traditional spam filters, after a new breed of junk mail structured like a worm and loaded with random words allowed many more messages to get through. The tactic resulted in a seven percent increase in the amount of unsolicited mail received by UK firms over the last fortnight, said anti-spam specialist MessageLabs. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151358 Scrubbing Away the Stain of Spam http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45495-2003Dec8.html House Set to Finish Can Spam Act http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/3286341 EU takes step on spam e-mail ban law http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2003-12-05-eu-spam-ban_x.htm Yahoo proposes new Internet anti-spam structure http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-12-05-yahoo-spam-switch_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Yahoo answers IM security flaw Yahoo has released an update to its IM software that patches a security hole found last week. Yahoo has issued an update to its instant-messaging software, in order to address a security flaw found in the application. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,39020336,39118352,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft making patchwork CD? Microsoft is planning to begin testing this week a security CD designed to allow users of older Windows systems to easily bring their PCs up to date--a new attempt to change a situation that has been a boon to virus writers and spammers. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5116185.html - - - - - - - - - - Apple updates Safari security Apple has released a security update for Both OS X Jaguar and Panther. The update prevents unauthorised access to a user's cookies. Secuirty Update 2003-12-05 is available via Software Update or as a download for OS X 10.2.x and OS X 10.3.x. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/?http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=51150 OS X cookie security-hole patched http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=7445 - - - - - - - - - - Iris, fingerprints and face to be used in ID card trial Iris, fingerprint and facial recognition will all be tested as part of the UK Passport Service's six-month trial of biometric technology ahead of the introduction of potentially compulsory national ID cards. The details have emerged with the announcement that SchlumbergerSema will run the trial, which will start in January next year with 10,000 individuals carrying biometric smart cards. http://www.silicon.com/management/government/0,39024677,39117244,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - The World Community against the Globalization of Crime and Terrorism January 20-21, 2004 the second international conference World Community against the Globalization of Crime and Terrorism will be held in Moscow. The conference will cover the crucial issues on consolidation efforts in fighting crime and terrorism. http://www.crime-research.org/news/2003/12/Mess0504.html - - - - - - - - - - Negotiators narrow differences ahead of UN summit Negotiators from 192 countries have narrowed differences on setting the global ground rules for expanding use of the Internet, but remain undecided on whether rich nations should help their poor counterparts pay for the increase. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7442224.htm http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5116191.html http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/08/technology/internet.reut/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - Fortune 500 firms pick smartcard security More than one third of enterprise companies will rely on smartcard technology by 2006. Increasing enterprise interest and commitment to smartcard- based security will see more than one third of corporates using the technology by 2006, a recently released study has found. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151374 - - - - - - - - - - Home User Security: Personal Firewalls Firewalls play a crucial role in network and computer security. Part I of this series, Home User Security: Your First Defense, examined the typical functions of firewalls and how they can be of use on an individual level. More specifically, the need for personal firewalls in the home office was discussed. Now we will explore some of the best options on the market, many of which are available free of charge or are already installed on major operating systems. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1750 *********************************************************** 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.