NewsBits for December 29, 2003 sponsored by,
Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu
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E-Voting Firm Acknowledges Hacker Break-in
A company developing security technology for electronic
voting suffered an embarrassing hacker break-in that
executives think was tied to the rancorous debate over
the safety of casting ballots online.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39285-2003Dec29.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/3825143/
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/12/29/voting.hack.ap/index.html
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Mexico shuts down 390 child-pornography websites
The Mexican government shut down 390 Internet
sites that distributed child-pornography in 2003,
the local daily El Universal reported on Tuesday.
The authorities managed to capture 20 people
suspected of distributing illicit material that
promoted sex tourism and trafficking of minors
through the Internet, the daily said. Of the
390 sites, 197 were created in Mexico City.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-12/24/content_1246063.htm
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Suspect Internet Predator to Appear in Court
A Roseville man engaged to be married is accused
of trying to solicit sexual favors from a young
boy on the internet. The Wayne Country Sheriff's
department says he is the sixth suspected child
predator caught in the last six weeks. The internet
crime unit officers at the Wayne County Sheriff's
department have been busy this year nabbing suspected
child predators. They say the latest case goes
to show that boys are just as victimized as girls,
and parents need to be aware and involved.
http://www.wxyz.com/wxyz/nw_local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_2526619,00.html
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Area police combat Internet crime in different manners
Computers are everywhere. In businesses, homes, schools,
libraries and even airports, more and more people are
using computers for a variety of purposes. From shopping
and banking to taking college courses and playing video
games, computers provide instant access to unparalleled
educational and recreational opportunities. Chat rooms
and e-mails are now replacing telephones as the preferred
means of communicating with faraway loved ones, friends
- and even strangers. But law-abiding citizens aren't
the only ones taking advantage of the conveniences of
today's computer technology. Criminals, including child
predators, are using computers and the Internet as
a means to prey on unsuspecting victims.
http://www.townonline.com/amesbury/news/local_regional/an_newaninterne12262003.htm
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Cyberblackmailers target office workers
Cyberblackmail artists are shaking down office
workers, threatening to delete computer files
or install pornographic images on their work PCs
unless they pay a ransom, police and security
experts said. The extortion scam, which is believed
to have surfaced one year ago, indiscriminately
targets anyone on the corporate ladder with a
PC connected to the Internet.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39118806,00.htm
http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5133837.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3831732/
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/12/29/cyber.blackmail.reut/index.html
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,88623,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1017847.htm
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Online job scammers steal millions
Catherine, a recruiting specialist, was out of work
for nearly a year when a friend sent her a job opening
listed at Vault.com. Ready to try almost anything,
she quickly responded to the ad and e-mailed her
resume, applying for a position as "correspondence
manager." And just that quickly, she became an
unwitting member of an Internet scam that's being
blamed for a half billion dollars in attempted
thefts from U.S. firms during the past 18 months.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3730401/
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Another bank spoof phishes for data
Singapore's DBS Bank is the latest victim of
scammers who lure customers to fake Web sites
and attempt to trick them into entering personal
data. Hong Kong is trying to shut a Web site
masquerading as an online banking service for
Singapore's DBS Bank, becoming the fourth bank
to report a suspicious Web site in Hong Kong
this month.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39118802,00.htm
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Latest 'phishing' scam targets Visa customers
Security experts are warning of a new Internet
scam that preys on Visa credit card holders, using
e-mail and a specially designed Web site to harvest
customer account numbers and personal identification
numbers. The ruse is the latest example of so-called
phisher scams and comes as one e-mail security
company reports incidents of such scams, which
use decoy Web pages and spam messages to trick
unsuspecting users into divulging sensitive
information, were up 400% this holiday season.
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,88583,00.html
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Teen 419er in Trainspotting drug hell
We were always led to believe that it's tough up North,
but good Lord, we never imagined how truly Dickensian
things could be - especially if you're a 14-year-old
lad living in some kind of Trainspotting nightmare
scenario.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/34666.html
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Terror warning conceals virus
A virus hidden in an email purporting to warn of
planned terrorist attacks is spreading in Malaysia.
A new virus is spreading by email in Malaysia,
combining threats of terrorist plans and a Trojan
horse virus. Victims receive an email that claims
to warn of five planned terrorist attacks, with
the times and places leaked by an anonymous
Malaysian government source. The email's subject
line is "Urgent message to all citizens of Malaysia",
and the email says it seeks to minimise the number
of terrorist victims by spreading the terrorist
attacks information, reported the Star, a Malaysian
daily.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/applications/0,39020384,39118800,00.htm
http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39117517,00.htm
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New laws passed to combat cybercrime
Cyberspace has become recognized as a major
new frontier of law enforcement, as businesses
and individuals alike sustain increasingly heavy
losses from "cyberburglars," unrestrained
spammers, and those who take delight in
unleashing computer viruses on the world.
Taipei-based attorney Brian Kennedy examines
recent developments in the fight against
cybercrime in Taiwan.
http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/current/03122671.html
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Will DVD acquittal mean tougher copyright laws?
The acquittal of a Norwegian programmer charged
with breaking Hollywood's DVD encryption scheme
could lend new urgency to the entertainment industry's
efforts to enact tougher global copyright laws.
Norwegian authorities tried Jon Johansen on criminal
charges for writing a software tool that can be
used to overcome anticopying technology built
into most commercial DVDs. On Monday, an appeals
court threw out the government's case, agreeing
with a lower court that Johansen had done
nothing wrong under Norwegian law.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5133152.html
In chasing movie pirates, Hollywood treads lightly
http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5133522.html
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Teachers' union calls for camera phone ban
Scotland's second largest teaching union has urged
local authorities to issue clear instructions banning
the use of camera phones in schools. It is concerned
that paedophiles could abuse photos of children taken
on them, and that they could help pupils cheat in
exams.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151722
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Congress says it hates spam (except its own)
Even as Congress was unanimously approving a
law aimed at reducing the flow of junk e-mail,
members were sending out hundreds of thousands
of unsolicited messages to constituents.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5133720.html
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Online crime up in 2003
It seems 2003 was a productive year for phishers,
online auction scammers and Nigerians professing
a deep sense of purpose and utmost sincerity,
judging from the latest stats from the Internet
Fraud Complaint Center. The center reports receiving
over 120,000 online fraud complaints through its
website this year -- an increase of 60% over the
75,000 complaints counted in 2002.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7714
Romania tackles rise in cyber-crime
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3344721.stm
Re:Viewing 2003: The return of the virus
http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39117489,00.htm
GOT SPAM? IT'S THE TOP 'PRODUCT' OF THE YEAR
http://www.nypost.com/business/14475.htm
Computer Crime: New Kind of Professional Crime
http://www.crime-research.org/library/Polivan1103eng.html
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Internet Crime Center Changes Name
In an effort to more accurately reflect the wide-
ranging nature of on-line complaints being reported,
the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center
(NW3C) today announced that the Internet Fraud
Complaint Center will now be called the Internet
Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.
http://www.insidebaltimore.com/news/technology/03-12-24-ic3.shtml
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel03/ic3122303.htm
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FinCEN to expand data-sharing system
The Treasury Department has given Information
Analysis Inc. of Fairfax, Va., a contract worth
up to $9.9 million over five years to enhance
and operate the Secure Outreach and Gateway Web
system for its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24513-1.html
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Identity Crisis
Bring up the idea of a national identification card
and you're asking for trouble. Sure, it might sound
good in theory. Entrepreneurs and politicians have
said that ID cards would keep terrorists off airplanes
and out of buildings. Cards linked to law enforcement
databases would ensure travelers weren't on watch
lists or wanted for other crimes.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.01/start.html
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Security predictions for 2004
In 2004, information security professionals will
experience more of the darker side of human behavior,
but organizations will also take more control over
their network and computing infrastructures,
particularly end-user systems.
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,88113,00.html
Forecast 2004 Roundup (series of stories)
http://computerworld.com/news/2003/story/0,11280,88379,00.html
2003 Review of the Year: Security
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151740
Buyouts Aimed At Improving Security
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=17000443
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Spyware watches 'every keystroke'
Downloaders of free digital music should be aware
their computers may be infected with spyware that
could compromise passwords and even online bank
accounts, says the president of a prominent global
Internet security company.
http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=F4B2D6AD-E877-4A20-87A4-368FE080A518
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Web addresses get nip and tuck--and spam
A crop of Web sites have sprung up with the mission
of making long, easily breakable Web addresses shorter
--and at least one of them is trying to make money at
the idea. Sites like TinyURL.com, Shorlify and Make
A Shorter Link aim to solve a problem as old as the
mainstream Web itself: After database-generated Web
addresses, also known as uniform resource locators
(URLs), get to be a certain length, they become not
only impossible to remember, but difficult to forward
between some e-mail programs that automatically insert
line breaks.
http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-5132457.html
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Internet postings anger crime victims
Mary Kate Gach hoped she'd heard the last of Jack
Trawick when he went to death row for abducting
and murdering her daughter in 1992, but she hadn't.
Trawick's twisted writings about how he beat,
strangled and stabbed Stephanie Gach and killed
other women are available for anyone who wants
to read them on the Internet, courtesy of
a one-time pen pal and admirer.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWS/StoryAlabamaKILLONLINE28W.htm
Online Data Conflict With Desire for Privacy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30795-2003Dec25.html
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Fla. sheriff adds biometrics to bookings
Pinellas County, Fla., is using biometrics tools from
Viisage Technology Inc. of Littleton, Mass., to verify
identities in the countys 3,000-bed correctional
facility. Staff members take digital images of the
individuals as soon as their arresting officers turn
them over to the Sheriffs Office.
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24505-1.html
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