NewsBits for December 29, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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/ - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 - - - - - - - - - - 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 *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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