NewsBits for December 30, 2003 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Saudis arrest 5 after seizing bomb-making CDs Saudi authorities, facing a wave of militant attacks, have arrested five people after raiding computer shops selling compact disks containing hidden bomb-making instructions, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. Police were questioning four owners of computer shops in the southern Jazan region and a fifth person believed to have supplied the CDs to the shops, Al-Watan newspaper said. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/25/saudi.disks.reut/index.html - - - - - - - - - - FBI probes hack at e-voting software company The FBI is investigating an intrusion into a computer network at an e-vote software company, which suspects the hack was politically motivated. VoteHere, a 7- year-old company in Bellevue, Wash., on Tuesday confirmed reports that its network had been breached in October. The company identified a suspect and said it turned the case over to the FBI, the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney's office for an investigation that is ongoing. http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5134106.html - - - - - - - - - - Woman ticketed for appearing naked on Internet It wasn't the fact that Melissa J. Harrington appeared naked on the Internet that got her in trouble with police. It was where she got naked. The 21-year-old Web designer was busted for violating Lincoln's public nudity ordinance by posting pictures on her Web site that apparently showed her naked in a downtown bar. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/12/30/offbeat.naked.web.ticket.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-12-30-naked-lincolnite_x.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/34674.html - - - - - - - - - - Hoaxes befall banks in England, Singapore Recent incidents involving The Bank of England and Singapore's DBS Bank point to continued security risks in the realm of Internet banking. The Bank of England said Tuesday that it had intercepted more than 100,000 fraudulent e-mails masquerading as computer security software issued by the central bank. http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5134038.html http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/12/30/uk.bankhoax/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Maine Computer Crimes Probes Face Backlog Investigators who check computers for evidence of child pornography, fraud, stalking and other crimes face a money shortage as a backlog of cases awaiting investigation approaches 80, officials with Maine's Computer Crimes Task Force said. "I could keep 10 more examiners busy full-time up here," said Sgt. Glenn Lang, the Maine State Police computer task force supervisor. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7599454.htm - - - - - - - - - - New E-Mail Security Threat: Cyber Blackmail The blackmail con relies on the public's awareness that remote control of PCs is technologically possible. "End-users know that someone could break in and steal data or could plant incriminating stuff," says F-Secure research manager Mikko Hypponen. http://www.enterprise-security-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=22925 - - - - - - - - - - IRS sets timetable for encrypting tax returns The IRS will require professional tax preparers, software vendors and third-party transmitters to use approved encryption methods when sending individual and business tax return information over dedicated lines, beginning in 2005. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24524-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Unrepentant spammer to carry on, within the law Alan Ralsky, according to experts in the field, has long been one of the most prolific senders of junk e-mail messages in the world. But he has not sent a single message over the Internet in the last few weeks. He stopped sending e-mail offers for everything from debt repayment schemes to time-share vacations even before President Bush, on Dec. 16, signed the new Can-Spam Act, a law meant to crack down on marketers like Ralsky. http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5134055.html http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/30/technology/30spam.html - - - - - - - - - - A year of spam, spyware and worms This is the year the Internet officially stopped being fun. The festering problems of spam, spyware, viruses, worms and pop-ups boiled over, making the online experience merely annoying at best, financially and emotionally destructive at worst. http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/3831715/ - - - - - - - - - - Mitnick offers cash for hacking tales Mitnick used e-mail messages to online security discussion groups and his Web page to issue a call to the hacking community for stories of online derring-do, promising an award of $500 for the "most provocative story," according to Mitnick. http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/12/29/HNmitnickcash_1.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,88647,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Checklist for Deploying an IDS Installing a Network IDS (NIDS) onto a network requires a significant amount of thought and planning. In addition to the technical issues and product selection there are resource issues, from product cost to manning the sensor feeds and supporting the infrastructure that must also be considered. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1754 - - - - - - - - - - Oh Dan Geer, where art thou? Remember Dan Geer-Dr. Dan Geer to you-who was fired from security firm @stake in late September for sounding off against Microsoft as a "national security threat" in the report "CyberSecurity: The Cost of Monopoly"? http://napps.nwfusion.com/weblogs/security/003879.html - - - - - - - - - - Ridge: Merged terrorist watch list due next year Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge said the government will combine about a dozen terrorist watch lists into one next year. Ridge said that the interagency Terrorist Screening Center, run by the FBI, now is carrying out the watch list function. Officials from several agencies at the center check numerous databases to determine if an individual appears on a terrorist watch list. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24523-1.html *********************************************************** 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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