NewsBits for January 9, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Student who spoofed prof online sues after cops threaten charges A former college student whose computer was confiscated by police after he poked fun at a professor on his Web site filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming police violated his free speech. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-01-09-howling-lawyers_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Adrian Lamo Cuts Deal With Feds When 22-year-old Adrian Lamo pled guilty Thursday to breaking into The New York Times' computer network, he didn't seem nervous, scared or contrite. He looked worn out. Old. Since his surrender to federal authorities in September 2003, Lamo's friends, far-flung relatives and former co-workers have all been questioned by the FBI, he claims. Banks won't take his money. Employers are wary of hiring him. And, for the first time in years, the young man dubbed the "Homeless Hacker" for his habit of sleeping on friends' couches and in abandoned buildings has been ordered by a federal judge to remain under his parents' roof. http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,61831,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Trial shows flaws in Pennsylvania Internet porn law Pennsylvania state officials pressed ahead with enforcement of a child-pornography law even though they were told it would render thousands of legitimate Web sites inaccessible, officials told a U.S. judge on Thursday. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-01-09-pc-filter-trial_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Email scam targets Westpac Internet banking users have been warned of a sophisticated scam targeting Westpac bank customers. The federal Member for Denison, Duncan Kerr, says random email messages have been sent out claiming to be from the Westpac Banking Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1022253.htm - - - - - - - - - - Lieberman Unveils Privacy Protection Plan Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman on Friday pledged to break the "Bush wall of secrecy" with proposals designed to safeguard personal information and open unnecessary secrets in federal government. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3141-2004Jan9.html http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,61862,00.html Ruling clarifies data rules http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151897 - - - - - - - - - - New malware masquerades as Microsoft update A Trojan horse program that appears to be a Microsoft Corp. security update can download malicious code from a remote Web site and install a back door on the compromised computer, leaving it vulnerable to remote control. IDefense Inc., a Reston, Va., computer security company, said the malicious code is the latest example of so-called social engineering to fool Windows users. It is similar to the W32Swen worm, which last year passed itself off as a Microsoft patch. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24599-1.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,88940,00.html - - - - - - - - - - New laws will make spam worse New European and US legislation is so far failing to stem the increasing tide of spam that companies must deal with, with some industry experts claiming the laws will precipitate an increase in junk mail. The European Privacy and Communications Directive came into effect on 11 December, but in the same month the UK became one of the worst offenders for sending unsolicited email, according to rankings compiled by anti-spam organisation Spamhaus. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151902 CAN-SPAM means we can spam http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34790.html - - - - - - - - - - Spam and virus techniques overlap A year on from the debut of SoBig.A, the first virus to converge spam and virus writing techniques, its legacy continues, warns a security company. Managed email security firm MessageLabs predicted that this convergent attack style will be extensive during 2004 as the techniques of spammers and virus writers overlap. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151907 And now were are One. Many unhappy returns to SoBig http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/34799.html - - - - - - - - - - Flaws raise red flag on Linux security A report earlier this week about a critical flaw in the Linux kernel was the latest in a series of recently discovered security problems with the popular open-source operating system. But many users were unfazed by the report and said Linux remains a solid and secure environment for running enterprise applications. http://computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,88936,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Dead VeriSign certificates cause glitches VeriSign moved to allay confusion on Thursday, after the expiration of some of its certificates that verified it as a certificate-issuing authority. Users have experienced problems when accessing pages that use secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption on sites whose certification depended on VeriSign's own expired certificates. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5138356.html VeriSign's dead certificates 'knocked out Norton' http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39118996,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Rock Stars: Don't Rip Us Off, Man Rock stars, soul singers and famous faces from the movies came to Las Vegas on Thursday to help one of the world's largest computer companies make a pitch against digital piracy. Rocker Sheryl Crow, U2 guitarist The Edge and actor Ben Affleck spoke out against piracy after a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show by Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, who pledged her company would protect artists' rights in all its devices. http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,61860,00.html Fiorina calls for defense of digital rights http://news.com.com/2100-7353-5138044.html P2P threat is set to increase http://www.vnunet.com/News/1151898 - - - - - - - - - - Chips to fight viruses AMD and Intel are developing technology that will prevent processors being hijacked by attackers. Advanced Micro Devices and Intel plan to release technology that will allow processors to stop many attacks before they occur. Execution Protection by AMD, technology contained in AMD's Athlon 64 chips, prevents a buffer overflow, which is a common method used to attack computers. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/chips/0,39020354,39118981,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Plans fail to prevent 'IT disasters' Although nearly all large companies have a business continuity plan, more than half have suffered an 'IT disaster' during the past five years, according to new research. Some of the UK's leading companies are inadequately protected from IT disasters, according to a survey of FTSE100 firms. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/management/0,39020654,39119002,00.htm The IT agenda for the New Year http://www.computing.co.uk/Analysis/1151871 - - - - - - - - - - Dell in front line of War on Terror We're relieved to report today that al-Qaeda will not be sourcing PDAs online from US websites, well not from Dell at least. Reader Stephen Mills alerted us to the company's stringent security checks which vet potential purchasers. As a result, we can sleep sounder in our beds safe in the knowledge that Osama bin Laden will not have the comfort of reading the new Mobile Register in whichever stinking hole in the ground he is currently occupying. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/34781.html - - - - - - - - - - Cuba tightens its control over Internet Cuba is tightening its control over the Internet, prohibiting Internet access over the low-cost government phone service most ordinary citizens have at home under a new law announced Friday. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-01-09-cuba-net_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - High-Tech Caretaker Snug at home in Hamilton, Mass., Ralph W. Sevinor keeps a watchful eye out for possible floods or break-ins at his vacation house 1,500 miles away in Delray Beach, Fla. not to mention unwanted stacks of newspapers and U.P.S. men, who might drop off perishables when he is not in Florida to collect them. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/09/realestate/09CARE.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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