NewsBits for February 17, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Belgian virus author arrested Gigabyte, one of the few women in the male-dominated world of the virus-writing underground, has been arrested. The 19-year-old author of viruses such as Coconut, Sahay and Sharp, was arrested by the Belgian police force last Monday evening in her home town of Mechelen, according to reports. She was released 24 hours after questioning and charged with computer data sabotage. If convicted she could face between six months and three years in jail and fines of up to 100,000. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/?http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=53613 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/35580.html - - - - - - - - - - Police arrest Forces Reunited 'hacker' Police have questioned a Lancashire man suspected of hacking the Forces Reunited Web site. The unnamed 29 year-old from Chorley, Lancashire was arrested and questioned last week by Wiltshire Police probing a cyber attack against the military equivalent of the popular Friends Reunited. After questioning, the man was released on police bail pending further inquiries, reports. A number of computers were seized from the mans address and will now undergo forensic examination. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35571.html - - - - - - - - - - Ex-Marine pleads guilty to abduction An American pleaded guilty Thursday to abducting a 12-year-old British girl he met in an Internet chat room. Toby Studabaker, 32, changed his earlier not guilty plea in a hearing at Manchester Crown Court in northern England, admitting charges of abduction and incitement to gross indecency. Studabaker traveled to France and Germany with the schoolgirl; he was arrested in Germany on July 16 and extradited to Britain. In Germany, he told a court he did not have sex with the girl and that he thought she was 18. He did not contest his extradition. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-marine13.html - - - - - - - - - - Former State Employee Sentenced Ralph Culver, 52, of Burlington was sentenced Friday at a Burlington District Court hearing after pleading guilty to attempting to lure a child for sexual purposes using the internet. Culver told Judge Linda Leavitt he was suffering from a sexual addiction when last year when he established chat room communications with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl. He did it using the computer in the Burlington office where he had been employed for more than twenty years with Vermont's social welfare department. http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=1645261&nav=4QcSKpHh - - - - - - - - - - Man accused of having child porn An Ottawa man has been charged for downloading child pornography onto his personal computer and using a hidden camera to record a 13-year-old girl. The 37-year-old man was charged Feb. 3 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with one count of capturing a nude image, 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and 12 counts of possession of child pornography. The man is not being identified, to protect the identity of the girl, who is an acquaintance of the man. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1400&dept_id=173211&newsid=10919167&PAG=461&rfi=9 - - - - - - - - - - Halethorpe man charged in child pornography case A 27-year-old former band assistant at North Carroll High School has been charged with four counts of sending child pornography over the Internet to two teen-age students whom he allegedly solicited to pose naked for him, authorities said yesterday. Donald Edward Godman of the 900 block of Francis Ave. in Halethorpe, Baltimore County, was a part- time percussion instructor and band assistant at the school when he began instant messaging the girls on the computer as far back as 2000, according to charging documents in Carroll County District Court. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-md.ca.band14feb14,0,2553800.story - - - - - - - - - - Judge denies bail for man busted in chat-room sting David Pagliuca's mother cried softly as he was led from the courtroom in Lynn District court in handcuffs Friday after a judge denied bail in his dangerousness hearing. Pagliuca, 29, of 80 Bayley Street, Westwood, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of enticement of a child under 16 after being snagged in a sting operation by Saugus police detectives. Pagliuca went to the Square One Mall thinking he was heading for a tryst with a 15-year old girl, but was arrested by four detectives. http://www2.thedailyitemoflynn.com/news/moreCoverage.bg?articleid=167 http://www3.dailynewstranscript.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=26852 - - - - - - - - - - FBI arrests Kentucky man on child sex charge A Louisville, Ky., man will go before a Nashville federal magistrate today on charges that he traveled to Nashville to have sex with a minor. The FBI and Metro police arrested Lawrence W. Taylor, 53, on Sunday at the Truck Stops of America at Old Hickory Boulevard at Interstate 24 near the Rutherford County line. He was waiting for a minor, said Jon Stephens, special agent. More than a month ago, Taylor entered a computer chat room looking for a sexual encounter with a girl under the age of 12, investigators said. He eventually hooked up with what turned out to be an undercover agent in Atlanta and made arrangements for the agent to provide him with a girl, Stephens said. http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/02/47065885.shtml?Element_ID=47065885 - - - - - - - - - - GROOMING PERVS FACE 10 YRS JAIL PERVERTS who groom children on the internet could be jailed for 10 years, it was confirmed yesterday. The Scottish Executive plan tough new laws to target predators who plot to abuse kids by befriending them in chatrooms. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson will fast-track legislation through parliament. It will be similar to the Sexual Offences Bill going through Westminster. That bill will make it an offence for an adult to adopt a fictitious identity in chatrooms. Anyone convicted of grooming children by swapping e-mails will face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/content_objectid=13954557_method=full_siteid=89488_headline=-GROOMING-PERVS-FACE-10-YRS-JAIL-name_page.html - - - - - - - - - - Woodbine hacker regrets his 'evil' actions A former employee of Woodbine Entertainment Group has admitted that he wrongfully hacked into the personal e-mail of Hugh Mitchell, WEG's senior vice-president of racing. Ken Hornick, who now works for Standardbred Canada, told Mitchell in an e-mail yesterday that he regretted his ''evil'' actions. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040217.gtharness17/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Outcry as Chinese Net dissident arrested A Chinese dissident has been arrested by police after being accused of posting subversive messages on the Internet. According to official state media, 40-year-old Du Daobin was arrested for "inciting subversion of China's state power and [the] overthrow of China's socialist system" after posting 28 articles on the Net since 2001. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/35619.html - - - - - - - - - - Glitch exposes identities of Amazon reviewers Many sign their names. Many don't. They're the book reviewers on Amazon.com who use such words as "masterful," "page-turner" and "tear-jerker." But the ones who sign their critiques only as "a reader from (fill in the city)" lost their anonymity this week when their identities were revealed on Amazon.com's Canadian Web site. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7955264.htm - - - - - - - - - - Leaked Code Is Traced to Microsoft Partner Firm Nothing is more sacred to Microsoft Corp. than the millions of lines of programming code that make up its flagship Windows operating system. It's the computer world's equivalent of Coca-Cola's secret formula or the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices. It's the crown jewels that make Microsoft among the most powerful companies on the planet. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-micro14feb14,1,1357848.story http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8060 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152805 http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/24946-1.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4253584/ http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=The_Big_Leak__Windows_Source_Code_on_Net&story_id=23169 Windows code up for grabs (series of stories) http://zdnet.com.com/2251-1110-5158921.html FBI joins Microsoft code hunt http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152775 Flaw on Tuesday, exploit by Monday http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35592.html MS security flaws slammed http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/top_news_item.cfm?NewsID=7938 - - - - - - - - - - No coffee, but here's another Bagle A variant of the mass-mailing Bagle virus started spreading Tuesday, as U.S. businesses returned from the long weekend. Like the original virus, Bagle.B spreads by sending an e-mail message with an attached copy of its code; a PC is infected when the recipient opens the attachment. The virus, which is programmed to stop spreading Feb. 25, installs software on a person's PC to allow Bagle.B's creator to take control of the computer. http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5160268.html - - - - - - - - - - Warning of gestating worm A new mass-mailing worm is preparing to spread, according to monitoring firm MessageLabs. Email- filtering company MessageLabs has issued an early warning to antivirus vendors that a new mass- mailing worm may be on the march. The anti-virus community had about eight to 12 hours, starting from about 1 p.m. today (2 a.m. GMT) to prepare for the suspected new worm, according to MessageLabs. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39146558,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - So not intimidated Dorm downloaders aren't fazed by recent lawsuits, they've just sharpened their skills. On a recent weekday afternoon, a 19-year-old college freshman named Shawn sat in his dorm room at the University of Southern California and broke the law: He illegally downloaded a copyrighted song off the Internet. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ca-day15feb15,1,5584243.story - - - - - - - - - - Movie industry group sues maker of DVD-copying program A film industry group that oversees copy protection technology of movie DVDs filed a patent infringement lawsuit Friday against 321 Studios Inc., the maker of popular DVD-copying programs. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest salvo by the DVD Copy Control Association in its larger fight against what the movie industry considers unauthorized usage of its content. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7950558.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39146323,00.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2004-02-16-canada-music-swamps_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - RIAA sues 531 more Internet users over music downloads The recording industry sued 531 more computer users Tuesday it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet in what has become a routine reminder that college students, teenagers and others can face expensive lawsuits for swapping music online. The Recording Industry Association of America filed the latest complaints against ``John Doe'' defendants in lawsuits in Atlanta; Philadelphia; Orlando, Fla.; and Trenton, N.J. It said the defendants were customers of one of five Internet providers based in those cities. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7973747.htm http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4287111/ http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040217.gtdown17/BNStory/Technology/ Music industry's case to ID 'uploaders' adjourned http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040217.gtdown17/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Code attacks Windows vulnerability A piece of code that exploits a critical vulnerability that Microsoft issued a patch for only last week has been posted online, raising fears of an imminent MSBlast-style attack. On Feb. 10, Microsoft released a patch that fixes a networking flaw that affects all Windows XP, NT, 2000 and Server 2003 systems. The company warned people to patch their systems, because the vulnerability could be exploited by virus and worm writers. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5160006.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4286828/ What Microsoft's code leak means to you and me http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/AnchorDesk/4520-7297_16-5121802.html - - - - - - - - - - Bluesnarfing tools 'spreading quickly' The software tools required to steal information from Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones are widely available on the Web, and knowledge of how to use them is growing, according to a researcher. An MP has called for mobile phone manufacturers to make a greater effort and fix the Bluetooth security problems in their handsets after a researcher revealed that software tools enabling a bluesnarf attack are widely available on the Internet. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0,39020348,39146427,00.htm Search wars are about to get personal http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-5158591.html - - - - - - - - - - Security Still Reigns as Wireless 'Weakest Link' Although companies are tightening the security of Windows-based servers, they face some unknown risks when corporate data takes to the streets. After all, wireless Internet connectivity on notebook computers and PDAs carries all of the risks seen within corporate walls, but the dangers are magnified when security is lacking. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/32874.html - - - - - - - - - - iPolicy Brings Carrier-Class Security Downstream Ipolicy Networks this week is debuting the latest in its line of ipEnforcer unified security products geared for the enterprise along with an accompanying channel program. The ipEnforcer 3100 and 3400 enterprise- class security systems are based on the carrier-class ipEnforcer products, said Prabhu Goel, chairman and CEO of Fremont, Calif.-based iPolicy. http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/dailyarchives.asp?ArticleID=47996 Forum delivers XML firewall http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/02/16/07NNforum_1.html - - - - - - - - - - UK workers too busy to worry about viruses It's either "not my fault. I'm too busy to worry about it," or "who cares?" Those are the attitudes of the average British worker when it comes to looking out for viruses, according to research commissioned by Novell into worker attitudes. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=news.view&news=3825 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152809 - - - - - - - - - - Anti-virus industry: white knight or black hat? Opinion One has to wonder whether the anti-virus industry sleeps well at night. On one hand, it purports to serve the world by defending our computers and networks from any number of electronic critters and malicious code. On the other hand, sometimes its "cure" is worse than the problem its products allegedly treat. Add to that the decades-old concerns over business, market share and publicity, and you have all the ingredients for industry, product and service confusion. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35579.html - - - - - - - - - - Spammers exploit high-speed connections Next time you're looking for a culprit for all that junk mail flooding your inbox, have a glance in the mirror. Spammers are increasingly exploiting home computers with high-speed Internet connections into which they've cleverly burrowed. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/7966797.htm http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/02/17/spam.zombies.ap/index.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. 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