NewsBits for February 18, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Record Labels' Suits Accuse 531 of Piracy The recording industry, continuing its effort to thwart music piracy, sued an additional 531 people it said were illegally posting songs over the Internet for free downloads. The people, identified only by numbers known as their Internet protocol address, were named in five lawsuits filed in Philadelphia; Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; and Trenton, N.J., according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48299-2004Feb17.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-rup18.4feb18,1,2171797.story RIAA Continues Relentless Legal Campaign http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=RIAA_Continues_Relentless_Legal_Campaign&story_id=23201 - - - - - - - - - - FBI Busts Alleged Pedophile Ring Three men were arrested last week in a federal child molestation bust, KMBC's Tom Corvin reported. Federal agents say the ring started on the Internet. Kurt Sandvig, 42, a local car dealer, is accused of being part of the ring. Sandvig allegedly traveled to the Milwaukee area to have sex with young boys. "The affidavit mentions at least three child victims -- all boys -- involved in the case," FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said. The FBI alleges a man in Beaver Dam, Wis., hosted men he met on the Internet so they could have sex with underage boys. http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/2854651/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Stoughton Man Accused Of Sex With Children A Stoughton man is facing federal charges of having sex with children and sending explicit images over the Internet. James Perry, 34, was arrested Friday night. He's accused of creating, participating in and executing a scheme involving the sexual exploitation of children. The FBI is handling the case because it allegedly involved interstate communications http://www.channel3000.com/news/2852229/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Virus alert: Bagle_B A second strain of the Bagle worm that appeared last month has been detected on home computers. The original Bagle worm worried some experts because it was programmed to stop working after a specific date. Some experts believed this indicated that Bagle_A was released only to test how quickly it would spread and that another incarnation with a more deadly payload would soon appear. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152844 http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8722463%255E8362,00.html http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2004/0402180942.asp http://www.computing.co.uk/News/1152837 http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152837 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/35625.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,90264,00.html Net users hit with two new worms http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4303410/ - - - - - - - - - - Second NetSky worm on the loose The second version of a two-day-old virus, NetSky, has started spreading more successfully than its parent, antivirus researchers said on Wednesday. The new variant, NetSky.b, uses e-mail to sends copies of itself to potential victims--people with computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. It also stores copies of itself in shared directories, apparently to facilitate its propagation via file-sharing networks. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5161036.html - - - - - - - - - - WHERE ARE YOU? Microsoft has issued letters warning people who have downloaded its leaked source code that such actions are "in violation of the law". It has also "instituted the use of alerts" on several peer-to-peer clients where such illegal sharing of the source code has taken place. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152864 http://computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,90270,00.html Microsoft cracks down on source-code traders http://news.com.com/2100-7355-5161205.html Code leak flaw may exist, admits Microsoft http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152858 Source code opens window to old IE flaw http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5160566.html Hackers take advantage of Microsoft ASN flaw http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,90259,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Home Office to centralise police intelligence Police officers are still deleting important records because they fear prosecution under the Data Protection Act, according to the Police Federation. The organisation, which represents rank and file officers, called for clarification of the way the Act should be implemented, in a submission to the Birchard Inquiry into police handling of data, set up following the Soham murders. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/53/35648.html - - - - - - - - - - Fraud and phishing attacks soar Email fraud and phishing attacks rocketed by more than 50 per cent in January, with around six new attacks sent to millions of consumers each day. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152838 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35635.html - - - - - - - - - - ID theft victims face tough bank fights Robert Korinke was home having an early Christmas dinner with his family on Dec. 23 when there was an unexpected knock at the front door. It was a delivery service with an urgent package -- but this was no holiday gift. It was notice they were being sued by Homecomings Financial Network Inc. for $75,000, plus attorney's fees. The retired California couple's offense? They had been victims of identity theft three years earlier. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4264051/ - - - - - - - - - - Computer program teaches kids safety on the Internet A new interactive computer program offers kids a way to protect themselves from Internet predators. Gov. Benson, Attorney General Peter Heed and Education Commissioner Nicholas Donohue on Wednesday unveiled the program known as NetSmartz Workshop to educate children about the dangers of the Internet. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2004-02-18-net-safety_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spam keeps cookin'--despite new laws A U.S. Justice Department prosecutor warned Tuesday that a new spam law's criminal sanctions likely will not stem the flow of bulk solicitations that are flooding into e-mail in-boxes. Criminal laws "haven't done much to deter virus writers and hackers," said Anthony Teelucksingh, an attorney in the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5160503.html AOL, EarthLink advance "spam" lawsuits http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-02-18-spam-lawsuits_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Handheld porn comes closer Adult content provider MobVision is fully launching its content delivery and billing system for mobile phones. Mobile porn has long been predicted as the saviour of next generation phones and researchers at Visiongain estimate that profits from adult content could be $4b a year by 2006. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/64/35649.html - - - - - - - - - - Arming Linux against hackers A more secure version of Linux created by the US National Security Agency is free to download. Don't be naive enough to think that because you run Linux you won't be a target for hackers. If you rely on Linux for hosting or transmitting sensitive data, you should check out Security-Enhanced Linux, created by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and available for free. http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/software/developer/0,39020469,39146636,00.htm Macs and viruses -- are users as safe as they think? http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,90263,00.html - - - - - - - - - - New service promises no more web or IM viruses An IT security company has launched in the UK, claiming that its outsourced security service can protect enterprises from the threat of web and IM-borne viruses. The service from Scansafe routes a customers web traffic through a proxy, monitoring for virus activity in file downloads and malicious Java, Javascript and ActiveX code executed when users visit infected websites or use instant messaging. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=128476&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=2&liChannelID=22&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1 - - - - - - - - - - New Sophos PureMessage provides consolidated defence against spam, viruses NetXactics, local distributor for Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses from spam and viruses, has announced the release of Sophos's consolidated anti-spam and anti-virus solution, PureMessage 4.5. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/software/2004/0402180752.asp? - - - - - - - - - - Military automates security reviews of its Web sites Ottawa-based Coast Software Inc. today announced that it has struck a deal with the Pentagon to provide the military with its Web Quality Central software to automatically scrub Defense Department Web sites for sensitive operational information and ensure adherence to privacy policies. http://computerworld.com/developmenttopics/websitemgmt/story/0,10801,90273,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Hot-spot use to heat up in 2004 The number of people who use Wi-Fi hot spots globally is likely to triple this year, and businesses had best be prepared, market research firm Gartner predicted Wednesday. By the end of the year, Gartner said, hot-spot users are poised to rise to 30 million, up from 9.3 million last year, and more than half of notebook PCs used by businesses will have Wi-Fi capabilities. http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5161031.html - - - - - - - - - - Cyber-Age Goodfellas It's been a rough decade for New York's mafia. Dozens of members broke rank and became government witnesses; racketeering lawsuits took away control of big moneymaking operations and unions. But for all the bad-mouthing brought on by those setbacks, charges now pending in Brooklyn federal court against two alleged high-tech schemers suggest that while garbage carting and the Teamsters may no longer be under mob sway, the organization has remained remarkably resilientand immensely profitable. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0407/robbins.php - - - - - - - - - - LA teen surfing Web learns he was allegedly abducted by mother Authorities arrested the mother of a 17-year-old boy after her son saw his picture on a missing children's Web site and discovered that she was accused of abducting him from his father 14 years ago. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/7975609.htm http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/02/18/missing.teen.ap/index.html http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2546043 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-02-18-kid-finds-self_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Judge allows GPS evidence in Peterson case The judge in Scott Peterson's murder trial ruled Tuesday that evidence dealing with the electronic tracking of Peterson after his wife's disappearance will be admitted in the trial. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/17/peterson.trial/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-02-17-peterson-gps_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Online traffic school gives new way to clear records In Los Angeles County alone, about 144,000 drivers a year attend traffic schools to clear their driving records and avoid higher insurance rates. But rather than attend six to 12 hours of traffic school in a classroom setting, many motorists fulfill their obligations over the Internet. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-hy-wheels18feb18,1,2376597.story *********************************************************** 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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