NewsBits for March 4, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Two Russian students arrested for threatening CIA Students were charged with "Deliberately False Report of an Act of Terrorism" (Article 207 of the Criminal Code of Russia). As reported, night February 26-27 they sent an email to the CIA official website from the Internet cafe in Barnaul, Russia with threats of explosions in American subway. Messages in English ended by words "You all will die. Allah akbar!" http://www.crime-research.org/news/04.03.2004/112 Internet is a target for terrorists http://www.crime-research.org/news/04.03.2004/116 - - - - - - - - - - Ukrainian pirates arrested Officers of Poltava regional Department of the Security Service of Ukraine and State Department of Intellectual Property seized the most large-scale consignment of counterfeit audio, video tapes and compact disks for last years. Their value is about 85 thousand UAH (about $17000). But the main thing here is that law enforcement managed to wind up an underground workshop that manufactured counterfeit (unlicensed) production. http://www.crime-research.org/news/04.03.2004/110 - - - - - - - - - - Sparks man sentenced for trying lure girl for sex A Sparks man was sentenced to three years in prison for using a computer to lure a child for sex. The victim turned out to be an undercover sheriff's detective. Jeremy Troy Wilson, 23, must serve at least one year before becoming eligible for parole under the sentence handed down Tuesday by Washoe District Judge Janet Berry. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2004/mar/03/030310122.html - - - - - - - - - - Former prosecutor, judge sentenced for possessing child porn A former deputy prosecutor and district court judge was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography. Ralph L. Perkins, 54, admitted in U.S. District Court documents that he got hooked on child pornography while researching the topic as part of his job as Okanogan County's chief criminal prosecutor. Perkins told federal investigators he initially downloaded the images in work-related research while prosecuting child pornography cases, but that it later turned into sexual gratification. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Prosecutor%20Child%20Porn - - - - - - - - - - Rented PC leads to porn charges A 26-year-old Brooksville man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to distributing child pornography over the Internet, charges that grew out of an investigation Kentucky State Police launched after a rental store employee found images of children in sex acts on a recently returned rental computer. Bradley Allen Smith, of Hackett Ridge Road in Bracken County, is charged with two counts of distributing materials portraying a child in a sex act. http://www.kypost.com/2004/03/03/brack030304.html - - - - - - - - - - Unknown Pornographers to Be Seen on TV, Internet The FBI announced a new effort Wednesday to disseminate photographs of unidentified child pornographers on television and the Internet in hopes they will be recognized. The first two suspects arrested were identified after their photos aired recently on the "America's Most Wanted" television show. The FBI also will post images on its website and possibly through other TV and print media, officials said. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/03/fbi.porn/index.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-porn4mar04,1,3192847.story - - - - - - - - - - Virus Feud: All's Fair in Spam and War Competing Internet virus writers have begun updating their wares as often as three times daily and sending them forth in an escalating battle for control of hundreds of thousands of computers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28548-2004Mar3.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-spam4mar04,1,3852794.story http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3532009.stm http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040304/80/ennp7.html http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1620&ncid=1212&e=3&u=/sv/20040304/tc_sv/viruswriterslaunchcompetingattacks http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Worm_Writers_Continue_Verbal_Warfare&story_id=23291 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-03-03-worm-wars_x.htm Springtime for hackers and computer viruses http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040304.gtrvirus04/BNStory/Technology/ Bugwatch: The wrong type of virus http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153239 - - - - - - - - - - Updates aim to defuse Bagle ploy Security companies have started updating their products with more sophisticated techniques aimed at getting inside the encrypted attachments in which the Bagle worm has spread. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5170007.html - - - - - - - - - - Second Anti-Copying Ruling Is Issued Viacom Inc. and News Corp. won a second court order to force DVD-copying products off the market, two weeks after a California judge ruled that the products violated federal copyright law. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-rup4.9mar04,1,3737782.story New blow to DVD copying http://news.com.com/2110-1025-5169891.html Some Like It Hot http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.03/lessig.html - - - - - - - - - - Sharman's raided evidence ruled admissible Sharman Networks has failed in its efforts to have evidence in an Australian case against it dismissed, forcing the company to face up to the music copyright infringement charges over its peer-to-peer file- sharing software, Kazaa. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5169201.html http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62532,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-03-04-kazaa-denied_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Senators: Hands Off Kids' Data Two lawmakers introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate Wednesday to prohibit corporations from selling the personal information of children under the age of 16 without their parents' consent. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) introduced the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act to limit the sale of personally identifiable information for purposes of marketing to children, as part of a larger package of legislation intended to help parents combat commercial attacks on their children. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,62522,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Security Official Warns of Internet Gambling The use of illegal steroids is on baseball's front burner this spring, but it's not the only issue causing concern in the commissioner's office. In a meeting with the Angels on Wednesday morning, Kevin Hallinan, baseball's senior vice president of security, warned players of the dangers of Internet gambling and gave them a brochure on the subject. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-sp-angels4mar04,1,2645648.story - - - - - - - - - - Senate Cyber Spy Argues No Crime, No Foul An international business lawyer by training, Manuel Miranda doesn't fit the mold of a maverick computer hacker. Too old, at 44, to have grown up with computers, he possesses only rudimentary skills. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-hacker4mar04,1,889947.story - - - - - - - - - - Justice could get privacy boss The Justice Department may soon have a new privacy officer to make sure technology does not invade the privacy of the average citizen, privacy advocates said today. The House Judiciary Committee passed the department's reauthorization bill late last month that includes the creation of a senior privacy officer, much like the position created last year for the Homeland Security Department. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0301/web-doj-03-04-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Ukrainian government to shift state institutions to legal software Ukrainian government continues to appropriate measures on shifting executive power bodies to legal software, Vladimir Dmitrishin, Deputy Chairman of the State Department of Intellectual Property during discussion of development scenarios of Ukrainian software market held by GfK-USM company in frames of Ukrainian software market research carried out by request of Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR). http://www.crime-research.org/news/04.03.2004/111 - - - - - - - - - - Blended approach urged for emerging IM threats Fast-growing instant messaging is "ripe for abuse" and represents an emerging security and privacy threat within enterprises, according to industry experts. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci953571,00.html - - - - - - - - - - China bans new Internet cafes near schools Claiming that ``harmful cultural information'' online was hurting children, China said Thursday that Internet cafes may not open within 660 feet of schools. The official China News Service did not say whether those already operating would be affected. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8106359.htm - - - - - - - - - - Camera phones could threaten company security Businesses are concerned that camera phones can compromise their security and employees' privacy, and many businesses are trying to ban camera phones from their offices. According to Gartner, an outright ban of camera phones is short-sighted and will be hard to enforce. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=128876 - - - - - - - - - - Does open source software enhance security? Analysis There are several reasons why open-source software provides for superior computer and network security, but the computing public seems confused about why this is so. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36029.html - - - - - - - - - - Is metered e-mail a viable anti-spam tactic? If the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail for free, our mailboxes would surely runneth over with more credit card offers, sweepstakes entries and supermarket fliers. That's why we get so much junk e-mail: It's essentially free to send. So Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, among others, is now suggesting that we start buying ``stamps'' for e-mail. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8106743.htm - - - - - - - - - - You Can't 'Secure' What You Can't Even Find On this past Friday morning, one headline at the Cryptonomicon.net site read, "Text of Bill Gates RSA Keynote Available." Running down the left margin of that page were Google-generated sponsored links, including "Automatic gates"; "Iron gates and fence, no welding"; even "Custom aluminum gates." If I were paying for one of those supposedly context- driven links to my own retail site, I'd want my money back. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1738&ncid=1208&e=4&u=/zd/20040304/tc_zd/120830 - - - - - - - - - - Ridge: Border agents will get access to fingerprint databases this year A majority of the nation's border agents will be able to access key FBI fingerprint databases by the end of 2004, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0304/030404c1.htm - - - - - - - - - - How Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web The terrorism investigation code-named Mont Blanc began almost by accident in April 2002, when authorities intercepted a cellphone call that lasted less than a minute and involved not a single word of conversation. Investigators, suspicious that the call was a signal between terrorists, followed the trail first to one terror suspect, then to others, and eventually to terror cells on three continents. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/international/europe/04PHON.html - - - - - - - - - - Online crime reports are a success in Finland A police Web site allowing Internet-savvy Finns to report crimes has been a huge success, with some 23,000 reports filed in 12 months, the government said Thursday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8106482.htm - - - - - - - - - - I'm Sorry, Dave, You're Speeding At the Melbourne Motor Show last week, Toyota unveiled a controversial concept car that would very closely monitor, and in some cases restrict, the actions of its driver -- including refusing to turn on. http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,62503,00.html - - - - - - - - - - SenseCam among Microsoft's prototype gadgets As Lyndsay Williams trudged along snow-covered paths and passed by shop windows one recent day in Cambridge, England, so too did her SenseCam -- automatically snapping hundreds of photos along the way. Later that day, Williams could have used those pictures to figure out where she'd left her car keys, or to show a friend the sweater she saw in a window. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8105877.htm Does SenseCam Make Any Sense? http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,62540,00.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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