NewsBits for March 11, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Mother of slain woman settles lawsuit against info-broker An Internet information broker has agreed to pay $85,000 to a Nashua woman who sued the Virginia company over her daughter's killing. Amy Boyer, 20, was leaving work in October 1999 when she was shot to death by a former high school classmate who then killed himself. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2004-03-10-boyer-suit-settled_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Israeli teen quizzed over US cop file hack An Israeli teenager suspected of hacking into a US police system and erasing records has been arrested and questioned by local police. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36179.html - - - - - - - - - - Student Charged for Dorm Porn A former Bloomsburg University student is headed to court on charges that he had more than 600 pictures and 15 digital videos depicting child pornography on his dorm room computer. Court officials say 18-year-old Daniel Pavlick waived a preliminary hearing late yesterday afternoon. State police say they were tipped off after the Internet service provider Yahoo! provided them with information about Pavlick's alleged activity. Pavlick was a freshman at Bloomsburg but voluntarily left the university after the allegations were made. He remains free on bail awaiting trial in Columbia County Court http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/03112004_nw_dormporn.html - - - - - - - - - - Ex-teacher nabbed in internet sex sting A former math teacher at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn was nabbed in an internet sting Monday and charged with possessing child pornography, officials said. Anthony Louis Cotroneo, 59, was released on $100,000 bail by federal Magistrate- Judge Margaret Go after surrendering to investigators. Go also ordered that Cotroneo not have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 and that he stay off the internet. According to a letter filed in court by assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Henoch, Cotroneo was caught after an undercover U.S. Postal Inspector logged into an internet chat room and said he was looking to trade photos and videos of child pornography. Cotroneo, using his AOL e-mail address, responded and requested the images, Henoch's letter stated. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/nyc-porn0309,0,2836503.story - - - - - - - - - - More NetSky worms. So much for quitting Two new NetSky worms appeared on the scene yesterday, despite a promise by the original author this week to refrain from releasing any more versions. Differences in the code of NetSky-L and NetSky-M from their 11 older siblings have led anti-virus researchers to suspect that they are the work of a copycat. This suggests the source code of the virus has been leaked. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/36187.html - - - - - - - - - - Outlook flaw upgraded to 'critical' A security hole that Microsoft patched on Tuesday is more serious than first thought, the company says Microsoft has raised the severity rating of an Outlook flaw to "critical," its highest level, after its initial analysis was challenged by the researcher who found the security hole. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39148256,00.htm http://www.cnn.com/2004/BUSINESS/03/10/microsoft.security.reut/index.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153415 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-03-10-ms-patch-upgrade_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Bug exposes Linux users Linux users have been warned of a serious kernel vulnerability that could leave systems open to hackers. Polish security specialist Isec Security Research has issued a warning of a memory management problem affecting Linux versions from 2.2 onwards. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153435 - - - - - - - - - - Union hits out over employee surveillance Snooping on workers through the use of hidden cameras and smart cards or by monitoring their PC use is harming people's health and damaging corporate performance, according to the TUC. The organisation representing many of Britain's unions has accused companies of damaging employee morale and productivity through use of technology to monitor staff. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/employment/0,39020648,39148277,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spy Block bill would outlaw hidden spyware Free software downloaded over the Internet can contain all kinds of unexpectedand unwanted surprises, including spyware to track your online browsing and deliver pop-up ads. A bill introduced in the Senate would outlaw these surprises, making it a crime to install software on a computer without the users knowledge and permission. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25237-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Regulator says he's not optimistic about success for do-not-spam list The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday he is skeptical that a national anti-spam list will mean fewer unwanted e-mails for computer users. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8235 Spam: regular users' perspective http://www.crime-research.org/news/11.03.2004/127 E-mail giants sue alleged spam senders http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4496759/ - - - - - - - - - - Two lawmakers urge state to bar e-voting in fall Warning that the presidential election is at risk, two state lawmakers said Wednesday that they would ask Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to ban the use of touch-screen voting machines in the November ballot. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8161054.htm http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,62627,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Access hacks hit UK Plc Identity management is still causing headaches for big UK companies, according to the DTI's latest survey on the issue. Sums of PS100,000 for legal fees and other costs are not uncommon. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39148260,00.htm http://www.silicon.com/software/security/0,39024655,39119085,00.htm Banks dismissive of 'phishing' losses http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39148259,00.htm Security education still important, says FNB http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2004/0403111100.asp DigiTag 'provides greater security' http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2004/0403111035.asp PKI appliance goes for selective security http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,39020381,39148274,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hacker versus auditor Officers of Vladivostok Regional Police Office, Department "K" detained a hacker, who attempted to sell information stolen from auditing firm. Officers initiated proceedings under Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal access to computer information). http://www.crime-research.org/news/11.03.2004/128 - - - - - - - - - - Four politicians get Cyber Champion awards The Business Software Alliance, a trade group, gave awards to four members of Congress March 10 for their work on policy issues of interest to the commercial software industry. Robert Holleyman, president and chief executive officer of the alliance, commended the congressional leaders for "policies that encourage innovation and economic growth." At a Capitol Hill reception, the association gave its Cyber Champion Award, to Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Rep. Cal Dooley (D-Calif.). The alliance cited Allen for setting policies on information security, international trade, e-commerce, privacy and Internet taxation. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0308/web-awards-03-11-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Web worm posts cop secrets A Queens man has created a Web site divulging home addresses and other personal details of police officers - even putting up photos of undercover detectives. The NYPD's Intelligence Division is reviewing the Web site to see if harassment charges are warranted against its creator, Alan Munn, 53, of Jackson Heights. http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/172109p-150116c.html - - - - - - - - - - Bush to nominate new officials to fight terror financing President Bush announced yesterday his intent to nominate Stuart Levey as undersecretary of the Treasury for enforcement to lead the new Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Levey currently serves as principal associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25235-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Two more states withdraw from controversial database program New York and Wisconsin have joined the list of states that have pulled out of an anti-crime database program that civil libertarians say endangers citizens' privacy rights. Just five states now remain involved in Matrix out of more than a dozen that had signed up to share criminal, prison and vehicle information with one another and cross-reference the data with privately held databases. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8161155.htm *********************************************************** 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. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2004, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.