NewsBits for April 14, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Trial Begins for Student Accused of Supporting Terrorism The trial of a Saudi Arabian student accused of using his computer to help Islamic militants overseas is being seen as a key test of a USA Patriot Act provision that prohibits offering help to terrorist groups. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8627-2004Apr13.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8430439.htm Terrorism and high technologies http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.04.2004/211 Russia: all to fight cyber terrorism! http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.04.2004/208 - - - - - - - - - - 9/11 'entrepreneur' on fraud rap A Californian man who claimed to be developing post-9/11 face recognition system has been arrested by Feds probing allegations of fraud. Ross Rojek, 36, of Sacramento in California, is charged with wire and mail fraud in relation to the operations of a business called Face Information Technology (AKA Face IT), AP reports. FBI investigators also allege in an affidavit made public on Monday that Rojek ran a company called American Equity Group LLC under the alias of Jason Williams. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/14/face_recognition_ruse/ - - - - - - - - - - Mystery attackers strike Linux supercomputers A large number of sophisticated Linux and Solaris machines at US research facilities, including Stanford University, have been compromised by unknown assailants. Unknown attackers have compromised a large number of Linux and Solaris machines in high-speed computing networks at Stanford University and other academic research facilities, according to a university advisory. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39151519,00.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/14/stanford_under_solarislinuxattack/ Universities Targeted in Massive Hack Attack http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Universities_Targeted_in_Massive_Hack_Attack&story_id=23711 - - - - - - - - - - 102 UK kids saved from paedos UK police reckon they have saved more than 100 children from abuse during a two-year investigation into users of paedophile websites. As part of Operation Ore, police have investigated 6,500 British people suspected of using a paedophile portal in the US. The operation has so far led to 3,537 arrests, 1,679 prosecutions and 1,230 convictions. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/14/operation_ore_update/ - - - - - - - - - - Panel developing infrastructure protection recommendations Members of a White House advisory committee focused on protecting cyber and physical infrastructures are on track to finish a handful of reports -- and make recommendations to President Bush -- by the time of the panel's July meeting. The National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which consists of more than 100 chief information officers -- gathered for its quarterly meeting Tuesday in Washington to hear updates from its working groups on infrastructure protection. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0404/041404tdpm1.htm Feds Seek Privacy Experts http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63051,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Assembly Arms Fight Against Junk E-Mail Maryland lawmakers, as overwhelmed and fed up by junk e-mail as the people they serve, have approved one of the toughest and broadest criminal measures in the country targeting outlaw spammers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9555-2004Apr13.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8427059.htm Spammers 'using bugs' to find active email addresses http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39152117,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - FTC: Porn spam must be labeled Pornographic spam e-mail must be labeled as such starting May 19, or senders will face fines, the Federal Trade Commission said in adopting rules to implement an anti-spam law passed in December. Such unsolicited commercial e-mail must start the subject line with the term "sexually explicit" in capital letters and carry similar identification in the message body, according to the regulation posted on the FTC's website. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5190959.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-rup14.6apr14,1,4989861.story http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0404140220apr14,1,6846546.story http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-04-14-labeling-porn_x.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/14/porn_spam_label/ - - - - - - - - - - Adult links mar children's search engine The creator of a child-oriented search Web site has pulled advertising material generated externally and removed search functions that provide lists of highly inappropriate words. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39151526,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - EarthLink fights data-stealing Web sites EarthLink has developed a program to fight phishers -- phony Web sites designed to deceive e-mail users into providing personal information such as passwords and credit card or Social Security numbers. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/04/14/earthlink.phishers.ap/index.html http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=EarthLink_Offers_Security_by_Subscription&story_id=23712 - - - - - - - - - - MS score card: four patches, 20 vulns, heaps of trouble Spring is a time for growth. And Microsoft has taken this maxim to heart by releasing an unprecedented number of security fixes on the same day. Yesterday it released four security patches to protect Windows users against 20 security vulnerabilities. Eight vulns are critical. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/14/ms_patch_bonanza/ - - - - - - - - - - PGP software gains antivirus defense PGP is adding a virus-defense tool to its line of secure-messaging products. The company on Wednesday said it will bundle Symantec's AntiVirus Scan Engine with its PGP Universal products to minimize the risk of unwanted payloads in e-mail messages. The package will check outgoing messages for viruses before they are encrypted and incoming ones immediately after decryption. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5191597.html - - - - - - - - - - Unwitting pawns or partly to blame? There is an interesting new dynamic to the recent malicious code outbreaks that have plagued corporations. The methods of infection and propagation haven't changed much--virus writers are still relying on mass-mailing techniques--but the targets of these exploits have changed drastically. http://news.com.com/2010-7355_3-5190916.html - - - - - - - - - - Copyright in the Digital Age Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig was online to discuss his book, "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity." In his book, Lessig argues that the entertainment industry conspires with Congress to use copyright law to destroy our traditional notion of freedom in culture. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58249-2004Apr7.html - - - - - - - - - - Activities of Criminal Investigative Units According to the Order #429 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine dated May 31, 2001, units to fight crimes in the sphere of intellectual property and high technologies were created in the structure of the State Service on Fighting Economic Crimes (SSFEC). http://www.crime-research.org/articles/Golubev20304 - - - - - - - - - - RFID Pressed Into Service For Roadway Safety The government and vendors are investigating technology called dedicated short-range communications. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration is working with four companies to develop new radio-frequency identification technology for roadways. Officials see RFID as a way to warn drivers of, for instance, impending intersection collisions and vehicle rollovers. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18901394 - - - - - - - - - - Clock ticking on interagency radio network The departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Treasury expect to solicit proposals soon for the Integrated Wireless Network for federal law enforcement agencies. The program is underfunded and overdue, but agencies cannot afford to keep putting money into existing infrastructures, said Michael Duffy, deputy CIO for electronic government at Justice. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25577-1.html Feds praise TTIC http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0412/web-ttic-04-14-04.asp DHS wants system to help identify suspicious activity http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25556-1.html DHS gains online reference service http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25558-1.html Feds to use 'federated' ID checks http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0412/web-verify-04-14-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - No Chip in Arm, No Shot From Gun A new computer chip promises to keep police guns from firing if they fall into the wrong hands. The tiny chip would be implanted in a police officer's hand and would match up with a scanning device inside a handgun. If the officer and gun match, a digital signal unlocks the trigger so it can be fired. But if a child or criminal would get hold of the gun, it would be useless. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,63066,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Porno Hen Hawks for Burger King For years, pornographers have used the Web to stage interactive peepshows that let visitors type requests to models in front of the camera. More recently, amateur "camgirls" have used cheap webcams and broadband connections to broadcast performances from their own bedrooms. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,63053,00.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. 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