NewsBits for May 10, 2004 ************************************************************ Teen Admits Creating Computer Worm A German high school student has confessed to creating the "Sasser" worm that generated chaos across the globe by infecting hundreds of thousands of computers, authorities said. The teenager, whose name was not released, was arrested Friday in the northern village of Waffensen, where he lives with his family. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/08/sasser.arrest.ap/index.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fg-briefs9.2may09,1,4157556.story http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8567 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106_2-5208655.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4928653/ http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,63393,00.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,93011,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/sasser_worm_arrest/ http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39154216,00.htm Sasser arrest seen as small step in cybercrime fight http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,93040,00.html Microsoft reward snags suspected Sasser author http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5208762.html http://www.idg.com.sg/idgwww.nsf/0/CBE0B78C8E655AA448256E90000D29A7?OpenDocument Sasser continues to strike http://news.com.com/2009-7349_3-5209412.html Can Microsoft's virus bounty fight organised crime? http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39154232,00.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39154218,00.htm Virus war tests Microsoft's devotion to security http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040510.gtrmicro10/BNStory/Technology/ `Sasser' worm creator loosed parting shot, investigators say http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8632669.htm http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5209459.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4944667/ http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/10/computer.worm.ap/index.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1155010 http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Sasser-Lives-On-Despite-Author-s-Arrest&story_id=23981 http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,93032,00.html New version of Sasser undermines lone coder theory http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8568 German Net Worm Writer May Have Been Helping Mom http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=5091532 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5209099.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-08-sasser-arrest_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Suspect arrested in Phatbot, Agobot malware case A 21-year-old German man was arrested and has admitted to creating the ubiquitous and dangerous Trojan horse programs Agobot and Phatbot, but he isn't connected to the alleged author of the Sasser Internet worm, who is also from Germany and was arrested last week, a police spokesman said. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,93036,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Japanese P2P founder arrested Japanese police have arrested the developer of the popular Winny P2P application for breaking the country's copyright laws. Isamu Kaneko, 33, an assistant researcher at Tokyo University, and brains behind the supposedly anonymous file sharing system, is accused of developing software that aids and abets copyright infringement and piracy. Kaneko is one of the first software developers worldwide to face such allegations. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/winny_founder_arrested/ http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,63408,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-10-coding-arrest_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Man Gets Jail, Probation for Videotaping Movie at Theater A Chatsworth man has become the first person convicted under a new state law against videotaping movies in theaters. Ruben Centeno Moreno, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to camcording "The Alamo" at the Winnetka 21 Theaters part of the Pacific Theatres chain in Chatsworth on April 12. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-video8may08,1,3448139.story - - - - - - - - - - Newport Probes Altered Grades Newport Beach police are investigating whether students hacked into Corona del Mar High School's computers and altered grades, officials said Friday. Grades for seven students were improved illicitly, Sgt. Steve Shulman said. No arrests had been made. Officials at Newport-Mesa Unified School District believe the breach was limited to a small group of high school students, police said, but officials were reviewing all student records. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-grades8may08,1,5276284.story - - - - - - - - - - FTC fines porn spammers $112k The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled charges with Brian Westby and Dutch citizen Martijn Bevelander, who employed spam that used deceptively bland subject lines, false return addresses, and empty reply-to links to expose unsuspecting consumers, including children, to sexually explicit material. The US agency alleged that Westby and Bevelander used the spam in an attempt to drive business to an adult website called "Married But Lonely". The two spammers used every trick in the book to mislead Internet users. When consumers clicked on a hyperlink in an attempt to get off the mailing list, they would receive an error message, so they could not unsubscribe. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/ftc_settles_with_spammers/ - - - - - - - - - - Man sentenced to 13 years in prison for child porn, enticement A St. Louis area man was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday for producing child pornography and child enticement. Todd Peterson, 29, of Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to the federal charges in February. A co-defendant, Patricia Northcotte, 32, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty in January to one felony count of production of child pornography and one felony count of use of interstate facility to persuade a minor to engage in a sex act. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Authorities said Peterson contacted an underage girl in Canada, sent her a digital camera, induced her to take sexually explicit photos of herself and send them to him. He also tried to persuade the girl to have sex with him, U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said. Peterson also acknowledged ordering and receiving a child pornography videotape from an undercover officer and that his computer contained images of child porn. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Metro+East/DCAF5C56EDA99B7C86256E8D00133705?OpenDocument&Headline=Man+sentenced+to+13+years+in+prison+for+child+porn,+enticeme - - - - - - - - - - Former trooper pleads guilty to possessing child pornography A former Pennsylvania state trooper faces a potential prison term for possessing child pornography. Gerald W. Weeks pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Sylvia Rambo, who ordered that a presentencing investigation be completed by June 29. Weeks was charged in April after he purchased two videos containing child pornography through what turned out to be a sting operation run by the Alabama State Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, authorities said. He picked the videos up from a post office box in November. http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/8604996.htm - - - - - - - - - - Man pleads not guilty to charges A Glendive man pleaded not guilty Friday to federal child pornography charges. Jason Wade Hodous, 26, is charged with distribution, receipt and possession of child porn using a computer starting in 2003 in Glendive. He appeared in court in April on a criminal complaint shortly after being arrested. If convicted, Hodous faces a minimum mandatory five years to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the distribution and receipt charges and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession count. He also would forfeit a computer. http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/05/08/build/local/90-loc-digest.inc - - - - - - - - - - Child Porn Arrest A Wayne County man is under arrest, accused of sending and receiving child porn over the Internet. 33-year-old Wayne Beaumont Sr. is charged with possessing and viewing an obscene sexual performance by a child. Police say the Internet provider, Yahoo, contacted The National Center For Missing And Exploited Children about the images back in November. After months of investigation, Beaumont's computer was seized from his Newark home and he was placed under arrest. http://www.wroctv.com/news/story.asp?id=13415&r=l - - - - - - - - - - Indiana Middle School Teacher Faces Child Porn Charges An eighth-grade teacher from Kokomo is being held on child pornography charges after police found images of children having sex on his home computer. Larry Mace, 41, is being held on $75,000 cash bond in the Howard County Jail. He's accused of possession of child pornography. Police said they searched Mace's home computer and found images of children between the ages of 12 and 15 having sex. School computers apparently weren't involved, according to investigators. Police also said they searched Mace's home computer last week after federal authorities told them Mace had visited a pornographic Web site based in Germany. http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/education/3271693/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Principal Posts Bond on Porn Charge A principal accused of a molesting a 12-year-old boy inside a department store restroom posted a reduced bond on pornography charges and was released Thursday. Michael Wayne Fox, 54, is on leave from his job at Spalding Drive Elementary School in North Fulton County, where authorities said they found pornographic images on the computer in his office. http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=46582 - - - - - - - - - - Child porn man faces school ban A man who admitted internet child porn offences has been banned from going near schools under new laws. Kevin Fisher, 44, formerly of Queen Ann Road, Barton Hill, Bristol, was jailed for eight months and given the newly created order by Bristol Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of children and seven counts of possessing indecent photographs of children on Wednesday. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3691121.stm - - - - - - - - - - Porn offender seeks secrecy A wealthy Auckland businessman convicted of internet child pornography charges is fighting for permanent name suppression. In the High Court at Auckland yesterday, the man, who has interim name suppression, appealed against a decision by Judge Philip Recordon in the Auckland District Court last October refusing him permanent name suppression. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3565166 - - - - - - - - - - NIST suggests VoIP caution IP telephony, or voice over IP, poses significant security problems that are challenges at the moment but will become easier eventually, security experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology say in a draft report released this month. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0510/web-nist-05-10-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Check Point hit by VPN vulnerability Companies who use one of Check Point's virtual private networking applications have been urged to patch their systems after the discovery of a security hole in the products. The vulnerability could allow a hacker to break into a supposedly secure connection set up through one of Check Point's VPN-1 applications, the company warned last week. In some circumstances, a company's wider network could also be under threat. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39154227,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hacking danger worsens Hack attacks on UK businesses have doubled in the past two years, according to research from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). In its Information Security Breaches Survey, unveiled recently, the DTI claimed businesses are more vulnerable now than they were in 2002. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1155033 Who hacks? Who cracks? http://www.crime-research.org/news/10.05.2004/246 - - - - - - - - - - Security threats raise concerns about Bluetooth Potential security risks posed by the Bluetooth wireless technology are prompting some IT managers to rein in use of Bluetooth-equipped mobile phones and PCs on their networks. http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,93031,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Child porn reports double, internet report reveals Reports of child porn on the internet from Irish net surfers have more than doubled, a new report has revealed. The second report from the Irish web watchdog, Hotline, showed none of these sites were hosted from Ireland. Hotline, which investigated child pornography, reported the huge increase over the two years from July 2001 to June 2003. http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=79254651&p=79z55y94&n=79255210 - - - - - - - - - - Parents view net access mobiles as porn threats: Survey A survey in London has revealed that three quarters of parents are concerned that a new generation of mobile telephones with fast internet access will lead to an increase in child pornography and paedophile crime. According to The Telegraph, seventy-three per cent of mothers and fathers said that they fear the launch of 3G handsets in Britain later this year could threaten children's safety. http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=15354 - - - - - - - - - - Kiddie Porn Cops Forced To Call It Quits Investigators say Ronald Young appeared to be the perfect foster dad. "In this particular case, he was very clean around here you would not know there were any problems," explains Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Police say the 41-year-old admits he took hundreds of sexually explicit pictures of his six foster boys and then sent them out on the internet from his house in Key Peninsula. Young may never have been caught if highly trained internet investigators in Ireland didn't find his cyber trail. http://www.komotv.com/stories/31147.htm - - - - - - - - - - In search of truly anonymous file-sharing While media companies step up their legal crackdown on Internet song-swappers, separate teams of software developers from the Middle East to Madrid toil away on a foiling technology: an anonymous file- sharing network. "Our users are requesting more and more privacy. They are more than disgusted with the threat of lawsuits," said Pablo Soto, chief programmer and co-founder of Madrid-based Optisoft. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/music/2004-05-07-anon-share_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hate websites continue to flourish A new report from UK-based e-mail filtering company SurfControl says that the number of hate and violence websites has grown by nearly 300 per cent since 2000. The company said that in 2000, it was monitoring about 2,756 websites that were categorised as hate and violence sites. By April 2004, that figure had risen to 10,926. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/hate_websites_flourish/ - - - - - - - - - - Ohio governor approves electronic voting machines in 31 counties Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill Friday authorizing up to 31 counties to switch to electronic voting machines in time for the Nov. 2 election. The new law also requires that by May 2006, such machines issue paper receipts confirming to voters their choices. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8616084.htm E-voting promises US election tragicomedy http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/10/us_e_voting/ - - - - - - - - - - Fingerprint reader replaces PC passwords You don't have to be a secret agent to use the Verifi VP 2101 Fingerprint Reader. Instead of using passwords to keep unauthorized people from using your PC, this gadget relies on fingerprint scans. Once the reader is connected to your computer, you can log on by placing your finger on the reader. Assuming it's the same finger you scanned during the initial setup, the reader will grant access to your PC. It also can be set to guard sensitive computer files and work with multiple users. The One-Touch System, which includes the Fingerprint Reader, software and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable, costs $180. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/2004-05-10-fresh-gear_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Automating Windows Patch Management: Part III In the previous two installments of this article series, as well as in my book Hardening Windows, I've covered the current version of Microsoft's Software Update Services product. I've received a lot of positive feedback on the features; thanks to all who have written in. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1778 - - - - - - - - - - Safeguard identity with regular checks of credit reports You can diligently guard your personal information, shred your mail, limit the use of your Social Security number, and never fall for online scams. In the end, it may not matter. Your identity still could be easily stolen. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2004-05-10-komando_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Illuminating blacked-out words European researchers at a security conference in Switzerland last week demonstrated computer-based techniques that can identify blacked-out words and phrases in confidential documents. The researchers showed their software at the conference, called Eurocrypt, by analyzing a presidential briefing memorandum released in April to the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. After analyzing the document, they said they had high confidence the word "Egyptian" had been blacked out in a passage describing the source of an intelligence report stating that Osama Bin Ladin was planning an attack in the United States. http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-5209016.html - - - - - - - - - - Database firm chief criticizes passenger-screening system The CEO of a leading commercial database company said Monday that his company has opted out of the government's proposed method of screening airline passengers because the system uses a probability-based system instead of evaluating known risks. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0504/051004tdpm1.htm High-tech air security comes on line http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/05/09/bt.tech.security.reut/index.html - - - - - - - - - - DHS delays $5b systems procurement The Homeland Security Department has put the $5 billion, five-year Security Planning and Integrated Resources for Information Technology procurement on hold. The procurement is planned to cover almost every IT service needed in the department. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25856-1.html Study: Federal Web sites offer little data for terrorists http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/10/web.sites.terrorism.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-05-10-fed-sites-ok_x.htm Experts: More power to DHS deputy http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0510/web-dhs-05-10-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - When Old Convictions Won't Die When Marie, a computer programmer in the Los Angeles area, pleaded "no contest" to a misdemeanor shoplifting charge more than a year ago, she did so only because a judge assured her the case would be dismissed after 12 months' probation. But now that the year has passed, Marie said she was surprised to find out that while the case has been dismissed, everything else about it remains in the public record. Using the court's website, she said, anyone can find out about her arrest and the no- contest plea preceding the dismissal -- including employers. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,63364,00.html *********************************************************** 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.