NewsBits for May 14, 2004 ************************************************************ 65 arrests, 1,000 cases in Internet child porn P2P probe A nationwide probe into child pornography trafficking using Internet file-sharing networks has resulted in 1,000 investigations and at least 65 arrests, federal officials announced Friday. The broader investigation centers on the growing use of ``peer-to-peer,'' or P2P, networks that allow users to connect computers directly with one another to exchange files rather than using traditional Internet servers that are easier to track. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/14/child.porn.arrests/index.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8669106.htm 7 years for doubtful photo business on the Net http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.05.2004/266 - - - - - - - - - - Agobot Trojan author released in Germany A 21-year-old man who was arrested in Germany last Friday and charged with creating a malicious computer program called Agobot was released from police custody Friday. The man, who has not been named, was being held following his arrest because of fears he might flee the country. He was required to surrender identity papers and report regularly to police as a condition of his release, according to Ullrich Heffner, a police spokesman in the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg. http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/05/14/HNagobotauthor_1.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39154793,00.htm As the Worm Turns Eighteen-year-old Sven Jaschan told investigators in the now full-blown criminal case in northern Germany that his original intention was to build an antivirus program that would remove lingering MyDoom and Bagle variants from computers. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=As-the-Worm-Turns&story_id=24059 Sasser attacks provide fodder for new worm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39154678,00.htm http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Dabber-Worm-Exploits-Sasser-Flaw&story_id=24058 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/dabber_worm/ http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,93154,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Russian hackers nabbed in Spain May 13, Spanish police arrested three Russians in Barcelona on suspicion of forming a transnational criminal group. This group was involved in withdrawing more than 500 thousand euro from bank accounts using fraudulent machination through the Internet. Two Estonians and one citizen of Dominican Republic were also members of the group headed by Russians, Cadena SER broadcasting station informs. http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.05.2004/268 - - - - - - - - - - Jilted lover jailed for email stalking An Australian man has been jailed for three months for sending offensive emails and making abusive and threatening phone calls. Nicholas Stacey, of Torquay, Victoria pleaded guilty to stalking and using a carriage service (public network) to offend. Stacey was living in the US with his girlfriend when he returned to Australia in December 2003 to finalise his divorce from another woman. But his American girlfriend decided to end the relationship and asked him not to return to the US, according to Australian papers. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/stalker_email/ - - - - - - - - - - Israel begins to succeed against counterfeit CDs and DVDs ``The Passion of the Christ'' hasn't been shown in Israeli theaters, but it's being seen in the country anyway. Pirated DVDs of Mel Gibson's movie are widely sold in shops along the same Old City streets where the biblical Jesus walked. ``The Passion'' is one of thousands of bootlegged titles easily available to Israeli DVD and CD shoppers who don't mind skirting copyright law in search of a bargain. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8668333.htm - - - - - - - - - - Malaysia PM: Terror sites unacceptable Malaysia will bar companies from hosting Internet sites such as the one that carried a video of the beheading of American Nicholas Berg, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Friday. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/14/security.internet.berg.reut/index.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/berg_website/ http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.05.2004/270 - - - - - - - - - - Federal lawmakers call for study of electronic voting More than a dozen House Republicans and Democrats asked congressional auditors Friday to study the security of electronic voting systems. ``While the existing data indicate that these machines can be more accurate than outdated punch card voting machines, experts are becoming increasingly concerned that many of these electronic voting machines have other flaws,'' the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8669074.htm - - - - - - - - - - AOL touts its virus-blocking stats America Online says it's blocked more than 1 billion virus-infected e-mails since launching a screening program in April 2003. The Internet service provider, a subsidiary of Time Warner, says it protected each of the company's subscribers from an average of 30 virus attacks. "As we move into a high-speed world, antivirus protection becomes even more critical, because a basic broadband connection can leave you defenseless against hackers and virus attacks on your home computer," Tatiana Gau, chief trust officer and senior vice president for integrity assurance at AOL, said in a statement. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5213116.html - - - - - - - - - - Spam fighters infiltrate spam clubs Spam fighters are gaining vital clues in the battle to keep in-boxes clean of junk mail by infiltrating spammer clubs. Online spammer forums like the Pro Bulk Club the Bulk Club and bulkmails.org have been gatecrashed by activists from organisations like Spamhaus. Steve Linford of Spamhaus said spammers know this already but they don't know who amongst their number is working for the other side. In theory invitation to the members-only forums of these sites is only by invitation and only to individuals who have a proven track record in spamming. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/spam_club/ Symantec fights auto-responder menace http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/symantec_kills_mailer_alerts/ - - - - - - - - - - Intrusion response dips down to end-user level The need for companies to respond in real time to both external and internal network attacks is fueling interest in automated intrusion-response technologies. Enterasys Networks Inc. this week started shipping software designed to target the systems of individual users in the event of an attack, without disrupting the rest of the network. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,93157,00.html - - - - - - - - - - How to fool ID card system - give a false ID, say UK gov The UK ID card scheme will, it is alleged, greatly aid the forces of law and order in establishing the identity of offenders and suspects. But, as UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith found himself blurting out in the House of Lords yesterday, there's an easy way out of this for the thinking minor offender - give the police a false ID. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/14/uk_false_id_loophole/ - - - - - - - - - - How to protect the network from the inside out Most companies are prepared for threats to their networks from the outside world, but it's breaches of security from within the corporation that often pose the biggest concern in this post-Enron world of increased corporate governance. In addition, IT managers must deal with both technical and human challenges to meet the security requirements of their companies, as well the mandates of new legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Graham- Leach-Bliley Act. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,,92920,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Bad laws, bad code, bad behavior A congressional hearing on Internet porn last week illustrates what happens when politicians try to ban technology they don't like or understand. The topic of Thursday's meeting of the House of Representatives' consumer protection subcommittee was a bill intended to require that programs like Kazaa and Grokster obtain parental consent before installation. Peer-to-peer software is starting "to lure our children from the perceived safety of the family living room out into the dangers of the Internet wilderness," subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., warned. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107_2-5209869.html Ashcroft's antiporn crusade http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107_2-5171308.html - - - - - - - - - - Security Management Welcome back. After the very long Patch Management article last month, this months article is much shorter and to the point. Lets just say you did not install the patches like we discussed last month. Now you got hacked. What to do? Cleaning a Compromised System. So, you didnt patch the system and it got hacked. What to do? http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/secmgmt/sm0504.mspx - - - - - - - - - - Jurors in student's terrorism trial can view Web sites A federal judge on Thursday handed a major blow to a Saudi student accused of terrorism, allowing jurors to see inflammatory Web sites that allegedly had been posted from his home computer. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-05-14-hussayen-sites_x.htm *********************************************************** 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. 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