NewsBits for August 10, 2004 ************************************************************ Child molester sentenced under new Net-savvy Fed law An Anaheim man who used the Internet to target children for sex crimes was sentenced Monday to five years in prison under a recent federal law passed to deal with computer-savvy sex predators. David Jack Gritchen, 32, was arrested last July after agreeing over the Internet to meet at a McDonald's with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. Gritchen pleaded guilty in May to the charge of using the Internet to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-08-10-fed-kidsolicit-law_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - SJ cybersleuth leads to child abuse arrest in New Jersey Cross-country cooperation between a San Jose cybercop and New Jersey police led to the arrest Monday of a 40-year-old man who allegedly tried to lure the officer, posing online as a 12-year-old boy, to the Garden State for sex. San Jose police said today that Phillip G. Neri of Pittsgrove Township, N.J., was intent on getting the ``boy'' to move in with him. Neri told a New Jersey undercover investigator posing as a child welfare caseworker that he and the ``boy'' were relatives. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/9365864.htm - - - - - - - - - - Youth coach charged with possession of child pornography Mans background had been checked, Waukesha Youth Football president says. An assistant coach with Waukesha Youth Football was charged Friday with possession of child pornography. David C. Kanouse, 30, of Waukesha, was volunteering to help coach a youth football team. Kanouse was at the leagues first practice of the season Monday but has not been back since, said Ted Schneider, president of Waukesha Youth Football. Kanouse is charged with one count of possession of child pornography. http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2004/August_04/08072004_03.asp - - - - - - - - - - Four Florida officials fired over Xbox slaying Four Florida corrections workers have been canned after they failed to put an ex-con thought responsible for the recent Xbox slayings in jail before the killings could occur. Florida whacked one probation officer and his three supervisors on Monday for allowing Troy Victorino to violate his probation and then go on allegedly to conspire to kill six people over a stolen Xbox. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/xbox_slaying_firings/ http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/09/fla.killing.probation/index.html - - - - - - - - - - New Bagle Variant Sweeps the Internet Antivirus experts are sounding the alarm about another new variant of the nefarious Bagle virus -- Bagle.AM, Bagle.AQ or Bagle.AC, as it is variously known. The virus already has climbed to the top of the list of 20 most-detected viruses this month, says Panda Software CTO Patrick Hinojosa. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=New-Bagle-Variant-Sweeps-the-Internet&story_id=26240 Latest Bagle variant bites back http://www.vnunet.com/news/1157226 - - - - - - - - - - Trojan dialler afflicts Symbian smartphones Malicious code that dials premium rate numbers without a user's consent has been found in a cracked version of Mosquitos 2.0, a popular game for Symbian Series 60 smartphones. Illicit copies of the game circulating over P2P networks contain Trojan dialler software, according to reports. As a user is playing a game, the malicious code sends text messages to a premium rate number at a cost of up to PS1.50 a throw. Some smartphone users have gone onto mobile forums to warn others of the scam after been stung themselves. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/mosquitos_trojaned/ http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39163116,00.htm http://www.vnunet.com/news/1157233 - - - - - - - - - - Stealth pop-ups barred A settlement bans a US company from exploiting a Microsoft back door to flood PCs with advertising. US regulators said on Monday they had settled charges against a company that they claimed used a little-known Microsoft Windows feature to bombard computer owners with unwanted ads. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39163024,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Congressional economists tackle copyright issues The Congressional Budget Office released a new study on digital copyright issues Tuesday, outlining economic problems that Congress should keep in mind as it grapples with making new laws. While stopping short of specific legislative recommendations, the paper offers a set of principles for lawmakers that's largely focused on avoiding being tied too closely to past practices or to the interests of powerful companies or consumer groups. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5304486.html When Piracy Becomes Promotion http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/08/wo_jenkins081004.asp Ukraine violates copyright http://www.crime-research.org/news/10.08.2004/552/ - - - - - - - - - - UK gov moves to bust bootleggers The UK government's first intellectual property (IP) crime strategy was launched today by industry minister Jacqui Smith. Described as a blueprint to crack down on the trade in fake goods, the scheme involves closer inter-agency co-operation in the fight against pirates and bootleggers. Intellectual property crime cheats consumers, costs jobs and helps fund organised crime, according to the government. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/ip_crime_strategy/ - - - - - - - - - - Spanish invoice scam targets UK UK businesses are being warned to be on their guard against a Spanish firm compiling information for a CD-ROM directory. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) issued a statement today warning companies to be vigilant after receiving a tip- off that UK firms have been sent forms enquiring whether they want to be included in the business directory. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/fsb_invoice/ - - - - - - - - - - Flaw opens AOL chat software to intruders America Online acknowledged Tuesday that its AOL Instant Messenger client is vulnerable to a buffer-overflow attack and promised that a fix would be available within days. The problem resides in the chat software's "away" function, which allows people to show their friends that they're not at the computer. "We have been working on a resolution in tandem with iDefense for more than a month," said Krista Thomas, a spokeswoman for AOL. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5303636.html AOL: Fix for critical IM flaw due this week http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39163111,00.htm http://news.com.com/Flaw+opens+AOL+chat+software+to+intruders/2100-1002_3-5303636.html AOL offers workaround for Messenger flaw http://www.vnunet.com/news/1157231 - - - - - - - - - - IE is evolving, but is it enough? Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser is in the process of getting its first significant update in two years this week, as part of the company's overhaul of its operating system. The updates-- part of the much broader Windows XP Service Pack 2 release--are largely focused on fixing the succession of security flaws that have surfaced in recent months, along with adding a few new features. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5304259.html http://news.com.com/Microsoft+plugs+hole+in+Exchange/2100-1002_3-5304284.html Windows SP2 hits P2P networks http://news.com.com/Windows+SP2+hits+P2P+networks/2009-1016_3-5302401.html PC security under fire http://news.com.com/PC+security+under+fire/2009-7355_3-5303063.html XP SP2 upgrades 'could take months' http://www.vnunet.com/news/1157235 Microsoft battens down Windows XP's hatches http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/2004-08-10-sp2-review_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - OS X security update defuses PNG exploit In addition to Mac OS X v10.3.5, Apple Computer Inc. yesterday released Security Update 2004-08-09, which corrects a recently identified issue related to a library used to show PNG format graphics. The library is used on several computing platforms and by several applications, including Apple's own Safari Web browser. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,95146,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Phishermen attack on a viral scale The prevalence of some phishing attacks are beginning to rival even high-level viral outbreaks, according to email filtering firm MessageLabs. For example, MessageLabs recently identified a new phishing attack directed at a well-known US bank and its customers. Within the first five hours of its appearance, MessageLabs had already intercepted over 125,000 phishing emails containing URLs to a replica of the bank's website. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/phishing_vs_viruses/ - - - - - - - - - - Big-time ID theft symptom of database culture BJ's Wholesale Club attracts shoppers to its stores by putting thousands of discounted products under one roof. It wasn't hard to attract cyberthieves either, with databases that amass credit card numbers in huge numbers. The theft earlier this year of thousands of credit card records from the nation's third-largest warehouse club illustrates the potential for massive-scale identity theft whenever so much purchase-enabling information is stored in one place. It also illustrates how difficult the cleanup can be. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-08-10-database-culture_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spam's rush hour timed AN EMAIL forwarding company has done a test on when its direct marketing clients get their campaigns bounced by spam blockers and has charted the spam rush hours. Return Path, which based the data on looking at the results of more than 16,000 of its clients' campaigns reckon that most spam gets sent out between 10am and 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17763 - - - - - - - - - - New Threats to Wireless LAN Security A degree of paranoia is prudent, but complete shut-down is not. "If security people had their way, there would be no network -- which of course means you would have no business. You have to strike an acceptable balance," says Jerald Murphy of AMR. Wireless networks are relatively quick and easy to set up, and when cabling costs are taken into consideration, they can be less expensive that wired networks. But there is a growing awareness that wireless networking also presents significant security risks. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=New-Threats-to-Wireless-LAN-Security&story_id=26235 - - - - - - - - - - Securing the Corporation Four chief security officers discuss the steps they've taken to safeguard their organizations' IT infrastructures from internal and external threats. Hackers. Moles. Cyberterrorists. Back doors left by software developers. These are some of the primary challenges that corporate chief security officers are facing these days. In May, Computerworld's Thomas Hoffman moderated a panel discussion with four CSOs who explored these topics at a meeting of the New Jersey chapter of the Society for Information Management. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,95050,00.html - - - - - - - - - - UK's youth boards pirate ship to bootleg island New research conducted by YouGov has discovered that the youth of the UK care not one whit for the authenticity of the goods they purchase and that almost half own something pirated or counterfeit. In fact, of the 18-29 year-olds surveyed, 44 per cent had bought a fake, and only eight per cent thought their family and friends would disapprove of such a purchase. By contrast, only 17 per cent of the over 50 age group admitted owning anything counterfeit. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/10/pirate_youth/ *********************************************************** 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.