NewsBits for October 8, 2004 ************************************************************ Wallace denies wrongdoing in fed anti-spyware case The man at the center of the nation's first spyware case a businessman notorious for his junk Internet mailings says federal regulators were politically motivated in targeting him for enforcement of new bills outlawing intrusive software. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5403438.html http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27597-1.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6207252/ http://computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,96528,00.html http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/08/tech.spyware.reut/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-10-07-ftc-spyware_x.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/08/us_anti-spyware_laws/ - - - - - - - - - - Netherlands deports more 419ers Amsterdam police yesterday arrested another 21 419 scammers from Nigeria and Sierra Leone, in an operation codenamed Spirit 9. The 21 men, all illegal immigrants, will be deported. The Dutch government is poised to crack down on illegal residence as the immigration service, IND, gains more manpower to track down and deport foreigners. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/08/419_scammers_deported/ - - - - - - - - - - Dodgy UK websites terminated Eight UK websites have been forced to shut down following an investigation into low-life scam operations that make claims that prove to be "too good to be true". A further 27 UK sites have been ordered to change the content on their sites while 40 are still under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/08/icpen_oft/ - - - - - - - - - - Supreme Court asked to intervene in file-swapping dispute The Supreme Court was asked Friday to hold two Internet file-sharing services responsible for their customers' online swapping of copyrighted songs and movies. An appeals court sided with Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc. in the big-dollar fight over file-sharing. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9872358.htm http://news.com.com/Hollywood+takes+P2P+case+to+Supreme+Court/2100-1027_3-5403915.html http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1668518,00.asp Kazaa owner denied office-raid appeal http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39169460,00.htm http://news.com.com/Copyright+bill+dies+in+Senate+as+others+advance/2100-1028_3-5404166.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6208947/ - - - - - - - - - - Curtain Call for Junk-Fax Blaster Fax machines around the country observed a moment of silence this week after a federal court issued an order Tuesday against the nation's most notorious junk-fax blaster, Fax.com, prohibiting the company and its surrogates from spamming fax machines across the country. The decision, issued as a temporary injunction rather than a permanent order, likely spells the end to Fax.com. The court order states that the company agreed to comply with the terms, ruling out the possibility of appeal. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,65291,00.html - - - - - - - - - - NISCC wins gong for its fight against cybercrime The National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) got a pat on the back today. Director of Roger Cumming received one of two annual awards from the research and education body the SANS Institute at its top 20 Internet Security Threats conference in London today. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39169463,00.htm http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,96516,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Expert: Online extortion growing more common Online extortion is rife and that cybercrime is set to get worse, the SANS Institute's research director said Friday. "Six or seven thousand organizations are paying online extortion demands," Alan Paller said at the SANS Institute's Top 20 Vulnerabilities conference in London. "The epidemic of cybercrime is growing. You don't hear much about it because it's extortion, and people feel embarrassed to talk about it." http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5403162.html - - - - - - - - - - 'Good citizenship' comes between Australians and their mobile porn "Good corporate citizenship" is all that stands between Optus and its plans to introduce adult content to its mobile phone service, the SingTel- owned company said late yesterday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,39020336,39169465,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Identity theft is on the rise in El Paso, according to Detective Hayes of the El Paso Police Department's Financial Crimes division. There are over 100 new cases reported every month -- and that is by people who actually know they are being victimized. http://www.ktsm.com/news/story.ssd?c=d2a42b2d83844a79 - - - - - - - - - - Word open to exploit An unpatched security vulnerability in popular older versions of Microsoft Word poses a severe threat to users, security reporting firm Secunia warned yesterday. The flaw stems from an input validation error in Word. This creates a mechanism for creating malicious files capable of crashing Windows boxes providing a user can be tricked into opening dodgy documents. The bug might also (at least potentially) be used to inject malicious code into vulnerable systems. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/9676 'Highly critical' security flaw found in Office http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39169436,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Man in tights to get smartcard reader The Serjeant at Arms has requisitioned a new smartcard based security system for the House of Commons in an effort to improve security after a number of high-profile breaches. Men in tights were unable to protect UK MPs from invasion by hunting demonstrators last month, but a new electronic identity card system could do the trick. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,39020351,39169617,00.htm Agencies expand smart-card programs http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/100804dp1.htm - - - - - - - - - - Caymas to open with security gateways Security start-up Caymas Systems is expected to formally launch on Monday with a product line of identity gateway appliances that lets users get to corporate information while denying access to intruders. Caymas funnels access from within and outside the firewall through its products to the local area network and data center. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5404077.html - - - - - - - - - - Security highlights from around the Web More reason to worry: Cybercriminals are taking advantage of weak security at business Web sites to steal valuable customer data, the BBC reports. Adding insult to injury is the widespread use of extortion to force the businesses to pay up to get their customer lists back. While the main targets were gambling sites where users bet on sporting events, the thieves have moved on to business sites that dont adequately protect themselves. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,80400,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Companies risk security by not introducing wireless Enterprise IT managers are interested, but reluctant, to introduce wireless technology to their business for no good reason - and as a result could be risking security breaches. At least according to a survey by researchers IDC. IDCs research director, Lars Vestergaard, said their research found interest by businesses in WLAN usage was widespread, but not many of them were particularly interested. http://www.techworld.com/mobility/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2386&Page=1&pagePos=3 - - - - - - - - - - Shifting cyber threats menace factory floors The factory floor of a modern paper manufacturing plant is a ballet of heavy machinery and razor- sharp blades, pressing, dying, rolling, unrolling and cutting dead tree pulp by the ton. To James Cupps, it's something else, too: a target rich environment for cyber attacks. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/08/cyber_threats_menace_factories/ - - - - - - - - - - New reason to avoid 'unsubscribe' links We've always been told that trying to "opt- out" from spam messages is probably a bad idea. Spam filtering firm MessageLabs now says there's a new reason not to click -- spammers are starting to sneak special code into that opt-out link which turns the spam recipient into an unwitting accomplice. The link is really a clever trick designed to turn the victim's computer into a zombie that can be used to send out more spam. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6208701/ - - - - - - - - - - Spam: Leave it to the sender In today's Internet e-mail system, the sender creates a message and sends it to an SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) server. That server, in turn, sends the message to all the recipients' SMTP servers -- where it is stored until it is retrieved by services like POP3 (Post Office Protocol), Microsoft's MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), and DMSP (Distributed Mail System Protocol). http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5402746.html Spam gets political http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39169618,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - CEOs 'too trusting' of outsourcer's security CEOs aren't taking the care that they should with their customers' data when they outsource, according to a new survey of senior management. The Ernst & Young Global Information Security Survey queried 1,233 companies from 70 countries and found that most were trusting their outsourcer's security to chance rather than actively tracking how secure data is. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5403254.html - - - - - - - - - - Ask Tom Ridge or bust George Bush's political guru, Karl Rove, must own a super lucky rabbit's foot. When Amit Yoran last week became the third cybersecurity chief to leave his post in less than two years, most folks barely noticed. What with the baseball playoffs, the sexual exploits of Scott Peterson and the political silly season, other things apparently occupied their attention. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5403025.html - - - - - - - - - - Cops get info-sharing portal for debate While President Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) square off in their second debate tonight in St. Louis, more than two dozen federal, state and local law enforcement and emergency agencies will exchange information about security measures via a customized Web portal. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1004/web-esponder-10-08-04.asp http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,96519,00.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.