NewsBits for October 14, 2004 ************************************************************ Former Deputy Indicted For Computer Crime The Shelby County Grand Jury today indicted a former Shelby County Sheriff's deputy for allegedly selling information from a secured website which provides law enforcement personnel investigative information. The Grand Jury indicted Gregory Jackson, 45, on three counts of official misconduct and four counts of computer crime. http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=2424511 - - - - - - - - - - Stolen 'Halo 2' hits pirate sites Microsoft threatened severe penalties Thursday for those who circulate a stolen copy of "Halo 2," the hotly anticipated Xbox game set to go on sale next month. Microsoft representatives confirmed that a pirated copy of "Halo 2"--in the French language and the PAL video format used by European television sets--began circulating on the Internet late Wednesday via newsgroups and "warez" sites for swapping pirated software. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5409959.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3743110.stm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/halo_2_leak/ - - - - - - - - - - FBI gives back seized servers The UK-based servers of media company Indymedia have been returned to the London datacentre of hosting firm Rackspace. But Indymedia is still none the wiser about why the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized them in the first place. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158752 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/indymedia_servers_back/ - - - - - - - - - - British court orders ISPs to identify swappers The British music industry has won a crucial High Court decision that forces Internet service providers to hand over the identity of people accused of using the Internet to swap free songs. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) along with trade group The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced last week they would sue 28 British music fans who use such popular file-sharing networks as Kazaa and eDonkey to download and exchange songs for free. http://news.com.com/British+court+orders+ISPs+to+identify+swappers/2100-1027_3-5410411.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/bpi_wins_p2p_court_order/ - - - - - - - - - - Consumer, privacy groups demand seat at Kazaa trial The Australian music industry's fight with Kazaa owner Sharman Networks is not set to return to the Sydney court until late next month, but a number of third-parties are already demanding the right to participate. It's perhaps no great surprise that e-liberties lobbyists the Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF) wants in, but so apparently do the Australian Consumers Association and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL), Australian IT reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/kazaa_trial_public_interest/ - - - - - - - - - - Bail for alleged child porn offender A Perth man allegedly found with thousands of child pornography images has been released on bail after a brief court appearance. In Perth Court of Petty Sessions on Wednesday, Raymond John Belcher, 36, had one charge of possessing child pornography adjourned until November 2. Magistrate Robert Black released Belcher, of the northern Perth suburb of Woodvale, on $10,000 bail. Belcher was not required to plead to the charge, and no facts were tendered to the court. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=19716 Bail for child porn accused A SECOND Tasmanian charged as part of the national crackdown on child pornography was granted bail when he faced court today. Scott Anthony Hoggett, 43, of Huntingfield, near Hobart, appeared in the Hobart Magistrates Court today, charged with one count of possessing a child abuse product. Police allege he was found in possession of 86 digital video files depicting teenage girls aged under 16, and pre-teen girls posing in a sexual manner and performing sex acts. Magistrate Shan Tennent bailed Hoggett and adjourned the case for plea on November 9. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11071594%255E1702,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Brit cuffed in US net sex investigation Police in Austin, Texas, want to question a Yorkshire man over allegations that he had sex with a teenage girl he met in an internet chatroom.The 36-year-old man from Leyburn has been arested by police in Yorkshire in connection with the sexual assault. He has been released on bail but could face extradition proceedings, according to a report by the BBC. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/police_austin_us/ - - - - - - - - - - Ashcroft steps up fight against tech piracy With San Jose's Tech Museum as a backdrop, Attorney General John Ashcroft on Wednesday vowed to more aggressively prosecute computer and intellectual property crime, from software piracy to the rampant illegal downloading of music and movies on the Internet. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/9915533.htm?1c http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6228258/ http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65331,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Homeland Security identifies potential infrastructure targets The Homeland Security Department has developed a framework to identify vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, but the effort to protect such targets from terrorist attacks is a task still in its infancy, a key department official said Thursday. Robert Liscouski, the assistant secretary for infrastructure protection, told a group of experts at The Infrastructure Security Partnership, which is made up of private associations and public agencies focused on security-related issues, that full implementation of a national infrastructure protection plan is two to three years away. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/101404tdpm1.htm - - - - - - - - - - RSA pushes for DHS cybersecurity czar The federal government must lead by example in online security and privacy, RSA Security Inc.s Art Coviello said today at a Capitol briefing sponsored by the Congressional Internet Caucus. You cant let agencies continue to get failing grades for computer security, said the president and CEO of the Bedford, Mass., encryption vendor. Instead, he urged Congress to fund agencies systems security as a matter of course and to support the elevation of a cybersecurity czar with proper budget authority at the Homeland Security Department. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27635-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Portuguese Netsky rates a medium risk Virus hunters at McAfee have identified a new variant of the Netsky virus and rate it as a medium risk. Like other Netsky viruses, the W32/Netskyag@MM offshoot uses an e-mail to gain entry and install itself into several files via the Windows directory. Once installed, it harvests e-mail addresses from the infected machine and sends out copies of itself in messages that look like they're from people on the e-mail database in the infected computer. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5409946.html - - - - - - - - - - Undead IE bug rises from grave Recent updates to IE contain a serious regression that leaves systems once more vulnerable to a flaw fixed more than two years ago, according to security researchers. The vulnerability, which involves how IE processes XML files, gives rise to information disclosure risks. The security bug was patched and closed back in Aug 2002, six months after Microsoft was initially notified about it by Israeli firm GreyMagic Software, which discovered the problem. Microsoft rated the vulnerability as "moderate" when it fixed the flaw as part a cumulative update (MS02-047) to IE issued on August 22 2002. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/ie_bug_revived/ - - - - - - - - - - Bacros virus targets hard-drive destruction An old-style virus with a destructive payload will delete all the files on an infected PC's hard drive as a Christmas present. Like pixie boots and Bros, some things are better off left in the 1980s - like viruses that spread via floppy discs and tried to wipe hard drives. It seems no one told the virus writers that, though. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39170348,00.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/14/bacros_retro_virus/ - - - - - - - - - - Virus writers lure unwary with promises of Beckham pictures Virus writers are attempting to take over computer users' PCs by enticing them to click on a malicious program masquerading as lurid photos of England soccer captain David Beckham, a British security firm warned. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6246438/ - - - - - - - - - - Australia vulnerable to Korean hacking army An army of more than 500 hackers hired by the North Korean military could find Australian businesses a "softer target" than their U.S. or European-based counterparts, according to security experts. The hacking armys mission is to break into South Korean, Japanese and American corporate networks to gather intelligence and steal trade secrets, according to reports. http://asia.cnet.com/news/security/0,39037064,39197226,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Phishing costs $20 000 000 for Russian businesses The financial losses of Russian businesses caused by carder reached $20000000. Carders specialized on counterfeiting plastic cards use Internet for receiving information on card holders and cards numbers. Two weeks earlier users noticed mass bulk mailing, the messages were aimed to clients of Citibank. Experts call it Phishing. Messages were written in Russian and English, all of them required receiver to browse certain web-site and update personal account. http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.10.2004/707/ - - - - - - - - - - Dutch business increasingly targeted by cybercrime Dutch companies, especially banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, are increasingly becoming the target of computer viruses and break-ins, according to a recent report published by consultants Ernst & Young. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=3771 - - - - - - - - - - Demand for greater powers to tackle spam Information commissioner Richard Thomas says he needs greater powers to stop spammers if there is to be any chance of the problem subsiding. Thomas says he needs fast-track prosecution powers to stop the rising tide of unsolicited email. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158739 - - - - - - - - - - IBM, Cisco tackle security's weak link IBM and Cisco Systems have expanded a partnership to provide businesses with automated identity and access security to networks. The two companies announced Thursday that they have integrated IBM's Tivoli network management software with Cisco's networking products to help businesses protect their networks from worms and viruses before employees get on the network. The combined offering sets criteria for users and devices logging on to the network. http://news.com.com/IBM,+Cisco+tackle+securitys+weak+link/2100-7347_3-5409537.html - - - - - - - - - - Security vendors warn of the tricks of the trade Security experts at the Enterprise Wireless Technology show warn of 'marchitecture', FUD and product spec hype. Many companies selling security products are guilty of hyping their offerings and scaring customers with problems that are often unfounded, said a panel of security experts at the Enterprise Wireless Technology (EWT) trade show in London on Thursday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39170347,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Beyond patch management By now, IT managers are familiar with the major challenges posed by patch management. The story goes something like this: Software vendors are releasing many more patches due to the increasing number of vulnerabilities uncovered in widely used software programs. Simultaneously, the time between the announcement of a known vulnerability and the appearance of a threat targeting that vulnerability is rapidly diminishing. This situation raises the pressure on administrators to quickly identify vulnerable systems, test new patches and rapidly deploy them. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,96594,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Implantable chip prompts privacy concerns Privacy advocates are concerned that an implantable microchip designed to help doctors tap into a patient's medical records could undermine confidentiality or could even be used to track the patient's movements. http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/10/14/implantable.chip.ap/index.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. 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