NewsBits for November 11, 2004 ************************************************************ Ex-Microsoft workers charged with theft Four former Microsoft (MSFT) employees were charged with stealing $32.4 million worth of software and selling it on the side. According to the complaint filed this week, the employees ordered software available to Microsoft employees for free to use for business purposes, then sold it to online software retailers. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-11-msft-software-theft_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Police arrest phishing mob suspect A Suspected Russian gangster and phishing scam operator, caught with $200,000 in stolen goods and $15,000 cash, has been charged on several counts of identity fraud and credit card fraud. Brighton District Court in Boston ordered Andrew Schwarmkoff, 28, to be held on $100,000 bail for the fraud charges. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5448712.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39173346,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Roommate's computer led to arrest of student on terrorist charge Using the computer of a roommate whose job involves campus security led to the arrest of a Wyoming Technical Institute student on suspicion of supporting a Somalian terrorist group, a spokesman for the Laramie trade school said Wednesday. Mark Robert Walker, 19, of suburban Rochester, N.Y., is charged with providing support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-11-terror-surfer_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Former teacher gets time in child porn case A former Iao School teacher has been sentenced to a federal prison term of about three years for possessing child pornography that he obtained over the Internet. Dane P. Kaneshina, 29, of Pukalani, used computers both at his home and at the Wailuku school to obtain 34,000 pornographic images, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong. http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=3092 - - - - - - - - - - Nucla man sentenced in child porn case nets probation sentence A Nucla man charged with sending child pornography by computer to an undercover officer in Ohio has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of sexual exploitation of children. Thomas Scott Barnes, 36, entered the plea Tuesday in Montrose County Associate Court in Nucla. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped 17 additional counts. http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2004/11/11/local_news/1.txt - - - - - - - - - - Internet Allegedly Used in Sex Crime Investigators at the New Castle County police department say there is a classic case of a sexual predator who used a computer to charm his victim. Police say 25-year-old Thomas Manuel was a child predator posing as a teenager on the internet. The Delaware man stands accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/111104_nw_onlinepredator.html - - - - - - - - - - Child pornographer deserved jail, DA says Northampton County's district attorney says a Bushkill Township man should have been put in prison for sending child pornography over the Internet, according to court papers filed Wednesday. Geary Alan Gum, 53, was sentenced to eight years of probation for sending four pictures of nude boys to an undercover police officer on Dec. 16, 2003. Gum pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse of children. http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1100167503187180.xml - - - - - - - - - - Collier Deputies Warn Parents About Sex Predators Online A Collier county man is facing charges of using the internet to lure a teenager. Authorities said 28-year-old Alexis Schomburg met a 14-year-old girl in an online-chat room, before meeting her in person to engage in a sex act. Schomburg faces two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, and two counts of lewd and lascivious battery. He also faces one count of obscenity for using a computer to solicit a child. http://www.teamamberalert.net/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5210 - - - - - - - - - - Surgeon caught with child porn to continue work A north Queensland surgeon will continue working in Mackay after being fined $2,000 for having 120 child pornography images. Dr William Joseph Fitzgerald has been convicted in the Mackay Magistrates Court of two counts of possessing and one count of copying child abuse computer games, and one count of possessing tainted property. The court heard Fitzgerald is being supervised by the Queensland Medical Board and that most of his computer images were of naked four to 15-year-old boys. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242524.htm - - - - - - - - - - Beach firefighter put on administrative leave with pay A fireman arrested Tuesday and charged with an Internet crime will be on administrative leave with pay effective Thursday. Police say Captain William E. Dickerson, II, 47, contacted the 15- year-old Beach teenager in March over the Internet and later by telephone. Dickerson allegedly engaged in sexually explicit conversations with girl and arranged a meeting. http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_110904_fireman_arrest.4026626c.html - - - - - - - - - - We seize servers, you can't complain - US gov Indymedia seizures attempting to block efforts to find out who seized Indymedia's servers in London last month. The Government has filed a motion in San Antonio District Court opposing the Electronic Frontier Foundation's motion to unseal the court order which resulted in the seizures, and arguing among other things that unsealing would "seriously jeopardize" an "ongoing criminal terrorism investigation". http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/11/gov_indymedia_response/ - - - - - - - - - - Trojan horse spies on Web banking Security experts say they've discovered a Trojan horse that records e-banking user details and Web surfing habits. Antivirus company Sophos is warning that the Banker-AJ Trojan is targeting online customers of British banks such as Abbey, Barclays, Egg, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide and NatWest. The Trojan affects computers running Microsoft Windows. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5448622.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39173357,00.htm http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159329 - - - - - - - - - - Experts fret over online extortion attempts It's the 21st century's equivalent of a ransom note: Pay up or suffer a massive denial of service attack on your Web site powered by thousands of hijacked "zombie" computers. "You have 2 choices," Card Services International was told via e-mail earlier this year. "You can ignore this email and try to keep your site up, which will cost you tens of thousands of dollars ... or you can send us $10K by Western Union to make sure your site experiences no problem. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6436834/ - - - - - - - - - - Survey: Some merchants losing battle against crime While that's an annual increase of $700 million, the percent increase is roughly equal to the increase in total Net sales, so rates of fraud stayed essentially the same -- about 2 percent of sales -- according to the survey, conducted by CyberSource Corp. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6463545/ - - - - - - - - - - Ten SP2 flaws leave XP users open to hackers Millions at risk from 'silent and remote' attacks, claims security firm. Security researchers claimed today that millions of Microsoft customers are at risk from 10 serious security vulnerabilities uncovered in Windows XP patched with Service Pack 2 (SP2). http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159322 - - - - - - - - - - Lexmark accused of installing spyware A Usenet news group has claimed that Lexmark is installing spyware on its customers' computers Allegations have been swirling around an online newsgroup this week that printer manufacturer Lexmark has been installing spyware on its customers' computers. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39173517,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - War on cybercrime against kids widens Ontario's fight against Internet crimes that target children got a boost of up to $5 million yesterday. Monte Kwinter, Ontario minister of community safety and correctional services, announced the additional spending at a YM-YWCA in downtown Ottawa as part of Crime Prevention Week. http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/11/11/709154.html - - - - - - - - - - Defense still working out identity management issues The Defense Department is seeking industrys help in crafting a vision for identity management that balances security with a users right to privacy. Dave Wennergren, Navy CIO and chairman of the DOD Identity Protection and Management Senior Coordinating Group, said the group made progress in whittling down dozens of public-key infrastructures that didnt work together to a single DOD-wide PKI. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27881-1.html Architecture to get more security, privacy info http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1108/web-feamore-11-11-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - E-Mail Authentication Will Not End Spam, Panelists Say For consumers and businesses increasingly shaken by the growing onslaught of unwanted e-mail and the computer viruses and other nefarious hacking spam can bring, any hope for quick relief was soundly dashed yesterday during a government-hosted gathering of technology experts. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41460-2004Nov10.html - - - - - - - - - - Digital Media the most vulnerable for illegal information access 70-80% of the information about a certain object can be received legally by use open sources: magazines, newspapers and the Internet. However, other methods of the information collection are required, typically, they are illegal and classified as Industrial Espionage. As a rule, it means collecting registered, classified information and the illegal intrusion into privacy of correspondence. http://www.crime-research.org/news/11.11.2004/782/ - - - - - - - - - - DHS works on case management As part of an overarching federal case management initiative, Homeland Security Department officials are working on modernizing the agency's systems to allow federal, state and local law enforcement agents to report, investigate, track and analyze cases electronically. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1108/web-cce-11-11-04.asp DHS plots security database http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1108/web-clear-11-10-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Stressed-out Spaniards attack computers with hammers Stress-frazzled Spaniards are paying PS40 a pop to smash technology with sledgehammers, Ananova reports. The initiative in Soria allows access to the city's main scrapyard where enraged suits vent their frustration on cars, computers and mobile phones. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/11/damage_therapy/ *********************************************************** 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.