NewsBits for November 15, 2004 ************************************************************ Alleged software piracy CADs collared Two people were arrested last week for allegedly masterminding a multi-million dollar software software piracy ring following a joint operation by Greek and British police. The duo, one Greek and one Briton, are accused of selling counterfeit computer aided design software for $905, much less than the going rate, Reuters reports. The news agency adds that police allegedly recovered a computer, three hard disks and 7,000 CDs of "warez" pirated software in the process of arresting the pair. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/15/cad_piracy_bust/ - - - - - - - - - - Quiet settlement in Australian online defamation case In a low-key end to a groundbreaking case that extended the reach of Australia's libel laws to the world, a U.S. financial news service has settled a defamation lawsuit launched against it by an Australian mining magnate. The case started after mining boss Joe Gutnick claimed that an October 2000 Barron's magazine article had portrayed him as a schemer given to stock scams, money laundering and fraud. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10188911.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39173812,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Trial reveals spammer techniques As one of the world's most prolific spammers, Jeremy Jaynes pumped out at least 10 million e-mails a day with the help of 16 high-speed lines, the kind of Internet capacity a 1,000- employee company would need. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/11/14/inside.spamming.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-14-spammer-trial_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - I.D. Under Lock And Key Late last month, four servers containing names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of thousands of Wells Fargo & Co. mortgage and student-loan customers were stolen from an Atlanta company that prints loan statements. There's no indication the information has been misused, the bank says, but it's advising affected customers to monitor their accounts for suspicious activity. It's also offering a free one-year credit-protection program and has established a toll-free hotline. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=EL5YJDIGKQWQSQSNDBCSKH0CJUMEKJVN?articleID=52601473 - - - - - - - - - - Terrorism ; Cyber crime tools could serve terrorists The hacking and identity theft tools now earning big money for mainly eastern European organized crime could be used by terrorists to attack the United States, an FBI official said. FBI Deputy Assistant Director, Steve Martinez said cyber crime was no longer the domain of teenage geeks but had been taken over by sophisticated gangs. http://www.crime-research.org/news/13.11.2004/787/ - - - - - - - - - - Hackers strike at 'soft target' small firms Online criminals are increasingly concentrating on "soft target" small and medium-sized firms, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned. The organisation investigated 18 financial firms as part of a review of security and found that, while the large financial institutions had made progress with online security, smaller firms were falling behind. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159408 - - - - - - - - - - UK business running scared Security is at the top of corporate agendas, with 97 per cent of executives rating it as a matter of 'great' concern. Over two-thirds of small businesses still feel vulnerable to IT security attacks and believe the government should work more closely with the IT community to solve security problems. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159402 - - - - - - - - - - Anti-virus outfit defends job for VXer Czech company Zoner Software has explained why it employed a prominent former virus writer to develop anti-virus software on its behalf. The firm - whose main business is graphics and multimedia - hired Benny, one-time member of the 29A virus writing group, to develop security software to protect servers run by Zoner's Internet division. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/9918 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39173809,00.htm http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,97474,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Identity check made compulsory in Karnataka cyber cafes Internet surfers in over 50,000 cyber cafes across Karnataka now need to show an identity proof before they browse the Web. The State Government with an aim to prevent misuse of the Net by criminals has made it mandatory for cyber cafes to have a record of all net users, failing which police can impound the license of the Internet parlours. http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.11.2004/789/ - - - - - - - - - - Skype plugs hole in VoIP software Peer-to-peer phone company Skype has updated its Internet telephony software, patching a critical flaw in its client for Microsoft Windows-based systems. The vulnerability could allow attackers to take control of a Skype user's PC after the victim clicks on a specially created URL, security information provider Secunia said Monday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5453313.html - - - - - - - - - - Yahoo! tests tougher spam tech EarthLink Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. said Monday they will begin tests of a new anti-spam technology that encodes digital signatures into customers' e-mail as a way to separate legitimate messages from unwanted spam. Developed by Yahoo!, the technology is one of several emerging standards that seeks to flush out fake addresses used by spammers to slip through content filters. It would be invisible to regular Internet users. http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/15/technology/yahoo_spam.reut/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - McAfee takes on more spyware McAfee Inc. today plans to announce an add-on for its enterprise antivirus products to offer increased protection against spyware. Users of McAfee VirusScan Enterprise Edition versions 7.1 or 8.0i next month will be able to purchase a new McAfee Anti-Spyware Enterprise Edition Module for $15 per desktop to better protect their systems against spyware, said John Bedrick, group marketing manager at McAfee, in Santa Clara, Calif. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,97521,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Hacker hire costs SecurePoint an ally A German antivirus-software company has broken off its partnership with firewall firm SecurePoint because of SecurePoint's decision to hire Sven Jaschan, the alleged creator of the Sasser virus. H+BEDV Datentechnik confirmed on Monday that it has halted cooperation with SecurePoint because of the security implications of the hire. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5453166.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/12/vxer_job_controversy/ - - - - - - - - - - RFID gets FDA push Food and Drug Administration officials released new policy guidelines today designed to stimulate the use of passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for prescription drugs, and Purdu Pharma officials said they will start using the technology this week on shipments to two large customers of the company's OxyContin narcotic pain treatment drug. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1115/web-fda-11-15-04.asp http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1104/111504dk1.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6493296/ Training for RFID http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1115/web-rfi-11-15-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Radio tags employed to vouch for drugs' legitimacy The makers of the impotency drug Viagra and the painkiller OxyContin said Monday they will add radio transmitters to bottles of their pills to fight counterfeiting. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10188337.htm - - - - - - - - - - Watch where you point that camera phone Just because you can sneak your camera phone into the locker room and take a pic of Bob shaving his back hair doesn't mean it's a good idea. So warns the Consumer Electronics Association, the main trade group for gadget makers of all types. On Monday, it published a set of guidelines meant to defuse growing efforts to restrict the use of mobile phones equipped with digital cameras. http://news.com.com/Watch+where+you+point+that+camera+phone/2100-1041_3-5453294.html - - - - - - - - - - Outsourcing Dangers (series of stories) Is your service provider in financial trouble? Is quality slipping? Is your intellectual property safe? This special report will help you find out. http://computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/report/0,,11152004,00.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. 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