NewsBits for November 22, 2004 ************************************************************ FBI seeks kidnapper of 14-year-old girl It could be the break investigators need to find a missing Texas teenage girl. They believe they've found the suspected kidnapper's car right here in Oklahoma. They think the girl and the suspect are still in the state. FBI agents are calling the man who took Katy a pedophile, making this situation difficult because Katy went willingly with him. Katy Wilkerson, 14, has been missing for nearly three weeks. FBI officials believe she is with 22-year-old Paul Cameron Bennett. Their investigation shows the two have been in communication for a year, via the internet, causing unbelievable regret for her mother. http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2568187 - - - - - - - - - - Priest gets 30-month term in kiddie porn The Rev. Matthew J. Kornacki had multiple apologies to make yesterday just before he was sentenced to federal prison for possessing kiddie porn images. Kornacki, 57, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 31 years, read an emotional statement expressing his sorrow and regret. He apologized to his family, to fellow priests and to "children trapped in the web of child pornographers." He added, "I am very sorry and I am ashamed that I debased you in this way." http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/10210659.htm - - - - - - - - - - NET BURSTS - CHILD PORN SCANDAL Six out of seven web paedophiles snared escape court. Any pervert with fewer than 50 images let off with a warning. ONLY one in seven of the 700 Scots accused of buying internet child porn in a massive police probe have been convicted. The vast majority of the suspected paedophiles escaped prosecution in Operation Ore.Their credit card details were found when police in America shut down an internet company selling grotesque images of child sex abuse. http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/newsfeeds/page.cfm?objectid=14897150&method=full&siteid=86024 - - - - - - - - - - Teacher faces charges of possessing child porn The District Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint Wednesday in the local Superior Court against a Southwest High School English teacher accused of possessing child pornography. Frank Case has been charged with one count of misdemeanor possession of child pornography, said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Owen. Local U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents consulted with the DA's Office about a week ago concerning an ongoing federal investigation of a child pornography Internet ring that Case was tied to, explained Owen. http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2004/11/18/news/news03.txt - - - - - - - - - - Senate passes scaled-back copyright bill The Senate has voted to outlaw several favorite techniques of people who illegally copy and distribute movies, but has dropped other measures that could have led to jail time for Internet song-swappers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6557652/ http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65796,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Movie pirates face Christmas crackdown The UK Film Council is examining ways to clamp down on rising levels of internet and traditional movie piracy, and has promised to publish a report on the topic shortly. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159565 RIAA sues filesharing US students http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/riaa_sues_students/ Music Industry More at Risk in Piracy http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Music-Industry-More-at-Risk-in-Piracy&story_id=28577 File Sharing Growing Like a Weed http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,65774,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Security critic sues Japanese government A US computer security expert has decided to sue the Japanese government after, he claims, it censored him at a recent security conference. Ejovi Nuwere, chief technology officer of SecurityLab Technologies, is suing the government for violation of his freedom of speech under Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution. It is the first of its kind in Japan, according to his lawyer. http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2662&Page=1&pagePos=2 http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,97758,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Bank of Ireland and HP fight over porn bill HP and the Bank of Ireland are arguing over who should pick up the bill for the departure of Michael Soden - the porn-surfing chief executive who quit in June. The Bank of Ireland boss was forced to resign after it emerged he'd been surfing for porn at work. The material was not illegal but was in breach of the company's computer use policy. The bank's IT supplier, HP, is being blamed for that information becoming public. The bank and HP are now arguing over who should pay Soden's severance package. He was halfway through a PS5m contract, according to the Evening Standard. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/hp_porn_row/ - - - - - - - - - - Hackers launch Bofra banner ad attacks The Bofra exploit is being used on banner ads by hackers to take control of potentially thousands of computers. Security experts are warning that hackers may have launched a wide-spread attack in Europe using banner ads to redirect users to Web sites that download malicious code. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39174611,00.htmj http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5462862.html http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,97753,00.html Falk statement on Bofra attack http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/falk_bofra_statement/ Bofra exploit tied to 'massive botnet' http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/apache_hijack_serves_iframe_exploit/ Bofra exploit hits our ad serving supplier http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/21/register_adserver_attack/ Attackers strike using Web ads http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5463323.html - - - - - - - - - - Visa scammers hit UK phones Credit card fraudsters are trying to fleece UK punters by tricking them into revealing card security information over the phone. The fraudsters, posing as representatives of Visa, are already is possession of card numbers and are after the CVV numbers (commonly printed on the signature panel on the back of the card) often needed to make purchases online. Scammers claim that they are phoning about a suspicious transaction. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/visa_scam/ British online banking service resumes after e-mail scam threat http://www.securityfocus.com/news/9979 - - - - - - - - - - Plastic Card Fraud: Increase in Russia Companies, banks, other businesses try to hide the facts of data theft, cyber fraud, because they fear to lose investors and partners confidence. Thats why there is no comprehensive official statistics. Experts say that losses from cyber theft are 4 times more than traditional theft in U.S. http://www.crime-research.org/news/20.11.2004/808/ - - - - - - - - - - 419er seeks flatshare with Reg reader Landlords beware - Nigerian 419ers are targeting online UK flatshare sites in an attempt to practice their dark advance fee fraud arts on unsuspecting advertisers. Reg reader James Wilson placed an ad for a spare room on several such sites last Friday. Within hours he had received the following BREATHLESS MISSIVE from NIGERIA. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/419_flatshare/ - - - - - - - - - - Skulls may not mean skullduggery, says Symbian Skulls, a suspected Trojan which disables some phones running the Symbian OS, might not be malware at all, according to the software vendor. Mobile phone operating system company Symbian has said it is unsure whether a program that distrupts some phones running its software, and dubbed the Skulls Trojan, is malicious. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39174702,00.htm http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27982-1.html http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Trojan-Attacks-Symbian-Phones&story_id=28583 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/skulls_trojan/ - - - - - - - - - - Browser promises to fend off phishers The U.K.-based software developer said it will release Deepnet 3.1 on Dec. 1. The free browser is already available in beta, although the anti- phishing function will not be incorporated until the final version, said Yurong Lin, chief executive of Deepnet. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5462928.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39174609,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Mozilla backtracks in eBay privacy flap The Mozilla Foundation has updated the German- language version of Firefox in a bid to defuse a growing controversy over the way its search toolbar handles private customer data. Mozilla, an open-source group that oversees the development and marketing of the Firefox Web browser and other software, on Monday said it changed an eBay search plug-in that had originally directed queries through a Web address, or URL, owned by a third-party Swiss search company. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27984-1.html http://news.com.com/Mozilla+backtracks+in+eBay+privacy+flap/2100-1032_3-5463442.html - - - - - - - - - - Patches cause headaches for federal managers Two of the other top worries were network compromises and compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The survey of information security managers at federal agencies was published by Intelligent Decisions, a federal system integrator based in Washington, D.C. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5460073.html http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1122/web-ciso-11-22-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - US Air Force's security to depend on Microsoft The US Air Force (USAF) is drafting Microsoft to help simplify its networks and software contracts, a move that could improve its computer security and deliver savings of $100m. The USAF is consolidating its 38 software contracts and nine support contracts with Microsoft into two all-encompassing, agency-wide agreements, according to a statement seen by silicon.com sister site CNET News.com. http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39126045,00.htm Microsoft pact with Air Force could be model for DOD http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27980-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Thomson joins Microsoft-Time Warner anti-piracy deal French technology company Thomson SA said Monday it was joining Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.'s proposed venture to make anti-piracy software, a move that could relieve European Union concerns about the pending deal. In a joint statement, the companies said Thomson has agreed to purchase a 33 percent voting stake in U.S.-based ContentGuard, changing the deal from a two-company joint venture to three. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10245772.htm Anti-Piracy Team Adds French Firm http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,65792,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Bosses 'worst at mobile security' UK businesses have the got the fear when it comes to securing their employees' mobile devices but they're still seeing mobiles as a technology - not a business - issue according to new research. A new report from Dimension Data has found that half of companies say their staff have a poor attitude when it comes to securing their data and devices, with only one in 10 firms having a security manager in charge of keeping mobiles safe, with 84 per cent leaving it to their head of security to take care of. http://hardware.silicon.com/pdas/0,39024643,39126030,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spyware sparks user and vendor activity Businesses have long known about the need to protect themselves from viruses and hackers but many are now waking up to the pressing need to specifically protect themselves from spyware. The vendors are now pouncing upon the opportunities created, giving rise to some verbal jousting between security companies. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5463182.html - - - - - - - - - - Electronic Passports Might Not Measure Up The United States hasn't issued any microchip- equipped passports yet, but as the Department of State tests different prototypes, the international standards for the passports are under fire from privacy advocates who worry the technology won't protect travelers from identity thieves. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10245387.htm Privacy advocates fret over electronic passports http://www.securityfocus.com/news/9981 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6556701/ Microchip passport critics say ID theft possible http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-22-hitech-passport_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Seven Ways To Foil ID Thieves Don't let unauthorized charges on your credit cards knock the stuffing out of Santa this year. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission estimates that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years, including 9.9 million last year-- and the number of new cases appears to be growing. http://www.forbes.com/home/personalfinance/2004/11/22/cx_sr_1122idprevention.html - - - - - - - - - - Richard Clarke on Cyberterrorism and Iraq Richard Clarke, former counter terrorism advisor tothe US National Security Council, has revealed that before invading Iraq, the U.S. government used the Internet to communicate directly with Iraqi soldiers by sending them personalised messages saying, "We're about to invade. We're going to overwhelm you and if you resist us we're going to kill you. But we dont want to do that. So really the best thing for you to do when we invade is to go home. http://www.crime-research.org/news/20.11.2004/810/ - - - - - - - - - - Secure Flight critics want info American Civil Liberties Union officials asked the Homeland Security Department to provide more information on plans to begin testing the Secure Flight airline passenger screening program. Government Accountability Office officials must evaluate the impact of Secure Flight on aviation security before funds can be used for an identity verification system that uses private databases, according to the DHS Appropriations Act of 2005. That review hasn't been completed, ACLU officials say. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1122/web-secure-11-22-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Adult site sues Google for infringment A Web site that sells photos of naked women is suing Google Inc., alleging that the online search engine leader is destroying its business by distributing links and passwords that provide free glimpses of the nude models. Beverly Hills- based Perfect 10 Inc. is seeking unspecified damages from Mountain View-based Google for alleged copyright infringement. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6560688/ *********************************************************** 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.