NewsBits for December 16, 2004
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UK spammer charged with further offences
More charges keep UK spammer in jail. The UK's
most prolific spammer, Peter Francis Clifford
Macrae, remains behind bars after being charged
with further offences at Huntingdon Magistrates
court.
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1160116
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Long prison term for Lowe's wi-fi hacker
A 21-year-old Michigan man was sentenced to nine
years in federal prison Wednesday in federal court
in Charlotte, North Carolina for his role in a
failed scheme to steal credit card numbers from
the Lowe's chain of home improvement stores by
taking advantage of an unsecured wi-fi network
at a store in suburban Detroit.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10138
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39181363,00.htm
http://www.crime-research.org/news/16.12.2004/851/
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/hacking/2004-12-15-lowes-hack_x.htm
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Zafi worm dominates email systems
The mass-mailing Christmas e-card virus Zafi.d
is clogging huge amounts of bandwidth and now
accounts for one in 15 of all emails, antivirus
companies said on Thursday.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/networks/0,39020345,39181368,00.htm
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1160109
Zafi worm proves a holiday pest
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5494047.html
Christmas card virus 'ataks'
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5493768.html
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39181365,00.htm
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P2P Battle Reaches FTC
The Federal Trade Commission officially entered
the brawl over peer-to-peer software Wednesday
as it hosted the first day of a two-day P2P
workshop in which both sides accused each
other of trying to deceive government regulators.
Representatives of P2P software companies charged
that content interests have tried to demonize
P2P in an attempt to effectively kill it.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,66051,00.html
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Students uncover dozens of Unix software flaws
Students of iconoclastic computer scientist
Daniel Bernstein have found some 44 security
flaws in various Unix applications, according
to a list of advisories posted online. The flaws,
which range from minor slipups in rarely used
applications to more serious vulnerabilities
in software that ships with most versions
of the Linux operating system, were found
as part of Bernstein's graduate-level course
at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5492969.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/16/unix_flaw_homework/
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40% of Capital's cyber crime targets women
As the Delhi Police investigate an increasing
number of cyber crimes, investigators are
realising that almost half the cases reported
have women at the receiving end of malice
in cyberland. There are typical examples.
In October this year, the crime branch was
approached by a west Delhi-based beautician
who claimed her photograph was flashed on
a porno portal along with her mobile number.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/960293.cms
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Microsoft anti-spyware tools will be free -- for now
Microsoft Corp. disclosed plans Thursday to offer
frustrated users of its Windows software new tools
within 30 days to remove spyware programs secretly
running on computers. But it might cost extra in
coming months.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10433671.htm
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10146
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5493756.html?tag=default
Microsoft buys Giant to attack spyware
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1160115
Microsoft posts critical configuration patch
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5494557.html
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Report: DHS cyber security lagging
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
is having some homeland cyber security issues
on its systems providing remote access to
telecommuters, according to a newly-released
report by the DHS Inspector General's office.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10148
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Feds dread ID deadline
Federal agency officials say they will be hard
pressed to meet deadlines for issuing interoperable
identification cards to comply with Homeland Security
Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12. Speaking today in
Bethesda, Md., at a breakfast meeting sponsored by
AFCEA International, officials at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology said they
face substantial requests for revisions to the
draft standard they issued Nov. 8 as a first
step in complying with the presidential order.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/1213/web-hspd-12-16-04.asp
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Re:Viewing 2004: The security industry
Consolidation, outsourcing and the Microsoft
factor... Yesterday we revealed what the year saw
in terms of the changing face of security threats
but the industry itself has undergone more than
a little change, as Will Sturgeon explains.
http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39126605,00.htm
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A happy - and secure - Christmas
Each week vnunet.com asks a different expert
to give their views on recent virus and security
issues, with advice, warnings and information
on the latest threats. This week Dave Martin,
principal security consultant at LogicaCMG,
highlights the perils of a little too much
Christmas cheer.
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1160105
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Legislation sets stage for uniform driver's licenses
The anti-terrorism bill to be signed by President
Bush on Friday opens the door for people across
the nation to have similar driver's licenses,
a plan that is fueling a debate over whether
security concerns will lead to what amounts
to a national identification card.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-12-15-national-id-card_x.htm
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Illinois Seeks to Curb Explicit Video Games
This holiday season, children searching for
the latest video game titles could walk into
a store and buy "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"
which lets players kill cops, steal cars,
solicit prostitutes and then beat them to
get their money back. Or kids could pick up
a copy of "The Guy Game" and answer questions
to get busty female characters to slip out of
their clothes or engage in topless rope jumping
and sack races.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10432780.htm
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-videogame16dec16,1,1401685.story
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Atlantic City casino fined for cameras
Women, beware: Those "eye in the sky" surveillance
cameras used by casinos don't just look for card
cheats and crooked dealers. Sometimes, they look
for low-cut blouses. New Jersey casino regulators
fined Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino $80,000
Wednesday for using surveillance cameras to spy
on female employees and customers sitting at
casino tables or riding escalators.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2004-12-16-surveil-abuse_x.htm
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