NewsBits for February 18, 2005 ************************************************************ ChoicePoint data theft widens to 145,000 people ChoicePoint has confirmed that scammers culled the personal information of tens of thousands of Americans in a recent attack on its consumer database, resulting in 750 individual cases of identity theft. The Atlanta-based company said that it plans to inform approximately 110,000 consumers outside the state of California whose information may have been accessed in the criminal scheme, originally reported on Tuesday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5582144.html Calls for federal regulation grow as data scandal widens When word first emerged this week that scammers had illegally obtained detailed dossiers on 35,000 people by posing as legitimate customers of ChoicePoint Inc., the data-brokering company portrayed it as a relatively minor criminal case, limited to California. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10938065.htm - - - - - - - - - - E-mail scam targets slain soldiers' families Federal authorities are investigating two e-mail scams, including one targeting families of soldiers killed in Iraq, that claim to be connected to the Homeland Security Department. The scams are among the worst we have ever encountered, Michael J. Garcia, director of the departments Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, said Friday. Both of the online pleas for help and money link themselves to the bureau. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6995633/ - - - - - - - - - - Ex-Barrington coach pleads guilty to child-porn charge A former Barrington swimming coach was sentenced to 90 days of home monitoring after he pleaded guilty Monday in Lake County Circuit Court to possession of child pornography. Joshua Delcore, 33, of the 100 block of Shoreline Road, Lake Barrington, was arrested in March at his home after police acting on a tip found child pornography on his computers. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/lake/chi-0502150303feb15,1,5483004.story - - - - - - - - - - TEACHER'S PORN HAUL Feb 18 2005 A TEACHER who was caught with thousands of pictures of child porn has been spared jail. William Fraser, 53, was snared when his credit card details were tracked down. Police found 3210 indecent images of children on his computer when they swooped on his cottage near Aberdeen. Fraser, deputy head at Portlethen Academy, Aberdeenshire, was given two years' probation and ordered to do community service. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15203052%26method=full%26siteid=89488%26headline=teacher%2ds%2dporn%2dhaul-name_page.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4273933.stm - - - - - - - - - - Child porn charges continue A man has been charged after police seized 50 computer hard drives containing pornographic images of children in Sydney's inner west late last year. Police say the hard drives were seized during a search of a business in, Marrickville, last November. Police alleged the hard drives contained 8,000 pornographic images of children. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12291357%5E15319%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Man accused of soliciting a child A 53-year-old accountant who bragged on the Web about molesting children all over the country, was charged Thursday with three counts of soliciting sex from a child using the Internet, authorities said. Roy Mason, of 2009 Highview Fall Place, was arrested Thursday on an Indiana warrant at his home by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with help from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, said Mike Duffey, an FDLEcomputer crimes special agent. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/18/Hillsborough/Man_accused_of_solici.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Cabir mobile virus found in U.S. A version of the Cabir virus has turned up in two Nokia 6600s on display in a California cell phone store, in what is believed to be the first "on- the-ground" sighting of the virus in the United States. Just how the phones were infected isn't known, but it would have been very easy, given that both were on public display in the Santa Monica, Calif., shop's window. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5582302.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6995438/ - - - - - - - - - - Online fraud could dent economies A bigwig in the US Secret Service has warned that online fraud poses a real threat to a nation's economy. Speaking at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco Ralph Basham warned that hackers and criminals are teaming up to steal private financial information from companies and individuals. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/18/fraud_threat_warning/ - - - - - - - - - - Firms seek to reassure e-shoppers over security Addressing a rise in identity theft and phishing attacks, a panel of security experts discussed on Friday the steps their companies are taking to bolster consumer confidence in online commerce and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5583047.html Survey: Customer satisfaction with e-commerce slipping http://computerworld.com/managementtopics/ebusiness/story/0,10801,99892,00.html - - - - - - - - - - RSA: Major companies tout new vulnerability rating system The Common Vulnerability Scoring System was unveiled yesterday. Leading IT companies including Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp. are promoting a rating system that will standardize severity ratings of software vulnerabilities. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,99894,00.html RSA looks ahead on RFID security http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/18/rsa_rfid/ - - - - - - - - - - Is Microsoft outFirefoxed? Commentary--So there I was trying my best to get a midlevel Microsoft manager to take the bait. "Does Microsoft now feel confident it's found a way to slow the rise of Firefox--maybe even win back some lost customers?" http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9593_22-5582067.html Like most people who use Firefox... http://news.zdnet.com/5208-9593-0.html - - - - - - - - - - Fingerprint standard still elusive Two months after a Justice Department inspector general warned of stalled progress on interoperable fingerprint systems, no settlement has been reached on a uniform fingerprint technology standard. According to a December 2004 Justice inspector general report, progress toward making all biometric fingerprint systems fully interoperable has stalled, partly because Justice, the Homeland Security Department and the State Department had not agreed on a uniform fingerprint technology standard. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0214/web-fingers-02-18-05.asp - - - - - - - - - - Protect passport chips If you throw your biometric passport in the wash with your dirty clothes and end up with a damaged electronic chip, the State Department says you have to get a new one. A proposed rule published today in the Federal Register outlines new passport regulations to deal with damaged biometrics when the federal government begins phasing in electronic passports later this year. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0214/web-biomet-02-18-05.asp *********************************************************** 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 2000-2005, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.