NewsBits for February 22, 2005 ************************************************************ U.S. makes first arrest for spim A U.S teenager has become the first person to be arrested on suspicion of sending unsolicited instant messages--or spim. Anthony Greco, 18, was lured from New York to Los Angeles under the pretence of a business meeting. He was arrested upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport last Wednesday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5584574.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39188652,00.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/spim_arrest/ http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-spim19feb19,1,381679.story - - - - - - - - - - Jury Clears Man of Piracy Charges The former Fox worker's case is the first of its kind taken to trial in California. A federal jury in Los Angeles on Friday acquitted a former Fox Cable Networks consultant of copyright infringement charges that alleged he illegally made movies and software available for downloading from the company's computer network. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/02/22/entertainment/e123326S63.DTL http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-02-22-fox-guy-no-pirate_x.htm http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-sarna19feb19,1,2734109.story - - - - - - - - - - Former IT manager indicted on computer crime charges The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that the former Information Technology Manager of Creative Explosions, Inc., a Silicon Valley software firm, was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges that he gained unauthorized access to the computer system of his former employer, reading email of the company's president and damaging the company's computer network. Creative Explosions, Inc., is based in Scotts Valley, California. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/html/2005_02_16_meydbray.html - - - - - - - - - - T-Mobile to probe Paris' security breach The slinky socialite's latest saga involves highly sensitive details, including phone numbers and personal notes, posted for all to see on the Internet in what could be a case of mobile device hacking. A spokesman for T-Mobile confirmed earlier reports that information from Paris Hilton's star- studded address book has been posted online. "Her information is on the Internet," said Bryan Zidar. "We don't know if it was hacked or if someone got a hold of her password." According to Zidar, Hilton used the Sidekick II, a multi-purposed personal electronic device that uses an online server to store at least some information, including phone numbers. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/tmobile_paris/ http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/21/technology/personaltech/hilton_cellphone/index.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/hacking/2005-02-21-hilton-cell-phone_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - ID Theft Scam Hits D.C. Area Residents One of the nation's largest commercial information services said yesterday that thousands of Washington area residents were among those whose personal and financial details were sold to fraud artists apparently behind a nationwide identity theft scheme. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40379-2005Feb20.html ChoicePoint (CPS), a personal-information http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2005-02-21-choicepoint-expands-warning_x.htm ChoicePoint to rescreen 17,000 customers in wake of personal info breach http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10961626.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2005-02-21-choicepoint-expands-warning_x.htm ChoicePoint Responds to Identity Fraud http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=ChoicePoint-Responds-to-Identity-Fraud&story_id=30613 - - - - - - - - - - Russian police probe cheap downloads site Authorities in Moscow are investigating a Russian website offering cheap music downloads. Allofmp3.com is accused by a music industry group of offering music for sale without authorisation from rights holders in Russia and internationally. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/allofmp3_probe/ - - - - - - - - - - E-Mailers Pose as Homeland Security Dept. Federal authorities are investigating two e-mail scams, including one targeting families of troops killed in Iraq, that claim affiliation with the Homeland Security Department. The scams "are among the worst we have ever encountered," Michael J. Garcia, director of the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, said Friday. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fg-scam19feb19,1,1439434.story - - - - - - - - - - Former administrator admits having child porn Former Lehigh County Housing Authority Executive Director John Seitz pleaded guilty Friday to one count of possession of child pornography, a prosecutor said. In exchange, prosecutors dropped multiple charges, including a dozen counts each of sexual abuse of children and criminal use of a communication facility, Lehigh County Senior Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk said. http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1108807452204550.xml - - - - - - - - - - Singapore to create threat center Singapore plans to spend $23 million over three years to battle online hackers and other forms of cyberattack, government officials said Tuesday. Describing the infrastructure behind the Internet as a "nerve system" in Singapore, Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said a new National Cyber-Threat Monitoring Center will maintain round-the-clock detection and analysis of computer virus threats. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5585523.html - - - - - - - - - - Comms, internet ban orders surface in new UK terror law Variants of David Blunkett's 'ASBOs for terror' are set to be unveiled today by his successor as Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, under the banner of "control orders". Musing out loud to Jonathan Dimbleby last year Blunkett envisaged a kind of order that would have a wider application to people suspected of being fellow travellers of terror, perhaps engaged (allegedly...) in "acts preparatory to terrorism", including giving financial support, "doing runners, mule jobs", and "perhaps being able to use computer networks" in a way which could pose a threat. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/terror_bill_rush/ - - - - - - - - - - Net fraud worries U.S. Secret Service Internet fraudsters, motivated by money and armed with sophisticated technology, pose an increased economic threat as they steal private data from companies and individuals, the director of the U.S. Secret Service said Thursday. http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/detail.asp?GRP=E&id=58571 - - - - - - - - - - Federal effort to head off TV piracy challenged Mike Godwin, the legal director for Public Knowledge, a digital-rights advocacy group in Washington, is a fan of Showtime's new drama series "Huff." So three weeks ago, when he missed the season finale, he decided to download it to his personal computer. http://news.com.com/Federal+effort+to+head+off+TV+piracy+challenged/2100-1026_3-5584039.html - - - - - - - - - - Computerized Voter Abuse Rep. Grace Flores Napolitano of Norwalk never met Gov. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, but his influence has helped determine her political life. Gerry, a founding father of the United States, owes his fame to the derisive word "gerrymander." He was governor in 1812 when one party in the Massachusetts Legislature drafted a contorted legislative district plan drawn specifically to elect that party's representative. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-ed-remap21feb21,1,1100290.story - - - - - - - - - - Meeting a new challenge In a nearby county, a married man with two children logged onto the Internet and engaged in a conversation with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Over time, they became chat partners. One thing led to another, and the man concocted an excuse to take a business trip to the state where the "child" lived. When he got off the airplane, he was identified and arrested by federal agents. http://www.jdnews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=29741&Section=News - - - - - - - - - - Citizens Advice warns of 'shocking' rogue dialler scams The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has warned net users to be on the guard against "shocking" rogue dialler scams. The UK's free consumer help and advice service says it's seeing an increasing number of cases where ordinary net users have been conned by such scams. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/cab_rogue_diallers/ OFT in net spam scam crackdown http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/oft_scam_crackdown/ BT sued for blocking suspected 'rogue dialler' numbers http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/bt_court_case/ - - - - - - - - - - New worms turn up New variants of some old favourites have emerged today, but experts have played down the threat. Several new worms have been spotted in the wild today including a variant of Sober; a variant of Bropia; and a new MyDoom -- taking the total number of variants of that worm beyond 50. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39188653,00.htm http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,99936,00.html Cabir worm wriggles into U.S. mobile phones http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,99935,00.html Wormability formulae weighs malware risks http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/22/wormability/ - - - - - - - - - - Worm tries to entice with 'lov ya' message Five years after the world fell victim to the "I love you" virus, a malicous-software writer is trying a similar trick on unsuspecting users. Antivirus company Sophos unearthed the new mass-mailing worm, dubbed Assiral, on Monday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5585744.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39188757,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Mutant Sober worm spreading fast Security firm intercepts 1,400 copies of latest mass-mailer variant. A newly discovered variant of the mass-mailing Sober email worm is spreading rapidly and has already been spotted in the UK, according to MessageLabs. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5584691.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/21/paris_hacked/ http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39188759,00.htm http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,99936,00.html Virus promises Paris Hilton porn http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161420 - - - - - - - - - - Online dangers increase Antivirus firm McAfee has released the results of its study into "virtual criminology", identifying changing patterns of IT crime and weaknesses that criminal gangs can exploit. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161404 Microsoft in quandary over virus security http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2005-02-20-ms-security_x.htm http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10961452.htm How Serious Is That Security Flaw? http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,119748,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Largest hacker group in China dissolves Honkers Union of China (HUC), the earliest and largest hacker group in China and ranking number five in the world, has announced its dissolution and has shut down its website at the same time. Membership FEE of this group was once as high as 80,000. It has drawn both praises and blames as it participated in confronting foreign hackers on numerous occasions. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/21/content_2599765.htm http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=7&id=328588 - - - - - - - - - - Small advances made to fight computer crime The head of the state police announced "modest" steps Thursday to bolster the task force that investigates one of Maine's fastest-growing offenses: computer crime. Col. Craig Poulin said a sergeant who now trains recruits at the state Criminal Justice Academy, Glenn Lang, will become supervisor of the Computer Crimes Task Force. http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/02182005/maine/65191.htm - - - - - - - - - - Private-public sector rallies against organized cybercrime Organized crime on the internet is a growing threat but the sky is not falling. That was the general message at a "town hall" event at the RSA Conference Thursday, where law enforcement officials and security executives described the threat of organized crime on the web but expressed confidence that efforts by the public and private sectors to thwart the threat are succeeding. http://www.scmagazine.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsDetails&newsUID=1e2e9246-fcb0-4190-a305-70332dc0b594 - - - - - - - - - - Terrorists' use of Internet spreads Cyberfraud, ranging from credit card theft to money laundering, is the latest wrinkle in terrorists' use of the Internet. Imam Samudra of Indonesia, who carried out a bomb attack that killed 202 people, peers from his death-row cell. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-02-20-cyber-terror-usat_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Security breakthrough kills 'evil twins' Two US academics have promised to dramatically boost wireless networking security using a revolutionary identity authentication system. Unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the 'delayed password disclosure protocol' was created by Markus Jakobsson and Steve Myers of Indiana University. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161410 - - - - - - - - - - Four passwords needed to foil hackers Users urged to maintain different passwords for home, work, surfing and banking. Every computer user should have at least four different types of password to securely access websites and work systems, according to the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161436 RSA specs to bolster passwords http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161409 - - - - - - - - - - Handheld Risks Prompt Push for Usage Policies The increasing security risk posed by handheld devices is creating a need for formal policies governing their use in corporate settings, according to IT managers and analysts who attended the RSA Conference 2005 here last week. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,99914,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Anti-phishing group expands to address pharming Kim Cameron, an identity expert popular for his "Laws of Identity," reported in his blog that the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has added pharming to its web site. After praising the Group for not changing its name yet (so what if they do?) he points to a report the Group published on phishing trends for December 2004. http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=1072 - - - - - - - - - - Feds prepare security test The federal government and several international partners will hold a cyber preparedness exercise in November, Homeland Security Department officials said here at the RSA Conference. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0221/web-cyber-02-22-05.asp - - - - - - - - - - Nokia targets firms with smart RFID kit Companies whose employees work out and about could improve their communications by giving their mobile phones RFID-reading powers. Nokia has begun selling a product that turns one of its mobile phone models into a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39188773,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - CoreStreet releases First Responder CoreStreet officials say they can validate digital credentials in emergency situations in which public-safety and public health employees have no access to a secure network or database of valid credentials. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0221/web-core-02-22-05.asp - - - - - - - - - - IT administrators told to get hacking The best way for IT administrators to test their systems is by using hacking tools against them, according to a leading security specialist. The plethora of exploit code available on the web to attack corporate servers should be used as a resource to test computer security. By running such code administrators can judge the efficacy of their defences and make appropriate adjustments. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1161395 - - - - - - - - - - Legalweek: Law On Cyber Crime Overdue The penal sanction against trespass or breaking and entry cannot hold against an act of hacking into a computer network and unlawfully acquiring proprietary data, writes lawyer MATHEW NGUGI of the inadequacy of Kenya law in fighting cyber crime. Perhaps the most sweeping influence on our lives is that of electronic technology. http://allafrica.com/stories/200502210642.html - - - - - - - - - - Data destruction claims rubbished A charity that supplies refurbished PCs to the developing world has slammed reports suggesting the only reliable way to totally remove data from a hard drive involves a six- inch nail. A charity which reconditions second hand computers for use in the Third World has hit out at media coverage this week which encouraged companies to destroy old kit by driving nails through the hard drive of each computer they discard. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,39020351,39188620,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Thwarting Hacker Techniques: Combating social engineers So, you've got two firewalls, an intrusion prevention system [IPS] and antivirus software deployed, and you're feeling pretty good. Servers are patched, packets are being dropped, you're alerted when network traffic isn't behaving well and viruses are killed on the spot. Yep, life is good! So what's the problem? http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid14_gci1060516,00.html - - - - - - - - - - I'll show you mine if you show me, er, mine Security researchers have developed a new cryptographic technique they say will prevent so-called stealth attacks against networks. A stealth attack is one where the attacker acts remotely, is very hard to trace, and where the victim may not even know he was attacked. The researchers say this kind of attack is particularly easy to mount against a wireless network. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/21/crypto_wireless/ - - - - - - - - - - When games get gory A key sequence in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" requires the player to steal a police SWAT team tank, machine gun rival gang members and incinerate employees of a rival crack dealer--all acts covered by the "Mature" rating prominently displayed on each copy of the video game. http://news.com.com/When+games+get+gory/2100-1043_3-5582839.html Legislator seeks to restrict teens' access to video games http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-02-22-ala-game-ban_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - The High-Hanging Fruit Now that Microsoft has pruned Windows of its most serious remote-access holes, its high time Redmond fixes the local vulnerabilities too. Last week I watched the webcast of Bill Gates speaking at the RSA conference in San Francisco. He talked about Microsoft's plans to build upon the progress it's already made in security. These plans included better protection against spyware and spam. Gates also announced Microsoft's intention to release Internet Explorer 7, complete with a number of security improvements, by the end of this year. http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/301 - - - - - - - - - - Smart phones work like train tickets Some 10 million Japanese commuters use smart cards embedded with a computer chip to pay for train tickets and slip by station gates with just a tap of their plastic on special reading devices. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/02/22/japan.smart.phones.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Bloggers unite to help jailed Iranians Campaigners have called on the world's bloggers to help push for the release of two Iranians jailed after expressing opinions online. The Committee to Protect Bloggers, a campaigning organisation, has called on bloggers to take action on Tuesday to help two Iranians who were apparently jailed by the Iranian government after expressing opinions on their blogs. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39188729,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Sex offenders' side of debate over database A few days after the first of the year, the Mercury News ran a story about how mothers reacted to the new online database mandated by Megan's Law. It evoked a sharp response among a group you might not count as regular readers, the sex offenders themselves. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/scott_herhold/10960258.htm *********************************************************** 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. 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