NewsBits for March 18, 2005 ************************************************************ BitTorrent hubs close after ISP raid The Australian music industry's antipiracy unit said that 50 file-sharing hubs were closed down this week following a raid on Internet service provider Swiftel Communications. On Wednesday, Swiftel--which allegedly owns and operates computer infrastructure that hosts Web pages using BitTorrent file-sharing software--was ordered by the Federal Magistrates' Court to take down any sites containing copyright material. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5625768.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39191958,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Computer crime: spammer caught in Ukraine A criminal case on "mass distribution of spam" is investigated by law enforcement of Donetsk region, Ukraine. It is the first criminal case on infringement with the operation of computer network by way of mass distribution of messages in networks in the country, the Objective media group informs. http://www.crime-research.org/news/18.03.2005/1055/ - - - - - - - - - - Hackers build back door into iTunes A trio of independent programmers has released new software that allows people to tap into Apple Computer's iTunes music store and purchase songs free of any anticopying protections. Joined by Jon Johansen, the Norwegian programmer responsible for distributing DVD-cracking code in late 1999, the programmers say their "PyMusique" software is a "fair" interface for iTunes, primarily aimed at allowing people who use the Linux operating system to purchase music from Apple's store. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5625991.html - - - - - - - - - - Con artists dial for dollars on Net phones Internet phone services have drawn millions of users looking for rock-bottom rates. Now they're also attracting identity thieves looking to turn stolen credit cards into cash. Some Internet phone services allow scam artists to make it appear that they are calling from another phone number a useful trick that enables them to drain credit accounts and pose as banks or other trusted authorities, online fraud experts say. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7235764/ Internet phones a hacking risk? Internet phone services have drawn millions of users looking for rock-bottom rates. Now they're also attracting identity thieves looking to turn stolen credit cards into cash. http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/18/technology/personaltech/scam_phones.reut/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - LexisNexis tightens access to personal data LexisNexis, which last week said intruders had accessed dossiers on about 32,000 people in one of its database products, has restricted access to individuals' Social Security and drivers license numbers. The company's policy shift, which took effect Thursday, follows similar restrictions by a pair of competitors in the data-brokering business: ChoicePoint, which suffered a larger security breach, and Westlaw. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11173693.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7231785/ http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2005-03-18-lexisnexis-tighter-security_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Anti-virus vulnerabilities strike again Users of McAfee's anti-virus products were warned this week of a potentially serious security vulnerability. The bug - unearthed by security researchers at ISS - involves flaws in the processing of LHA files by an antivirus library that gives rise to possible stack overflow attacks. The flaw applies to McAfee AntiVirus Library prior to version 4400. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/18/mcafee_vuln/ http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5623844.html - - - - - - - - - - British adults support child porn crackdown The British public stands four-square behind ISPs over moves to curb the availability of images of child abuse on the net. In a MORI poll of 1,00O UK adults, 89 per cent said they would support ISPs if they tracked those visiting child porn websites and 93 per cent said that ISPs should report this information to the police. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/18/child_abuse_net_survey/ - - - - - - - - - - Virus writers get stealthy Virus writers are turning to new tricks as the trend of big-hitting worms eases off in favour of malware that can slip in under the radar. Security researchers have warned that sudden impact viruses, such as the Slammer worm, which cause immediate widespread damage to IT systems are being superseded by slow- burning worms where the focus is on avoiding detection. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39191840,00.htm IM viruses increase by 50 per cent a month http://www.vnunet.com/news/1162017 - - - - - - - - - - The strange decline of computer worms Computer worms are becoming less commonplace as virus writers diversify their malware spreading tactics to create the maximum effect for the least possible effort. Email-borne worms, such as NetSky, Bagle and Sober, remain perennial favourites with malware authors but Slammer-style worms are becoming rarer, according to anti-virus firm F-Secure. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/17/f-secure_websec/ - - - - - - - - - - Defenses PKI slowly takes root The Defense Department is getting serious about its mandate that all employees and contractors conduct business through a public-key infrastructure. As Defense agencies work to PKI-enable applications and Web sites, contractors without the digital certificates necessary for operation in that environment are being denied entry, said George Schu, vice president of public affairs for VeriSign Inc. The Mountain View, Calif., company is one of three DOD-approved certificate vendors. http://www.gcn.com/24_5/news/35268-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Study: Parents use time limits, software to control kids online Most parents of teenagers who go online say they set time limits on the kids' Internet activity, according to a study released Thursday. They also try to monitor it, in part by placing computers in common areas. Parents also don't shun technical tools. Slightly more than half of parents with online teens -- 54 percent -- have filtering software installed on home computers, up from 41 percent in 2000, the Pew Internet and American Life Project study found. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11162584.htm http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Report--Parents-Filtering-Teens--Web-Surfing&story_id=31434 - - - - - - - - - - Combating Wi-Fi's Evil Twin I.T. managers should avoid installing access points that will radiate signals beyond the confines of the physical enterprise. This will make it less likely that hackers can intercept enterprise traffic from the corporate parking lot. Just when wireless hot-spot surfers thought it was safe to get back into the water, hackers have come up with new methods for mimicking corporate Web sites and intranets in the 802.11 environment. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Combating-Wi-Fi-s-Evil-Twin&story_id=31469 - - - - - - - - - - Decrypting the future of security At the recent RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, a number of themes predominated and resonated with the record- breaking crowd. As expected, the large software vendors jockeyed for position in extravagant showbiz style. Bill Gates decided to be merciful and finally put the security product vendors out of their misery by announcing that Microsoft was about to enter their space with a new anti-virus product. They reacted the only way they could: they took it like men and came out swinging, full of jibes and insults. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050311.gtkirwanmar11/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Where, oh where, is my Windows firewall? I have a problem: I can't seem to find a good host-based firewall for my Windows servers. In fact, people constantly ask me what I recommend and I find myself with no good answer. Even though most of my servers are already behind firewalls, I like having additional protection on the server itself. Sometimes I use remotely co-located servers where I have no firewall, and that makes me completely dependent upon software on the server itself. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/18/windows_server_firewall/ - - - - - - - - - - Security's new deal Security companies have entered a new era: Buy or be bought. Signs of the shift have appeared in a flurry of recent deals. Security giant Symantec is moving outside its niche with its pending purchase of storage maker Veritas Software. On the other side, networking company Cisco Systems and software giant Microsoft have snapped up fast- growing security companies, looking to give their own growth a boost. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5624251.html - - - - - - - - - - Florida cops share data Florida agencies want federal funding to complete the statewide rollout of a network that local law enforcement officials say could be the basis for a national information sharing strategy. Development of the Florida Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER) began in August 2002 with the goal of providing all 355 law enforcement agencies in the state a way to share critical information in hundreds of different police databases. http://www.fcw.com/article88341-03-18-05-Web *********************************************************** 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.