NewsBits for June 30, 2005 ************************************************************ Accused spammer to plead guilty to illegally soliciting millions A man known as ``The Timeshare Spammer'' said Thursday he will plead guilty to one count of violating anti-spam laws, marking one of the first prosecutions using the federal statute. Peter Moshou, 37, of Auburndale, Fla., could face up to three years in prison for violating a federal anti-spam law. Prosecutors say Moshou sent millions of unsolicited commercial e-mails using Atlanta-based EarthLink's network. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12024983.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8419606/ - - - - - - - - - - FBI sting busts piracy net A Fremont man has been arrested in a nationwide FBI sting that penetrated the secretive world of ``warez'' that the agency describes as a national conspiracy to pirate movies, video games and expensive computer software. The larger investigation -- including possible additional arrests -- is scheduled to be announced today by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and until then FBI officials said they could not discuss the case. But Wednesday, a search warrant affidavit that outlines the investigation was unsealed in San Francisco. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/12023610.htm http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,68059,00.html Justice Department Makes Arrests in Piracy Crackdown http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1833660,00.asp Alleged Net pirates raided across globe http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8419601/ Suspected file-swappers arrested in raid http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/06/30/file.swapping.crackdown.reut/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Hacker logs onto FWP hunter database, but no information stolen A hacker broke into a Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks computer database containing personal information about hunters last month, but officials say no data was stolen. The hacker made it onto the FWP server that contained the state's hunter-harvest survey, FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim confirmed Tuesday. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/06/29/news/02fwp.txt - - - - - - - - - - FTC head's credit card info stolen in DSW data breach The Federal Trade Commission helps millions of consumers each year battle identity theft. Now the woman who runs the agency, Deborah Platt Majoras, finds herself a potential victim. An FTC spokeswoman says Majoras received a letter last week from shoe retailer DSW Inc. informing her that her credit card information had been stolen. The spokeswoman declined further comment. The theft was reported by Newsweek. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12026159.htm - - - - - - - - - - Man facing child porn charges found dead A 62-year-old Lafayette Township man, accused of coaxing a police officer whom he thought was an 11-year-old girl into meeting him for sex and sending the undercover officer pornography, was found dead in his home on June 18. Edwin P. Monroe Jr. was indicted last month on three counts each of importuning and three counts of use of a minor in nudity-oriented material in Carroll County Common Pleas Court. http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12011577.htm - - - - - - - - - - Scoutmaster Jailed over Child Porn A scoutmaster is behind bars today after thousands of pornographic images of children were found on his computer. Graham Hardy, a scout leader in Wimborne, Dorset, also worked as an instructor for youth groups enjoying study breaks and living history holidays at the New Barn Field Centre, near Dorchester. http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4756980 - - - - - - - - - - Publishing exec indicted on child-porn charges A former publishing executive who was a member of New York's state education board has been indicted on child-pornography charges, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday. Robert Johnson, 59, who was publisher of Long Island's Newsday newspaper from 1986 to 1994, faces up to 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000 for downloading child pornography including a movie titled "Real Child Rape," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8919917 - - - - - - - - - - LSU dean pleads not guilty to child porn A former LSU associate dean charged with possessing child pornography pleaded not guilty to all three counts against him in federal court Wednesday. Prosecutors also announced that 60- year-old James Welles pleaded guilty to attempted possession of child pornography in 2000 while he was a professor at Columbia University. http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3539880 - - - - - - - - - - Net radio station silenced after phishing bust A Norwegian internet radio station was shut down temporarily earlier this week because one of its employees allegedly ran an eBay phishing scam. eBay filed a complaint with the FBI after it discovered that the Norwegian was somehow involved with a credit card fraud operation. The worker purportedly copied one of eBay's web pages and coded it in such a way that credit card numbers and personal information were sent to him. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/30/ebay_net_radio_phishing_bust/ - - - - - - - - - - RIAA Files Wave of Infringement Suits In addition to fueling enforcement, the Supreme Court's decision should have an effect on the content providers that are part of the RIAA, said Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler. Just days after the Supreme Court found in favor of MGM rather than Grokster , the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 784 allegedly illegal file sharers. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13200002WL9C - - - - - - - - - - U.S. won't cede control of Internet's key computers The U.S. government will indefinitely retain oversight of the main computers that control traffic on the Internet, ignoring calls by some countries to turn the function over to an international body, a senior official said Thursday. The announcement marked a departure from previously stated U.S. policy. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12026041.htm http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/06/30/internet.control.ap/index.html Government intellectual property under scrutiny http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39206465,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Trojans from China attacking UK Cyberattacks on the UK's critical nation infrastructure could well be coming from China, according to MessageLabs. Malicious programs the UK government has said are attacking key business and government bodies are being sent from computers in China, according to an email security firm. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39206464,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Veritas Software Under Attack One of the seven vulnerabilities recently found in various Veritas backup components is under attack, says security vendor Symantec. One of the seven vulnerabilities recently found in various Veritas backup components is under attack, said security vendor Symantec Wednesday. The company -- which recently finalized a merger with Veritas -- recommended that users patch post haste. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164903957 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5770428.html - - - - - - - - - - Fake Microsoft security alert includes Trojan patch A new wave of spam that disguises itself as a Microsoft Corp. security bulletin contains a link to malicious software that gives attackers complete access to the infected machine, security researchers are reporting. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,102907,00.html Microsoft Confirms Code Execution Hole in IE http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1833697,00.asp Microsoft Turns Off SUS Downloads http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1833463,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Hacker threat to records PLANS to put patients medical records on a central computer will put millions at risk from hackers, GPs said yesterday. They fear that releasing information to the system would betray patients trust, leaving people wide open to ID theft and other abuses. The new electronic health record system being overseen by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt will allow doctors to see patient records anywhere in England. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005300108,00.html - - - - - - - - - - IBM Reports Phishing Surge Incidents of the online identity theft scams known as phishing attacks increased by more than 200 percent in May, according to figures released by IBM. The Armonk, N.Y., company published the new phishing statistics in its May Global Business Security Index. IBM Corp. said that networks of compromised computers known as "botnets" may be responsible for the increase in phishing scams. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1833528,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Credit card data security standard goes into effect But there are concerns about its implementation The Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standard being pushed by MasterCard International Inc. and Visa U.S.A. Inc. went into effect today for all merchants handling credit card data, but concerns remain about its implementation and compliance validation. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,102913,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Cyber-crime agents play perpetual catch-up The nature of data theft makes investigation especially difficult. Federal agents are in a familiar position as they probe the computer- security breach at an Arizona firm that left credit-card data for about 40 million people open to theft: Once again, they're playing catch-up. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/12018404.htm Survey Finds Up To 44 Million In U.S. May Be Victims Of ID Crime http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;j?articleID=164903925 - - - - - - - - - - U.K: Forgers to crack e-passports within a decade he head of the U.K. Passport Service said this week that the biometric technology behind new passports will have to be updated more than once every 10 years in order to keep one step ahead of the criminal gangs who mass produce forgeries. In an interview with the Financial Times, Bernard Herdan, chief executive of the UKPS, said it is a constant battle to keep ahead of fraudsters, and that the new biometric e-passports will probably have to be changed more often than once every 10 years. http://news.com.com/U.K+Forgers+to+crack+e-passports+within+a+decade/2110-1029_3-5770674.html - - - - - - - - - - UK Uni launches computer forensics course De Montfort University, in England's East Midlands, is launching a new degree aimed at combating computer crime. The course in Forensic Computing will be available from September 2005 and is one of only five such degrees nationwide. The four- year sandwich course has been developed with specialised police forces in the area. Subjects include the detection, preservation, analysis and presentation of digital evidence. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/30/computer_forensics_degree/ - - - - - - - - - - DISA enlists SAIC for anti-spyware The Defense Information Systems Agency has awarded a $6.9 million task order to Science Applications International Corp. to provide a Defense-wide, anti-spyware tool. SAIC, partnering with Computer Associates, will provide its Spyware Detection, Eradication and Protection (SDEP) solution. Defense system administrators and cybersecurity workersincluding the intelligence agencies, the National Guard and Reservesall will use the tool. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36273-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Shark Tank: Maybe he just wanted to know you cared This IT manager is roaming the city department where he works and discovers a problem, according to the pilot fish who manages the department's help desk. "He landed in an area where 70 users were using a generic user ID and password," fish reports. "This is a violation of IT security, so the help desk disabled the generic ID and notified all managers to have each employee call for their own user IDs and passwords. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,102878,00.html - - - - - - - - - - The Anti-Spam Litigation Shop Like most of us, Joe Wagner hates spam. Unlike most of us, he's doing something about it. Wagner, a 37-year-old mechanical engineer and founder of Hypertouch, a modest California internet services provider, has fired off several lawsuits against companies that he believes have violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing, or Can-Spam, Act. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68043,00.html Anti-spam success drives malware authors downmarket http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/30/digital_mafia_rountable/ - - - - - - - - - - BitTorrent Whiz Extolled Piracy? BitTorrent programmer Bram Cohen may be in legal jeopardy after the discovery on Wednesday of an old agenda buried on his website saying he creates programs to "commit digital piracy." The polemic would have been of little interest a week ago. But on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the intent behind a file-sharing program can be a decisive factor in determining whether the creator can be sued for its users' copyright infringement. http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,68046,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Men blamed for spyware surge Male workers are twice as likely as their female colleagues to swap music files at work on a daily basis, according to a new survey by censorware firm Surfcontrol. The firm argues that because illicit music and video files are increasingly used to spread spyware and computer viruses that blokes are more often the cause of workplace spyware infestations than women. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/30/male_spyware_risk/ *********************************************************** 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.