NewsBits for July 22, 2005 ************************************************************ University of Colorado servers hacked The University of Colorado has become the latest educational institution to fall prey to hackers. The school is warning about 43,000 people that they may be at risk of having their identities stolen after two of its servers were attacked, it said Thursday. One server, at the school's health center, contained the names, Social Security numbers, student ID numbers, addresses and dates of birth of about 42,000 people, the university said. Also stored on the server were the results of about 2,000 laboratory tests, the university said. http://news.com.com/University+of+Colorado+servers+hacked/2110-7349_3-5800712.html - - - - - - - - - - Police swoop on 300 email scammers Spanish police have carried out a mass raid on email scammers, arresting over 300 people at 166 locations. The raids were part of a joint operation with the FBI and netted 2,000 mobile phones, 327 computers, 165 fax machines and $218,000 Euro in cash. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140245/police-conduct-mass-scammer - - - - - - - - - - Computer crime: credit card criminal ring exposed Yesterday Ukrainian police approved the fact that they arrested a group of people and Dmitri Golubov as a leader of the group suspectedly committing crimes with credit cards. http://www.crime-research.org/news/22.07.2005/1379/ - - - - - - - - - - Funny scholar steals mailboxes A scholarship student at a Rio de Janeiro university could face jail time for hijacking his professor's email account and sending out lurid emails and sexy pictures in her name, the newspaper O Globo reported on Wednesday. http://www.crime-research.org/news/22.07.2005/1380/ - - - - - - - - - - Administration appointment addresses copyright piracy The Bush administration said Friday it created a new position to coordinate government efforts to combat the foreign theft of copyrighted products. President Bush selected Christian Israel, currently a deputy chief of staff at the Commerce Department, to fill the new post of coordinator of international intellectual property enforcement. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12198837.htm http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/22/news/international/piracy_usa.reut/index.htm - - - - - - - - - - FDIC advises banks on how to protect against spyware The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) today issued a list of best practices for financial services firms that details how to protect against spyware, which the agency said can be used by criminals to collect customer data or hack into banking systems. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,103450,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Banks warned over m-commerce security peril Banks risk exposing customer data to hacking attacks in deploying mobile-phone ATM applications, warns independent security consultancy SecureTest. Up to 20 high street banks in the UK are gearing up to roll-out balance request and mobile mobile phone top-ups using the service, dubbed MobileATM, by the end of the year. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/22/m-banking_security_risks/ - - - - - - - - - - CardSystems says it faces 'imminent extinction' U.S. payment-processing company CardSystems Solutions said Thursday it faces "imminent extinction" after revealing last month a massive credit card data security breach. The privately held payment processor for more than 100,000 merchants, CardSystems last month said that details of 40 million cards--names, account numbers and expiration dates--had been exposed to possible misuse. The FBI is investigating. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5799637.html Massive security breach may kill processing firm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39210395,00.htm Congress at Odds Over Data Breaches http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1839560,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - National cybersecurity test set for fall The Department of Homeland Security plans to launch a national exercise in November that will test the government's readiness to handle cyber emergencies. Andy Purdy, acting director of the DHS's National Cyber Security division, announced the exercise, called Cyber Storm, earlier this week in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing. The division's top priority is establishing a "National Cyberspace Response System to prevent, detect, respond to, and reconstitute rapidly after cyber incidents," Purdy said in written testimony. http://news.com.com/National+cybersecurity+test+set+for+fall/2100-7348_3-5799876.html - - - - - - - - - - Group says kids should learn cybersecurity Elementary and high school students already learn the three Rs: reading, writing and 'rithmetic. They should also learn the three Cs: cybersecurity, cyberethics and cybersafety, a prominent cybersecurity advocacy group has recommended. Just as we teach our children to be good citizens in the physical world, we also need to teach them to be good cybercitizens, said Laura Brown, director of education and awareness at the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Children need to know to protect themselves and computer systems -- and know the difference between right and wrong, she said. http://www.fcw.com/article89663-07-22-05-Web - - - - - - - - - - Panel: Don't rush into new data security laws Sweeping federal laws on personal data security aren't necessarily the way to go, a panel of lawyers, academics and former federal officials said here Friday. "There is this perception that we really need to do something on the part of the political leadership, and I understand that," Orson Swindle, a former Federal Trade Commissioner, said on a panel organized by the Progress & Freedom Foundation. "But I think we need to step back." http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5800548.html - - - - - - - - - - Game sex scandal stirs U.S. standards debate An unprecedented move by major stores to stop selling "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" will cost its maker millions of dollars in lost sales --and it's ignited a political firestorm by U.S. critics who want a government crackdown. But the young game industry, already rivaling Hollywood box office in sales, is certain it can and should police itself. http://news.com.com/Game+sex+scandal+stirs+U.S.+standards+debate/2100-1043_3-5800701.html - - - - - - - - - - Offering a bounty for security bugs Found a security bug? TippingPoint will pay you for the details. TippingPoint--part of 3Com-- is soliciting hackers to report vulnerabilities in exchange for money. If a valid bug is found, TippingPoint will notify the maker of the flawed product and update its security products to protect users against exploitation of the flaw before an official patch has been released. http://news.com.com/Offering+a+bounty+for+security+bugs/2100-7350_3-5802411.html - - - - - - - - - - Blueprint for more-secure servers released The Trusted Computing Group has released a specification for servers with a special security chip, which the industry group says will better protect data and transactions. At the heart of the blueprint for "trusted servers" is the Trusted Platform Module, a chip that stores digital keys, certificates and passwords. The TPM is already used in PCs. More than 15 million "trusted clients" have been shipped by PC makers such as Hewlett- Packard and Dell, according to the TCG. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5800744.html - - - - - - - - - - Lost a BlackBerry? Data Could Open A Security Breach The ability to carry vast amounts of data in small but easily misplaced items such as computer memory sticks and mobile e-mail devices has transformed the way Americans work, but it has also increased the risk that a forgotten BlackBerry or lost cell phone could amount to a major security breach. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/AR2005072401135.html - - - - - - - - - - Online users in U.S. dont know Internet lingo The average American Internet user doesnt know the meaning of some of the hottest new online terms, according to a study (download PDF) released this month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,103426,00.html - - - - - - - - - - And that is why we'll blow up Mecca someday You may have seen the recent brouhaha over congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and his idea to destroy Islam's holy sites if terrorists nuke one of our cities. In reality, this is old news. Back in 2002, the president's cyberspace security advisor made it clear the White House reserves the right to blow up Mecca to stop cyber-terrorism. http://vmyths.com/rant.cfm?id=727&page=4 - - - - - - - - - - Web site to provide sex offender registries Information on sex offenders in 21 states and the District of Columbia is now available on an Internet site launched this week by the federal government. Participation by states is voluntary and assistant Attorney General Regina Schofield said all state information is expected to be posted within six months. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/07/22/sex.offender.registry.ap/index.html *********************************************************** 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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