NewsBits for July 26, 2005 ************************************************************ Russian spammer found beaten to death One of Russia's best-known spammers has been found beaten to death in his apartment in central Moscow, according to police reports. Moscow's Public Prosecutions Office said that an unnamed person had found Vardan Kushnir about 35 minutes after he had received severe head injuries. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140340/russian-spammer-murdered http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39210800,00.htm http://mosnews.com/news/2005/07/25/spammerdead.shtml - - - - - - - - - - UK war driver fined PS500 A man was last week fined PS500 after a British jury found him guilty of using a neighborhood wireless broadband connection without permission. Gregory Straszkiewicz, 24, was also sentenced to a 12 months conditional discharge after he was convicted of dishonestly obtaining an communications service and related offences at London's Islewoth Crown Court last Wednesday. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11255 - - - - - - - - - - Beauregard Parish Couple Arrested for Child Porn Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Robert McCullough says 33 year old Timothy A. Brannon and 31 year old Kimberly A. Brannon face 102 counts of pornography involving juveniles. Deputies searched the Brannons' home in April, seizing a computer, floppy discs and compact discs. McCullough says a computer expert found numerous pornographic images on the computer and determined 102 of them involved juveniles. http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3640407 - - - - - - - - - - Judges refuse to overturn Net obscenity law A special three-judge panel declined to overturn a 1996 federal law prohibiting anyone from sending obscenity across the Internet. The New York panel on Monday rejected arguments from Barbara Nitke, a fine art photographer who specializes in sadomasochistic imagery, who had filed suit in December 2001 to overturn the law. http://news.com.com/2110-1028_3-5804970.html - - - - - - - - - - Police ask for more Internet powers Senior UK police officers have asked the government for sweeping new powers to take down Web sites and obtain private encryption keys. Chief UK police officers are asking the government for new powers that would allow them to attack terrorist Web sites. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39210631,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - First 'cybercrime' treaty advances in Senate A U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday approved the world's first treaty targeting "cybercrime," clearing the way for a floor vote later this year. All nine members of the Foreign Relations Committee who were present said by voice vote that they broadly agreed with the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, handing a hard-won victory to software companies that are eager for the U.S. to ratify it. http://news.com.com/First+cybercrime+treaty+advances+in+Senate/2100-7348_3-5805561.html - - - - - - - - - - Parliament to discuss child porn regulations ISPs may be forced to reveal whether or not they are blocking paedophilic Web sites. A Labour MP has proposed a bill to force ISPs to declare whether they have taken steps to prevent access to paedophilic Web sites. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39210638,00.htm Child porn: ISP regulations set for Commons debate A Labour MP has proposed a bill to force ISPs to declare whether they have taken steps to prevent access to paedophilic websites. Margaret Moran, the Labour MP for Luton South, has introduced the bill under the 'Ten Minute Rule', which allows a brief discussion on the issue but is unlikely to lead to an immediate change in the law. http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39150769,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Hackers Skip Windows to Embed New Infections The online security climate continues to deteriorate, as computer hackers are targeting an increasing number of popular programs such as the iTunes music service and software that makes backup copies of data, according to an Internet safety study released yesterday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501433.html - - - - - - - - - - Cracking Down on Cyber Crime Eau Claire Police say they are training more officers on the computer to keep up with cyber crime, which changes as technology does. Cyber crime is up across the country. One thing they're trying to track: the Canadian lottery scam. It wants people to pay taxes on a lottery ticket that doesn't exist. Eau Claire Police Detective Mike Chinander says there is one thing we all need to keep in mind. http://www.wqow.com/news/articles/article_4330.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Initiatives announced to promote good cyber environment for youths Two new initiatives have been announced to help combat cyber vices and promote instead a positive cyber environment among youths. Schools will be given seed funding to support youth initiated projects that harness the Internet to enrich the lives of youths. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/159868/1/.html - - - - - - - - - - Beware free web services, warns Websense Cyber criminals are increasingly using blog sites and other free online services to spread malicious code, Websense has warned. In the first two weeks of July, the security company's labs saw more than 500 incidents of such attacks, Websense said on Monday. The free services are being abused to install software designed to steal personal information or hijack a victim's PC. http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39150741,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft Boosts Antipiracy Efforts Validation via WGA now is required for all customers using Windows Update, Microsoft Update for Windows and the company's download center. However, security updates remain available to all Windows users, with or without WGA validation. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12300002QVEO - - - - - - - - - - TippingPoint seeks bug bounty hunters Security firm TippingPoint has announced a programme to increase the speed at which new vulnerabilities are announced by paying bounties of up to $20,000 for vulnerability information. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140342/tipping-point-seeks-bug-bounty - - - - - - - - - - Survey: ID theft hard to shake off One in four Americans who fall victim to identity theft find it a struggle to clear their name, according to a recent survey. Twenty-eight percent of victims have been unsuccessful in restoring their reputations, despite trying for more than a year on average, the Nationwide Mutual Insurance said in a report released Tuesday. The survey, which polled close to 1,100 victims, indicated that people spend an average of 81 hours working to resolve their cases. http://news.com.com/Survey+ID+theft+hard+to+shake+off/2100-1029_3-5805671.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. 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.