NewsBits for August 2, 2005 ************************************************************ Former Riverside officer sentenced to 30 years for child porn ring A former Riverside police officer learned his fate today - 30 years in federal prison. That's for his role in a child sex and pornography ring. That's the ruling that came from a Wisconsin judge against 32-year-old Adam Brown, who earlier plead guilty to one count of "crossing state lines with the intent to have sex with a child." http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3668579&nav=9qrxcpWV - - - - - - - - - - Man admits possession of 70,000 child porn pictures A Peterborough man admitted hoarding more than 70,000 indecent images of children when he appeared in court yesterday. David Jarvis (43), of Chestnut Avenue, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to 18 offences of making indecent photographs of a child. He also admitted four charges of possessing indecent photographs of children on floppy discs, a CD-ROM and a computer hard-drive. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=845&ArticleID=1102613 - - - - - - - - - - Army punishes soldier for blog posts The U.S. military has demoted and fined a soldier for publishing "classified" information on his personal blog, an Army spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Leonard Clark, a 40-year-old Arizona National Guardsman who is currently on active duty in Baghdad, dropped from the rank of specialist to private first class on July 19 and must pay the Army a fine of $820 per month for two months, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/02/guardman.blog.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - UK music biz sues five 'illegal file-sharers' UK music trade organisation the BPI yesterday filed lawsuits against five alleged file-sharers, the first of their kind in this country. The BPI alleges the five separately offered a total of 8,906 songs available around the world via P2P networks. None of the five - three men and two women - had permission to do so, the organisation claims. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/02/bpi_sues_five/ - - - - - - - - - - Missing Prosecutor's Laptop Found in River A missing prosecutor's laptop computer was pulled from a river near the spot where his car was abandoned more than three months ago, police said Monday. Two fishermen scooped up the computer in their net Saturday in the Susquehanna River, Bellefonte police said. The fishermen turned it over to state police, who determined it belonged to Centre County Dist. Atty. Ray F. Gricar. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-laptop2aug02,1,4419716.story - - - - - - - - - - Man Sued in EBay Dispute Over Elvis Car A 66-year-old man has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia against a New York man who reneged on a bid he made on eBay to buy a 1969 Mercedes Benz that was once owned by Elvis Presley. http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/632/08-01-2005/119000085b5cb71b.html - - - - - - - - - - EU Commission promises alternative data retention plan The European Commission says it will have a draft directive for data retention laws in Europe on the table by September, but early versions are already circulating among interested parties. Lobby group European Digital Rights (EDRi), says that according to a draft it has seen, companies will be required to retain telephone data for one year, and internet data for just six months. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/01/data_retention_commission/ - - - - - - - - - - ATM fraud blamed on lax security Online identity thieves are costing banks as much as a million dollars a month by exploiting lax security at automated teller machines, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal said that a report out Tuesday from research firm Gartner Inc. shows banks not doing as much as they could to control use of counterfeit ATM cards to empty customers' bank accounts. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/02/technology/atm_fraud/index.htm http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5815141.html - - - - - - - - - - Cybercriminals up ante with phishing and darkmail As phishing attacks rise by 45 per cent, security experts worry about the rise in speculative and dangerous darkmail messages. The number of phishing emails sent to UK businesses increased by 45 percent in July, according to the latest figures from email security company BlackSpider Technologies on Monday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39211676,00.htm Spear phishers launch targeted attacks http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/02/ibm_malware_report/ - - - - - - - - - - 'Customized' hacks jump 50 per cent Virus-laden e-mail and criminal-driven security attacks increased by 50 per cent in the first half of this year, reports IBM Corp. Among the most notable trends the company spotted was a significant rise in 'customized' attacks on the government, financial services, manufacturing and health-care industries and large multinational corporations, particularly within the aerospace, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050802.gthacks0802/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Sick scam exploits London terror bombings Computer users were today warned of a sick 419 email scam that aims to dupe innocent people into passing on their bank details by promising them a millions from the estate of a victim of the recent terrorist bombings in London. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140651/sick-scam-london-terror-bombing - - - - - - - - - - Owning IOS at Black Hat 2005 Being arrested or sued is not positive experience, but for speakers at Black Hat and Defcon, it is a badge of honor. On July 27, Michael Lynn, a computer security expert, demonstrated how to gain administrator access to many Cisco routers and switches. This demonstration occured during Lynn's scheduled talk on the vulnerabilities of Cisco IOS at the 2005 Black Hat Briefings in Las Vegas. http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5326 Exploit writers team up to target Cisco routers http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5325 Hackers at Defcon race to expose Cisco Internet flaw http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,103607,00.html http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/08/02/defcon.hackers.ap/index.html Hackers Annihilate Wi-Fi Record http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,68395,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Hackers cash in on 802.1x confusion Companies are leaving their wireless networks exposed to hackers because of widespread failure to understand or implement 802.11x security systems, a survey has claimed. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140662/poor-802-1x - - - - - - - - - - Infrared exploits open the door to hotel hacking Insecure hotel infra-red systems create a means for hackers to read other guest's emails, watch porno films for free and put false charges onto other guest's accounts. Adam Laurie, technical director at secure hosting outfit The Bunker, was able to demonstrate the attacks to Wired prior to giving a talk on the vulnerabilities at last week's DefCon conference in Las Vegas. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/02/hotel_hacking/ - - - - - - - - - - Linux Bluetooth hackers hijack car audio Linux hackers have demonstrated a way to inject or record audio signals from passing cars running insecure Bluetooth hands-free units. The Trifinite group showed how hackers could eavesdrop on passing motorists using a directional antenna and a Linux Laptop running a tool it has developed called Car Whisperer. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11266 - - - - - - - - - - Wanted: Windows Hackers Microsoft has said it wants to get more security researchers into Redmond to demonstrate flaws in its software, and it wants them to come back every six months. Microsoft wants its "Blue Hat" date with hackers to become a regular affair, with biannual events where outsiders demonstrate flaws in Microsoft's product security. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39211675,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Fraud Roshambo: Paper Beats RFID Fingerprints aren't just for fingers anymore. Now, they could be an important new tool for fighting document forgery. All paper, as well as plastic credit and debit cards, bears a unique "fingerprint" of microscopic surface imperfections. According to Russell Cowburn, professor of nanotechnology at Imperial College London, detecting these unique patterns is easy to do with a portable laser scanner. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68352,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Are we feeling safer yet? Last week, Mike Lynn, a researcher formerly working for Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS), gave a presentation at the Black Hat conference on the internal workings of Cisco Systems Inc.'s Internetworking Operating System (IOS) and exploit techniques that, in short, rocked the security world, created quite a legal stir and caused some security pundits to accuse the usual characters (big business) of being "thugs." http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,103634,00.html - - - - - - - - - - How to develop a security training program that works Albert Einstein once said, "Things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." This is particularly true when designing a security training and awareness program for your organization. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,103528,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Ethical issues for IT security professionals Physicians, attorneys and other professionals whose job duties affect others lives usually receive, as part of their formal training, courses that address ethical issues common to their professions. http://www.computerworld.com/networkingtopics/networking/story/0,10801,103564,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Private signs XXX mobile content deal Private Media Group - the Barcelona-based adult entertainment outfit - plans to offer smut to more than 220m mobile users across Europe. As part of the content deal with Munich-based MindMatics, Private is looking to make XXX material available to punters in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and France. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/02/private_mobile/ - - - - - - - - - - Hand-held gambling devices may soon come to a casino near you It won't be long before gamblers are shooting dice while queued up waiting to see their favorite comedian. Or playing poker and roulette under a poolside umbrella. Even a trip to the buffet will no longer keep casino patrons from playing slots. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12283686.htm http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/08/02/mobile.gambling.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. 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.