NewsBits for February 1, 2006 ************************************************************ 19 indicted in alleged $6.5 million software piracy plot A federal grand jury indicted 19 people accused of using the Internet to pirate more than $6.5 million worth of copyrighted computer software, games and movies, authorities announced Wednesday. The indictment outlines an alleged plot by defendants across the United States to illegally distribute newly released titles, including movies like ``The Incredibles'' and ``The Aviator,'' and games like ``Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/13765848.htm - - - - - - - - - - Tycoon charged with computer hacking Matthew Mellon, the heir to a $11.7bn oil and banking fortune, has been charged with a computer hacking offence over his alleged involvement in a snooping, bugging and blackmail ring. Mellon, 41, the estranged husband of Tamara Mellon, the woman behind the Jimmy Choo shoe business, will appear alongside 17 other defendants in court later this month, The Sunday Times reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/01/tycoon_hacking_charge/ http://news.com.com/London+millionaire+accused+in+hacking+scheme/2110-7348_3-6033791.html - - - - - - - - - - Son of Saudi official arrested on child porn possession -- again The son of a Saudi military official has been arrested on porn charges. Mohammed Abdullah al-Garni, arrested Tuesday at his family's Miami Beach condominium by Secret Service agents, faces three counts of sending, receiving and possessing child pornography on his computer. http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/13766056.htm - - - - - - - - - - FBI Agent: Local businessman had child porn on his computer A Winchester businessman accused of taking a 14-year-old girl from her home in Arkansas and bringing her to Kentucky to have sex with her had sexually explicit images of children on his computer, according to FBI Agent Kasey Gabriel. Gabriel, who testified during a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Lexington Tuesday afternoon, disclosed that a preliminary forensic examination of a computer belonging to Charles Ray Wise, 38, showed that Wise had images of girls and boys who appeared to be under 14 years old. http://www.winchestersun.com/articles/2006/02/01/local_news/news01.txt - - - - - - - - - - Porn spammer pleads guilty Conviction second-ever for transmission of obscene e-mail messages. A California man accused of managing the computer system used to send hundreds of thousands of pornography-related e-mail messages has pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. antispam law. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108267,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Security snafu at Boston Globe exposes subscriber data Bank, credit card information on more than 240,000 people was made public. An apparent attempt to recycle discarded internal reports has ended up in the compromise of credit card and bank number information belonging to more than 240,000 subscribers of The Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108268,00.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6033703.html - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft security chief attacks government Ed Gibson, Microsoft UK's chief security advisor, has hit out at the lack of effective channels for cybercrime reporting and claimed that better desktop-level protection is the key to effective security. Microsoft UK's chief security advisor Ed Gibson has attacked the government over what he claims is a lack of effective reporting channels for Internet- related crime. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39250147,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Kama Sutra worm crashes malware chart Virus authors were hard at work last month creating 2,312 new malware variants - a third higher than December, according to UK-based security firm Sophos. Most of these attacks were financially motivated and designed to steal sensitive information from compromised PCs. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/01/january_virus_chart/ Blackmal virus set to delete files http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11374 Friday Is D-Day for Computer Worm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020101324.html New worm relies on old trick http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/01/31/kamasutraworm/index.html E-mail worm bent only on destruction http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2006-01-30-email-virus_x.htm? Kama Sutra suffering starts early for some http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6033952.html http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=001000000VW8 Old timers still top virus charts http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2149535/old-viruses-top-charts - - - - - - - - - - Winamp, Shoutcast exploits released same day An exploit for Winamp that allows remote code execution was released today, less than 24 hours after the release of an exploit for an old Shoutcast flaw. The Winamp vulnerability is made possible through a buffer overflow in a specially crafted playlist file. As playlist (.pls) files may be executed from remote servers with a single click, the possibility for remote code execution is present. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/122 - - - - - - - - - - IM new threat vector in messaging Worm attacks increased 1700 percent; e-mail spam remains steady. Worm attacks over instant-messaging networks increased 1700 percent in 2005, while e-mail spam remained constant at about 75 percent to 80 percent of all messages sent, according to an annual report issued by messaging security service provider Postini on Monday. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,108263,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Cookie Holes Expose Browsers Security researcher Michal Zalewski has identified an issue related to the manner in which most Web browsers process so- called cookies that he contends may leave many Web sites open to malicious attacks. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1917283,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Core Duo coming soon to Dell notebooks Apparent specifications for Dell's future notebooks were briefly exposed by Google's search engine Tuesday, before the spreadsheet was removed from a Dell FTP site and from Google's cache. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6033903.html - - - - - - - - - - DHS wants to improve software security The Homeland Security Department wants public comment on two draft documents that are part of a federal program to improve software security, according to todays Federal Register. The documents are part of the Software Assurance Program that DHS created as part of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. http://www.fcw.com/article92172-02-01-06-Web - - - - - - - - - - Government suffers another ID Card defeat The House of Lords has voted for further changes to the ID card bill, in an attempt to make the watchdog more independent. The government ID cards bill has suffered two more defeats in the House of Lords after peers voted in favour of further amendments to the proposed legislation. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39250135,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Five Ways To Keep Your Google Searches Private The recent news that the U.S. Justice Department has been seeking search data from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and America Online has struck fear into the hearts of Web surfers. Many users are concerned, not because they're done anything wrong, but because they wonder just how much personal information can be gleaned from their on-line searches. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=178600354 - - - - - - - - - - Malicious Malware: attacking the attackers, part 1 This article explores measures to attack those malicious attackers who seek to harm our legitimate systems. The proactive use of exploits and bot networks that fight other bot networks, along with social engineering and attacker techniques are all discussed in an ethical manner. Part one of two. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1856 - - - - - - - - - - What happens to your e-mail when you die? Or your digital photos, or your Web site domain? How to prepare. The death of a loved one is never easy, but death in the digital age can create knotty problems that add to the anguish. Just ask Roger van Oosten. "My father had a niche Internet business," he says. "When he died last year at 71, he left no provision for the business. I couldn't access his accounts or pay suppliers, and I couldn't shut the business down. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11129851/ - - - - - - - - - - Justice Dept. warns against BlackBerry cutoff Judge told more information needed on plan to exempt government users. The Justice Department urged a federal judge on Wednesday to refrain from any plans to shut BlackBerry portable e-mail service until the government gets more assurances its users will be exempted. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11133847/ *********************************************************** 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. 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