NewsBits for April 11, 2006 ************************************************************ Man stabbed as laptop thefts rocket Hardware the new black in mugging terms Police in San Francisco are reporting soaring laptop thefts, following the increased use of Wi-Fi hotspots in the city. San Francisco had 18 public laptop thefts in 2004, but this rose to 48 last year and the number could head above 100 this year, according to figures obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2153874/man-stabbed-laptop-thefts Perps beware: 'Jacking Macs' could prove hazardous At a time when laptop thefts are on the rise in high-tech corridors like San Francisco, an entrepreneur has rigged portable computers with a security measure that car owners have relied on--and sleepers have complained about--for decades. http://news.com.com/Perps+beware+Jacking+Macs+could+prove+hazardous/2100-7349_3-6060033.html - - - - - - - - - - Former Tech Student Receives 10 Year Prison Sentence A former Texas Tech student receives a jail sentence for possession child pornography. Cole Cosby, 23, was given the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He had been convicted back in January. http://www.klbk13.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=1533 - - - - - - - - - - NYC assistant principal pleads guilty to child porn charge An assistant principal at a New York City high school pleaded guilty Monday to distributing child pornography to entice children into meeting him for sex, prosecutors announced. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--childporn0410apr10,0,2246871.story - - - - - - - - - - Beauregard teacher on trial for child pornography A Beauregard Parish teacher is on trial today facing a federal child pornography charge. Jury selection in Timothy Brannon's trial got underway this morning. Timothy Brannon is on administrative leave from his teaching job at Pine Wood Elementary School in DeRidder. The 34 year old was arrested last April after students said he inappropriately touched them. http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4751545 - - - - - - - - - - PA child porn fugitive caught in Canada A man who was convicted of possession of child pornography after he failed to show up on the third day of his trial was caught Monday in Canada, Pennsylvania authorities said. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-04102006-639435.html - - - - - - - - - - NM tipster leads to child porn arrested In Maine Police in Maine are investigating a child porn case thanks to someone in Albuquerque. Belfast police arrested Kenneth Joondeph after someone in Albuquerque mailed them photos taken from a website last month. The pictures show Joondeph engaged in a sex act with his 11 year-old son. http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?RECORD_KEY%5BNews%5D=ID&ID%5BNews%5D=14700 - - - - - - - - - - Roommates tip police to child porn suspect When Kelly Mayhew and her boyfriend Martin Getz found a house to rent that was close to both their respective schools, they were thrilled -- their new roommate seemed friendly and the house was large, everything they wanted. But a few months after moving into the Fletcher Avenue house, Mayhew and Getz learned the comforts of home were overshadowed by their unsavory roommate. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST03041106.htm - - - - - - - - - - Child-porn charges leveled The owner of a Mount Vernon modeling agency has been charged with more than 200 counts of child pornography. Donald Martin, 47, owns Southern Stars Modeling Agency in Mount Vernon, said Detective Matt Bryant of the Rockcastle Sheriff's Department. He said three clients, age 11 to 13, have told the sheriff's department that pornographic pictures were taken of them. http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/14313650.htm - - - - - - - - - - Child-porn offender not listed on state Web site Reason for mistake unclear, but officials say Stephen Hood has complied with all requirements. A former University of South Alabama professor convicted on a federal child pornography charge does not appear on Alabama's sex offender Web site, but state and local officials disagree about who is to blame. http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1144747250227210.xml - - - - - - - - - - MySpace reaching out to parents The media frenzy around MySpace.com has struck a nerve with parents fretting about what their kids are doing online. Now the social networking site, along with other Net companies and child advocate groups, is trying to calm those parents about what their kids are doing online and what tools they have to deal with it. http://news.com.com/MySpace+reaching+out+to+parents/2009-1041_3-6059679.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12256764/ http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/04/11/myspace.safety.ap/index.html http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=02300000L1V4 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2006-04-11-myspace-safety_x.htm MySpace.com hires child safety czar from Microsoft http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041100253.html - - - - - - - - - - Porn Law Goes Too Far, 11th Circuit Rules An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has unanimously struck down part of a federal law prohibiting the offering or advertising of material presented as child pornography, saying the provisions were too broad and vague. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1144414533557 - - - - - - - - - - Phishers use phone instead of net for new scam A new type of phishing scam targeting Chase Bank customers has been detected which redirects recipients to a 1800 telephone number rather than a fraudulent web site. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/3866/53/ Factor Authentication in Online Banking http://www.it-observer.com/news/6065/factor_authentication_online_banking/ Web Rebates Steals Confidential Personal Information http://www.it-observer.com/news/6058/web_rebates_steals_confidential_personal_information/ - - - - - - - - - - Tax-time scamers now go 'phish' The Internal Revenue Service has a new warning for Americans: Don't touch that e-mail. Back off the mouse. A modern con has wormed its way onto the tax-collectors' "Dirty Dozen" tax schemes for 2006 posted at irs.gov. http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1144570564245640.xml - - - - - - - - - - Users urged to fix browser flaw PC users are being urged to apply software patches that close "critical" vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. Since coming to light in late March, the flaws have proved very popular with malicious hackers keen to steal confidential data from PCs. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4896348.stm 'Critical' megapatch sews up 10 holes in IE http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6060038.html Update: Microsoft releases critical Internet Explorer patch http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,110412,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Warning over new Oracle flaw A security expert has warned that a vulnerability on Oracle Server could allow all users to read, modify, and delete data. http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=5763 Oracle Server flaw sparks warning http://www.it-observer.com/news/6062/oracle_server_flaw_sparks_warning/ Oracle releases, then pulls, zero-day database exploit code http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,110387,00.html http://www.it-observer.com/news/6068/oracle_exploit_code/ Cross-platform virus poses little risk http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/11/cross_platform_malware/ Oracle's oops on security flaw http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6060128.html - - - - - - - - - - Three New Vulnerabilities in PHP PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language. Much of its syntax is borrowed from C with a couple of unique PHP-specific features thrown in. The goal of the language is to allow web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6067/three_new_vulnerabilities_php/ - - - - - - - - - - Phone records for sale A dozen companies selling records of private phone calls in the U.S. have been subpoenaed by U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton. The committee launched an inquiry on February 3rd into the sale of private phone records and other personal information over the Internet. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/183 - - - - - - - - - - New Zealand sites vulnerable to Google hacking Google hacking is on the rise, according to a study by graduate student Natalia Nehring and Ellen Rose, senior lecturer at the Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences at Massey University. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/hacking/story/0,10801,110392,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Watchfire Offers Web Security as a Service Betting that security applications will follow in the footsteps of CRM tools and similar technologies, Web site testing specialist Watchfire is launching a hosted version of its software. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1948202,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000614 How Good is Your Security Policy? http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1109/how_good_your_security_policy/ Can You Recommend a Checklist for a Network Security Policy? http://www.it-observer.com/news/6066/can_you_recommend_checklist_network_security_policy/ Gemplus tempts SMEs with smart tokens http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=5770 - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft tool aims to stymie typosquatters Microsoft released a program on Friday to allow consumers to detect when a misspelled domain name sends them to an unwanted site and block referrals to pornographic sites. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/182 - - - - - - - - - - DOD turns to industry for the Internet it wants The Defense Department recognizes Version 6 of the Internet Protocols as central to its concept of network-centric warfare. But enabling a worldwide network to pass IPv6 packets is not enough to realize its goal. It requires applications and tools. This is the job of the World Wide Consortium for the Grid. http://www.gcn.com/print/25_7/40238-1.html Security agency scrutinizes secure storage http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2153898/security-agency-scrutinizes - - - - - - - - - - QinetiQ to steer UK cybercrime policy group Qinetiq, the former Ministry of Defence research lab, has been given chairmanship of a UK group designed to develop government security policy. The committee, which comprises government officials, academics, and other experts, will help inform UK government policy on issues such as the introduction of biometric-based identity cards and the establishment of ecommerce projects, the FT reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/11/brains_trust/ - - - - - - - - - - DJ typing style used to securely distribute music A technique used by Bletchley Park cryptographers to identify operators is being applied to distribute musical recordings to DJs securely using the internet. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/11/secure_music_biometrics/ - - - - - - - - - - Monitoring Employee Communications in the Enterprise The rationale behind monitoring employees is that a computer at work is a corporate tool for enhancing the employee's productivity. Because some people abuse that privilege by sending personal e-mail and viewing movies during working hours, employers feel they have little choice but to monitor what their workers are doing. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6061/monitoring_employee_communications_enterprise/ - - - - - - - - - - Kernel Mode Ircbot: Code and Information The world of malware and rootkits has evolved a lot over the last two years, the most significant developments have been in the sophistication of rootkits. In case the term rootkit doesn't mean much, a rootkit is basically a program that subverts the operating system, and allows the attacked to hide certain files and programs from the user. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6064/kernel_mode_ircbot_code_information/ Microsoft exec warns of rootkits http://www.it-observer.com/news/6063/microsoft_exec_warns_rootkits/ - - - - - - - - - - Hacking Network Printers Hack a printer you say, what kind of toner have you been smoking, Irongeek? Well, Im here to tell you, theres more that can be done with a printer to compromise network security than one might realize. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6059/hacking_network_printers/ - - - - - - - - - - Build your own gateway firewall Learn how to build your own gateway firewall using FreeBSD and old PC parts. The firewall will consist of the PF firewall, Snort IDS, various IPS applications, Squid proxy, and some intuitive web interfaces for auditing. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6069/build_your_own_gateway_firewall/ - - - - - - - - - - Blogosphere suffers spam explosion Boing Boing would allow its readers to leave comments and engage in a discussion on the wildly popular blog, if it weren't for spam. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6059672.html - - - - - - - - - - Security report sponsorship defended This year's DTI Information Security Breaches Survey has found that the cybercrime threat is growing. But should it be sponsored by companies who sell security products? PricewaterhouseCoopers has defended vendor involvement in a major survey into T security conducted on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39262550,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Web's role in terrorism examined Investigations into the Madrid and London bombings highlight two worrying trends for European security services--the emergence of autonomous, homegrown radical cells and their skilled exploitation of the Internet. http://news.com.com/Webs+role+in+terrorism+examined/2100-1028_3-6059920.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. 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