NewsBits for April 21, 2006 ************************************************************ Man charged with accessing USC student data Federal prosecutors charged a San Diego-based computer expert on Thursday with breaching the security of a database server at the University of Southern California last June and accessing confidential student data. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/191 http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-briefs21.1apr21,1,1856874.story - - - - - - - - - - US steps up fight on child porn Alberto Gonzales says child pornography is widespread online. The Bush administration is pushing for tougher measures to combat child pornography online. The proposals were announced by US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, who said that the net had created an "epidemic" of child pornography. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4929578.stm Gonzales Targeting Online Child Predators http://www.securitypronews.com/insiderreports/insider/spn-49-20060421GonzalesTargetingOnlineChildPredators.html http://www.thinkandask.com/2006/042006-pedo.html Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_060420.html - - - - - - - - - - Virus writers get into cyber-extortion Incidence of cyber-blackmail attempts rose during the first three months of this year. Malicious hackers are moving away from 'stealth use' of infected computers - stealing personal data, using infected computers as part of zombie networks - to direct blackmailing of victims, according to a new report from Kaspersky Lab. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/21/kaspersky_malware_trends_update/ Cyber extortion malicious code video http://www.it-observer.com/news/6154/cyber_extortion_malicious_code_video/ - - - - - - - - - - N.Y. County Enacts Wireless Security Law Westchester County on Thursday enacted a law that is designed to limit identity theft by forcing local businesses to install basic security measures for any wireless network that stores customers' credit card numbers or other financial information. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6150/ny_county_enacts_wireless_security_law/ - - - - - - - - - - Air Force Academy wins NSA Cyber Defense Exercise The National Security Agency announced today that the Air Force Academy is the winner of the agencys 6th Annual Cyber Defense Exercise. The exercise was conducted April 10 to 14 here, at the NSAs Maryland headquarters and the nations other military service academies. http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123019375 - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft to re-issue buggy security patch Microsoft Corp. plans to re-issue a security patch for its Windows operating system that caused serious headaches for some users. The MS06-015 security update was released last week, but Microsoft customers soon reported that it was causing applications to crash thanks to a conflict between the patch and NVidia Corp.'s video drivers and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Share-to-Web photo-sharing software. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,110755,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Utilizing Standard Microsoft Tools to Secure Your Network Learn about tools that enable end users in your organization to lock down their own environment and help protect their desktops. Find webcasts and virtual labs that provide policy strategy, tips and tricks, and prescriptive guidance to help strengthen your organization's security, without sacrificing network performance and flexibility. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6142/utilizing_standard_microsoft_tools_secure_your_network/ - - - - - - - - - - The pros and cons of Windows Firewall Is Windows Firewall up to the task of securing your network? We delve into the details of this host-based stateful firewall and weigh its pros and cons. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6144/the_pros_cons_windows_firewall/ - - - - - - - - - - Anti Hacker Technology Gains European Foothold A German research institute has developed a watermark technology to fight hackers that is quietly gaining traction in the European audio sector. MusicTrace, a technolgy developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, has delivered watermark technology to Optimal Media Production for a new service aimed at curbing online music piracy. http://www.discwrite.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=536 - - - - - - - - - - RSA Consumer Solutions Phishing Intelligence Report The most notable trend is the very significant increase in the number of non-US banks targeted by phishing in March. Most of the non-US banks that were attacked for the first time in March were German banks. Additional new Spanish and Italian banks were also targeted this month. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6151/rsa_consumer_solutions_phishing_intelligence_report/ Researcher warns that banking sites are insecure http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=5843 http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,110738,00.html? Phishing: Hefty sentence for financial agent http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/72138 3DES Upgrades May Introduce New ATM Vulnerabilities http://www.it-observer.com/news/6145/3des_upgrades_introduce_new_atm_vulnerabilities/ - - - - - - - - - - The argument for UTM Threats against computer systems are more than a quarter century old, yet new and complex attacks by hackers (blackhat) continue to wreak havoc on todays connected corporations. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6149/the_argument_utm/ More Internet Threats Expected This Year http://www.it-observer.com/news/6143/more_internet_threats_expected_this_year/ Cracking WEP http://www.it-observer.com/news/6146/cracking_wep/ - - - - - - - - - - 5 Reasons to Choose Simple Sandboxing When it comes time to host some partially trusted code in your application, perhaps as a part of an Add-In model, youve got a few options to choose from. How do you decide which is the best way to go? Thankfully the answer to this one is relatively straightforward choose the new simple sandboxing model whenever possible. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6155/5_reasons_choose_simple_sandboxing/ - - - - - - - - - - Debugging 101 Recently, a colleague and I were working together to resolve a bug in a piece of code she had just written. The bug resulted in an exception being thrown and looking at the stack trace, we were both puzzled about what the root cause might be. http://www.it-observer.com/news/6156/debugging_101/ - - - - - - - - - - Computer Glitch Blamed in Airport Bomb Scare A bomb scare that shut down security checkpoints for two hours at Atlanta's airport was the result of a computer software glitch, the nation's top security administrator said. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-briefs21.3apr21,1,7366498.story *********************************************************** 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 2000-2006, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.