August 20, 1999 Snooping: The Justice Department wants to enable law enforcement authorities to get search warrants that would allow them to secretly enter the homes or offices of criminal suspects, search through computers for passwords and install devices that override encryption programs as a prelude to a wiretap or further search. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/aug99/encryption20.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It's Friday, and we're waiting: Microsoft Corp. is promising to fix by this week's end a bug in its new Internet chat software that permits co-workers and others to see a person's e-mail password. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/048708.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Expecting unrest: A U.S. military report predicts widespread "probable" or "likely" failures in important power and water systems for many of the nation's cities because of the Year 2000 technology problem, a far more dire assessment than anything the White House has made. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/056886.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hackers Find Gold in Network Directory Services Companies are scurrying to endorse directory services which is tipped to provide simplified computing and ease integration and management of disparate technologies. But the emerging technology could prove to be utopia for malicious hackers. http://www.nwfusion.com/news/1999/0820hack.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft Discloses Flaws in Office 2000 Software Three weeks after security holes were found in its Office 97 software, the Microsoft Corporation Thursday acknowledged similar vulnerabilities in the recently released successor, Office 2000, and in other programs. http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/20micro.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Peeved hacker tricks Vodaphone users A HACKER with a grievance against his former employers used his keyboard skills to trick thousands of mobile phone users to telephone the company, blocking its switchboard for days, a court was told this week. http://www.telegraph.co.uk - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ABC COMPROMISED Today ABC (www.abc.com) site was compromised by a group called United Loan Gunmen. "Hacking and hackers are very real. We exist to explore. The Internet is there not only for you to use, but for you to control" stated on the hacked page. See the archive of the hack here. http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/com/www.abc.com/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BELGIAN BANK COMPROMISED DeCursor.com reports today that the hacker ReDaTtAcK, who only a few days ago hacked the Belgian ISP Skynet, yesterday successfully intruded the computer systems of the Generale Bank, the biggest bank in Belgium. Making use of the banks' remote banking program and by guessing the helpdesk accounts' login (helpdesk) and password (hlpdsk) he was able to bruteforce the user accounts on the system and in doing so he claims to have access to account info, transactions and login codes. The bank says it won't press charges and might even ask the hacker for his assistance in fixing the problems.