September 3, 1999 In an apparent hoax, a human kidney was put up for auction on eBay and drew a top bid of $5.7 million before unamused company officials pulled the plug. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/ebay090399.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'Thursday' virus upgraded to 'high risk' IT managers should be on the lookout for a nasty but easily contained virus that has infected PCs at eight financial institutions over the last several days. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,1016235,00.html 'Thursday' virus strikes in eight countries A new Word 97 macro virus has hit banks and financial institutions in eight countries over the past 24 hours, according to antivirus vendor Network Associates Inc. http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/all/9909024thurv - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Workplace Spying: Like it or not, firms have the right to watch you on the job The American Management Association, whose members employ about one-quarter of the U.S. workforce, found in 1997 that about 35 percent of all firms reported monitoring employees in some way, including recording their telephone calls and e-mail or videotaping them. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/09/03/BU103998.DTL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Not so private: A start-up company that offered secure and private e-mail and Web surfing has yanked its Web browser following charges that it tried to cover up a security problem with the software. After launching on Monday with the promise of completely anonymous Web browsing, PrivacyX is now regrouping and focusing entirely on its encrypted e-mail offering. http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/21573.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Careful out there: A California Internet provider has been hit by a powerful -- and scary -- new Web scam. A phony administrator asks customers to send credit card data to a convincing spoof site. http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/21572.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Global convergences: Following the example of the film and television industries, major Internet companies may embrace a global framework for rating content next week, marking the most aggressive push so far toward a system to filter nudity, hate speech, vulgar language, and other material online. Bucking Washington, the head of France's broadcasting watchdog is proposing that public authorities and private operators join hands in regulating the Internet. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,41248,00.html http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/015911.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft, the NSA, and You Microsoft Installs US Spy Agency with Windows Between Hotmail hacks and browser bugs, Microsoft has a dismal track record in computer security. Most of us accept these minor security flaws and go on with life. But how is an IT manager to feel when they learn that in every copy of Windows sold, Microsoft has installed a 'back door' for the National Security Agency (NSA - the USA's spy agency) making it orders of magnitude easier for the US government to access their computers? http://www.cryptonym.com/hottopics/msft-nsa.html http://www.networkcomputing.com/story/TWB19990903S0014 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Infiltrators try to hide behind 'ethical' excuse IN the anonymous environs of the Internet a new breed of infiltrator is emerging that regards itself as the Robin Hood of cyberspace. Calling themselves "ethical hackers" and "cyber angels", they stalk the Internet looking for security flaws and hiding spots that can be exploited by criminals, paedophiles, terrorists and the mischief-makers of the electronic world. http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=001897244212554&rtmo=awJHHewL&atmo=YYYYYYbp&pg=/et/99/9/1/whot301.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sex offenders fight police site State police on Tuesday delayed the launch of a Web site identifying sex offenders living in Oregon after several offenders filed lawsuits seeking to keep their names, addresses and photos off the Internet. The Web site, due to go online Wednesday, is on hold until a judge rules in the case, probably by mid-September, said Lt. Bob Sundstrom, who oversees the state's violent offender program. Lawyers representing at least 10 offenders asked a judge to block the site, calling it a violation of their rights and an invasion of privacy. The site is intended to notify neighbors of possible predators. http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560956604-e04 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A HAC Is a Hack Is a Haq? You're entrenched behind your firewall and you peer across a battlefield strewn with ruined Web servers. The enemy is out there somewhere, waiting for the slightest breach in your defenses to turn you into the next media event: "Foo.Com's Web site was hacked last night. http://www.networkcomputing.com/1018/1018colmoskowitz.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Soft RF: new frontier for hackers Although there are compelling advantages to software-defined radio (SDR), serious concerns arise when such low-level software as field-programmable gate array configurations, digital signal processor code and microcontroller code is downloaded into software-radio basestations and handsets. Such code can make the radio operate in different frequency ranges, with different power levels and different modulation standards. http://www.planetit.com/techcenters/docs/security/technology/PIT19990824S0021?spsubcat=applications - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Experts Say To Look Out For Wireless Viruses Experts recently predicted the emergence of new viruses capable of attacking corporate wireless networks. "It is conceivable you could have a worm virus similar to Explore.zip that could spread to every person's device in a few seconds," said Carey Nachenberg, chief researcher at the Symantec Antivirus Research Group. http://www.planetit.com/techcenters/docs/security/news/PIT19990729S0014?spsubcat=hostile_content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Crackers Threaten NASA, Mormon Websites A group of crackers who infiltrated a security-related Website has threatened to do the same to sites associated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Mormon Church. A group calling itself either the "UB0wl3rz" or "b0wlerz" - depending on which section of the crack one reads - claimed responsibility for the desecration of the site. http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/99/135812.html