November 9, 1999 New computer virus 'Bubbleboy' found Researchers have discovered what they believe to be the first e-mail-borne computer infection that doesn't require a user to open an e-mail or e-mail attachment for it to wreak havoc. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/1062961l.htm http://vil.nai.com/vil/vbs10418.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 In 1,000 E-mails Has Virus One e-mail per every thousand contains a known virus, while e-mail carrying yet-to-be-documented viruses are seven times that, a report has found. The study on corporate e-mail usage, released by software maker Worldtalk Corp., also found that 3.1 percent of the messages contained graphic, audio or movie files - large, non-business-related files that congest e-mail systems, bring down networks, and increase infrastructure costs. http://www.computercurrents.com/newstoday/99/11/09/news6.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hijackers lay traps for errant e-mails On Oct. 15, New York telemarketing consultant Geri Gantman resigned in protest from her trade association and fired off an angry e-mail that detailed her gripes. The message fell into the hands of Russell Smith, a consumer activist and arch-foe of telemarketers, and Gantman figured someone leaked it. In fact, she sent it to him herself. The group's e-mail address is ataconnect.org. But she typed ataconnect.com -- which is a spot on the Internet that belongs to Smith. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2390370,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CyberCrime -The Growth Industry of the Millennium The thought of cyber criminals rooting around your computing systems and taking or destroying whatever they see fit irks even the most hardy individual. So imagine how you would feel if you were the network manager of the US Defence Department. It has seen attacks on its systems surge by almost 300% this year, taking the number of attacks to more than 18,000. But they are of course the ones that they managed to detect. Presumably this figure would change dramatically if they had managed to pin point all of them. http://www.it-analysis.com/99-11-09-1.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Computer crime fighter relishes new role Scott Charney was at his best that morning. Bearded, looking ever-so-slightly like the hackers who had come to see him, the director of the Justice Department’s computer crime section appeared at the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference to argue the government’s case. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg574.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thieves target elderly flush with Y2K cash Many senior citizens in the US, alarmed by the computer bug, are withdrawing large amounts of cash from banks and hiding it at home. THIEVES and scam artists in the US are making a quick dollar by preying on senior citizens who have withdrawn cash from their bank accounts in fear of the Y2K bug. Some of the elderly had taken out too much money and were hiding it at home, police said. Many had been mugged or robbed. Others, they said, were victims of Y2K scam artists. http://www.straitstimes.asia1.com/cyb/cyb18_1109.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Expelled student sues over Web site A 15-year-old Catholic high school honor student expelled because his Web site was deemed violent and pornographic has sued for $1 million. Peter Ubriaco says his site is funny and irreverent. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/1064084l.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pentagon lawyers see unclear legal limits on cyberwarfare The United States and other nations capable of waging information warfare -- the use of computer electronics to attack another state -- are unlikely to be guided by a coherent body of international law anytime soon, the Defense Department's top lawyers argue in an internal report. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/020953.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FTC petitioned on Internet Privacy With Internet technology becoming increasingly invasive, privacy advocates asked the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to stop Web sites from tracking and compiling computer users' visits online. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/1059372l.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Racist E-Mail Hits Penn State Computers Investigators at two university campuses are still trying to figure out who sent at least 68 racist e-mail messages -- apparently from a computer lab at Temple University -- to minority students at Penn State University. http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/1999/11/08/racistemail1108_01.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TRUSTe Declines Real Probe Privacy watchdog group TRUSTe declined Monday to investigate RealNetworks, but the decision has prompted the organization to expand its charter. It is the second time the group has determined that a significant privacy concern lies beyond the scope of its program. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32388,00.html RealNetworks Slapped With Privacy Lawsuit Jeffrey Wilens wants RealNetworks to face the music, and he's gone to court in Santa Ana, California to make them do so. According to the class-action lawsuit filed in the Orange County Superior Court, Wilens, an attorney who practices consumer protection law, alleges that RealNetworks violated California business statutes (Business & Professions Code, 17200, et seq.) when it failed to pay users of RealJukebox the market value of the information it captured, or uploaded, from their computers. http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/99/139131.html TRUSTe, an organization that verifies the privacy policies of Web sites, will extend its monitoring to digital music players and other software. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/priv110999.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - House mulls nationwide standard for electronic signatures Recognizing the rapid growth of electronic commerce, the House on Tuesday took up legislation that would give electronic signatures and records the same legal validity as written contracts. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/014984.htm US House passes digital signature bill The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved 356-66 controversial legislation allowing electronic approvals, or ``digital signatures,'' to substitute for written signatures on contracts. The White House would likely veto the proposal, which it said would reduce consumer rights, but the legislation could be changed after the Senate passes its own version. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/reuters/docs/1063866l.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Goodlatte, Lofgren Send Crypto Memo To White House Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., today told Newsbytes that there is a lot of "high anxiety" working its way around the Commerce Department's development of encryption regulations that are supposed to be released this Dec. 15, so she and Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., wrote the administration a friendly reminder to stick to its guns. http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/99/139129.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - UK ARMY WEB SITE HACKED A hacker broke into the Army web site and put a rogue message on the front page. The site, at www.army.mod.uk, displayed the message "keebler was ere", a reference to the identity of the hacker who has broken into a number of other sites. http://www.excite.co.uk/news/news_story/technology/tech1.txt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Optus breaks 'hacker' silence Cable & Wireless Optus will no longer be seeking damages, interest or costs from seven defendants who viewed sensitive customer data on its Web site. The announcement comes after the company yesterday refused to make any further comment following the incident. Last Wednesday, a Web page containing the login names and passwords of 115,000 users was found on an Optus Web site. Consequently, summonses were issued to the seven people who viewed the material. http://www.newswire.com.au/9911/ophack.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Wireless Tracks Personal Property A New Zealand company has received financing to develop a tracker device that can be attached to valuable property. When moved it will telephone the owner with details of its exact location. The miniature cellular phone could be attached to a jet ski, trailer or any large item at risk of being stolen. If it is moved, a small wireless device that is constantly in contact with GSM mobile phone transmitters senses the change in position and telephones the owner. http://www.computercurrents.com/newstoday/99/11/09/news13.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Injunction Bars iMac Copycats Apple announced that the U.S. Federal Court in San Jose stated its intention to issue a preliminary injunction barring Future Power and Daewoo from manufacturing, distributing or selling its E-Power personal computer which copies the design of Apple's award-winning iMac computer. http://www.computercurrents.com/newstoday/99/11/09/news10.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Applying Risk Management to Enterprise Security During the Cold War, many of us in the government practiced more risk avoidance than risk management. Potential threats were central to our security strategies than the probability of their occurrence. Add the continuous efforts by foreign intelligence services, especially of the old Soviet Union, and it is easy to understand the level we took to protect our critical assets for national security. With the demise of the Soviet bloc, we had to start reassessing our security measures in light of decreasing resources along with a reduction in the perceived threat. http://securityportal.com/direct.cgi?/topnews/applying-risk.html