December 8, 1999 Trial in Internet sex case opens Was Naughton hunter or target, jurors are asked - Who was pursuing whom? That was the question presented to jurors Tuesday during opening arguments in the federal trial of Patrick Naughton, 34, the former Infoseek executive who was arrested on the Santa Monica pier in September when he traveled from his Seattle home to meet a person who had portrayed herself as a 13-year-old in Internet conversations. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/naught120899.htm Naughton caught Disney jet to LA As opening statements commenced in the trial of Patrick Naughton, the prosecution tried to paint the former Infoseek Corp. executive as a predator who deliberately enticed a young girl he met in a chat room to hook up with him for sex at the Santa Monica Pier. The defense, meanwhile, countered that the "girl" -- who was really an FBI agent posing as a girl -- used language that made Naughton believe she was of age. The defense also said Naughton was heading for his car when FBI agents nabbed him, not for a liaison with a girl as the prosecution claims. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2405736,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Man faces life in online rape case A New York man accused of using the Internet to lure a judge's 14-year-old daughter to a motel where he allegedly raped her could become the first person sentenced to life in prison under a little used federal child pornography law, prosecutors said. http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/1164686l.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Accused Melissa Author to Appear in Federal Court David Smith, accused in April of writing and distributing the Melissa virus, is expected to appear in US District Court in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday, a source close to law enforcement and familiar with the investigation told CyberCrime. Furthermore, the source stated that circumstances strongly indicate that Smith will plead guilty to federal charges. http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/cybercrime/news/story/0,3700,2344196,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'Locusts' Infesting E-Commerce International online law enforcers warned Tuesday they were seriously behind in tackling Internet crime, and said cybercrime might prove a major threat to countries as well as businesses. Michael Vatis, director of the FBI's national infrastructure protection center, told a meeting of business and legal executives there was a rising trend of attacking countries through private companies and civilian systems. http://wired.com/news/reuters/0,1349,32960,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Experts warn of new, updatable virus Anti-virus firms are warning of a new computer virus that spreads through Internet chat rooms and updates itself automatically with files from the Web. "This is the tip of the iceberg," on Tuesday said Eric Chien, senior researcher for anti-virus software maker Symantec Corp., who stressed that the virus' capacity to upgrade itself makes it a concern. "Virus writers again are using more network-centric ideas to create viruses." http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2405495,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Networks hit by co-ordinated attack New denial of service attack involves simultaneous strikes from large number of remote machines. Further evidence of a new type denial of service (DoS) attacks with unparalleled potential for causing havoc has been uncovered by Internet Security Systems (ISS). The attack involves co-ordinating a simultaneous DoS strike from an unusually large number of compromised and remotely controlled machines. ISS has issued an alert warning that a number of high capacity networks have already been subjected to this radical new type of onslaught. http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1999/48/ns-12025.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Experts warn of hacker threat Despite numerous well-publicized computer break-ins and crimes, U.S. society remains dangerously vulnerable to hacker attacks on computer and communications networks, experts warn. Computer crime costs companies more than $100 million a year, but a far worse loss — perhaps in an international catastrophe triggered by a lone hacker — is possible, computer security experts said at a Stanford University gathering Monday. http://www.examiner.com/991207/1207hackers.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - US Companies, Commerce Dept Meet on Tech Security U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley met representatives from major corporations on Wednesday to seek ways to protect America's banks, electrical grids, phone lines and other key services from breakdowns caused by computer hackers or technological glitches. On hand to kick start the new government-private sector forum were representatives from about 80 companies, including Microsoft Corp., Citigroup, AT&T Corp. and Consolidated Edison Inc., among others. http://news.excite.com/news/r/991208/15/tech-tech-security - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Net hackers develop destructive new tools A new breed of destructive hacker tools that coordinate Web site attacks using thousands of unwitting ''slave'' computers has the potential to cripple e-commerce and other Internet operations, according to leading security analysts. The first two versions of these software tools, called Trinoo and TFN, were detected in August in an attack on a West Coast university's system. A third, more advanced version was reportedly discovered last week. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/19991207/1723034s.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RIAA sues Napster The Recording Industry Association of America has filed suit against MP3 site Napster, accusing the Web firm of facilitating piracy. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in California, charges the site of contributory and vicarious copyright infringement for allegedly making illegal MP3 files available to surfers. Napster's software combines chat features with an MP3 player, allowing users to share files. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,2405957,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E-mail on HIV duo 'a hoax' AN E-MAIL message forwarded to homes, offices and even government agencies claims that a man and a three-year-old child have contracted HIV here after stepping on drug users' infected syringes. It has prompted Changi General Hospital (CGH) -- named in the message -- to state that there has been no such case. Doctors also said the manner of infection described was "far-fetched". http://straitstimes.asia1.com/cyb/cyb1_1208.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clinton signs intell authorization bill President Clinton last week signed into law the fiscal 2000 intelligence authorization bill, which calls for a review of the role and mission of the high-tech National Reconnaissance Office and forces the intelligence community to explain the legal standards it adheres to when conducting surveillance operations. The bill also amends a section of the National Security Act of 1947, which established the CIA, to include language that gives counterintelligence authorities greater access to the computers used by members of the executive branch in the course of their normal duties. The aim is to strengthen counterintelligence programs that recently were put under a microscope as a result of IT security lapses at the nation's nuclear weapons laboratories. http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1999/1206/web-clinton-12-08-99.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia establishes Internet surveillance network ISPs had to pay for surveillance network themselves, according to Russian report. The Russian government has introduced a comprehensive Internet traffic monitoring system via more than 350 domestic Net service providers, according to a report in the Moscow Times. The System for Operational Investigative Activies (SORM in Russian) reportedly offers the government's Federal Security Service (FSB) comprehensive access to email messages and financial transactions. http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1999/48/ns-12023.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - All About Aussie Online Laws With just over three weeks to go before new Internet censorship regulations go into effect here, confusion and controversy continue to reign. The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) -- the national body charged with implementing the law -- has expanded its Web site to provide ISPs and content hosts information about their new responsibilities. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32942,00.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tales from the crypt: Renowned cryptography advocates Carl Ellison and Bruce Schneier have co-written an informative examination of the risks of public key infrastructure. Certainly a worthy read for privacy buffs. http://www.counterpane.com/pki-risks-ft.txt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - International Cooperation for Cyber Crime and Terrorism in the 21st Century. This conference paper discusses ways to address computer security problems through international cooperation. http://www.cert.org/reports/stanford_whitepaper-V6.pdf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Results of the Distributed-Systems Intruder Tools Workshop In November 1999, experts addressed issues surrounding distributed systems intruder tools. This paper is one outcome of the DSIT Workshop. In it, workshop participants examine the use of distributed system intruder tools and provide information about protecting systems from attack by the tools, detecting the use of the tools, and responding to attacks. http://www.cert.org/reports/dsit_workshop.pdf