November 2, 2000 Lucent says Mideast hackers attacked Web site Just days after the FBI warned that the cyberwar raging in the Middle East between hackers from both sides of the conflict could spread to the United States, Lucent Technologies on Thursday confirmed that its Web site was the victim of at least one attack by pro-Palestinian hackers. Lucent, based in Murray Hill, N.J., may be the first of many U.S. companies and government agencies to be targeted by pro-Palestinian hackers because of its ongoing business in Israel, experts said. "There could be other organizations hit here in the U.S., but this is the first U.S. corporation named directly on target lists being circulated by pro-Palestinian hacker groups I've seen so far," said Ben Venzke, director of intelligence production at iDefense. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-3368676.html Mideast fighting spills onto the Internet The violence pitting Arabs and Jews in the Middle East has spilled from the physical into the virtual world, as combatants on both sides lay siege to the Internet sites of one another. Mickey Buzaghlo began cyber warfare from his bedroom a few weeks ago. Upset by what he saw on Arab Web sites that attacked Israel, the 21-year-old Israeli and some friends broke into the Web site of Hezbollah, the Lebanese fundamental Islamic guerillas, replacing their content with the Israeli flag and the star of David. http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/11/02/mideast.webwar/index.html - - - - - - - - - Parents claim son's condition motivates computer activities Keith Kimmel, one of three men charged with the theft of more than $200,000 in Ameritech equipment this summer, identifies himself with Martin Luther King Jr. as he fights for consumer rights to low priced telecommunications services and free access to proprietary information about how devices work. Such ideas might be typical of people claiming to be "hackers." But Kimmel's parents suggest his alleged actions may be related to a psychiatric condition. Police arrested Keith Kimmel on July 29, along with two other Mishawaka men. Kimmel, who is president of the South Bend Hackers Club, was charged in July with two Class C felonies in connection with the break-ins. http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2000/10/30/local.20001030-sbt-MARS-A1-Alleged_hacker.sto - - - - - - - - - DOD database to fight cybercrime The Defense Department is on the verge of completing a common database to aid the defense and intelligence communities in battling cybercrime, according to the new commander of the Pentagon's Joint Task Force for Computer Network Defense. The database will enable those involved in computer emergency response across DOD, the intelligence agencies and the FBI to share information critical to protecting their networks against intruders. The database is in the final stages of development and likely will be "an operational reality" in early 2001, said Maj. Gen. James Bryan, who commands the JTF-CND. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/1030/web-data-11-02-00.asp - - - - - - - - - Microsoft, consumers get lessons in latest attack The computer break-in at the world's premier software-maker provides a stark reminder that U.S. companies and individuals have a long way to go to implement security that protects trade secrets and personal privacy. Security experts say more Americans need to be sensitized to the fact that a single computer with outdated software can give hackers or thieves the entry point they need to invade a computer network. ``It really only takes one computer to not be updated for something to compromise the entire network,'' said Steve Trilling, director of research at Symantec Corp.'s Antivirus Research Center. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/021030.htm - - - - - - - - - Bank seeks to address security fears The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is hoping to benefit from users' distrust of spending online by routing ecommerce payment requests directly through its own network. The bank says its UK-focused payment service, Roynet Direct, provides a secure payment gateway for business-to-consumer retailers. Rather than payments being handled by the retailer's website, requests are routed directly through RBS's network at its Edinburgh headquarters. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1113385 - - - - - - - - - AT&T changes course as spam policy is revealed AT&T has yielded to an anti-spam group's request that it stop providing services to a purported sender of unsolicited commercial email. The move came after an English anti-spam organization publicly posted what it termed a "pink contract" between AT&T and the alleged spammer, Nevada Hosting. AT&T had been hosting the group's Web site. "This proves that AT&T knowingly does business with spammers and shows that AT&T makes 'pink' contracts with known spammers to not terminate the spammers' services," Steve Linford of The Spamhaus Project wrote in an email interview. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3369773.html - - - - - - - - - Visa USA Testing, Tightening E-commerce Security In an effort to address consumers' online security concerns that may be hindering adoption of Internet shopping, Visa USA announced today that it has formed an alliance with Internet Security Systems. As part of the new partnership, Internet Security Systems (ISS) will test Visa's electronic compliance marketing (ECM) program. The ECM program is designed to verify if merchants and Internet service providers (ISPs) are complying with another new program that is being launched today, Visa Secure Commerce. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/00/157639.html - - - - - - - - - US Group Asks Yahoo To Pull Hate Items From Auctions Internet portal giant Yahoo is under fire again for allowing users of its auction sites to buy and sell Nazi memorabilia and other racist items online. Yahoo, which has for the past several months been battling French authorities who want to fine the company for selling Nazi materials over the Internet, now is catching flak from a US anti-hate group called BiasHELP. In a letter to Yahoo Chairman Timothy Koogle, Long Island, NY-based BiasHELP asked the company to restrict the sale of racist materials, particularly knives and other items bearing Nazi and Ku Klux Klan insignias. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/00/157622.html - - - - - - - - - ID Thieves Hit Close to Home If someone steals your credit card or starts an account using your name, there's a good chance you'll know the perpetrator, according to identity theft data compiled by the Federal Trade Commission. Looking at almost a year's worth of statistics on identity theft, an FTC study found that 13.5 percent of the 15,600 reported cases it received allegedly were committed by someone with whom the victim had a relationship. Of those cases, half involved family members. Half of the overall reports of identity theft involved credit card fraud, including card numbers stolen or accounts set up without the knowledge of the purported cardholder, the FTC said. http://www.apbnews.com/NEWSCENTER/BREAKINGNEWS/2000/11/02/idtheft1102_01.html - - - - - - - - - Drowned, burned & crushed - WHO ARE YOU GONNA CALL? Laptop computers cannot swim. They do not float. They are not watertight, nor are they fireproof. While immersion or fire can ruin the computer, it doesn't necessarily destroy the precious data stored on the hard disk. Even hard disks that no longer function can contain data that can be rescued. But, in most cases, you can't do that yourself. When the data are precious, it comes down to this question: Who are you going to call? http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/sunday/personal_tech_93bf8a7930e860ce006e.html - - - - - - - - - Net Present Value of Information Security: Part IV Securing your ebusiness operations is vital to protecting the value your site already has and to creating additional value for your organization. But security is only useful if you implement the right measures for your application. It is a common error for a business owner to look to other business models for guidance on security architecture. This often results in wrong assumptions about appropriate implementations of technology to support the security needs for the owner's own specific business. http://securityportal.com/articles/npv20001102.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. 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