September 19, 2001 Hard-to-track Nimda worm may be peaking The outbreak of the Nimda computer worm, which has spread rapidly across the Internet, appeared to have peaked Wednesday for the powerful server machines that drive the Web, but the number of infected PCs may never be known, computer security experts said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/025805.htm Microsoft deflects charges of worm woes Microsoft refuted claims Wednesday that the main Web site for its FrontPage software had been infected by the Nimda virus, despite the antivirus software alarms set off by viewing the site. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7231660.html Nimda worm slows but hits high-profile sites http://www.msnbc.com/news/630583.asp Net security coalition issues Nimda warning http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7226813.html Nimda virus symptoms and cure http://www.msnbc.com/news/631294.asp Home PCs at most risk from Nimda http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5097175,00.html Security group: Beware of the Nimda worm http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5097154,00.html Nimda spreads--worse than Code Red? http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2813285,00.html Ashcroft: Nimda's not connected to attacks http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,2813288,00.html Special Report: Nimda Worm Strikes http://www.techtv.com/news/internet/story/0,24195,3348512,00.html Nimda hits broadband users http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095663,00.html Nimda worm causes Internet slowdown http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095586,00.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095594,00.html "Nimda" outbreak spreads worldwide http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-7225343-0.html Nimda worms seen in China http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7226444.html Techies Battle Nimda Worm With Software, By Hand http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170289.html Nimda Worms Into 'Hundreds Of Thousands' Of Computers http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170278.html - - - - - - - - Hacker alters news stories on Yahoo Attributes false comments to President Bush in article. A computer security researcher was able to edit and alter wire stories posted on Yahoo.com’s SecurityFocus.com. The researcher rewrote a story, subtly changing some facts and attributing faked comments to President George W. Bush. http://www.msnbc.com/news/631231.asp - - - - - - - - Hackers strike Middle Eastern sites Saying the U.S. government hasn't sufficiently responded to last week's terrorist attacks, a group of vigilante hackers has taken matters into its own hands and defaced some 200 to 300 Middle Eastern government Web sites and those of Palestinian Internet service providers. The group says it plans to destroy Web servers and Internet access in Afghanistan. "This is the 21st century, the world of technology belongs to us," says a 21-year-old computer security worker from Ohio who uses the name "Hackah Jak." He is the founder of the group of 60 computer professionals from around the world who call themselves the Dispatchers. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/19/hack-attack-launched.htm - - - - - - - - Hackers lash out at Islamic Usenet group S'kiddies have taken out the mail server used by the moderators of an Islamic Usenet group in the latest of a serious of untargeted attacks by "vigilante" hackers following last week's terrorist attacks on the US. The admin of soc.religion.islam told us that hackers threw a mail attack against its server over the weekend which crashed the old machine it used. "The email originated as a flood attack against the newsgroup from a machine at a Canadian ISP, but since the newsgroup [soc.culture.islam] is moderated it was converted into a mail bomb by their NNTP server," an admin at the hosting site told us. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/21752.html - - - - - - - - ITV Digital falls prey to smartcard piracy Customers are illegally watching premier digital channels with illicit smartcards. The head of ITV Digital has admitted that its digital terrestrial television service is suffering from piracy, with customers dodging monthly subscription charges by using illicit smartcards. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095655,00.html - - - - - - - - FBI Obtains Terrorist Emails New evidence suggests those behind last week's attacks used the Web to coordinate their efforts. There is new evidence suggesting the terrorists who carried out last week's attacks in New York and Washington used the World Wide Web to help coordinate their deadly efforts. "They used the Internet and they used it well," an FBI official said of the 19 men who hijacked four passenger airliners last Tuesday, steering three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. http://www.techtv.com/news/story/0,24195,3348572,00.html - - - - - - - - Internet scam artists see a profit in U.S. attacks Internet fraudsters are profiting from last week's attacks on the United States, playing on public sympathy to rake in ``grubby money'' around the globe. Investigators say a number of Web sites purporting to represent legitimate charities have sprung up to lure unwitting donors into handing over credit card details. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/015113.htm http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/09/19/gen.appeal.fraud/index.html - - - - - - - - NIPC warns of possible DDoS attacks The National Infrastructure Protection Center, the FBI's cybersecurity agency, issued an advisory Tuesday warning against the possibility of increased distributed denial-of-service attacks coming as a result of the last week's terrorist attacks against targets in New York and near Washington, D.C. http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/09/19/nipc.warning.idg/index.html - - - - - - - - Bush Bill Rewrites Spy Laws The Bush administration will ask for more power to eavesdrop on phone calls, the Internet and voicemail messages, according to an outline of a bill obtained by Wired News. In response to last week's catastrophic terrorist attacks, President Bush plans to ask Congress to approve far-reaching legislation that rewrites U.S. laws dealing with electronic surveillance, immigration and support for terrorists. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46953,00.html - - - - - - - - The Terrorists Are Winning the Cyber War In the Internet Age, when communications speed across national boundaries in nanoseconds, terrorist groups are winning the cyberspace battle, say intelligence and security experts. Terrorists hide their communications with encryption software. They set up Web sites to help raise money for their operations. Computer hackers break into U.S. government networks to research possible targets. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000075202sep19.story - - - - - - - - Firms may have trampled privacy rules post-attack Many companies, ISPs gave info to law enforcement Several Internet service providers and other U.S. companies breached their own policies on protecting clients’ privacy in response to the attacks on the United States, an expert on the issue said. http://www.msnbc.com/news/631223.asp - - - - - - - - Fed Court Staffs to Be Monitored Like millions of other American workers, federal judges and their staffs should have some monitoring of their Internet activities, judicial leaders said Wednesday. Monitoring plans had unsettled some judges, who complained of possible illegal snooping by administrators in Washington. The Judicial Conference, which oversees courts, approved a compromise policy that would allow some tracking of Internet surfing but no surveillance of e-mail. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46974,00.html http://news.lycos.com/news/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=246373 http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/004958.htm http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7230874.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170288.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/19/judges-net-monitoring.htm - - - - - - - - A 'Tarpit' That Traps Worms Network administrators now have a hacking tool that can help them strike back at malicious attackers. "LaBrea" is a free, open-source tool that deters worms and other hack attacks by transforming unused network resources into decoy-computers that appear and act just like normal machines on a network. But when malicious hackers or mindless worms such as Nimda or Code Red attempt to connect with a LaBrea -equipped system, they get sucked into a virtual tarpit that grabs their computer's connection -- and doesn't release it. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,46964,00.html - - - - - - - - Dow Jones Appeals Net Ruling Dow Jones has appealed a court ruling giving an Australian mining magnate the right to sue for defamation over an article published in the United States and posted on the Internet. The landmark ruling could have wide-ranging implications for publishers and Internet sites that post articles in the 190 nations that allow defamation cases, media analysts said. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,46986,00.html - - - - - - - - Copy-proof CD sparks lawsuit Though Karen DeLise isn't much of a country music fan, she bought a copy of Charley Pride's latest CD, A Tribute to Jim Reeves. Less than two weeks later, she headed to court. DeLise is upset because the copy-proof CD won't play in her home computer or allow her to convert the song tracks into MP3 files. DeLise has filed suit against Music City Records and SunnComm, alleging unfair business practices for their handling of Pride's latest release. SunnComm's technology permits the CD to be played in conventional devices such as stereo systems and portable CD players. Computer CD drives, however, will not play the Pride CD. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/19/cd-copying-suit.htm - - - - - - - - AOL anti-Muslim chat room suit gets new attention A discrimination lawsuit alleging that America Online allowed harassment of Muslims in chat rooms got little attention when it was filed last month. Now, the case may become a national touchstone as the Net has quickly become a hub for anti-Islamic hate talk and torment after the terrorist attacks last week. In the suit filed Aug. 30, Saad Noah, 43, of Crest Hill, Ill., charged that AOL allowed chat room users to make anti- Muslim statements in its Islam-related chat rooms, even though monitors normally step in when notified and warn members that abusive behavior violates AOL's rules. "Allah must die" and "All muslims and jews are terrorist" were among the nearly 100 statements detailed in Noah's suit. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/19/aol-chat-room.htm - - - - - - - - Victoria's Secret wins cybersquatting case Victoria's Secret won $120,000 in damages from a company which chose four Internet domain names using the lingerie chain's name. Victoria's Cyber Secret limited partnership, which has not gone online with any of the sites, said the names were chosen for planned adult entertainment sites starring Playboy playmate Victoria Silvstedt. But she advised the judge that the partnership is not authorized to use her name or likeness on any of its domain names and she plans no future business dealings with the group. U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King decided last week that the trademarks registered by Victoria's Secret since 1982 were entitled to protection over the Internet names bought in 1998 and never activated. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/19/victorias-secret-cybersquatting-case.htm - - - - - - - - Tech Firms Join Fight Against Terrorism The use of existing and emerging technologies is essential to the fight against terrorism, analysts say. Counter-terrorism is now one of the nation's top priorities, President Bush said last week. The government has already allocated billions of dollars to the cause, and US agencies such as the CIA and the FBI are expected to bulk up their staffs and resources in the near future. http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3348383,00.html - - - - - - - - Americans Still Guard Telephone, E-mail Privacy - Study Last week's terrorist attacks have prompted a few Americans to say they are more willing to trade some personal privacy for security, according to a new study. However, while some respondents told the Pew Research Center they generally supported the concept of sacrificing some civil liberties in order to try to curb terrorism, when asked specifically about increased government monitoring of personal telephone calls or e-mails, most balked. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170291.html - - - - - - - - Exploring Technology to Protect Passengers Governments and airlines seeking to reduce the threat of airplane hijackings by terrorists have a wide range of security technologies to choose from. Much of the spotlight will be on biometrics systems, which identify travelers by fingerprints, the patterns in their retinas, their voices or other individual characteristics. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/19/nyregion/19TECH.html - - - - - - - - A clean sweep for dirty data Earlier this year, the new data manager for one of the nation's largest real estate companies, Parsippany, N.J.-based National Realty Trust (NRT), had to merge files from 750 offices for a company with $106 billion in annual sales. At the same time, NRT was absorbing smaller companies after an acquisition binge. And Nordstrom had to data from 38,000 agents who had calculated commissions inconsistently, resulting in headaches for the payroll department. Nordstrom turned to a new generation of analytical software to streamline reams of conflicting, duplicated and otherwise botched files--an unseemly plague that software engineers dub "dirty data" or "bit rot." When computers cannot interpret data, software engineers may lose or delete important files, companies may lose track of customer lists, and executives may be forced to abandon entire business strategies. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5097161,00.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-7227639.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/631232.asp *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. The information is provided to you for non-profit research and educational purposes. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2001, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.