September 25, 2001 Nimda Leads Fairfax To Unplug Web Site Fairfax County has fallen victim to the worst computer virus in its history, forcing it to shut down its Web site until each of the county's 9,000 computers and 300 servers has been screened, officials said yesterday. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170474.html - - - - - - - - Virus exploits fears over war on terror A destructive virus, which tries to exploit anxiety generated by approaching military action, has been released on the Internet. Vote, a mass mailing virus that affects only Windows PCs, normally comes in an email with the subject line "Fwd:Peace BeTween AmeriCa And IsLam !", inviting users to "vote" on peace by clicking on an attachment, which in reality contains malicious code. If a user open the attachment (normally called WTC.EXE), the virus attempts to delete files associated with the user's anti-virus program, overwrite HTML files and download Trojan horse files from the Internet. Worse still, it attempts to format a user's hard disk when a user next tries to reboot. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/21863.html - - - - - - - - Bush defends expanded wiretap, detention powers. President Bush defended Tuesday his administration's request for expanded wiretap and detention powers, saying they were vital to the war on terrorism. Bush used a brief appearance at FBI headquarters in Washington to lobby for his proposed anti- terrorism package, which has run into opposition among Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill who fear it would curb U.S. civil liberties. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/083976.htm Ashcroft Asks Senate For More Enforcement Powers Attorney General John Ashcroft received a warmer reception today when he once again appeared before a congressional panel in support of a broad anti- terrorism proposal that would expand the surveillance powers of federal law enforcers. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170484.html Congress Weighs Anti-Terror Bill http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47086,00.html Hackers face life imprisonment under 'Anti-Terrorism' Act http://www.securityfocus.com/news/257 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/21854.html - - - - - - - - Rep. Smith Introduces Web Wiretap Bill House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, introduced legislation last Thursday that would make it easier for federal investigators to obtain court approval for eaves- dropping on Internet communications. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170489.html - - - - - - - - Bill would boost info sharing Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) introduced legislation Sept. 24 to allow the federal government and industry to share information about potential threats to the nation's critical infrastructure. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0924/web-share-09-25-01.asp - - - - - - - - Cyber Attacks To Government Computers Subject of Hearing The House Government Reform Committee will hear from a large panel of witnesses Wednesday to get a handle on the vulnerabilities of government computer systems that could be subject to cyber attacks. http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?threadid=114189 - - - - - - - - Cyber-terrorists can pose threat to U.S. businesses Even before the dust settled over the ruins of the World Trade Center, U.S. authorities warned the country to brace for further attacks -- including, possibly, attacks launched from cyberspace. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/017783.htm - - - - - - - - Snooping Isn't E-Mail Delay Cause E-mail delivery has been particularly sluggish during the past two weeks. Messages have arrived at their destinations hours after being sent, sparking speculation that new surveillance programs by government intelligence agencies might be responsible for the sudden slowdown. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,47092,00.html - - - - - - - - Education Department struggles to protect system. Computer security weaknesses continue to make the Education Department’s main financial management system vulnerable to misuse, despite recent improvements in security, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0901/092501t1.htm - - - - - - - - Analyst urges firms to abandon Microsoft IIS Server Companies hit by recent hacker attacks against Microsoft's Web server software should switch to a new product rather than continuing the battle to keep the Microsoft product secure, an analyst with an influential high-tech research firm said Monday. John Pescatore, research director for Internet security at Gartner Group, told The Associated Press Monday that firms whose Web sites were shuttered by hacker attacks more than once may not be able to keep their servers secure -- or safe -- from future attacks. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/007017.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095952,00.html http://www3.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=101034 - - - - - - - - National ID card idea kindles old debate Oracle Chief's Proposal Raises Contitutional, Feasibility Issues. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's call this weekend for a national ID card system has ignited a raging debate over an issue that has simmered in the United States since the 1930s. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/idcards25.htm National ID Card Push Roils Privacy Advocates http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170488.html ID Cards Are de Rigueur Worldwide http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47073,00.html - - - - - - - - Anonymous surfing service exposed Users of SafeWeb's free Triangle Boy service are accustomed to surfing the Web anonymously, but in the latest flare-up between enterprises that want to limit users' access to online content and advocates of an unrestricted Net, a Web filtering company now claims it can disable Triangle Boy. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2814675,00.html - - - - - - - - Universal to unveil CDs with anti-piracy software Vivendi Universal said on Tuesday its Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, plans to start issuing CDs in October with software that prevents music from being digitally copied into computer files. Following a lengthy legal battle with song swapping software company Napster and the emergence of several similar services, Vivendi's vice chairman, Edgar Bronfman, said, ``With the extent of piracy and the extent of CD (copying) that's going on, we have no choice but to protect our artists and our rights holders.'' Universal, whose artists include U2, Eminem and Sheryl Crow, is aiming to have the protection software on all CDs toward the end of the first quarter of 2002, Bronfman said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/043545.htm http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5097437,00.html - - - - - - - - Napster to pay $36 million to settle copyright lawsuit Napster has agreed to pay music publishers $36 million to settle the copyright-infringement lawsuit against the online file-swapping service. As part of the preliminary settlement announced Monday, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) will license its songs for distribution once Napster launches its pay service -- reportedly by the end of the year. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/nap092501.htm - - - - - - - - Earthlink Suing Over Spam-Filled ISP Arteries Earthlink Inc. is suing two men it calls "Internet criminals." The Atlanta-based Internet service provider alleges the two have disrupted the company's networks by engaging in illegal e-mail campaigns with stolen credit cards and passwords. http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?threadid=114185 - - - - - - - - Products to ensure e-mail security With the rise of e-business, companies face an ever-increasing need to transmit confidential and sensitive information via e-mail, but tools to provide encryption have unfortunately been complex in implementation and use, inhibiting their take-up. http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/09/25/e.mail.security.idg/index.html - - - - - - - - Attacks prompt hundreds of domain name registrations Hundreds of related Internet domain names have been claimed since the Sept. 11 suicide jetliner attacks -- some for tributes or relief efforts, others purely for a quick buck. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/081763.htm - - - - - - - - New security technology could make air travel safer Getting on an airplane could soon bring much more scrutiny than just a baggage X-ray and a walk through a metal detector. Passengers on future flights might have their fingerprints read or their eyes and faces scanned with devices that use precise biological measurements to verify a person's identity. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/hottopics/attack/secur092501.htm - - - - - - - - Technology needs to pinpoint calls for help Motivated by the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Federal Communications Commission was asked Tuesday to require that police and telecommunications carriers be able to locate cell phone callers inside large structures, including subway stations, office buildings or schools. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5097434,00.html - - - - - - - - SSL crypto coming to PCI cards PCI cards and other network devices will have the SSL security standard embedded in them by Broadcom and nCipher. E-commerce and public key infrastructure (PKI) security specialist nCipher will today announce a partnership with datacoms chip maker Broadcom to embed the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) internet security standard in networking devices such as PCI cards, daughter boards, routers and switches. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2095963,00.html - - - - - - - - Stopping Bin Laden: How Much Surveillance Is Too Much? Alleged terrorism mastermind Osama Bin Laden is as reliant on modern technology as were the thousands of people killed Sept. 11 in deadly terrorist hijackings in Shanksville, Pa., New York and Washington D.C., according to one expert on cyber-security and encryption policy. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170492.html - - - - - - - - Terrorists and steganography Guess what? Osama Bin Ladin uses steganography. According to nameless "U.S. officials and experts" and "U.S. and foreign officials," terrorist groups are "hiding maps and photographs of terrorist targets and posting instructions for terrorist activities on sports chat rooms, pornographic bulletin boards and other Web sites." http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2814256,00.html - - - - - - - - Privacy: Not so sacred anymore? Privacy isn't looking quite so sacred anymore. Gone are the good old days of worry over e-commerce customer lists and fears of unauthorized FBI snooping into the lives of average Americans. From the ruins of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a bitter new reality has emerged: Our very lives are at stake. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2814548,00.html - - - - - - - - Is Your Data Safe from Disaster? Iron Mountain is a company that likes to keep a low profile. So it takes sharp eyes to locate one if its key buildings in Burlington, Mass. No name marks the one-story structure. No corporate slogan trumpets its mission. Only a tiny street number -- 21 -- lets visitors know they've arrived. The proliferation of surveillance cameras makes it clear they shouldn't try anything funny. Why all the secrecy and security? This is the off-site data-protection division of Iron Mountain, a Boston-based company that guards back-up copies of mission-critical corporate data, on paper or electronically. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2001/nf20010924_6823.htm *********************************************************** 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. 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