October 10, 2001 Russian Convicted in Hacking Scam A Russian man was found guilty yesterday in federal court of operating a computer hacking scam to defraud U.S. Internet service companies. Jurors found Vasiliy Gorshkov, 26, guilty on 20 counts of wire fraud and a variety of computer crimes. He faces up to 100 years in prison when sentenced in January. http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/42277_tl211.shtml - - - - - - - - Alternative Anti-terror bill limits life sentence for hackers Bipartisan proposal narrows the Bush Administration's definition of terrorism. Anti-terrorism legislation proposed by leaders of the House Judiciary Committee this week omits a Justice Department plan to make computer hacking a federal terrorism offense, punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/260 - - - - - - - - Administration launches cybersecurity office The White House Tuesday officially launched a new, separate office focusing on information security and appointed of Richard Clarke as President Bush's special adviser on cybersecurity issues. Previously, cybersecurity was part of the administration's general anti-terrorism efforts. For that reason, several high-tech industry officials said cybersecurity issues were not getting necessary attention. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1001/100901td1.htm - - - - - - - - Terrorists May Have Used Hidden Messages to Plan Attacks Of all the footprints terrorists left on their way to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, perhaps the hardest ones to detect are in imprinted in cyberspace. Investigators are trying to determine if associates of suspected terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden issued secret orders online using a modern-day version of ancient communication method called steganography. http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?threadid=118852 - - - - - - - - Software sought to expose terrorist cells Adapting fraud-detection programs a concern to some privacy advocates. In a move that has some privacy rights advocates concerned, the Pentagon is hoping to track down terrorists with the help of a growing battery of computer software developed to combat consumer and business fraud. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/darpa10.htm - - - - - - - - Anti-Secrecy Website Pulls Sensitive Information An institution dedicated to blowing the lid off national security secrets has removed about 200 pages worth of data from its Web site out of concern that the information could compromise the safety of government buildings. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171058.html - - - - - - - - MS blocks peephole into customer data Microsoft moved swiftly this week to close a security gap in its customer service Web site that let anyone with a browser view customers' sales records and other confidential information. The software giant had left a search database exposed without security protections. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5098087,00.html - - - - - - - - Davis vetoes bill requiring e-mail monitoring disclosure He signs others, including a tax credit for buying alternative energy generators. For the third year in a row, Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed a bill that would have required employers to tell employees in writing if they monitor their workers' e-mails. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/veto10tk.htm - - - - - - - - ISP to banish virus spreaders British Internet users who fail to protect their machines against virulent computer viruses such as Nimda could have their Internet connections suspended by their Internet service provider. British ISP Telewest has been the first to take direct action against customers who have refused to patch their computers against the Nimda worm or have left infected PCs running. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5098072,00.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7473401.html - - - - - - - - As Spammers Get Clever, ISPs Work To Outfox Them Spam is now responsible for up to 30 percent of company e-mail, pan-European Internet carrier Easynet says. The sheer volume and techniques used by spammers has forced the Internet service provider to move to new technologies to counter the problem. Spam is a slang name for the electronic equivalent of postal junk mail, which tends to annoy e-mail users by its sheer volume. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170998.html - - - - - - - - Hackers increasingly female Computer security, networks pique curiosity. Say the word ``hacker,'' and most people still think of an anti-social teenage boy running amok in government computer systems, concocting nasty viruses and defacing Web sites. But during the past few years, as computers have become commonplace in conventional homes and businesses, hackers have undergone a remarkable transformation. Not only have hackers become friendlier and more law-abiding, they are also more frequently female. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/docs/femhack10.htm http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/hack101001.htm - - - - - - - - Agreement Is a First Step for Licensing Online Music In a hard-fought deal that paves the way for the introduction of new Internet music services, the major recording companies said today that they had licensed digital distribution rights from songwriters and music publishers. (NY Times article, free registration required) http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/10/technology/10MUSI.html - - - - - - - - On the way--ATMs that recognize your face Biometric-enabled ATMs could be doling out cash to Australian bank customers within a year following the launch of technology that promises to reduce the expense of converting existing ATM security infrastructure. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2817152,00.html - - - - - - - - Truth Could Be the Web's First Casualty Hackers have moved markets with false reports. In a time of war, we can't allow a tech-savvy foe to sow chaos by tampering with news sites. The U.S. government threatening to put to death a programmer accused of breaking copyright laws? Sure sounds draconian, but that's what some visitors to Yahoo! News could read on Sept. 18 if they searched through the archives for stories about Dmitry Sklyarov. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/263 - - - - - - - - The Value of Honeypots, Part One: Definitions and Values of Honeypots Over the past several years there has been a growing interest in honeypots and honeypot-related technologies. Honeypots are not a new technology, they were first explained in a couple of very good papers by several icons in computer security: Cliff Stoll's book "The Cuckoo's Egg", and Steve Bellovin and Bill Cheswick's "An Evening with Berferd." This two-part series will attempt to take these works further and discuss what honeypots are, how they can add value to an organization, and several honeypot solutions. http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/infocus.pl?id=1492 *********************************************************** 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.