November 2, 2001 Computer virus hits hospitals Computer systems in hospitals across Northern Ireland have been hit by a virus. A "large number" of the 19 health trusts in the province have been affected by the virus. It has disrupted systems and networks, including at the major Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. The virus causes problems by generating spurious network traffic. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_439008.html - - - - - - - - Ryanair admits to serious website flaw Ryanair has admitted that its online recruitment website has a serious security flaw which exposes job seekers' details to the eyes of crackers. Sensitive personal information, such as credit card details, health records and career history, is collected by the unsecured site and sent in unencrypted email to the company's back office. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1126560 - - - - - - - - Yahoo accused on allowing offensive content on site A Christian group promoting family values Thursday accused the popular Internet site Yahoo of allowing users to post offensive content advocating rape, torture and violence against women and children. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/056852.htm - - - - - - - - Governor names state security adviser FBI Veteran Fills Anti-terrorism Post. Gov. Gray Davis named a 23-year FBI veteran to the new post of special adviser on state security on Thursday, saying his appointee has the experience and respect needed to maximize cooperation among a multitude of law enforcement agencies. George Vinson ``will serve as my eyes and ears'' on terrorism matters, Davis said. He added that the first task of the 57-year-old Vinson is to review all contingency plans the state has put in place since the attacks. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/adviser02.htm - - - - - - - - U.S. House Passes Energy Cyber-Security Bill The U.S. House of Representatives today cleared an appropriations bill containing several million dollars to increase cyber-security initiatives at Energy Department facilities. The House voted 399-29 in favor of the bill. The $24.6 billion bill costs more money than was requested by the Bush administration, and earmarks about $14.9 million for security efforts in the Office of Independent Oversight and Performance Assurance, which is in charge of online security operations within the department. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171765.html - - - - - - - - Agencies rev up security, data-sharing projects following attacks Since Sept. 11, federal agencies across government have accelerated deadlines for the development of major technology projects aimed at helping to fight the war on terrorism. Such security and knowledge management initiatives have the full support of the Bush administration, Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government at the Office of Management and Budget, told federal IT executives from all corners of government at the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Policymakers Breakfast on Thursday. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1101/110101j1.htm - - - - - - - - Info systems on fast track Agencies across government are speeding up the procurement and implementation of information systems that will assist the homeland security effort. Information sharing is key to homeland security, and almost every White House initiative in this effort includes a directive to find technology that can help agencies share data. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/1029/web-cios-11-02-01.asp - - - - - - - - EDS chief: prepare for cybercrime wave The war in Afghanistan will create a massive wave of cyber crime, and the UK is ill equipped to cope. That was the claim made by David Spinks, European director of information assurance at outsourcing giant EDS, at this week's TMA conference in Brighton. "Business continuity planning and security is not about installing the latest new firewall or other solution, but anticipating what could happen," Spinks said. http://www.cw360.com/bin/bladerunner?REQSESS=De1G5E&690REQEVENT=&CARTI=107368&CARTT=1&CCAT=2&CCHAN=22&CFLAV=1&CPAGEN=ArticlePage&CPAGET=-99999&CSEARCH=&CSESS=-99999&CTOPIC= - - - - - - - - Cybercrime threat to firms SCOTTISH companies believe they are facing a growing risk from fraud by their management and employees - and cybercrime is identified as an increasing threat. Economic crime is believed to be as great or greater than it was five years ago, according to 85% of those surveyed by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC). Half of the respondents had been hit by economic crime in the past five years. http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/10/21/stibscbsc01003.html - - - - - - - - Ruling a blow for DVD industry Free speech wins over trade protection. Ruling that free speech deserves more protection than trade secrets in cyberspace, a state appeals court dealt a blow Thursday to the DVD industry in its legal fight to prevent Web sites from posting software to unscramble the encryption on DVDs. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/decss110201.htm Court: DVD-cracking code is free speech http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5099131,00.html http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/11/02/court.dvd.code/index.html - - - - - - - - Same old scams: There's nothing new in the world of financial swindles. Rosalind Tyson, the attorney tapped as acting head of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Pacific Regional Office, has spent her 19-year SEC career bringing financial fraudsters to heel. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/031926.htm - - - - - - - - Cell phone owners paying for spam The growing number of U.S. cell phone owners sending each other short text messages are experiencing a rather dubious side effect: wireless spam. Spam on wireless devices isn't just an annoyance like the unsolicited e-mails sent to personal computers. Wireless spam, in the form of 160-character text messages, costs the cell phone users money. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5099138,00.html http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7753381.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/zd/zd3.htm - - - - - - - - Microsoft admits serious flaw in 'e-wallet' technology Microsoft Corp. acknowledged Friday that its ``Passport'' technology for safeguarding Internet purchases has a serious design flaw that could have allowed hackers to steal credit card numbers and personal information. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/074803.htm http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7764433.html http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/11/03/microsoft.hackers.ap/index.html Stealing MS Passport's Wallet To correct serious security flaws, Microsoft on Friday disabled the virtual wallet function of its Passport service and has begun notifying partners about the vulnerabilities, the company has confirmed. The bugs in Passport, a sign-on service used by more than 200 million people, were discovered this week by Marc Slemko, a software developer who lives near Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,48105,00.html - - - - - - - - MS to force IT-security censorship We all know how Microsoft likes to bully its many 'partners', so it comes as no surprise that the Beast has decided to apply its partnership muscle to silence the software and network security research community. The company is currently shopping a 'security partnership agreement', which would open up reams of MS vulnerability data to those firms which capitulate to its censorship demands while leaving all others out in the cold, The Register has learned. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/22614.html - - - - - - - - Patriot Prompts Privacy Fears Act helps Feds fight terrorism, but worries privacy groups. President Bush signed the USA Patriot Act into law October 25, expanding the federal government's powers to wiretap electronic communications, access private email, and track people's Internet use. http://www.techtv.com/news/coverstory/story/0,24195,3357842,00.html Civil Liberties Groups Battle Patriot Act http://www.techtv.com/news/coverstory/story/0,24195,3357943,00.html - - - - - - - - Surveillance Law Urges ID Cards, Biometrics For Immigrants Federal authorities will be urged to develop biometric technology capable of identifying immigrants by their physical features, under a provision included in the anti-terrorism legislation passed by Congress last month. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171778.html - - - - - - - - ACLU: Face-recognition systems won't work As U.S. airports begin installing face-recognition systems to thwart terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, civil rights activists are rushing to decry the technology as ineffective and invasive. The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday derided the use of face-recognition software in airports, saying it doesn't work and "offers us neither order nor liberty." http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5099140,00.html http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171822.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/11/02/aclu-face-recognition.htm Can face recognition keep airports safe? http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7753504.html Amsterdam Airport Adopts Retinal Scanning ID Tech http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171803.html - - - - - - - - British Plans For Smart ID Cards Resurface Media speculation about a smart-card-based national identity card reached fever pitch in the U.K. today, with one info-tech publication reporting the existence of a biometric card trial. The Nov. 1 issue of Computer Weekly broke the story of a secret trial of a smart card encoded with fingerprint and facial imaging data having been undertaken by the government. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171812.html - - - - - - - - Are terrorists using hidden messages? Probably not. But western leaders, commercial opportunists, and incautious journalists, want us to believe what we cannot see. The media and some western governments have repeatedly suggested that the Al Qaeda network is organising terror using hidden messages sent through the media and on the internet. http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/te/11004/1.html - - - - - - - - Shoring up Cyberspace Cyberspace may still seem an abstraction to some, but it underpins much of daily life - from families keeping in touch via e-mail, to airplanes staying on course through computerized traffic control, to maintaining power grids, to shopping on the Internet. In the rush to defend against terrorism, the federal government rightly has put "cyber-security" high on its list of priorities. President Bush recently appointed a special adviser on the subject, Richard Clarke, who will be an integral part of the homeland defense effort. http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/cgi-bin/getasciiarchive?script/2001/11/02/p10s2.txt - - - - - - - - Goals of open government, cybersecurity in conflict Everybody agrees that both open government and cybersecurity are generally good things. But pursuing the two goals at the same time may now prove difficult for the Bush administration. Open government means efficient information- sharing among government officials across the country, as well as easy access for citizens seeking computerized information in areas such as health care, taxes, and the environment. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1101/110201nj1.htm - - - - - - - - Information as a Weapon Whether Armed Conflicts occur in a once-bucolic countryside, mountainous terrain or urban cityscape, battlefields are confusing places filled with noise, uncertainty and never enough reliable information. From the rear command positions to the forward most points of engagement, decision support suffers from data corruption, knowledge gaps and a crippling lack of timeliness under dangerous, rapidly changing circumstances. http://www.darwinmag.com/read/110101/weapon_content.html *********************************************************** 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.