September 6, 2002 Court sentences PS50m MS piracy ring to 10 years The UK end of a huge Microsoft software counterfeiting ring has been brought to book, with four convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Akbal Alibahai, 34 of Palmers Green, London and Nabil Bakir, 29, of Ascot,Berkshire, directors of a company called PC Software, were each sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Two accomplices, Adam Collier, 32 of Sandhurst, Berkshire and Chiam Dias, 35 of Marylebone, London were each given custodial sentences of four months. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/51/26993.html http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1106-956892.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121905,00.html - - - - - - - - Kid-chipper Cap Cyborg reported to police, social services An electronics expert is attempting to unleash various authorities, including the General Medical Council, local social services and the police on Professor Kevin Warwick for his proposed kiddie- chipping activities. According to the Reading Evening Post Bernard Albrecht started with the General Medical Council to confirm there was a possible case for assualt in the event of an operation "without medical basis" being carried out on a child. He then checked the police, who appear not to have bitten, and then onwards to social services for Wokingham District Council. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/27003.html - - - - - - - - Sex.com domain thief appeal denied Cohen is a fugitive from justice, says court. The man found guilty of fraudulently obtaining the Sex.com domain name has had his appeal case thrown out. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco yesterday dismissed Stephen Cohen's appeal on the ground that he is a fugitive from justice. Cohen has not made an appearance in court during the five-year court battle after the initial ruling that found him guilty of fraudulently obtaining the domain. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134863 - - - - - - - - Klez.E goes off like a damp squib Much feared worm fails to deliver payload. Today may have been D-Day for the activation of the Klez.E worm but, despite warnings that the damage could be huge, it has turned into a damp squib. Klez.E was one of the most widespread malicious pieces of code this year and has been accompanied by warnings that users run the risk of losing important data when it activates its payload on the sixth of every month. But Graham Cluley, senior antivirus researcher at Sophos, said that, although the company had been monitoring for outbreaks, it has not seen a single report from Asia, the US or Europe during today. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134865 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121884,00.html A tale of two Klezes http://news.com.com/2100-1001-956997.html - - - - - - - - Microsoft to target Xbox hackers If you're thinking of manually altering your Xbox think again - Microsoft is watching. Microsoft may backtrack on an earlier pledge not to use its Xbox Live online gaming service to crack down on "mod chips" -- chips that modify the Xbox console so it can run copied game discs and unlicensed software. The 14-page user agreement and privacy notice included with the first Xbox Live kits sent to beta testers specifies that Microsoft reserves the right to revoke Xbox Live privileges for anyone with a hacked Xbox and to scan consoles on the network to enforce its rights. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121901,00.html - - - - - - - - Documents outline White House's national cyberprotection plan The Bush administration is considering creation of a fund that would combine tax dollars and money from the technology industry to pay for Internet security enhancements, according to internal documents from the government's effort to develop a national cyberprotection plan. Federal officials writing the plan, set to be disclosed this month, also are discussing sweeping new obligations on companies, universities, federal agencies and home users designed to enhance security of the Internet, according to more than 30 pages of working papers obtained by The Associated Press. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/526539p-4171688c.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/804676.asp - - - - - - - - Senator pulls support for copyright bill A key Republican senator on Thursday withdrew his support for an anti-piracy bill that would make it a crime to distribute counterfeit authentication features including digital watermarks. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said he could no longer support a proposal titled Anticounterfeiting Amendments of 2002 because of changes that came just before a committee voted in July to send it to the Senate floor. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-956811.html - - - - - - - - Justice Official Deems Internet Bets Illegal The Justice Department opinion effectively bans all Internet wagering that crosses state lines and restricts Nevada's Internet casino business. Learn real-world techniques for meeting the scalability demands of your e-business. The IBM white paper, "Design for Scalability," includes information that can help you meet changing usage demands. Visit us today to download your complimentary copy at www.ibm.com. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19328.html - - - - - - - - Bosses should stop snooping on staff email - MP Tory MP Michael Fabricant is looking to introduce a Bill that would stop employers from snooping on employees' email. The Lichfield MP wants to give the same level of privacy in law for emails, as currently exists for conventional mail and telephone calls. Mr Fabricant says he is looking to introduce the legislation at a time when a growing number of employers are monitoring their employees' email. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26999.html - - - - - - - - 9/11: Hacks hit out at web censorship Lobby group slams 'attacks on internet freedom' Security "abuses" by the world's governments since the 11 September attacks in the US have increasingly put the internet under the control of the security services, according to a journalist lobby group. Reporters without Borders said that internet freedom has been cut back over the past year. Robert Menard, the group's secretary general, said that the internet can be included in the "collateral damage" caused by the "tragic events" of last September and the drive for tighter security. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134849 9/11: How the wired world was affected Privacy groups talk of the erosion of civil liberties While the first anniversary of 11 September will be marked by moments of silence and readings by the governor of New York, it will also be remembered as a time when world governments moved to restrict privacy, boost surveillance and outline civil liberty issues. Shortly after the events of that catastrophic day, previous proposals by a large number of countries that responded to the threat of terrorism were reintroduced and new policies were drafted to extend police surveillance powers. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1134853 Terror laws 'eat away at privacy' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2237050.stm Netizens: Sept. 11 justifies Web blitz http://news.com.com/2100-1023-956937.html http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-956937.html - - - - - - - - Cell Phone Records Playing Key Role in Criminal Cases The staples of criminal investigations are well- recognized. Fingerprints. Weapons. Eyewitnesses. Now detectives are relying on a new tool: cell phones. Because more than 40% of Americans own mobile phones, law enforcement personnel see them as a powerful resource in investigations and trials. Detectives say phone records, from both suspects and victims, can provide key evidence in murder, robbery, drug and rape cases. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-onthelaw6sep06.story - - - - - - - - Tech firms urged to aid security efforts Technology companies should work more closely with federal agents to defend against electronic intrusions, a liaison to the FBI's InfraGard program said Thursday. Phyllis Schneck, the co-chairman of the InfraGard executive board, said that if an online attack takes place a business will benefit from knowing which FBI agents to contact. "The people that you want to call, the people you want to contact, are the ones you trust," Schneck told about 200 attendees at the InfoWarCon conference. Created in 1996, InfraGard is an information-sharing alliance between the FBI, the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, universities, state and local police, and private companies. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-956827.html - - - - - - - - PGP e-mails may become digital bullets For more than a decade, the United States government classified encryption technology as a weapon. Now that label might actually apply. Security-consulting firm Foundstone said Thursday that e-mail messages encrypted with the Pretty Good Privacy program can be used as digital bullets to attack and take control of a victim's computer. Because of a flaw in the way PGP handles long file names in an encrypted archive, an attacker could "take control of the recipient's computer, elevating his or her privileges on the organization's network," Foundstone said in an advisory. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-956815.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2121869,00.html The front door's unlocked http://zdnet.com.com/2251-1110-956875.html PGP app yields remote root on Windows http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26998.html - - - - - - - - Radio ID locks lost laptops The best security is the kind you don't have to think about. Researchers at the University of Michigan have taken that adage as their guide in developing an encryption system that could reduce the security risk from lost or stolen laptops. The researchers' Zero-Interaction Authentication system combines two well-known security techniques: a hardware token that authorizes the person holding it to use a particular computer, and encryption software that locks and unlocks files on a computer. The user wears the token in the form of a watch or piece of jewelry. http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2002/090402/Radio_ID_locks_lost_laptops_090402.html - - - - - - - - Japanese firm develops computer screen invisible to others A Japanese electronics firm plans to market a computer display that looks totally blank unless the user wears a special pair of glasses, an official said on Tuesday."To others, you would look like someone with sunglasses working in front of a totally white screen," said an official in charge of development at Iizuka Denki Kogyo (IDK), a Tokyo-based electronics parts manufacturing and repair company. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_57831,0003.htm - - - - - - - - Intuit adopts anti-piracy measures for TurboTax software Intuit Inc. has introduced new anti-piracy measures that will force buyers of its popular TurboTax software to register their computers with the company before the program will file tax returns. The new requirements, announced Thursday and effective for the next tax-filing season, are part of Intuit's crackdown on TurboTax buyers who pass around copies of the tax preparation software to their friends, family and neighbors. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/525703p-4166756c.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/software/2002-09-06-intuit-turbotax_x.htm - - - - - - - - Microsoft XP upgrades, patches set for Monday release Microsoft Corp. plans to release on Monday a packet of upgrades for its Windows XP operating system, including changes to satisfy a proposed settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. The so-called Service Pack 1 includes the usual software patches to fix security flaws and bugs, most of which have already been released separately, and adds temporary support for the Java programming language. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/526345p-4170671c.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19339.html MS flips on new 'global' Windows remote-root vuln http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27007.html - - - - - - - - Drive-by spam hits wireless LANs The proliferation of insecure corporate wireless networks is fueling the growth of drive-by spamming, a security expert warned on Thursday. Speaking at the First International Security Users Conference here, Adrian Wright, managing director of Secoda Risk Management, warned that junk e-mailers are taking advantage of unprotected wireless LAN (local area network) to bombard e-mail users with unsolicited and unwelcome messages. http://news.com.com/2100-1033-956911.html - - - - - - - - The Biggest Reasons Readers Hate Spam With their time and resources stretched to the max as never before, IT professionals -- and end users more broadly -- don't need anything else eating into their time and productivity. But spam is doing just that. A recently fielded InternetWeek.com poll on the impact of spam drew hundreds of respondents, with the highest percentage saying unsolicited e-mails are a major productivity drag. http://www.internetweek.com/story/INW20020905S0004 Spam Versus Technology: The Battle Rages On http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19319.html - - - - - - - - Radio-based security system tracks inmates, officers in U.S. prisons Frank Ochoa, imprisoned on an attempted carjacking conviction, thought he had the guards fooled. The inmate at a minimum-security prison in the California desert slipped his electronic bracelet around a hot cup of coffee and made a run for it. Ochoa apparently didn't know that by tampering with the tracking device, he had triggered an alarm at the Calipatria prison's security control center. Guards caught Ochoa less than a mile away. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4018389.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. 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 2000-2002, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.