NewsBits for March 15, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Russian hacker under arrest According to Press Service of Kaluga Department of FSB (Federal Security Service), a proceeding was caused against student of one of Kaluga universities under articles 272 "Access to computer information without right", 273 "Creation, spreading and using malicious computer software" and 165 "Causing property damage by fraud or abuse of trust". It is established that young man using the Internet from his home computer committed illegal access to computers of other users connected to the Internet with help of special software. http://www.crime-research.org/news/15.03.2004/133 - - - - - - - - - - eBay halts auction of Vietnamese girls eBay last week pulled the plug on an attempt to sell three Vietnamese women to the highest bidder. The Taiwanese user, who wanted at least TWD180,000 ($5392) for the trio, has had his eBay membership terminated, the company said. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36243.html - - - - - - - - - - Man sentenced to at least 4 years in sex ring case A man accused of participating in an Internet child pornography and sex ring involving men in several states will spend at least four years in prison. Brian S. Urbanawiz, 30, of Midland, was sentenced Friday to between four and 20 years in prison, the Oakland County prosecutor's office said. He will receive 100 days credit for time served. Urbanawiz pleaded no contest in February to three counts of child sexually abusive activity and three counts of using a computer to convey child sexually abusive activity. http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0403/14/metro-90455.htm - - - - - - - - - - Jury verdict awaited in Lowell cop's rape trial tied to Internet During their online chats, "lilsexzeewun" and "policecruzer631" could do or say anything they wanted. John Cruz, 31, used his online moniker to describe himself as a Lowell police officer bearing badge 631. When Cruz spotted "lilsexzeewun" online he assumed by her seductive moniker that she probably wanted sex. "It was an assumption," prosecutor Kate MacDougall said, the 15-year-old Bridgewater girl behind that sexy screen name would "never escape." A Middlesex Superior Court jury began deliberating yesterday whether Cruz is guilty of three counts of aggravated statutory rape of a child for sexually assaulting the girl in a friend's Dracut home on Sept. 11, 2002. http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4761~2014843,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Internet sex charge snags veteran cop A Kent County sheriff's sergeant didn't try to conceal his profession when he sent nude photos of himself over the Internet to someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy, state investigators said. Sgt. Matthew Lavern Guy used the online screen name "cop284," according to court records. Guy, 45, a 17-year veteran of the department, was fired just hours after he was arraigned Thursday on a five-count felony warrant. He was arrested at his home shortly after finishing his night shift. The arrest followed a nine-month investigation that started with an undercover New Jersey police officer posing as a boy, said Matt Davis, spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox. http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1079106684130020.xml - - - - - - - - - - UC Apologizes for Internet Security Breach A malfunctioning website may have allowed the Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information of more than 2,000 University of California applicants to be viewed by other students during this year's application process, UC officials said Friday. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-ucadmit13mar13,1,5253312.story - - - - - - - - - - Bagle the 13th spread defies belief To nobody's great surprise, another Windows-infecting mass mailing worm began spreading over the Net last weekend. Bagle-N is spreading rapidly and most anti- virus firms rate it as medium to high-level risk. Email filtering outfit MessageLabs has intercepted 11,105 copies of the worm since Saturday. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/36262.html Bagle latches on to antispam ploy http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5173129.html - - - - - - - - - - Report: Flaws level off, but worms still squirming The number of public alerts about software security flaws leveled off over the last six months, but worms continue to threaten the Internet, according to a report security company Symantec released Monday. In 2003, information on 2,636 security vulnerabilities was released to the public, according to Symantec's biannual Internet Security Threat Report. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5173216.html http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040312.gtsyman0312/BNStory/Technology/ Malicious code threats celebrate bumper 2003 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36251.html - - - - - - - - - - State of Internet security: Bad and getting worse Although the rate of new security vulnerability discoveries is leveling off, the exploits are coming faster and are getting more sophisticated, the most recent Internet Security Threat Report notes. Blended attacks, such as last summers Blaster, Welchia and SoBig F worms, are becoming the most common serious types of threat, according to the fifth semiannual report from Symantec Corp. of Cupertino, Calif. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25258-1.html - - - - - - - - - - 'Card not present' attacks rise A rising tide of internet credit card fraud is threatening to drown smaller UK resellers as online criminals step up attacks on channel players. Fraudulent 'card not present' (CNP) transactions over the internet increased by 68 per cent from PS28m in 2002 to PS45m last year, according to figures released by the Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs). http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153470 - - - - - - - - - - Australia gets tough on Net paedos By John OatesAustralia has released drafts of proposed Internet laws which will see serious offenders serve up to 15 years in prison. Anyone convicted of accessing, making or transmitting child pornography over the Internet could be sentenced to up to 10 years. Anyone using the Internet to procure children for sex would face 15 years imprisonment. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36260.html - - - - - - - - - - Easier Internet Wiretaps Sought US ISPs will be required to make high-speed networks wiretap-friendly, if regulators approve far-reaching plans to tighten up existing surveillance regimes. The Justice Department, the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to tighten up telecoms regulations. They are fearful that criminals could evade wiretaps using the latest communication technologies such as Voice over IP. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54512-2004Mar12.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36259.html - - - - - - - - - - U.S. Threatens Action Against Online Gambling Federal prosecutors have begun a wide-ranging effort to curb the growing popularity of online gambling in the United States by quietly threatening legal action against American companies that do business with Internet casinos and sports betting operations based outside the country, lawyers and industry executives say. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/technology/15GAMB.html?th http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5173154.html - - - - - - - - - - State prosecutors to warn P2P networks State prosecutors are preparing to warn Internet file-swapping networks that they could be liable for deceptive-business charges, according to a draft letter obtained by Reuters. "Peer to peer" networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus should warn users they face computer viruses, copyright- infringement suits and other risks when they log on to search for music, movies and other files, the letter said. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4534016/ http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62665,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36269.html - - - - - - - - - - Privacy Safeguards Deep-Sixed Two computer projects designed to preserve the privacy of Americans were quietly killed while Congress was restricting Pentagon data-gathering research in a widely publicized effort to protect citizens from futuristic anti-terrorism tools. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,62670,00.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4533970/ http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-03-13-internet-taps_x.htm Privacy (a series of stories) http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/report Test Your Privacy Knowledge http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,91047,00.html Learn (almost) anything about anybody http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,90645,00.html Five steps your company can take to keep information private http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,91251,00.html California privacy law a yawner so far http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,90860,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Privacy Fears Erode Support for a Network to Fight Crime Matrix, a controversial multistate program that hoped to find criminals or terrorists by sifting through databases of public and private information, has lost more than two-thirds of its member states and appears to be withering under its critics' attacks. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/technology/15matrix.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4533971/ Analysis added to state data network http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0315/web-riss-03-15-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Reconnex hardware helps track info leaks Mountain View start-up Reconnex aims to build a better system for snooping -- or at least for helping companies track employees online. The company has created hardware that it says large corporations can use to stop employees who -- intentionally or accidentally -- leak confidential information. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8184219.htm - - - - - - - - - - ServGate has `multi-threat' security service for firms ServGate Technologies, a Milpitas start-up, has a broad approach to computer security but is going after a narrow set of customers. The company sells a ``blended, multi-threat device'' for small businesses and branch offices of large companies that want protection from Internet risks. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8184221.htm Protect or perish http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8184225.htm Where to Turn? http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/225 - - - - - - - - - - Scams and cybercrime The St. Petersburg Times informed that Florida has a colorful history with scams, from selling swampland to unsuspecting tourists to boiler room phone schemes. "Technology has made it so much easier," Breeden said. "One person can handle so many more victims and you don't have to set up a boiler room operation like you would have seen then to get volume." http://www.crime-research.org/news/14.03.2004/132 Russia: computer crimes statistics http://www.crime-research.org/news/13.03.2004/131 - - - - - - - - - - Cleaning Up After a Virus On Tuesday I got hit by a virus and ignored it. On Wednesday my computer booted up to a blue screen. This particular reader got hit by a virus that Symantec calls "w32.netsky.d@mm"; this variation causes Windows to fail to load when the computer next starts up. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55025-2004Mar13.html - - - - - - - - - - Don't Take a Bite of Spam Sandwich The e-mail was a chain letter about breast-cancer funding, sent from sender's work e-mail and then forwarded on to many other people's work e-mail. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55041-2004Mar13.html - - - - - - - - - - Pushed on Obscenity, Networks Turn to Delays, Even on Sports As Congress and the Federal Communications Commission ratchet up their criticism and the financial penalties for indecency on the airwaves, television and radio broadcasters are already making significant changes to their practices and standards. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/business/media/15decency.html - - - - - - - - - - DHS forms funding task force In response to some local government complaints that homeland security funding isn't flowing down to first responders, Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge announced the formation of a multigovernmental task force to examine the funding process and ensure it's working effectively. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0315/web-money-03-15-04.asp *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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