NewsBits for March 25, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Man charged over keystroke logging Larry Lee Ropp, a 46-year-old former insurance claims manager, is the first defendant charged in the US with a federal crime for using a 'keystroke logger' A California man who prosecutors say planted an electronic bugging device on a computer at an insurance company was indicted on Tuesday on federal wiretapping charges in what prosecutors said was the first case of its kind. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39149886,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Probe targets online child abuse and exploitation Authorities warned parents Tuesday to keep close tabs on their children's Internet use as nearly a dozen new arrests were announced as part of a yearlong probe into online child pornography and exploitation in central Illinois. U.S. Attorney Jan Paul Miller said 17 people now have been charged or sentenced in the investigation. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2004-03-24-operation-cybersafe_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - DE Man Arrested for Kiddie Porn A Hockessin man is behind bars at the Howard Young Correctional Center. And unless he comes up with more than a half a million dollars in cash for his bail, it's where he will stay until he goes to trial for having a large collection of internet kiddie porn. No one answered the door at the Hockessin home of 41- year-old Sean Sisson today, but indications are his wife and four children still live here, in the house that was searched by Delaware State Police yesterday. Police are investigating whether Sisson also chatted with children under his screenname, "letsallrolearound". Aviola says "America On Line" tipped off authorities about the kidde porn collection, but he says parents should also safeguard their computers. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/32504-kiddieporn.html - - - - - - - - - - New Bagle worms hitting hard NetXactics, local Sophos distributor, has warned that experts at Sophos's virus labs are warning of a new twist in the Bagle virus saga. New variants, Bagle.Q (W32/Bagle.Q) and Bagle.R (W32-Bagle.R), use a different method of infection in an attempt to bypass anti-virus protection at the e-mail gateway. Sophos has received many reports of these worms spreading in the wild, and warns users to be especially wary when logging on. http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/software/2004/0403190901.asp - - - - - - - - - - Trust me I'm clean, claims virus The latest in a long line of NetSky variants, Netsky-P, tries to lull users into a false sense of security by containing spoofed disclaimers from anti-virus firms. NetSky-P, first spotted over the weekend, was programmed to begin mass mailing yesterday. After encountering only a few copies of the virus during its "seeding" period, email filtering firm MessageLabs blocked 200,000 copies of the worm yesterday afternoon. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/36526.html - - - - - - - - - - US online gambling ban may be illegal The World Trade Organisation has ruled against US government restrictions on online gambling. Antigua and Barbuda said US restrictions on gambling were contrary to the general agreement on trade and services (GATS). Antigua, with a population of 68 000, handles a quarter of the worldwide online bets, according to Bloomberg. More than $6bn is bet online every year. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36518.html - - - - - - - - - - BPI threatens uploaders with big stick The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) went on the offensive today by telling UK filesharers stop sharing music - or end up in court. This latest declaration of fast and loose MP3 action comes as the trade body releases new figures on the size of the filesharing phenomenon, which it says are a stark indication of how filesharing is affecting record sales. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36553.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39149893,00.htm http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153819 German police blitz music-swap neo-Nazis http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36521.html - - - - - - - - - - Industry balks at wiretap plan Before 8x8 Inc. launched an Internet phone service in late 2002, it drafted a business plan, set up its equipment, posted a Web site and began taking orders from customers. As with most online ventures, U.S. government approval wasn't needed. http://www.baltimoresun.com/technology/custom/pluggedin/bal-pl.webwiretap25mar25,0,4407437.story - - - - - - - - - - Motives, methods of hackers are changing A Homeland Security Department official this morning defended the administration against criticism that there is now no White House-level office of cybersecurity. Presidential cybersecurity adviser positions were eliminated last year after the February release of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. "Our answer to that is, that office produced the strategy," said Lawrence Hale, deputy director of the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team at DHS. "When it comes time to implement the strategy, that is more appropriately done in the departments." http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25404-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Security needs better education for programmers Dealing with Internet computer worms and viruses requires a long-term education effort aimed at programmers while they are still in college, a Homeland Security Department executive said today. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0322/web-secure-03-25-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Some trends of computer crime in Russia Experts of The Association of Russian Banks consider banking to be the most attractive sector of Russian economy for criminals. Analysis of the latest crimes with use of computer technologies committed in this sphere and numerous interrogations of banks' employees allow to mark out the most typical ways of committing crimes against banks and other financial institutions. http://www.crime-research.org/news/25.03.2004/152 http://www.crime-research.org/news/25.03.2004/153 - - - - - - - - - - U.N. finds Net governance tempting A task force that intends to increase the United Nations' involvement with running the Internet is convening here Thursday, its first meeting since VeriSign filed a lawsuit against the group that now oversees domain names and addresses. The meeting comes as the international body is growing more interested in taking over some of the functions of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf will offer opening remarks. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5179122.html - - - - - - - - - - Phishing for Identity Information Today's phishing attacks look professional, unlike the attacks of less than a year ago, which did not include graphics and often contained spelling and grammar errors. "Today's phishing attacks mimic the actual Web sites," says Naftali Bennet, CEO of Cyota, an anti-fraud and security software provider. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Phishing_for_Identity_Information&story_id=23495 - - - - - - - - - - Paedo-stalking ChatNannies - fact or fiction? Our story last week reporting software technology supposedly capable of detecting paedophile-grooming behaviour on the Internet has provoked a sceptical backlash from readers. The capabilities of ChatNannies software outlined in an article in last week's New Scientist and as reported by El Reg simply beggar belief, readers charge. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/36543.html - - - - - - - - - - Apache fixes file-handling vulnerability Leading web server software producer The Apache Group has issued updates to its web server software to address separate security flaws in the 1.3.x and 2.0.x versions of its software. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153823 - - - - - - - - - - F-Secure gives Linux an antivirus injection F-Secure Anti-Virus for Samba Servers runs on Linux and stops Linux, Windows, DOS and macro viruses, says the company. F-Secure launched antivirus software for Linux on Thursday that is designed to protect open-source Samba file servers and Linux by automatically detecting and removing viruses from files stored on the server. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39149895,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Most Developers Use RFID For Security Applications, Not Inventory The use of electronic tags is often discussed for inventory control, but more developers are applying the technology to security applications, a survey released Wednesday showed. Radio frequency identification technology (RFID) has been in the spotlight since Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, said last year it would require some of its largest suppliers to be ready to track goods using RFID tags in 2005. Other large retailers have made similar announcements since, including Albertsons and Target. http://www.internetweek.com/breakingNews/showArticle.jhtml%3Bjsessionid=CJIFAH0J1HNZ4QSNDBCSKHQ?articleID=18402552 - - - - - - - - - - Senators ask who's in charge of homeland intelligence Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee asked Thursday for clarification about which federal agency is ultimately responsible for the analysis of foreign and domestic intelligence on threats to the United States and whether the lines of authority are clear. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0304/032504c1.htm Timelines for consolidation of terrorist lists conflict http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0304/032504td2.htm - - - - - - - - - - China cracks down on cybercafes - again China has launched yet another crackdown of Internet cafes, warning that they can affect the "mental health of teenagers" while spreading "unhealthy online information". Authorities have ruled that Internet cafes are not to operate in residential areas or within 200 metres of primary and high schools. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/36528.html *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. An intense, 150 hour, instructor lead program that teaches you computer forensics and helps prepare you for the Certified Computer Examiner exam. For more information see; www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu *********************************************************** 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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