NewsBits for April 7, 2004 sponsored by, Southeast Cybercrime Institute - www.cybercrime.kennesaw.edu ************************************************************ Habeas win $100k judgement against spammer Habeas, the company that fights spam with Japanese-style poetry, won its second victory over spammers this week with a $104,103 judgement against junk mailer William "Billy" Carson. Warrant Mark services from Habeas help ISPs and anti-spam companies to recognise that an email is genuine by embedding a haiku, a 17-syllable Japanese poem, in the headers of outgoing email. This haiku is copyrighted and the Warrant Mark scheme is trademarked. Only legitimate marketers, who have to meet strict licensing conditions, are allowed to use this Warrant Mark. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/habeas_spam_lawsuit/ - - - - - - - - - - Japanese finger virus for police document leak Japanese police are blaming a computer virus for a leak of information about criminal investigations. Information from 19 documents - including investigation reports, expert opinions and police searches - found its way from the hard disk of an officer from Shimogamo Police Station in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, onto the Net last month. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/japanese_keystone_cops/ - - - - - - - - - - Music sales fall 7.6 percent; industry blames piracy Global sales of recorded music slid again in 2003 as piracy and illegal downloading continued to inflict damage, a leading industry group said Wednesday. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said sales fell 7.6 percent in 2003 from 2002. That suggests something of a pickup in the second half of the year, since sales were off 10.9 percent in the first half of 2003. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8377665.htm - - - - - - - - - - $2M from nothing At a minimum, 27,000 of site owners may have been victims of the domain scam invented by an enterprising businessman Darren Morgenstern. Each of them paid $70 to get rid of network swindlers. But they didn't kmow that the only swinlder was Darren Morgenstern himself. http://www.crime-research.org/news/07.04.2004/181 - - - - - - - - - - New breeds of Netsky worms emerge The latest versions of the Netsky e-mail worm spreading on the internet may be the work of a different author, antivirus software companies believe.Netsky.S appeared on Monday and Netsky.T was detected the following day. They are the 19th and 20th editions of an e-mail virus that first appeared in February. http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=129820 - - - - - - - - - - Iowa colleges take on computer viruses Iowa colleges hit hard by computer viruses, spam and spyware are fighting back. Last fall, the viruses swarmed the state's three public universities, infecting thousands of computers and threatening to shut down networks, leaving students and faculty without access to the Internet for weeks. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040405.gtiowaapr5/BNStory/Technology/ - - - - - - - - - - Proposed Calif. ID theft bill amended A proposed California law that would have significantly broadened the scope of an existing state identity theft law has been quietly amended in what appears to be a concession to groups that have been lobbying against it. http://computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legislation/story/0,10801,92016,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Study: Federal Web sites protect critical information Federal government Web sites do not provide significant information that could aid terrorists who are seeking potential targets in the United States, according to a study released last week by RAND, a nonprofit research organization based in Santa Monica, Calif. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0404/040204d1.htm - - - - - - - - - - UK wireless networks 'flout the law' Britain is awash with 5.8GHz networks that aren't complying with Ofcom regulations, warn experts. But is the regulator relying on wireless operators to turn each other in? Companies and organisations across Britain are breaking the law by running high-speed wireless networks that don't comply with spectrum restrictions, a wireless expert warned on Tuesday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0,39020348,39151377,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - EU sets new conditions for sharing technology Companies can exchange intellectual property provided they do not dominate a market, the European Commission has ruled. Companies will be allowed to share technology with competitors so long as together they do not control more than 20 percent of a market, the European Commission said on Wednesday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39151084,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Consumer watchdogs tear into Google's new e-mail service Google Inc. hails its free e-mail service as a welcome breakthrough in online communication, but consumer watchdogs are attacking it as a creepy invasion of privacy that threatens to set a troubling precedent. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8369438.htm http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Gmail_Takes_Heat_from_Privacy_Groups&story_id=23635 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2004-04-07-gmail-bad-karma_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Sara tells viruses to bug off When the Beagle virus popped up last month and threatened to infect millions of computers, the folks at Symantec took the problem straight to Sara. Sara is the linchpin of Symantec's virus- hunting operation, one of the largest labs of its kind and the engine behind the best-selling virus-fighting software, Norton AntiVirus. She is so important that she has a glass office in the middle of the building and is the constant center of attention. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-04-06-symantec-sara_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Virtual Detective Tracks Scammers The hundreds of people identified only as John Does in six spam lawsuits filed last month by America Online, EarthLink, Microsoft, and Yahoo may have trouble remaining anonymous. While spammers and scammers often go to great lengths to disguise their identities, it's getting easier to track them down. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18700257 - - - - - - - - - - Spam fighting hurts legitimate business? Australia's Spam Act, which will become law on April 11, may be designed to stop spammers but it is also likely to catch legitimate businesses selling their products and services online. Clearswift Asia Pacific managing director Chy Chuawiwat said at a Spam Forum today "chances are that the Spam Act will catch some legitimate business people unaware that they are breaking the new law and fines can be hefty for breaches." http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5186258.html Government rules out wider spam protection - for now http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39151082,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft takes security class on the road The software giant is sending executives to 20 cities across the United States to train developers and information system managers in how to better protect their systems. The free events, dubbed Security Summits, are the first step in Microsoft's plan to train 500,000 information technology workers worldwide by the end of this year, according to Mike Nash, vice president for Microsoft's Security Business unit. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5186861.html http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0405/web-ballmer-04-07-04.asp http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,92012,00.html Windows to remain security risk for years to come http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,92013,00.html Web services security spec locked down http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5182946.html UK gov computer misuse is 'rife' http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/misuse_computer_government/ - - - - - - - - - - Cisco warns of wireless security hole Networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. is warning customers about a security hole in two products used to manage wireless LANs and e-business services in corporate data centers. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,92015,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Witty Extinction The Witty worm set a dangerous precedent on the Internet because it introduced a number of evil new "firsts" in the ever-changing world of modern worms and viruses. The "Witty" worm appeared on March 19th, and within a few short days it completed its mission and effectively disappeared. http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/232 - - - - - - - - - - Foiling phishers Each week vnunet.com asks a different expert to give their views on recent virus and security issues, with advice, warnings and information on the latest threats. This week Jon Colombo, senior technical architect at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, considers the damage to customer trust and loyalty caused by phishing attacks on organisations unprepared for such scams. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1154148 - - - - - - - - - - Draft ID card Bill one month away - Blunkett A draft ID card Bill is to be published within a month, the Home Secretary said today. David Blunkett told BBC Radio Five Live that the government intends to push ahead with controversial proposals for a biometric ID card scheme, despite a cabinet split and widespread opposition led by privacy activisits. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/id_cards/ - - - - - - - - - - Groups raise privacy concerns over plans for RFID The Defense Department is trying to ensure that the radio-frequency ID technology that suppliers must begin using on large shipments next year will be interoperable with systems used in the private sectorand that has raised some concerns among privacy advocates. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25520-1.html Defense pushes for a single RFID standard http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25517-1.html Blocker tag protection from RFID http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9197418%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html - - - - - - - - - - ACLU Files Suit Over 'No-Fly' List A secret "no-fly" list the federal government maintains of terrorist suspects has been used to humiliate and stigmatize innocent citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union charged yesterday in filing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of seven individuals. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56055-2004Apr6.html http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62964,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/07/aclu-suit/ DHS confirms JetBlue role http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0405/web-jetblue-04-07-04.asp *********************************************************** Computer Forensics Training - Online. 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