NewsBits for May 12, 2004 ************************************************************ German police search for accomplices of 'Sasser' creator German police said Wednesday they searched five apartments in northern Germany in an effort to track down suspected accomplices of an 18-year-old who confessed to creating the ``Sasser'' computer worm and the ``Netsky'' virus. Police carried out the searches Tuesday, and questioned five people -- two of whom told investigators that the teenager, Sven Jaschan, had given them the source code for Netsky, which first hit the Internet in mid-February. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8650213.htm http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1212&e=6&u=/afp/20040512/tc_afp/internet_virus_germany&sid=96001018 'Sasser' Worm Tip of the PC Bug Invasion The Microsoft software tool designed to rid computers of the fast-spreading "Sasser" worm has been downloaded nearly 2 million times since it was made available earlier this month, the company said. But that tool may provide little or no protection against scores of other programs that quietly circulated online for weeks before Sasser garnered widespread attention. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20213-2004May12.html New Sasser variant indicates copycat http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5211114.html Lessons to be learned from Sasser http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107_2-5211103.html Net threats keep on coming (series of stories) http://news.com.com/2009-7349_3-5211174.html Antivirus companies muting false alarms http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5210796.html - - - - - - - - - - Phatbot arrest throws open trade in zombie PCs The arrest of the suspected author of the Phatbot Trojan could lead to valuable clues about the illicit trade in zombie PCs. The arrest of the alleged Phatbot perp was overshadowed by the unmasking of the admitted Sasser author, Sven Jaschan. But the Phatbot case may shed the most light into the dark recesses of the computer underground. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/phatbot_zombie_trade/ - - - - - - - - - - Bail denied in child porn case A 40-YEAR-OLD Magnetic Island man arrested and charged at the weekend with offences relating to internet child pornography has been refused bail. The man was judged to be an unacceptable risk to the public if released on bail and was remanded in custody yesterday for another hearing later this month. http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,9528267%255E14787,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Porn trader refused leave to seek home detention In a precedent-setting decision, a High Court judge has refused an appeal by a Tauranga trader in child sex abuse images for leave to apply for home detention. The case is the first to go to the High Court for a ruling and the department has welcomed the strongly worded views of Justice Hugh Williams. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3565643 - - - - - - - - - - British Police Arrest 13 Suspected of Child Porn British police arrested 13 people on Tuesday suspected of downloading and distributing child pornography over the Internet, in raids across London involving 100 officers. The sting was part of a continuing crackdown on pedophilia that has led to more than 3,500 arrests in Britain since the 2002 launch of "Operation Ore." http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=5107141 - - - - - - - - - - More Porn Charges Filed A Columbus firefighter, already accused with soliciting sex from a minor, is facing new charges. Gary Jones was arrested last week in Florida, accused of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl. Now he is charged with possession of child pornography and with transmitting it to the internet. State G.B.I. agents searched Jones' house after his arrest and seized pictures and video of children in various sexual acts. http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=1856299&nav=8fapN0gN - - - - - - - - - - Jay Child Porn Charges Police are searching for a Delaware County man wanted on federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography on the internet. 44-year old Buddy Williams of Jay, Oklahoma is accused of photographing two children ages four and five engaging in sexually explicit acts. According to the indictment,Williams then distributed the photos over the internet. http://www.ksntv.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=2350 - - - - - - - - - - Milwaukee Priest On Leave After Porn Allegations A Milwaukee Catholic priest is being investigated for allegedly having child pornography on his computer. Archbishop Timothy Dolan placed St. Veronica's associate pastor, the Rev. Ronald Engle, on leave from the ministry. Dolan said Engle told him he has not had any sexual contact with minors. http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/news/3293567/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Wallon virus wrecks Windows Media Player A new mass-mailing virus called Wallon, which destroys Windows media player and is activated when a user tries to play MP3 or video files from an infected PC, was discovered in Europe on Tuesday. Traditionally, mass- mailing viruses such as Netsky and Bagle are spread as attachments. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39154533,00.htm MS patch day: nothing critical http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/ms_may_patches/ http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Microsoft-Reveals--Important--Windows-Flaw&story_id=24009 Microsoft warns of 'important' Windows flaw http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-05-12-ms-patchtime_x.htm http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/12/microsoft.flaw.warning.reut/index.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4955493/ - - - - - - - - - - Chinese youths trash Internet cafe Staff at a Chinese Internet cafe have resigned after they were beaten up last week by a gang of 16 teenagers barred from entering the cybercafe. The gang of youths beat one worker with bins and fire extinguishers before trashing the Internet cafe. Earlier they threatened to beat up anyone who "dared to check identity cards" after being refused entry to the cybercafe. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults at an Internet chain in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province in northwest China, and follows a recent Government crackdown to prevent minors from entering cybercafes. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/china_cybercafe/ - - - - - - - - - - Sharman continues file-sharing evidence fight Sharman Networks and the Music Industry Piracy Investigation (MIPI) will be back in the Australian Federal court later this week for yet another legal contest over access to evidence that was confiscated in raids last February. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39154433,00.htm Congress Mulls Digital Copyright Law Amendment http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Congress-Mulls-Digital-Copyright-Law-Amendment&story_id=24025 - - - - - - - - - - Suing the Pants Off Spammers Since the Can-Spam Act went live, hundreds of spammers have been sued by an alliance of 800- pound gorillas: Yahoo!, EarthLink, AOL, and Microsoft. The lawsuits aim to scare off purveyors of V|@g.ra and *penis-enlargers* with fines and jail time. But spam now accounts for 60 percent of all email, and recent reports say 97 percent of spammers ignore the law. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.05/view.html - - - - - - - - - - CPS warning over revenge attacks LEAVE the law to us. That was the stark warning today from prosecutors to anyone thinking of taking the law into their own hands. As police and the courts battle against the rising tide of child pornography, they are today faced with a new fight against the very people they are trying to protect. http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/Content/news/story.asp?datetime=11+May+2004+22%3A22&tbrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&category=News&brand=ESTOnline&itemid=IPED11+May+2004+09%3A22%3A25%3A807 - - - - - - - - - - San Bernardino County to defy state order on e-voting Election officials in San Bernardino County say they will defy a ban on electronic voting ordered by Secretary of State Kevin Shelley in November's presidential election. County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said Tuesday that Shelley had previously encouraged counties to move toward electronic voting and was rash to change paths after many counties had invested in the new technology. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8650406.htm - - - - - - - - - - Security Holes Make VOIP a Risky Business It's the latest technology craze. Turn your phones digital, and use the Internet to bypass pricey long- distance providers. Individuals and businesses can slash phone costs by 50 percent or more, with little or no loss of quality. But there's a very dark lining inside this silver cloud. VOIP (voice over IP) is just as vulnerable to hackers as other digital networking technologies. But it's just far less protectedwhich can put your entire company at risk. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1738&ncid=1209&e=4&u=/zd/20040512/tc_zd/126940 - - - - - - - - - - Merchant Marine Academy wins cybersecurity exercise The United States Merchant Marine Academy won out over four other service academies recently in a cybertraining exercise organized by the National Security Agency and the United States Military Academy at West Point. During the Cyber Defense Exercise, a team of cadets from each academy had to design, build and configure a computer network that simulated a deployed joint services command. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/25867-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Software security startup aims to pre-empt hackers A pair of small U.S. technology companies said they have struck a deal to market software intended to defend corporate computer networks by scanning for possible security flaws before they can be targeted by hackers and viruses. Privately held Cigital Inc. and Fortify Software Inc. this week said the aim is to protect computer systems by heading off security threats before they appear. That is a break with the industry's past practice of patching software in response to virus-like outbreaks such as last week's Sasser worm attack. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,93100,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Glitches delayed launch of passport trial The launch of the Passport Service (UKPS) biometrics trial was delayed by more than two months because of technical glitches. The pilot was originally scheduled to start in early February but only went live in late. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1155101 ID card consultancy race is down to two http://www.vnunet.com/News/1155103 - - - - - - - - - - Price, privacy an issue, but RFID already in use Imagine a world where a shirt with a smart tag tells your washing machine to set the cycle for permanent press. The tags containing tiny chips can do other things, as well. A carton of milk warns when its expiration date has passed and adds itself to an electronic shopping list for your grocer. A bottle of pills tracks your doses and warns against mixing with another medicine. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8649849.htm Wal-Mart attracts more RFID flak http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/wal_mart_rfid_flak/ - - - - - - - - - - Scientists Fault FBI's Computer System Upgrade The critical software central to a massive upgrade of the FBI's computer system fails to support the bureau's new counterterrorism mission and should be redesigned, a panel of scientists said Tuesday. The criticism is in a report by a committee affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences, which was invited by the FBI to review the progress of a $600-million upgrade of the bureau's aging computer network. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-fbi12may12,1,4858764.story - - - - - - - - - - Camphone used to cheat on exam Cheating has gone high tech at Everett Alvarez High School, and administrators have the pictures to prove it. School officials banned cellular telephone use after a student was caught using a camera phone to photograph an exam and trying to send it to a friend. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/05/12/camphone.cheating.ap/index.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. 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