NewsBits for October 18, 2004
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12 arrested in HK phishing scam
A dozen people have been arrested in Hong Kong in
connection with a banking phishing scam. Six of the
suspects, including a Russian man, have been charged
with theft amid allegations that they hoodwinked
HK$600,000 (PS47,000) in an internet banking scam.
If found guilty, the suspects face up to ten years
in jail.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/hk_phishing/
Phishers are using e-mail to get information from people
http://www.crime-research.org/news/17.10.2004/719/
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British court orders ISPs to identify 28 alleged music pirates
The High Court in London has ordered Internet
service providers to hand over the names and
addresses of 28 alleged music pirates to Britain's
trade body for the recording industry. The British
Phonographic Industry Ltd., or BPI, Friday welcomed
the court order by Justice William Blackburne
as the first step to suing people it accuses
of promoting the illegal downloading of
copyrighted music.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9929097.htm
Much smoke to BPI's fileshare suits, but where's the fire?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/law_and_bpi_lawsuits/
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Pedophile clues sat for months
Acting on a tip from state child welfare workers
seven months ago, county prosecutors in South Jersey
seized a computer from a Bellmawr man that could have
led them to a network of suspected pedophiles in at
least three states. Robert Pelle's hard drive was
a virtual scrapbook of child pornography. Besides
photographs, it held easily accessible links to Web
sites and e-mail from other men who as a group called
themselves "boylovers," arranged field trips and
sought sex with children, according to investigators
and court documents.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1097648099103290.xml
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--pedophileinvestig1013oct13,0,7203505.story
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On-line casino under cyber attacks
English computer security experts assert that
number of gambling web-sites attacked by hackers
is growing. Exact number of cyber attacks on these
sites is difficult to determine, because the most
of victimized companies refuse to report incidents
to avoid breathing on their reputation. According
to experts, there is no gambling web-portal which
doesnt pay to hackers.
http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/managearticle.asp?C=500&A=12232
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Latest Netsky variant spreading fast
Security experts have warned users to beware
a new version of the prolific W32/Netsky virus.
According to McAfee's Avert antivirus research
team, the Netsky.ag variant is a prolific mass-
mailing worm that spreads via email, sending
itself to addresses found on the victim's
machine.
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158813
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MyDoom seeks to destroy antivirus firms
Antivirus companies are perplexed by a spate
of recent viruses that contain messages in which
the writers threaten to attack them. Worm writers
are threatening to attack antivirus companies
F-Secure, Symantec, Trend Micro and McAfee.
In the latest version of MyDoom--MyDoom.AE--
the authors embedded a message ridiculing
rival worm Netsky and promising to attack
the antivirus companies.
http://news.com.com/MyDoom+seeks+to+destroy+antivirus+firms/2100-7349_3-5415086.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5415086.html
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Google Desktop privacy branded 'unacceptable'
Google's Desktop represents a privacy disaster
just waiting to happen, a rival has warned.
David Burns, Copernic CEO, says users should
know that the giant ad broker intends to mix
public and private queries in the future,
leveraging its key moneyspinning product:
contextual advertising.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/15/google_desktop_privacy/
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DTI launches new anti-fraud Web site
The Department for Trade and Industry has launched
an online service to help people protect themselves
from scams. A new section of the consumer direct
website, launched on 18 October 2004, will provide
regularly updated information on specific rip-offs;
tips on spotting a scam; advice on preventing
unwanted sales calls, faxes, emails and text
messages; and contacts for reporting scams or
obtaining further information.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39170579,00.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/18/national_consumer_week/
Public sector not ready for Freedom of Information
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158825
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York deputy chief joins child porn task force
A new committee to co-ordinate a provincewide strategy
to fight Internet child pornography will meet tomorrow
(Monday) in Newmarket and include York Regional Police
deputy chief Bruce Herridge. The province announced
Wednesday it would be working closely with police
across the province to combat Internet crimes against
children.
http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/newscentre/erabanner/story/2278867p-2641200c.html
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Security chiefs pass test
The number of certified security professionals
in the UK has jumped in the past three years,
and experts now predict the profession will
eventually become as regulated as engineering
or accounting. There are now over 1,000 Certified
Information Systems Security Professionals
(CISSPs) in the UK, up from 40 three years ago.
Globally, there are 27,000 across 106 countries,
and experts predict further growth.
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158804
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Seven new members for Liberty Alliance
Adobe and Telewest Broadband are two of the latest
companies to sign up to Liberty Alliance, the Web
Services identity standards consortium Liberty
Alliance, a far-reaching body working on identity
standards for Web services, has signed up seven
new members. At an event held in Tokyo on Monday
it announced Adobe, DAI-Labor, Deny All, M-Tech
Information Technology, OpenNetwork Technologies,
Senforce Technologies and Telewest Broadband are
joining up.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/webservices/0,39020378,39170578,00.htm
Liberty Alliance names first director, new members
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,96752,00.html
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FBI stocks up on data-warehousing tools
The FBI has bought business intelligence software
to mine its Investigative Data Warehouse, an
information-sharing system for agents and analysts.
The agency doled out $720,000 for analytic software
and related support services from MicroStrategy Inc.
of McLean, Va. The software will provide a way for
FBI workers to comb through the data warehouses
counterterrorism material and compile reports,
the company said.
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27643-1.html
Public interest group challenges FBI over terrorist screening
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/101804tdpm1.htm
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Blue Coat tool targets spyware
Blue Coat Systems Inc. today introduced a tool
that detects spyware at the Internet gateway and
desktop to stop it from affecting network security
and performance. The proxy-based gateway antispyware
tool from Blue Coat, which makes proxy servers,
supports and enhances performance of URL filtering
and antivirus spyware blocking on the company's
proxy appliance, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Blue
Coat said in a statement.
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,96757,00.html
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Clarke: Using technology to secure IDs is vital
More secure identity cards are necessary to defend
the United States against terrorists, former U.S.
presidential adviser Richard Clarke said during
a keynote on Monday. While not advocating a
national ID card, Clarke said that, at the very
least, drivers' licenses must be made more secure
and that incentives for adopting technology such
as smart cards should be proposed.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5416054.html
Homeland security--Throwing money at technology
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5414724.html
Homeland Security--Throwing money at technology (page 2)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5414774.html
Homeland Security: Throwing money at technology (page 3)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5414794.html
Homeland security appropriations bill becomes law
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27645-1.html
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Airport security cards to have biometric data
Airport employees will soon have their biometric
data scanned before gaining access to restricted
areas, Transport Canada and the Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority announced Friday.
A new restricted-area card will include either
the fingerprint or iris measurement of the
cardholder.
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041016.gtnats16-4/BNStory/Technology/
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Tougher laws needed to fight 'counterfeit reality'
Tougher global laws must be passed to prevent criminals
creating "an entire world of digital forgeries" that
will become virtually impossible to distinguish from
reality. The rise of so-called 'counterfeit reality'
will lead to disputes over interpretations of social,
political, legal and business realities that the
judicial system and other institutions of conflict
resolution are not equipped to resolve, analyst
Gartner has warned.
http://www.vnunet.com/news/1158815
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CherryOS Not BS, Author Says
Despite being widely accused of code theft, fraud
and other chicanery, the author of the controversial
CherryOS Mac emulator is sticking to his guns: It's
all on the up and up, says programmer Arben Kryeziu.
As previously reported, CherryOS purports to be
a Mac emulator that allows Mac OS X to run on
Windows PCs. The complex system was ostensibly
written in four months by Kryeziu alone, who
claims it performs at about 80 percent of the
speed of the PC host's hardware.
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,65368,00.html
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Ranking network security breaches
IN a 2004 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security
Survey, security practitioners from major US
corporations, financial, medical institutions
and government agencies participated in a recent
CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey. The
declining trend year-on-year of total loss is a
good sign of cyber security awareness in the US.
http://news.inq7.net/infotech/index.php?index=1&story_id=15199&col=52
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RFID, coming to a library near you
For a glimpse of how RFID technology could
transform stores, factories and people's everyday
lives, you may only need to look as far as your
local library. Hundreds of city and college libraries
are placing special microchips, known as RFID (radio
frequency identification) tags, on books in an effort
to make libraries more efficient. The tags are central
to a new breed of digital tracking system that can
speed checkouts, keep collections in better order,
and even alleviate repetitive strain injuries among
librarians.
http://news.com.com/RFID%2C+coming+to+a+library+near+you/2100-1012_3-5411657.html
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STORY FROM THE WEIRD FILE:
Cops track emergency call to malfunctioning TV
Talk about unwanted new features in fancy
televisions, college student Chris van Rossman
got more than he wanted with his Toshiba set--
as he learned when emergency and law enforcement
officials came knocking. Earlier this month,
Rossman's year-old 20-inch flat screen TV started
broadcasting over the 121.5MHz frequency, the
channel used for distress signals. Such signals
are used by search and rescue workers to find
airplanes that have crashed or boats that are
lost or missing.
http://news.com.com/Cops+track+emergency+call+to+malfunctioning+TV/2100-1041_3-5415719.html
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