NewsBits for October 22, 2004 ************************************************************ Purdue urges precautions after hacking discovered Someone gained unauthorized access to Purdue's computer network, prompting school officials to urge all students, staff and faculty to change their passwords. ``We have confirmed that some computer passwords have been obtained by unauthorized users accessing a number of computer systems,'' said Scott Ksander of Purdue's information technology office. ``The full extent of the problem is still being analyzed, but we think it is important to exercise caution, and the best action to take is for all users to change their passwords at this time.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9988098.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6307984/ http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/10/22/us.purduehack.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Hackers post 'confession' on football ref's website England fans just won't forgive Urs Meier for Euro 2004... Swiss football referee Urs Meier who controversially disallowed an England goal at Euro 2004 has had his website defaced by hackers who posted a hoax message apologising and confessing that he took a bribe. http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39125203,00.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/swiss_ref_hack/ - - - - - - - - - - UK paper's anti-Bush ploy gets hacked, sacked The Guardian, a London-based newspaper, ended a letter-writing campaign aimed at defeating U.S. President George W. Bush after a Web site hosting the promotion was attacked by hackers. Ian Katz, an editor at the British newspaper who thought up "Operation Clark County," said in a letter posted to the company's Web site on Thursday that despite garnering an overwhelming response from the public, the project was being scrapped. http://news.com.com/UK+papers+anti-Bush+ploy+gets+hacked%2C+sacked/2100-1028_3-5423204.html - - - - - - - - - - New Netsky variant appears from Korea Despite the incarceration of the original author new variants of the Netsky worm are still appearing, with the latest version seemingly coming from South Korea, according to experts. Antivirus researchers have discovered a new version of the Netsky worm that contains text linking it to the SoonChunHyang University in Bucheon, South Korea. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39171027,00.htm http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5422581.html Bug bites continue to plague the Net http://news.com.com/Bug+bites+continue+to+plague+the+Net/2009-1002_3-5422692.html - - - - - - - - - - Prosecutors accuse lawyer of having sex with girl, 16 Santa Clara County prosecutors charged a prominent Silicon Valley lawyer Thursday with having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met in an Internet chat room and propositioning her underage friend with graphic e-mails. Jason D. Borrevik, 32, of Sunnyvale, was charged with one count of having sex with a minor and two felony counts of distributing harmful matter over the Internet, according to court documents. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/9985306.htm - - - - - - - - - - Child porn business in Ukraine According to Ukraine Bureau of Interpol, more than 1 000 child porn films were shoot last years. At that, the main personages were from Slavonic states. In this context Ukraine is often represented in reports of law enforcements over the world, but it is difficult to point the exact hot places. Experts say the most famous in child porn business became such Ukrainian cities as Odessa, Kharkov, Kiev, Sevastopol. http://www.crime-research.org/news/22.10.2004/726/ - - - - - - - - - - Political hacking increasing says internet security firm Hackers from Muslim countries are increasingly targeting western corporations as politically inspired cyber attacks spread around the globe, an internet security company claimed yesterday. http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1331998,00.html - - - - - - - - - - DDoS vigilante militia could tackle net porn, says pundit Brainstorm of the week Considering events earlier in the week, this possibly is not an absolutely ideal time for us to find some blockhead commending the efficacy of DDoS attacks as a mechanism for eradicating anything. We have however been able to draw on our legendary supply of patience, fairness, balance and integrity prior to arriving at a considered judgment. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/ddos_porn_brainstorm/ - - - - - - - - - - Crooks slither into Net's shady nooks and crannies Organized crime rings and petty thieves are flocking to the Internet like start-ups in the go-go '90s, federal authorities say establishing a multibillion-dollar underground economy in just a few years. Willie Sutton used to say he robbed banks because that's where the money is," says FBI Agent Keith Lourdeau, an expert on cybercrime. "The same applies today to crooks and the Internet." http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-10-20-cyber-crime_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Vulnerability hits Java for cell phones A Polish researcher has found two vulnerabilities in the cell phone version of Sun Microsystems' Java software that under unusual circumstances could let a malicious program read private information or render the phone unusable. The flaws are difficult to exploit because malicious programs must be tailored to each cell phone, saidAdam Gowdiak, the 29-year-old security researcher with the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center who discovered the vulnerabilities. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5423310.html?tag=default Phreakers will rape and pillage your mobile http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/mobile_java_peril/ - - - - - - - - - - Touch-screens under surveillance Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Jesse Durazo is not taking any chances with this year's presidential election. After weathering months of criticism of the county's new touch-screen voting system, Durazo in July installed 24-hour surveillance cameras in the warehouse where the voting machines are stored and are being tested this week. ``Voters deserve to know we have done our best to maintain security,'' Durazo said. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/9988083.htm - - - - - - - - - - Corporate security undermined by lack of cooperation A lack of information sharing and cooperation between IT security, physical security and risk management functions is hindering efforts to upgrade corporate security, according to a report released this week by The Conference Board Inc. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,96876,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Shutting Down Cyber-Terror In the War on Terrorism, the terrorists may have an unusual ally: American internet service providers (ISPs). U.S.-based ISPs provide web-hosting for terrorists ranging from Hamas and Hizbullah to Palestinian Jihad. This cyber-fifth column is illegal, can be prosecuted, and must be shut down if we hope to stop Islamic fundamentalists from winning the hearts and minds of a generation of their young. http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15605 - - - - - - - - - - Privacy under attack? In less than two weeks, we'll learn the final answer. In the meantime, the candidates might want to study the findings of a recent CNET News.com poll. In late summer, we hooked up with Harris Interactive to find out how people perceive the state of their personal security. The idea was to find out what regular folks are thinking. Are they encouraged by what they're seeing? Do they think that technology might improve their sense of well-being? http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5422229.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. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2004, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.