NewsBits for May 13, 2005 ************************************************************ Restitution delayed in massive international Internet fraud An international Internet fraud was so massive and complex that the federal judge overseeing the case says he can't begin to determine who should get reimbursed. The Tri-West Investment Club cost some 15,000 investors in 59 countries about $60 million. The scam was so complicated that the government won't be able to determine individuals' losses ``at this time, or in the near future,'' U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia ruled last week. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11640253.htm - - - - - - - - - - North Carolina banks notifying customers of security breach Wachovia Corp. and Bank of America Corp. are notifying thousands of customers that their accounts may have been breached in a theft of financial records from four banks. The theft was exposed last month when police in Hackensack, N.J., charged nine people, including a business owner, a New Jersey state worker and seven bank workers, in a plot to steal financial records of thousands of bank customers, which were then sold to collection agencies. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11642196.htm - - - - - - - - - - Mass. attorney general sues spammers A state judge ordered the shutdown on Wednesday of what Massachusetts authorities called one of the world's largest spam rings, generating millions of unsolicited e-mails monthly. Attorney General Thomas Reilly's civil complaint against alleged ringleader Leo Kuvayev and six other people associated with 2K Services and Ecash Pay requested a restraining order, which was granted by Suffolk County Superior Judge Ralph D. Gants. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/business/2005-05-12-mass-sues-spammers_x.htm http://www.crime-research.org/news/05.13.2005/1229/ - - - - - - - - - - Gloves off in Dutch anti-piracy punch-up Five Dutch ISPs will launch a "procedure on the merits" action against Dutch anti-piracy organisation Dutch Protection Rights Entertainment Industry Netherlands (BREIN). As reported yesterday, BREIN intends to sue the ISPs next month to obtain the identity of 42 individuals suspected of illegally swapping copyrighted music. The ISPs believe a normal summary proceeding or kort geding will not allow a full investigation of the merits or otherwise of BREIN's case. A procedure on the merits demands such investigation. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/dutch_isps_fight_back/ - - - - - - - - - - Industry experts want federal law to tackle spyware Congress should enact a federal law to fight the increasing menace of spyware software and partner with other countries to ensure offenders don't move their businesses offshore, industry experts told a congressional panel Wednesday. http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5070 - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft Anti-Virus? Microsoft's announcement that it will enter the AV market next year, with initial trials starting next week, could be a sign of many things to come. There's an old Canadian saying about a salesman who is so good at sales and marketing that he can "sell ice to an Eskimo" -- and although Eskimo is an outdated term, it doesn't sound the same to replace the text with our respected native Canadian Indians. http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/325 Microsoft targets viruses, spyware http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5072 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-05-12-msoft-usat_x.htm Microsoft readies PC security, tools bundle http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,101725,00.html eEye Spies More Holes in IE, Outlook http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1815784,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Sober worm's success tied to antivirus weakness The longevity of the current Sober worm may be largely due to a new technique it uses to evade virus scans, according to antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab Ltd. The worm, variously labeled Sober.P, Sober.S, Sober.O and Sober.V by different companies, continues to circulate in large numbers; it made up 84% of all virus traffic as of Monday, according to Lynnfield, Mass.-based virus lab Sophos PLC. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,101675,00.html Sober worm goes into hibernation http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39198261,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Firefox loses its shine The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox web browser has made security a major part of its marketing, but a spate of vulnerabilities found over the last nine months had sullied that message. In the latest incident, a 16-year-old security researcher - who asked only to be identified by his first name, Paul - found three vulnerabilities in the Firefox browser that together could be exploited to run arbitrary code. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/firefox_loses_shine/ Mozilla Updates Firefox To Fix Flaws http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5071 http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,101676,00.html - - - - - - - - - - I know what you downloaded from Freenet Exclusive The Freenet Project has been around since 2000. It was designed as a stealthy P2P network (some have called it a "darknet") that distributes its content so broadly that it's impossible to censor. There are a number of security features in Freenet that other P2P networks lack. Because data that the network's various nodes exchange is encrypted, it's difficult, though not impossible, for an outside observer to know what's being passed between two nodes. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/freener_not_so_anonymous/ - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft offers WPA2 Wi-Fi security Microsoft Corp. has added a key wireless LAN security specification to Windows XP, the company announced Thursday. The specification, called Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 or WPA2, requires a Wi-Fi client to include the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm for encrypting data traversing a Wi-Fi network. AES is the type of encryption used in many government agencies and security-conscious industries. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,101729,00.html Trusting in 802.1X Endpoint Security http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5068 - - - - - - - - - - Protecting your PC The personal information of thousands of individuals has been stolen from databases, university and government computer systems have been hacked, and spyware is now an issue being addressed by the Senate. Computer security has become increasingly important. How seriously are you taking your own PC security? If even the government and corporations can't keep themselves from being hacked, how can we PC-users protect ourselves? http://www.it-observer.com/news.php?id=5073 - - - - - - - - - - Adventurous squirrels swap passwords for coffee beans Letters Why don't we kick off this Friday's trawl through the letters bag with a happy reminder of just how secure everything is in this high tech world of ours. We refer, of course, to the news that the average US citizen is happy to hand over his password in exchange for a coffee. We Brits are just as bad, of course, requiring only chocolate eggs as bribes. But http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/letters_1305/ - - - - - - - - - - Company tries to purge Web criticism The developer of a spam-fighting service is trying to airbrush the Web, asking some Web sites to remove references to criticisms that it sent out spam two years ago. Brian Cartmell, chief executive of Spam Arrest, said the posts in question reflect past practices, but people who read them today might mistakenly believe the policies are current. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/ethics/2005-05-13-spic-and-spam_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Skinner slams DHS network The Homeland Secure Data Network isn't so secure, according to the Homeland Security Department's inspector general. "DHS' methods for collecting and confirming user requirements prior to contract award did not lead to assurance that user needs at the 600 sites will be met," according to the April report from Richard Skinner, acting inspector general for DHS. http://www.fcw.com/article88865-05-13-05-Web - - - - - - - - - - Resto & pub webcams expose us to pervs, snoops An astonishing number of restaurants and pubs have installed webcams to observe patrons and beam their images across the internet without their knowledge, The Register has accidentally discovered. Occasionally, one stumbles onto a story quite by chance. This is just such a case, so bear with us through a bit of background. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/13/dining_room_webcams/ *********************************************************** 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 2000-2005, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.