NewsBits for June 2, 2005 ************************************************************ Microsoft admits MSN site hacked in Korea Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that hackers booby- trapped its popular MSN Web site in Korea to try to steal passwords from visitors. The company said it was unclear how many Internet users might have been victimized. Microsoft said it cleaned the Web site, www.msn.co.kr, and removed the dangerous software code that unknown hackers had added earlier this week. A spokesman, Adam Sohn, said Microsoft was confident its English-language Web sites were not vulnerable to the same type of attack. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11800065.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8078108/ http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/02/ms.hack.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-06-02-hacked_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - FINAL GUILTY PLEA IN OPERATION DIGITAL GRIDLOCK, FIRST FEDERAL PEER-TO-PEER COPYRIGHT PIRACY CRACKDOWN The fourth and final defendant in Operation Digital Gridlock pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit felony criminal copyright infringement, the Justice Department announced today. Bryan F. Tanner, also known as “Axeman,” 42, of Fulton, New York, entered his plea in front of Judge Paul L. Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/May/05_crm_297.htm - - - - - - - - - - MPAA files new round of swap suits Hollywood studios filed a new round of lawsuits Thursday against individuals accused of trading copyrighted movies online. This is the Motion Picture Association of America's fifth round of suits against individual file-swappers, but the group has not provided details about the number or location of people targeted. http://news.com.com/MPAA+files+new+round+of+swap+suits/2110-1030_3-5730072.html Scandinavia gets tough on file sharing http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/02/scandinavia_p2p_clampdown/ - - - - - - - - - - Man charged with child porn Police say James Allen Reed of Hardy used rented laptops to post explicit images of children on the Internet. A Bedford man has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography after investigators say he rented laptop computers from a Roanoke business and used them to upload explicit images to the Internet. http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C24707.html - - - - - - - - - - Indonesian police sent to Australia after terror threat Indonesia sent police to Canberra, Australia, Thursday to help investigate biological powder sent to the Indonesian Embassy, while the two countries stated that their diplomatic ties will not be disturbed by the security scare. "The team will coordinate with the Australian Federal Police and jointly conduct an investigation," said National Police spokesman Aryanto Boedihardjo. The police team comprised of two officers from forensic laboratory unit, one from cyber crime unit and another from agriculture ministry, he said. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/02/content_3037849.htm - - - - - - - - - - Bagle variants punch, punch and punch again The latest variants of the Bagle worm have alarmed antivirus companies because of the multiple-stage process they use to attack PCs. The variants, which Computer Associates International has given a new name--Glieder--because it says they are so different from previous Bagle worms, combine several elements in a way not seen before. In this staged approach, viruses seed their victims, then disarm them, and then finally exploit them. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5729426.html Three-stage Bagle variants alarm experts http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39201557,00.htm Worms and viruses slip past defenses http://news.com.com/Worms+and+viruses+slip+past+defenses/2009-7349_3-5729787.html - - - - - - - - - - Sober Worm Causes Surge In Virus-Infected E-Mail A big jump in e-mails carrying the Sober worm contributed to nearly a fourfold increase in virus-infected messages in May. A big jump in e-mails carrying the Sober worm contributed to nearly a fourfold increase in virus-infected messages in May, a security firm said Wednesday. The number of infected e-mails captured by e-mail security firm Postini rose by 381 percent to 184 million, compared to April, officials said. Fully 78 percent of the e-mails contained the Sober worm. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=163702980 Window of exposure lets viruses run rampant http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/02/virus_exposure_stats/ - - - - - - - - - - Gpic Worm Hits AIM In an advisory posted by enterprise IM vendor IMlogic Wednesday, officials warned of a new worm spread by old means: getting users to click on a URL that purports to come from a friend on their buddy list. The latest threat to AOL's instant messaging (IM) platform, AIM, again targets users' penchants to blindly click on links supplied by friends. The Gpic.aol worm comes with a message saying, "damn this looks just like me lol" and a link to what is displayed as pictures.google.com. http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3509321 - - - - - - - - - - Internet Explorer's new security holes It had already been too long since any vulnerability has been discovered in Internet Explorer, so things had to go back to normal. Even if we’re not talking about some serious security bugs, IE is once again in pain, and together with it, the browser’s tormented users. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Internet-Explorer-s-new-security-holes-2443.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Hackers target voice over IP Service providers need to focus more resources on voice over IP (VoIP) security if they are to provide the level of reliability and trust that subscribers have come to expect with traditional telephone services, analysts have warned. According to a white paper from business consulting and systems integration firm BearingPoint, broadband operators need to address security problems before rushing to VoIP as a way to increase revenue and provide new services. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2137427/hackers-target-voice-ip - - - - - - - - - - Panel paints grim picture of cybercrime battle Consumers, government and technology companies have to step up to the plate to thwart increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, experts on a security panel said Wednesday. In a discussion before a group of Silicon Valley businesspeople, a panel including representatives from Cisco Systems, Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security discussed recent changes in cybercrime and what can be done to fight it. http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-5728856.html Masters of cybercrime The consensus among the panelists at a Churchill Club discussion entitled "Masters of Cybercrime: The Ultimate Battle of Good and Evil," was that the good guys aren’t winning. The panelists included Joe Boerio, CTO, Franklin Templeton Investments; Brad Boston, Senior VP and CIO, Cisco; Scott Charney, Vice President, Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft; and Marcus Sachs, Deputy Director, Homeland Security Cyber Security R&D Center, and researcher at the Computer Science Laboratory, SRI International. The moderator was Dave Margulius of Enterprise Insight. http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=1463 - - - - - - - - - - EU data retention laws face rough ride Laws designed to force service providers to retain all voice and data communications for up to three years will face a rough ride next week. The European parliament could reject proposals next week for laws to retain the data of telephone and internet service providers (ISPs) for three years. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39201562,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Porn-friendly '.xxx' domains approved Pornographers and their customers soon will have a virtual red light district reserved just for them. The nonprofit organization responsible for Internet addresses on Wednesday approved ".xxx" domains, a move that reverses the group's earlier position and heads off a potential political spat with conservative U.S. politicians. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5728713.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11790710.htm http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/ecommerce/0,39020372,39201556,00.htm http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67716,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2005-06-01-net-porn_x.htm Strong demand for sex on the net http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2137455/strong-demand-sex-net - - - - - - - - - - On the Cyber-Trail Of Child Exploiters The offices could not be more generic. The building is nondescript. There is a sign outside the door, but they're planning to take it down. But inside the Cyber Crimes Center in central Fairfax, investigators are cracking the most sensational, horrifying, gut-wrenching criminal cases involving children, pornography, predators and the Internet. As a result, thousands of people around the world are being arrested; many are going to prison. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/31/AR2005053101902.html - - - - - - - - - - Child porn under spotlight Delegates are gathered in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape to find solutions to child problems posed by child pornography, government news agency BuaNews reported on Thursday. The two-day conference, themed "Unite against child pornography," was organised by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) and the department of home affairs (DHA) to take place during Child Protection Week. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1715255,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Pharming for profits Attacks are soaring at an alarming rate, security experts say. Following Deep Throat's advice to "follow the money," hackers today are committing fraud at alarming rates, using sophisticated, multilayered "pharming" botnets that point to the need for new forms of authentication to secure e-mail originators as well as Web site destinations. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,102179,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Hacking fear drives up network security market Network security appliance and software sales are poised for explosive growth of 27 per cent to clock up revenues of $1.3bn in the first quarter of 2006, analysts have predicted. According to Infonetics Research's quarterly worldwide market share and forecast service, sales increased by five per cent between the last quarter of 2004 and the first quarter of 2005. Total annual revenue is expected to grow to $6.5bn by 2008. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2137429/hacking-fear-drives-network-security-market - - - - - - - - - - Yahoo!, Cisco combine antispam efforts Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. and Internet portal Yahoo Inc. are combining their efforts to combat e-mail spam and forgery in a step that's expected to help expand adoption of the technology. The move, announced Wednesday, combines two techniques that rely on cryptography to help determine whether the sender of an e-mail message is legitimate. Sending messages using a false address is a common tactic of spammers. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11796817.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8072072/ http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,67717,00.html Spam law compromised by direct marketers http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39201561,00.htm Spamming Outside the Box http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67709,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Forging an anti-terrorism search tool The government is counting on new search technology to sniff out terrorists. Google is the No. 1 free tool to snoop on friends or strangers. But government agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration are investing in a new search engine being developed at the University of Buffalo to do some of their more sensitive detective work. http://news.com.com/Forging+an+anti-terrorism+search+tool/2100-1012_3-5730176.html - - - - - - - - - - Want to use the Web? Your fingerprint, please Soon, patrons of the Naperville Public Library — at least those wanting to use the Internet — will need more than a library card. They'll give a fingerprint. It sounds like something out of a Philip K. Dick novel, but the new requirement is in many ways unsurprising. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-06-01-fingerprint-library-csm_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Keyboard cops Forget leaving fingerprints at the scene of the crime. Today's police know that the hard evidence they find on your hard drive can put you behind bars, says Jimmy Lee Shreeve. Computer forensic analysts - the detectives of the digital world - are in big demand. Electronic evidence is proving critical in solving crimes, with the proliferation of computers, PDAs, mobile phones and even iPods. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=643536 - - - - - - - - - - How to keep mobile data secure While the rise of the mobile data market has been rapid and lucrative, it has also led to a significant increase in potential security risks. In the 1980s, companies were concerned that users would save customer or company price lists onto a floppy disk and take them to their next employer. Today, these same users not only can take that information, they can also take your entire customer database showing purchasing prices and history on a single USB drive. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,102147,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Has Ransomware Learned from Cryptovirology? The next malware attack that involves holding data for ransom might not be a Trojan that affects a small number of users. The next attack might be a real cryptovirus or cryptoworm that holds the data of tens or even hundreds of thousands of users for ransom. What will people do then? http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=003000002BA0 - - - - - - - - - - Dell apologizes for sales rep's e-mail disparaging Lenovo Dell Inc. said Thursday it would take disciplinary action as appropriate against a U.S.-based salesperson who sent an e-mail discouraging former IBM clients from buying Lenovo products. Last year, International Business Machines Corp. sold its personal computer business to Lenovo Group Ltd., which is partially owned by the Chinese government. That made Lenovo the world's third-largest PC business behind Dell and Hewlett-Packard Co., http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/11799661.htm *********************************************************** 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.