NewsBits for July 29, 2005 ************************************************************ FBI holds eight on piracy charge US police say $100m worth of illegal material was removed from the net. The US authorities have charged eight people in connection with the illegal trading of copyrighted films, music, games and software over the net. The Justice Department said they were key members of online piracy networks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4727919.stm - - - - - - - - - - UK man sentenced A recent court case, which saw a West London man fined PS500 and sentenced to 12 months' conditional discharge for hijacking a wireless broadband connection, has repercussions for almost every user of wi-fi networks. It is believed to be the first case of its kind in the UK, but with an estimated one million wi-fi users around the country, it is unlikely to be the last. http://www.crime-research.org/news/29.07.2005/1393/ - - - - - - - - - - Norwalk man gets 10 years in prison for child porn A nurse practitioner from Norwalk has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. Michael Simpson, 52, was given the maximum term when he was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court. He had admitted collecting 600 images of child pornography. http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3656672 - - - - - - - - - - Child porn: the doctor admits his guilt A former trainee neurosurgeon at the Monash Medical Centre has received a suspended jail sentence after admitting having more than 1400 images of child pornography. Abraham Stephanopoulos, 33, of Armadale, was charged last September after the images were found on a hospital computer and one at his home. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/doctor-pleads-guilty-over-child-porn/2005/07/26/1122143849486.html - - - - - - - - - - Worm poses as pirated 'Grand Theft Auto' A worm that targets gamers is making the rounds, tapping into popular titles and peer-to-peer file sharing, a security company has warned. The worm, Hagbard.A, tries to disguise itself on peer-to-peer networks as pirated downloads of the popular games titles "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," "Need for Speed Underground 2" and 400 other programs, Sophos said in an advisory released on Friday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5810979.html Australia outlaws 'Grand Theft Auto' Australian officials effectively banned the computer game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and ordered it removed from stores Friday because it contains hidden sex scenes that can be viewed with a special Internet download. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8757077/ - - - - - - - - - - Antipiracy flub for Microsoft Microsoft's efforts to curtail counterfeiting hit a snag when hackers discovered a new way to bypass its Windows Genuine Advantage, only days after the antipiracy software's official debut. The software giant announced WGA 1.0 on Monday. WGA requires users to verify that they have a legitimate copy of the operating system before they can download add-ons for Windows XP. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5810282.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8762986/ - - - - - - - - - - Interior threatens whistle-blower In the latest chapter of a dispute over protecting Interior Department data from hackers, citizens filed a motion last Tuesday asserting that top Interior Department officials threatened to transfer a government-employed witness if she testified in support of the plaintiffs. http://www.fcw.com/article89738-07-29-05-Web http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68356,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Information sharing has a dark side Although information sharing could prevent another terrorist attack, it could also create a single point of failure, a Homeland Security Department official said. Speaking at the Excellence in Government Conference in Washington, D.C., this week, Charles Armstrong, chief information officer at DHSs Border and Transportation Security Directorate, was asked whether continuity across systems might allow attackers to weaken multiple agencies with one blow. http://www.fcw.com/article89729-07-28-05-Web - - - - - - - - - - Google hacking: Everything you want someone to know, and more The ability to type in a detailed query and perform a focused search of Web resources has made Google one of the most successful dot-com companies in the world. But those tools also can be used to reveal data never meant to see the light of day, including credit card information, password lists, vulnerable servers and other details of network architecture. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36557-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Phishing attacks soar as viral onslaught wanes The volume of phishing attacks on UK businesses in July increased 45 per cent, according to email security company BlackSpider Technologies. BlackSpider detected more than 360,000 emails carrying a phishing threat in July, compared to just under 250,000 in June 2005. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/29/blackspider_malware_report/ - - - - - - - - - - Survey: Average loss from cybercrime drops Virus attacks are still the most costly. Although the average financial loss due to cybercrime is down, virus attacks continue to cost companies the most money, according to the Computer Security Institute (CSI) in San Francisco. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,103573,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Cyber crimes drop by half between 02-03 A total of 808 cyber crimes were registered under the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the year 2002, while the number went down to almost half at 471 in 2003, according to official sources. http://www.siliconindia.com/shownewsdata.asp?newsno=28950 - - - - - - - - - - Sophos bug highlights wider anti-virus flaws Get breaking Security news straight to your desktop - click here to find out how. Users of Sophoss anti- virus products were warned this week of a potentially serious security vulnerability. The bug - unearthed by security researcher Alex Wheeler - involves an unspecified heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability. The cross-platform flaw applies to Sophos Anti-Virus Small Business Edition and in version 3.x and 4.x of its flagship Sophos Anti-Virus product. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/29/sophos_buffer_overflow_bug/ - - - - - - - - - - Upset eBay buyer makes house call "Police blotter" is a weekly report on the intersection of technology and the law. This episode: an eBay deal goes awry. What: Dispute over quality of Pfaltzgraff Heritage tumblers that were purchased on eBay. When: Arrest made September 2001, case decided July 20, 2005. Outcome: After being arrested on charges of stalking an eBay seller, Jay Howard Rothhaupt sued. He largely (but not entirely) lost before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. http://news.com.com/Police+blotter+Upset+eBay+buyer+makes+house+call/2100-1028_3-5809277.html - - - - - - - - - - Digital Sleuths An FBI computer forensics expert explains how electronic evidence is being used to prosecute murderers, drug traffickers and identity thieves. Whether running a drug cartel, transmitting child pornography, or stealing a stranger's identity, many criminals have come to rely on computers. And where there are computers, there is usually a long trail of electronic evidence which can be invaluable to investigators and prosecutors. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8726154/site/newsweek/ - - - - - - - - - - Digital forensics moving from an art to a science The Defense Cyber Crime Center is seeing a growing demand for its forensics services, and a growing demand for professionalism on the part of its investigators. "Digital evidence is now an established forensics profession," said Jim Christy, director of the center's Cyber Crime Institute. "We are going from winging it to being certified practitioners." The center's forensics lab now is undergoing a third-party certification process, Christy said yesterday at the Black Hat Briefings security conference. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36556-1.html - - - - - - - - - - Exposer of Cisco Flaws to Go Silent A security expert settles the tech giant's suit by turning over his findings on router weak spots. Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday won a legal battle to silence a researcher who had publicly demonstrated he could hijack machines that power much of the Internet. Cisco sued Michael Lynn shortly after he presented his findings Wednesday at the annual Black Hat technological security convention in Las Vegas. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-cisco29jul29,1,5486649.story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8762987/ http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140510/cisco-iss-sue-security Settlement reached in Cisco flaw dispute http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11260 Hackers rally behind Cisco flaw finder http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5812044.html More legal threats over Cisco flaws http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5811333.html Cisco details controversial router flaw http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5810669.html Black Hat Day 2: Peace Breaks Out Michael Lynn, the security researcher whose talk yesterday about new flaws in Cisco Systems routers landed him in court this morning, has settled the legal dispute with Cisco and his former employer, Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems. http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/07/ciscogate_updat.html Black Hat: Hunting bugs, finding holes http://news.com.com/Black+Hat+Hunting+bugs%2C+finding+holes/2009-7348_3-5808386.html - - - - - - - - - - Geeks gather at 'What The Hack' There are hundreds of tents on the hot and soggy campground, but this isn't your ordinary summertime outing, considering that it includes workshops with such titles as "Politics of Psychedelic Research" or "Fun and Mayhem with RFID." http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/29/what.the.hack.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2005-07-28-tech-conference_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Is your printer spying on you? Secret codes enbedded into pages printed by some colour laser printers pose a risk to personal privacy, according to the Electronic Frontier Fundation. The US privacy group warns the approach - ostensibly only designed to identify counterfeiters - has become a tool for government surveillance, unchecked by laws to prevent abuse. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/29/printer_spy_fears/ - - - - - - - - - - PGP author demos VoIP encryption Phil Zimmermann, the legendary author of Pretty Good Privacy encryption for email, has demonstrated new encryption software to secure voice over IP connections. Zimmermann took the stage at the Black Hat Briefings get-together for network security professionals in Las Vegas to show his session- based Zfone encryption tool. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2140537/zimmerman-demos-voip-encryption - - - - - - - - - - Computer crime: the most significant case In October 2004 law enforcement held the most significant operation. They tracked down and nabbed The Shadow Crew group who reportedly equaled to eBay by the efficiency of their criminal activity. In a house without sign in downtown Washington, Brian K. Nagel and 15 other Secret Service agents manned a high-tech command center, poised for the largest-ever round up of a cybercrime crew. http://www.crime-research.org/articles/computer-crime-most-significant-case/ - - - - - - - - - - Social insecurity: The number that can easily betray you Recent disclosures of massive data leaks at information brokers, banks and retailers have prompted Congress to once again consider tightening access to Social Security numbers, which have evolved into dangerous master keys for fraudsters. But Social Security numbers already have come under a hodgepodge of restrictions over the years, and many experts question whether the new proposals would truly hinder identity theft. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12257384.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.