NewsBits for August 24, 2005 ************************************************************ Schoolboy Detained for Hacking Russian State Banks Website Police have detained a schoolboy in the Russian internal republic of Mordovia for hacking one of the websites of the Sberbank savings bank. The 17-year-old is suspected of infecting the website with a virus which affected dozens of Internet users in various Russian regions. One Internet user reported the virus to the Moscow police departments interior directorate, who in turn informed their colleagues in Mordovia. http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/23/bankhacker.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Servers keep churning in ID theft case An estimated 27,000 people have been affected by an identity theft ring that was discovered earlier this month, according to Sunbelt Software, the security company that uncovered the operation. Eric Sites, the vice president of research and development at Sunbelt, said Wednesday that some of the Web servers involved in the operation are still operational and continuing to gather personal data from machines that have been infected with the malicious code responsible for the identity theft. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5842723.html Tens of thousands hit by ID theft ring http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39214932,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Spammer indicted on illegal pharmacy charges A Minnesota man considered one of the world's most prolific e-mail spammers was indicted on more than a dozen federal charges related to the operation of his business, Xpress Pharmacy Direct. The indictment against Christopher William Smith, 25, was unsealed Wednesday after he was arrested at his home in Prior Lake. Dr. Philip Mach, 47, of Franklin Park, N.J., and Bruce Jordan Lieberman, 45, from Farmingdale, N.Y., were also charged in the indictment, federal prosecutors said. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12465956.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9069570/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9041549/ - - - - - - - - - - Adopted Russian Girl Sees Father Convicted in Child Porn Case Pennsylvania State Court has found a father guilty on 11 charges including incest and the rape of his 12-year-old daughter adopted from Russia, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Matthew Alan Mancuso did not contest the charges that he had sexually abused the light-haired girl he adopted from a Russian orphanage when she was five or that he had posted hundreds of explicit photos on the Internet. http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/24/childabuse.shtml - - - - - - - - - - Wireless Wiretapping The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced earlier this month that it intends to expand a mid-1990s ruling that allows law enforcement officers to wiretap conventional phone lines. Now it wants to apply the ruling to certain broadband and voice-over-Internet (VOIP) providers as well. The FCC announcement has outraged not only civil libertarians, but also a coalition of broadband providers and Internet associations, who are worried that the government's move could actually threaten national security, as well as dampen industry innovation. http://technologyreview.com/articles/05/08/wo/wo_082205popp.asp - - - - - - - - - - Zotob worm also targets Windows XP Some PCs running Windows XP Service Pack 1 are vulnerable. pCs running a certain configuration of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system are vulnerable to attack from the Zotob worm that ran riot on Windows 2000 systems last week, Microsoft said. In a clarification issued yesterday, Microsoft said PCs running Windows XP Service Pack 1 are also at risk if a file-sharing feature called Simple File Sharing and ForceGuest is enabled. The company had not seen any attacks trying to exploit this scenario as of yesterday, it said. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104136,00.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5842359.html - - - - - - - - - - Worm snaffles online gamers' passwords Players of one fantasy role-playing game Priston Tale have suffered a nasty attack of reality after virus writers created a worm programmed to steal their usernames, passwords and data. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/24/fantasy_role_play_worm/ - - - - - - - - - - IM worm speaks your language A new MSN Messenger worm often talks to people in their own tongue as it hunts for new victims, security experts have warned. The worm, dubbed Kelvir.HI, tailors the language of its attack message to the compromised system, said David Jaros, the director of product marketing at security vendor Akonix Systems, on Wednesday. It can send messages in English, Dutch, French, German, Greek (English alphabet), Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish and Turkish, he noted. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5842767.html - - - - - - - - - - Crimeware Epidemic Spreading Quickly "The technological contest between phisher and counter-phisher is well and truly underway," said APWG chairman David Jevans. "It is a contest of escalation." Phishers are rapidly becoming more sophisticated with the development of malicious crimeware software that can bypass conventional I.T. security systems and steal identity information for financial crime, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) warned today. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12100002QBMG Microsoft to expand anti-phishing tool http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2005-08-24-microsoft-phishing_x.htm Phishers and security firms in malware 'arms race' http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/24/apwg_fraud_trends/ - - - - - - - - - - HP preps pirate-fighting projector Hewlett-Packard is developing a projection technology designed to foil camcorder-outfitted pirates in movie theaters, according to a board member. Tom Perkins, a legendary venture capitalist and partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, alluded to the research at a dinner gathering here Tuesday, part of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's annual conference. http://news.com.com/HP+preps+pirate-fighting+projector/2100-1025_3-5842763.html - - - - - - - - - - Is the Real ID Act the real deal for ID security? Is the Real ID Act a step toward a safer society or a threat to the liberties we hold dear? On May 11, President Bush signed a military spending bill including a provision to create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for all U.S. citizens. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104142,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Report: Spyware eyes bigger bucks Spyware is getting more dangerous and has become a greater threat for the enterprise, according to the latest quarterly state of spyware report from Boulder, Colo.-based Webroot Software. Despite the fact that spyware definition writers have kept in pace with spyware writers, the threat has become more malicious, more insidious, and is now going after bigger paydays, the report said. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104135,00.html - - - - - - - - - - The hidden risk in outsourcing overseas While most of the recent data breach headlines have focused on consumer information and privacy, data theft is not limited to the consumer market. An equal, if not larger, amount of effort is directed towards the misappropriation of an even more valuable asset: intellectual property. http://news.com.com/The+hidden+risk+in+outsourcing+overseas/2010-1071_3-5842317.html - - - - - - - - - - Justice, FBI to spur information sharing The FBI and the Justice Department plan to accelerate their efforts to consolidate systems and improve sharing of information needed for criminal investigations and prosecutions by launching two major IT projects. The FBI project, known as Next Generation IAFIS, is aimed at upgrading the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System run by the bureaus National Criminal Information Center in Clarksburg, W.Va. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36759-1.html Justice tackles standards for computer-aided dispatch systems http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36757-1.html City adds wireless mesh for public safety http://www.fcw.com/article90390-08-24-05-Web EPA data littered with errors and gaps http://www.fcw.com/article90389-08-24-05-Web Google satellite imaging software raises terrorism concerns http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32093 - - - - - - - - - - N.Y. to install security cameras in subways New York's transit agency will spend $212 million to try to improve security on subways and buses amid criticism, fueled by July's bombings in London, that it had not spent available cash to protect America's largest public transport system. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5842498.html - - - - - - - - - - Motorola plans parent-monitoring phones Motorola Inc., the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer, plans to make phones that would let parents monitor their children's whereabouts and censor obscene content, Chairman and CEO Edward Zander said. Phones are also coming with features to attract young consumers, like next month's planned release of a phone with iTunes, Apple Computer Inc.'s popular media player, Zander told reporters late Tuesday. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2005-08-24-motorola-monitor-phone_x.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.