NewsBits for August 29, 2005 ************************************************************ Brazil cuffs 85 in online bank hack dragnet Brazilian federal police last week cuffed 85 people across seven states suspected of hacking online bank accounts and netting $33m, Reuters reports. The arrests were the culmination of a four-month investigation, codenamed "Operation Pegasus", which generated 105 arrest warrants. A total of 410 officers took part in the swoop. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/29/brazil_hack_arrests/ - - - - - - - - - - Turkish hacker caught by FBI Turkish hacker responsible for Internet banking fraud has been caught in Adana. Atilla Ekinci, 23, is being held responsible for breaking into peoples accounts and doing transactions. It all started two weeks ago, when Microsoft headquarters in the States started receiving angry complaints from financial companies and media giants such as CNN International, The New York Times and ABC who were all plagued with a nasty virus. http://www.turks.us/article.php?story=2005082711241943 - - - - - - - - - - Alleged Spyware Mastermind, Buyers of the Program Indicted A 25-year-old fugitive was indicted Friday for creating and marketing a software program called Loverspy that allowed buyers to snoop on former or prospective sweethearts by breaking into their computers. Four people who bought the program available for $89 through a Texas website were also indicted and charged with unauthorized access to electronic communications. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-lover27aug27,1,3970127.story Jealous-lover program creator indicted The creator and several buyers of a computer program designed to allow jealous lovers to snoop on their sweethearts' online activities have been indicted for allegedly violating federal computer privacy laws. Carlos Enrique Perez-Melara, 25, was indicted Friday on 35 counts of manufacturing, sending and advertising a surreptitious interception device and unauthorized access to protected computers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9118279/ - - - - - - - - - - Air Force Specialist Indicted On Child Porn Charge An Air Force computer security specialist has been indicted on a federal charge of producing child pornography in Colorado in the latest development in a long-running, multiagency investigation into his activities. Tech Sgt. Erik Dean Rabes, 44, of La Vista, Neb., is accused of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and producing a visual depiction of that conduct in November 2000, according to the indictment. http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_239223454.html - - - - - - - - - - Papers give hints about child-porn inquiry Ex-judges attorneys say he wasnt involved in making tapes central to the case. Two manila envelopes containing videos, CDs, a hard drive and Polaroids are at the center of the FBIs child-porn case against former Douglas County Judge Roger E. Wall. Court papers filed since Walls indictment show the contours of the case against the longtime judge as well as his planned defense. http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050829/NEWS01/50829002 - - - - - - - - - - Two officers lose jobs in Massillon Before being fired for insubordination, a city police officer made his own accusations against the Police Department. Patrol officer Robert Boyd, 34, a 7-year veteran of the force, said fellow officers had been circulating child pornography and other obscene materials throughout the police station for years. The Police Department denies any child porn, and a FBI audit found no evidence to support Boyds claim. http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=239422 - - - - - - - - - - Finland blocking access to foreign web pages containing child pornography Finnish officials and companies plan to block access by Internet users in Finland to foreign websites containing child pornography. Telecommunications service providers are to be given a list of websites to be blocked. "In all child porn scandals uncovered in Europe, the Internet has been used almost without exception. The use of the Internet for these purposes is a major problem. In Norway, this kind of a measure has managed to prevent as many as 6,000 visits to Child pornography web sites each day", says Harri Pursiainen, Director-General at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/article/1101980765903 - - - - - - - - - - Web site gives e-mail senders a reputation A new Web site aims to help determine whether a specific computer has been sending legitimate e-mail or spam. The TrustedSource Web site uses data from reputation filters, which are billed as the next big thing in e-mail security. Makers of spam-fighting tools collect data on e-mail senders and use that to assign "reputations" to e-mail sending computers and Internet domains. Those who send a lot of spam get a negative rating and their messages are more likely to be filtered out. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5844408.html - - - - - - - - - - Credit Card Companies Turn to Security To Protect Customer Data On any given day, data about Visa cardholders courses through the computer networks of more than five million merchants, hundreds of data processors and 14,000 banks before it even reaches the machines at the Visa operations center. http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13200002ZFIO - - - - - - - - - - Long Registry Names Could Hide Malware Reports on the Full-Disclosure research list and by the SANS Internet Storm Center indicate a common bug in software that interacts with the Windows registry. The bug could allow malicious programs to hide values there, obscuring evidence of their presence on the system. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1853457,00.asp - - - - - - - - - - Distance detection may help secure Wi-Fi Intel Corp. is developing a way to locate a Wi-Fi user by timing how long it takes for packets to travel to and from a wireless access point, which could prevent users outside a house or office from accessing a Wi-Fi network indoors. Precision location technology is one of several key ideas for the next few years that Justin Rattner, Intel senior fellow and director of the company's Corporate Technology Group, showed off during a keynote presentation on the last day of the Fall Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco Thursday. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,104242,00.html - - - - - - - - - - The myth of the cyber-meltdown We've all heard of the impending doom of the cyber-meltdown by all the so-called experts in cyber-terrorism but unfortunately they couldn't be further from the truth. There will be no cyber-meltdown in the form of a massive cyber-attack that will cripple the Internet and IT infrastructure. http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/commentary/stories/127547.html - - - - - - - - - - ID theft creates opportunities for data companies For its victims, identity theft means worry, headache and countless time spent restoring bad credit. But for some businesses, the collective fear that consumer identities may be stolen can mean opportunity. The surge in identity theft, estimated to affect more than 9 million Americans each year at a cost of $50 billion, is spurring credit bureaus and banks to offer credit-monitoring services designed to protect against fraud and guarantee peace of mind. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5843920.html - - - - - - - - - - Researchers: Distorting biometrics enhances security In biometrics, a computer reduces an image to a template of notable features such as a face. Image: A trick reminiscent of a fun-house mirror might improve the security and privacy of the access-control technology that examines fingerprints, facial features or other personal characteristics. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/08/29/transforming.biometrics.ap/index.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 2000-2005, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.