NewsBits for February 15, 2006 ************************************************************ Brazilian police bust hacker gang Brazilian federal police arrested 41 hackers today accused of using the internet to divert millions of dollars out of other people's bank accounts. Some 200 federal police were deployed in the operation to serve 65 arrest warrants against a gang of hackers mostly operating in Campina Grande, some 1,800km north-east of Rio. Arrests also were made in six other states. http://www.theage.com.au/news/breaking/brazilian-police-bust-hacker-gang/2006/02/15/1139890794432.html - - - - - - - - - - Romanian hacker breaks in to UA journalism computers Hackers broke into the computer system of the University of Arizona journalism department, and students were unable to use the computers Monday. All of the department's Apple Macintosh computers were affected and have been logged off the server and the Internet until the problem is solved, said Jacqueline Sharkey, head of the department. No information has been lost so far, she said. http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/115789 - - - - - - - - - - Long Island police arrest 24 in Internet sex sting A lieutenant colonel in the Army was among 24 men arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from children on the Internet, police said. Lt. Col. Douglas Winckelmann, 48, was the oldest man snared in the monthlong sting operation, Suffolk County police said. http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-15-2006/19c500055aeaef99.html - - - - - - - - - - Retired police officer charged in Kenosha County child porn case A retired Illinois police officer who told investigators they would find a million images of child pornography at his home was charged Tuesday with 26 counts of possession of child porn. http://www.gazetteextra.com/childporn021506.asp - - - - - - - - - - Mequon man faces 10 counts of child porn A 26-year-old Mequon man was charged Monday with 10 felony counts of possessing child pornography following his initial appearance in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. Christopher L. Ernest of 3318 W. River Drive was arrested Sunday night by Mequon police and taken to Ozaukee County Jail, where he was released on a $5,000 signature bond Monday afternoon. http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2006/Feb_06/02142006_13.asp - - - - - - - - - - China Uncovers 172 Internet Piracy Cases China said Wednesday that a four-month crackdown uncovered 172 cases of piracy involving movies, music, games, books and software sold or shared illegally over the Internet. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060215/ap_on_hi_te/china_internet_piracy - - - - - - - - - - Data negligence suit thrown out of court Encryption not required by law, says judge A US federal court has thrown out a lawsuit that accused a student-loan provider of negligence in failing to encrypt a customer database that was subsequently stolen. Stacy Lawton Guin, a customer of Brazos Higher Education Service, sued the corporation on the grounds that encryption should be used as a routine security precaution. http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39156463,00.htm Poor wireless security a liability, warns lawyer http://www.it-observer.com/news/5723/poor_wireless_security_liability_warns_lawyer/ - - - - - - - - - - Cyberstalking law opens debate on what's annoying It didn't get much publicity, but an anti- stalking bill passed by Congress recently makes it a federal crime to "annoy" someone over the Internet. And that's really beginning to bug some people. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2006-02-14-cyberstalking-law_x.htm http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=03300000TGFI - - - - - - - - - - Government Execs Stand By Industry-Led Cyber-Security Senior cyber-security officials defended the U.S. government's continued reliance on private sector initiatives to improve the security of the nation's infrastructure, even as some experts raised questions about its effectiveness. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1926921,00.asp US 'making progress' on cybersecurity http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39252524,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Battle Heats Up Over Chinese Censorship Beijing' decision to shut a publication is the latest move in its effort to control information, which is drawing increasing criticism. In a letter made public Tuesday, 13 former Chinese officials and senior scholars denounced the shutdown, saying, "History demonstrates that only a totalitarian system needs news censorship, out of the delusion that it can keep the public locked in ignorance." (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fg-freespeech15feb15,1,1306288.story Net firms caught between Chinese rules, U.S. demands for free speech http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/13871707.htm Chinese Internet censors face 'hacktivists' in U.S. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06045/654754.stm Politicians lash out at tech firms over China http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6039834.html http://blogs.zdnet.com/carroll/index.php?p=1539 Dealing with China the wrong way http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6040006.html Taking heat over censorship in China (VIDEO) http://zdnet.com.com/1606-2-6039873.html - - - - - - - - - - Cellphones can crack RFID tags Crypographer Adi Shamir, professor of computer science at the Weizmann Institute, has explained how a cellphone could be used to attack and compromised all RFID tags in a given area. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/140 http://www.eet.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180201688 - - - - - - - - - - Beware the 'pod slurping' employee A U.S. security expert who devised an application that can fill an iPod with business-critical data in a matter of minutes is urging companies to address the very real threat of data theft. Abe Usher, a 10-year veteran of the security industry, created an application that runs on an iPod and can search corporate networks for files likely to contain business-critical data. At a rate of about 100MB every couple minutes, it can scan and download the files onto the portable storage units in a process dubbed "pod slurping." http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6039926.html - - - - - - - - - - New! Phishing! Now With Tastier Bait! Phishing scams are becoming ever more sophisticated - the latest are even using valid looking SSL certificates to fool people into believing they are using a legitimate secure site. According to the SANS Institute, the scam uses a carefully crafted email, with links to reasonably convincing domains and text that contains part of customers' credit card number. http://www.smoothwall.net/information/news/newsitem.php?id=965 - - - - - - - - - - News Focus: RSA Conference 2006 (Series of stories) There's no doubt that security is big business. In the past five years the annual RSA Conference has grown from a techie meeting to a major business event. Just look at the 275 exhibitors pitching their wares. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9589_22-6039376.html Cisco touts body-like network security http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150399/chambers-touts-body-network Computer security industry needs to avoid crying wolf http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13876411.htm - - - - - - - - - - RSA: Secure software is up to businesses Most businesses aren't doing enough to build and buy securely written software, according to a panel of corporate security executives, academics and professional software developers speaking at the RSA Security Conference 2006 yesterday. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108716,00.html Online security running out of time http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150400/online-security-running - - - - - - - - - - RSA: Gates says security boils down to four focus areas Microsoft chief also announces secure sharing technology called InfoCard. Bill Gates opened the annual RSA Security Conference today with an overview on the state of security that was long on vision and broad with its details. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108693,00.html http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1926786,00.asp http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-micro15feb15,1,1816602.story http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/13871318.htm Microsoft set to launch ID management across multiple sites http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=5377 - - - - - - - - - - RSA: Network security is the key to keeping VoIP secure Despite warnings that VoIP is vulnerable to a new breed of attacks, the biggest threat to it remains weaknesses in general network security, according to a vendor presentation at the RSA Security Conference 2006. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108717,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Staying Safe Online Guide BT has published a ten-point guide to help prevent internet users becoming victims of online identity theft. The guide appears in an internet security report published today, written in conjunction with government, Get Safe Online, Lloyds TSB, Metropolitan Police and Yahoo. The report found that 8 per cent of UK PC users have fallen victim to online fraud and 15 per cent know someone who has been targeted by an internet criminal. http://www.it-observer.com/news/5729/staying_safe_online_guide/ Identity Theft Victim Launches Identity Theft Services http://www.it-observer.com/news/5726/identity_theft_victim_launches_identity_theft_services/ Surfers still too careless with ID, says BT http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39156476,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft patch fails to install for some users Problem is with the installation process Microsoft Corp. has reported a problem with one of its security patches released yesterday that requires some users to take additional steps to ensure it installs properly. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108704,00.html Microsoft issues seven security patches http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,108700,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Government slammed for ID database 'shambles' Opponents of the ID card scheme say the government is confused about its goals, while the Home Office argues that it cannot be specific about an incremental process. The government said on Tuesday that it had no fixed plans for the form and structure of the database that will underpin its proposed ID card scheme, sparking more criticism from experts and critics of the plan. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39252530,00.htm ID card security questioned http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39252126,00.htm IT firms told to flock to ID card project http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39252519,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Sophos enters e-mail security appliance market Sophos PLC., which has long offered its antivirus and antispam software for resale with a number of e-mail security appliance makers' products, is now getting into the business itself. The company this week announced its first messaging security appliance, the ES4000. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,108707,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Topology Based Threat Visualization eIQnetworks Inc a global provider of comprehensive Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions for the enterprise, has announced it is setting its sights on exceeding the security information and compliance management demands of large, global enterprises, service providers and managed security service providers (MSSPs) with the debut of Enterprise Security Analyzer (ESA). http://www.it-observer.com/news/5728/topology_based_threat_visualization/ - - - - - - - - - - Busy for Information Security? Hearing and understanding the importance of complying with all the new and forthcoming laws and appropriately securing sensitive electronic information is one thing. Finding the time (and the money) to make the rubber meet the road well, thats quite another. http://www.it-observer.com/articles/1063/busy_information_security/ Morgan Fined for Failing to Retain E-Mails http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-wrap15.1feb15,1,5109448.story - - - - - - - - - - The hidden threat to the digital future Commentary--The distinction between business and e-business is gone. We are all e-businesses now. From the hot-dog cart on the corner to the multinational manufacturer, all businesses rely on the digital world for at least some part of their operation, from ordering parts to delivering products and communicating with customers and employees. The continued success of our economy depends on the enormous efficiencies made possible by the digital world. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6039999.html - - - - - - - - - - Daley wants security cameras at bars Surveillance cameras aimed at government buildings, train platforms and intersections here might soon be required at corner taverns and swanky nightclubs. Mayor Richard Daley wants to require bars open until 4 a.m. to install security cameras that can identify people entering and leaving the building. Other businesses open longer than 12 hours a day, including convenience stores, eventually would have to do the same. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2006-02-14-chicago-cameras_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 2000-2006, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.