[iwar] Historical posting
From: Fred Cohen
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Mon, Jan 1, 1999
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Date: Mon, Jan 1, 1999
From: Fred Cohen
Reply-To: iwar@egroups.com
Subject: [iwar] Historical posting
Legit hackers roam cyberspace for security
So you thought hackers were nerds in dark rooms travelling in
cyberspace to attack companies' computer systems or steal data.
Think again. A new breed of hackers licensed to hack legally
into companies around the world, ranging from banks in Israel
and Britain to e-commerce companies in Spain, and check their
systems' security, is at work in Sweden. The Stockholm-based
private company Defcom, set up in April last year, is a pioneer
in a shadowy business that may seem more like a scene from one
of legendary American science fiction author William Gibson's
novels than reality.
http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/069448.htm
Expert highlights threat of journalist hackers
Hacks get into hacking... er not ZDNet hacks...
A Linux security expert says there is evidence that unscrupulous
journalists have turned to hacking computer systems in order to
win exclusive news stories. At a tutorial on computer security at
the LinuxWorld Expo in New York, this week Michael H. Warfield said
that he and fellow researchers at Internet Security Systems (ISS)
believe members of the press are part of a growing lesser-known
threat to modern computer security.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/4/ns-13127.html
Deutch controversy raises security questions for Internet users
Former CIA Director John Deutch's alleged use of a home computer to
store classified materials has sparked a security scare in the U.S.
intelligence community and has also pointed out a problem many
Internet users are not aware of. The minute anyone logs onto the
Internet, financial records and other personal information stored
on a home computer are an open book to any cyber-thief. Security
experts say Deutch would be a much bigger target than the average
person. "There are known foreign intelligence agents operating on
the Internet today ... and they are actively seeking U.S. intelligence
on the Internet," said Daniel Verton of Federal Computer Week.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/02/04/pc.security/index.html
CyberPeepers from Korean Sites Peek at U.S. Networks
In the past two weeks, a large number of United States Internet
sites have reported an on-slaught of network probes or scans from
the Republic of Korea. Security engineers and systems administrators
have been spending a lot of time in the last few weeks asking each
other, "Why are we seeing so many scans from Korea." and, "Who is
scanning for what?" There have been numerous speculations made about
all the ubiquitous Korean network probes.
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/news_analysis/02-00/NA_ST_LPT_02_04_00_1.htm
Security experts warn of potential Web site dangers
The Federal Computer Incident Response Capability team is telling
agencies to be wary of malicious code surreptitiously embedded in
scripting language that could activate when a user visits a Web site,
or downloads or provides data online. An advisory said hackers could
use such code to gain access to data on a Web server or to information
provided by visitors to a site. FedCIRC said agencies should give the
alert a high priority because of the government's increased reliance
on the Web as a communications medium. "Users may unintentionally
execute scripts written by an attacker when they follow untrusted links
in Web pages, mail messages or newsgroups," the advisory said. "Because
the malicious scripts are executed in a context that appears to have
originated from the targeted site, the attacker has full access to the
document retrieved."
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/1253-1.html
Hacking hazards come with Web scripting territory
Heard about a Web security issue lately? Chances are scripting was part
of the problem. If you've surfed the Web recently, you've almost certainly
seen scripts at work performing some of the most common tasks of today's
Web pages, from helping users search pages to scrolling text across the
screen and launching new windows. In the wake of a government advisory
about a newly recognized Web scripting security threat, software providers
fear scripting is getting a bum rap despite security protections built into
the top scripting implementations. Web scripting is the method most sites
use to create moving parts. Scripting languages such as JavaScript--invented
in 1995 by Brendan Eich at Netscape, now a division of America Online--bring
to the Web the kind of features that at the dawn of the Web could be found
only on the computer desktop, features that let users interact with sites
without calling up a new page from the server.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1542676.html
U.S. regulators float tough financial privacy rules
U.S. regulators took a tough line Thursday on privacy protection for
personal financial information included in a historic overhaul of
Depression-era U.S. banking laws passed by Congress last year.
The legislation requires financial firms to disclose their policies
on collecting, using and protecting customer information. They also
have to give customers the ability to block the transfer of any
non-public personal information to unaffiliated third parties, such
as marketing firms. The initial rules proposed by the Federal Reserve
and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Thursday embody a fairly
broad reading of those responsibilities, creating some potential
headaches for the financial industry.
http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/070169.htm
Another Legal Defeat for Victim of Online Hoax
Kenneth M. Zeran, a low-key but determined Seattle resident whose
name will be forever linked to one of the seminal cases in Internet
law, has been handed another defeat in his five-year legal battle to
seek redress for an online hoax. Last week, a three-judge panel of
the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver
rejected all of Zeran's claims against the owner of a radio station
which, Zeran contended, recklessly publicized a bizarre cyberspace
prank against him. The decision appears to mark the final chapter in
the Zeran saga, legal experts said. It also illustrates a hard fact
of life: Sometimes there is no legal remedy for those who suffer wrongs.
(NY Times Article, free registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/cyber/cyberlaw/04law.html
FC