Reply-To: iwar@egroups.com
Subject: [iwar] Historical posting
Is it a secret if nobody says Shhh... An engineer at a Chinese government-run aircraft maker has been imprisoned for posting information about one of China's newest fighter planes on the Internet, a human rights group said today. http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/010299.htm
Cyberterrror a waste of time (Commentary)
How do you keep a concept like our perennially impending "Electronic Pearl Harbor" fresh and exciting a decade after its introduction? By tying it in to Y2K, of course. FBI cybercop Michael Vatis recently warned that terrorists posing as Y2K programmers may be planting trapdoors and logic bombs in corporate software -- a theory that's been swimming around the media pool for a few months now. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2353034,00.html
Government said to have foiled US "espionage attempt via computers" BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 10/13/99; Source: 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat'web site, London, in Arabic, 10/11/99 Text of report by London-based newspaper 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat' web site on 11th October
Iraqi official sources have told 'Al-Sharq al-Awsat'that government scientific and security organs in Baghdad have succeeded in foiling a big US espionage attempt via computers shipped by contracting companies to Iraq. The sources said: The first shipment of 450 computers, which arrived in Iraq through these companies, were to have been installed in various government ministries. It appears, however, that a report, which was published in the local press some months ago, raised suspicions about a certain government department as the main beneficiary from the deal. The Defence Ministry's computer department had also planned to purchase 180 of these most sophisticated personal computers through local importers.
The official sources added: Baghdad has now succeeded in setting up a scientific team with special equipment for checking computers that are ordered by government establishments. A special department in the Iraqi Interior Ministry also carries out regular checks on all systems and units. Moreover, a special team consisting of experts from this department, as well as the National Computer Centre and the Defence Ministry's computer department, has completed its work on the adoption of a special system for discovering any attempt to hack into computers in government departments, some of which have already begun linking their equipment to their head offices through a local area network. The Iraqi official sources believe that "the results of this department's work in protecting national security will lead to its enhancement by increasing its personnel, especially in the field of development and research." An Iraqi study has recommended producing "counter-offensive programmes to the US war against Iraq." Another study published in an Iraqi periodical - which is unprecedented in a country like Iraq - reveals that "an attempt to spy on Iraq through special chips that were built into equipment, including military ones, which Iraq bought from west European countries, was foiled" . Iraqi President Saddam Husayn had pledged earlier to support the computer software industry to allow the establishment of a special base for this industry.
Internet Overhaul Alarms Privacy Advocates
The group in charge of overhauling the Internet is alarming privacy advocates with a plan that will not only make it easier to deliver information, but make it easier to track as well. The Internet Engineering Task Force -- the international body that sets standards for cyberspace -- is mulling a draft proposal that would include creating special Internet protocol numbers -- or electronic fingerprints -- that could be inserted into the billions of packets of information tossed daily into cyberspace. http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/1999/10/13/privacy1013_01.html?s=emil
Senator: Agencies not ready for millennium cyberterrorism Federal agencies are ready for Y2K disruptions, but are not prepared to deal with the threat of millennium cyberterrorism, Sen. Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah, concluded Thursday at a "virtual hearing" on Year 2000-related emergencies. While agencies have worked hard to prepare for more common Y2K threats, such as disruption of essential services, they have not developed a long-term strategy addressing cyberterrorism and information warfare, Bennett said. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1099/100899k2.htm
Melissa spawns deadly offspring
The Melissa virus continues to be the virus that will not die, as two new, much more destructive Melissa variants have been discovered and are spreading across the world via e-mail. As predicted by security experts when the original Melissa virus outbreak occurred in March of this year, virus writers have co-opted Melissa's code to create similar but different viruses which have been loosed upon networks. The latest variants, Melissa.U and Melissa.V, propagate themselves in a similar fashion to the original Melissa, but now carry a potentially disastrous payload, according to anti-virus security vendor Network Associates. http://www.networkworld.com/news/1999/1014moreviruses.html
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G8 To Meet Next Week On Cybercrime
The G8 group of nations, which represents the world's industrialized countries, will hold a ministerial meeting next week in Moscow to take up the issue of crime, and especially cybercrime, a German magazine said. The G8 Ministerial Meeting on Crime will take place Oct. 18-19, a note at the official G8 Web site, at http://www.g7.utoronto.ca , said. Details on the meeting were not immediately available. http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/99/137817.html
Information Warfare Resources
The following technical resources will help you fight big brother if you have the inclination. Here you will find some very serious resources on computer hacking, computer viruses and cryptography. This is dangerous stuff if you don't know what you're doing, so be careful! http://www.logoplex.com/resources/ameagle/infowar.html
Islamic Crackers Take Over Pakistan Government Website Crackers have hit a Pakistan Government website[http://www.punjab.gov.pk/], replacing the site's front page with a message that reads "After all Hero's of KARGIL taken over the charge from Brainless & hairless Stupids." Seemingly in support of the military takeover in Pakistan, the crack is signed by the "Islamic group of Hackers". Due to the situation in Pakistan,
7am.com has found it impossible to raise comment from anyone related to the
site or its administration.
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It's getting a bit more interesting out there... Any comments from the crowd?
FC