[iwar] [NewsBits] NewsBits - 01/25/02 (fwd)

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2002-01-27 17:47:53
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 17:47:53 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [iwar] [NewsBits] NewsBits - 01/25/02 (fwd)
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SEC uses fake site to warn investors
In a twist on recent investment hoaxes, the Securities
and Exchange Commission on Friday issued a news release
from a nonexistent company in an elaborate effort to
educate investors on the dangers of casual investing.
According to the fake release, biological defense
systems manufacturer McWhortle Enterprises will go
public Jan. 30, 2002. The statement was issued by
the SEC via PRNewswire, which disseminates
financial news releases.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-823578.html

Turning Macs on Thievery
Every year about 400,000 computers are stolen in the
United States. Only 3 percent are ever recovered. But
after his sister's iMac was taken during a burglary,
a Houston man was able to get it back using remote-
control software, expert help from friends on the Net,
a large dose of luck and some incredible naivet=E9 on
the thief's part.
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50025,00.html

OMB offers dim view of security
The Office of Management and Budget's report on the
first mandated agency security assessments supports
the poor view of federal security outlined by auditors
over the past few years, a top OMB official said
Jan. 24. The OMB report will be submitted to Congress
next month with President Bush's fiscal 2003 budget.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0121/web-gisra-01-25-02.asp

White House Cybersecurity 'Strategy' Due In June
The White House will avoid calling for legislative
edicts when it rolls out its sweeping national
cybersecurity "strategy" later this year, a senior
Bush administration official said today. Speaking
at a technology conference here, White House Director
of Critical Infrastructure Protection Paul Kurtz said
that the cybersecurity strategy which is due out June
- would include extensive input from private-sector
contributors.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173967.html

White House official outlines cybersecurity initiatives
A key White House official on Friday outlined the Bush
administration's strategy for protecting the national
critical infrastructure, including expanding partnerships
with the private sector and encouraging information
sharing among companies to avoid cyberattacks.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/012502td1.htm

MP slams government e-security
UK government computer systems have been targeted by
hackers at least 85 times in the last five years, and
over half of the attacks were made on the Ministry of
Defence (MoD). MoD systems were hacked at least 48
times in that period, and 12 times in 2001. The Lord
Chancellor's Department has confirmed evidence of 19
hacking incidents in the last five years, three by
outsiders and 16 by internal staff.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128637

DMA To Adopt New Rules On 'Spam,' Privacy Policies
The Direct Marketing Association next week is expected
to announce sweeping changes to its policy on
unsolicited bulk e-mail =96 or "spam," which would require
the expulsion of member companies that do not adhere to
the group=92s new standards. The DMA voted last weekend to
adopt the new standards, which include strict conditions
under which marketers will be allowed to send e-mail
solicitations.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173968.html

Police forces rapped over data
The Information Commission has warned that it will take
action against police forces if they don't improve the
quality of data in the Police National Computer. A report
by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies into the
quality of data on the PNC has revealed massive delays
in adding data about convictions to the system. PNC data
will underpin the Criminal Records Bureau, set up to help
employers identify offenders such as paedophiles trying
to get work with children. A delay in adding information
to the PNC means that previous offenders may go undetected.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128642

Hackers' mirror shattered
The hacker community received a blow today when deface-
ment mirror Safemode.org closed its doors. Safemode was
the last major site to record the web pages of the rich
and famous after they had been defaced by hackers and
before they were taken down and repaired. Last May the
well known Attrition.org shut down its defacement mirror,
and Alldas.de has been up and down in recent months
following a bombardment of denial of service attacks
effectively leaving Safemode as the only major
defacement mirror.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1128648

FedCIRC preps free security tools
Working with its second year of appropriated funding,
the Federal Computer Incident Response Center is
preparing a range of free security tools for agencies
over the next year, a federal cybersecurity official
said Jan. 23. Within the next two weeks, vendors will
finish submitting proposals for an automatic patch
dissemination system, which is intended to make it
easier for security managers to handle the abundance
of security patches available for commercial software,
said Sallie McDonald, assistant commissioner for
information assurance and critical infrastructure
protection at the General Services Administration's
Federal Technology Service.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0121/web-circ-01-25-02.asp

Canadian Authorities Condemn 'Hate-And-Run' Webmaster
In what was billed as the first-ever human rights
complaint involving a "hate" site on the Internet,
Canadian authorities have ordered a Web ban on the
country's most notorious Holocaust denier. But the
ruling last week by the Canadian Human Rights
Commission (CHRC) may be more symbolic than effective,
since Germany-born Ernst Zundel moved from Canada to
the U.S. after complaints over his Zundelsite.org Web
site were first filed nearly six years ago.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173972.html

Germany evicts US Nazi propagandist from Web sites
Germany successfully evicted on Friday a U.S.cyber-
squatter from Web sites carrying the names of German
government ministries which then directed surfers to
banned neo-Nazi material. The Federal Republic of
Germany had brought a case against Nebraska-based
firm RJG Engineering Inc after the latter registered
verfassungsschutz.org and bundesinnenministerium.com,
.net and .org, which translate as ''Office for the
Defense of the Constitution'' and ``Ministry of the
Interior'' in English.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1743111l.htm
http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-823516.html

Network Solutions mishandled sex.com domain, owner says
VeriSign's Network Solutions unit wrongly assigned the
sex.com Internet address to a man claiming to work for
the Web site and should contribute to a $65 million
award in the case, the site's owner said in papers
filed with a federal appeals court. A U.S. judge in
San Jose has ruled that Network Solutions, which is
the largest registrar of Internet domain names, is
immune from civil suits arising from the mishandling
of the address.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/030704.htm
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-823122.html

Responsible use urged on facial scans
It may be comforting to think that facial-recognition
cameras are scanning faces in airports, ever alert for
terrorists, and watching over shopping centers to spot
criminals. But what if the cameras also start checking
on you? That possibility is increasing as law enforcement
and safety agencies =97 as well as the general public =97
embrace surveillance technology as a way to increase
security. Furthermore, little consideration has been
given to the need for legal restrictions on how
surveillance technology can be used, a privacy
expert warns.
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0121/web-bio-01-25-02.asp

Is biometric use by feds premature?
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17834-1.html

At CIA's In-Q-Tel, mundane tech better than Bond
When it comes to tapping new technologies for the CIA,
the mundane can have more value than the James Bond
model, Gilman Louie, chief executive officer of In-Q-Tel,
the agency's investment arm, said Thursday. In-Q-Tel --
where the Q stands for the fictional Bond's gadget master
is a venture capital firm started by the CIA in late 1999
to find new technologies being developed in the private
sector to keep the agency up to speed on innovation.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/023248.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/01/25/cia.reut/index.html

Kidnapped? GPS to the Rescue
Foreign executives and other individuals who are
frequent kidnapping targets in Latin America will
soon be able to use implantable ID chips and personal
GPS devices in an attempt to thwart their abductors.
Applied Digital Solutions announced Thursday it had
reached an agreement with a distributor to sell its
VeriChip and Digital Angel products in three South
American countries.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50004,00.html

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Next message: Fred Cohen: "[iwar] Posse Cumatatis!?!? (sp)"
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