Online Security, a global provider of computer forensics and information technology risk mitigation since 1997   Original Source:    http://www.newsbits.net June 11, 2002 - News Author:  Deputy Ron Levine June 11, 2002 Summit Addresses Threats to Cyberspace Cooperation Urged Between Government, Business to Protect Information Networks. Political, industry and academic leaders yesterday stressed the need for cooperation in order to prevent domestic and international attacks on the nation's information networks. "The threats to cyberspace, and there are many, cannot be handled only by the military or the government," said Richard A. Clarke, special adviser to the president for cyberspace security. "All of us own a piece of cyberspace, so all of us must act to secure cyberspace." www.washingtonpost.com ------------------ White House Stressing Unorthodox in IT Security Fight www.washingtonpost.com ------------------ Hiding (and Seeking) Messages on the Web Al Qaeda uses the Web as a communications network. One day last October, an intelligence-community analyst noticed something strange about a radical Islamist Web site she had been monitoring for several months. A previously open, innocuous part of the site was suddenly blocked. She checked her notes, found the old address for the link and typed it in—to find an otherwise empty page commanding in Arabic, MISSIONARIES ATTACK! www.msnbc.com ------------------ Pirates Sail the Seven Seas Global software piracy increased for the second straight year in 2001 due to lax laws and the growing availability of bootlegged software on the Internet, watchdog group Business Software Alliance said. Some telling statistics, it said, were a loss of nearly $11 billion in 2001 and that 40 percent of all new software installed by businesses last year was obtained on the black market, up from 37 percent in 2000. www.wired.com ------------------ Online auctions are the newest place to hawk stolen goods Sharon Cooney couldn't have been happier with the new WinBook laptop she had bought on eBay until she learned it was stolen property. Today, the Marin County woman is out $1,075, the victim of a Maryland seller who allegedly unloaded $350,000 in hot goods through eBay. www.siliconvalley.com ------------------ Ebay Australia battles shonky sellers www.zdnet.com ------------------ 'Massive abuse' of privacy feared Careful, someone might be watching. Plans to increase the number of organisations that can look at records of what you do online could lead to widespread abuse of personal information, warn experts. The UK Government this week unveiled a draft list of organisations that will be given the right to request information about the web, telephone and fax lives of British citizens under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. news.bbc.co.uk www.theregister.co.uk ------------------ Uncle Sam's Info-Tech Crisis Upgrading agencies' info-handling and data-mining capabilities will be costly. Not doing so could exact an even more horrific price. In the wake of September 11, the federal government's technology infrastructure is not only backward but may also be downright dangerous. Any doubts about that were cleared up by with FBI Director Robert Mueller's recent testimony before the Senate. www.businessweek.com ------------------ GAO faults Army Corps security The Army Corps of Engineers has made great strides in managing its computer systems since a scathing 1999 review by the General Accounting Office, but the agency still has numerous security shortcomings, according to a new GAO report. "Information Security: Corps of Engineers Making Improvements, but Weaknesses Continue," released une 10, details a number of computer security issues that the Army Corps must address. www.fcw.com ------------------ Aussie Gets Into Pickle With Spam Joey McNicol hates spam. He just never thought he'd be sued for complaining about it. But in what's being touted as a world first, McNicol is being sued by an alleged spammer after he complained online. The usual porn, financial reports and offers of low mortgage rates have washed up in McNicol's inbox, but it was when unsolicited e-mail appeared to be from an Australian company that McNicol became mad as hell. www.wired.com ------------------ EU: Microsoft under spotlight over data privacy The European Union is examining charges that Microsoft's .NET Passport system breaks EU rules on data privacy, a European Commission official said on Tuesday. The official said he expected member states to make a formal announcement after July 1. www.siliconvalley.com zdnet.com zdnet.com news.zdnet.co.uk news.com www.msnbc.com www.usatoday.com ------------------ Report Flays Open-Source Licenses www.wired.com www.nandotimes.com ------------------ FHWA awards a tech services pact The Federal Highway Administration has awarded a 10-year, $175 million contract to Indus Corp. to secure the agency’s databases. Under the Federal Highway Administration Information Technology Support Services contract, Indus will also help the agency with its enterprise architecture, network infrastructure, help desk, document management and telecommunications services. www.gcn.com ------------------ Cisco Beefs Up Network Security Gartner's Orans told the E-Commerce Times that the expects Cisco's competitors to play catch-up with their own security enhancements -- a net positive for the entire industry. Cisco Systems has taken another step toward moving intelligent services from the center to the edge of mid-size networks by beefing up security features of its Cisco Catalyst switching portfolio. www.newsfactor.com ------------------ The Solution to Spam - Reverse Filtering Dynamic modification of rules is simple for people but complex for machines; indeed, it is so complex that the cost of sending spam would skyrocket, eliminating the problem. What you are about to read is a solution to spam that requires no re-engineering of e-mail, the Web or any other systems. It could be set up to guarantee spam blocking using simple, existing technologies. I've dealt with corporate intranets in the past, which have completely blocked e-mail from the outside unless one is on an approved list. Contact must always go through the network administration. www.newsfactor.com ------------------ 'Sniffer dog' site--wireless killer app? The controversial www.snifferdogalert.com Web site is in the process of upgrading to a larger server following high traffic loads which have frequently knocked its services off air. The site, which is operated by NSW Council for Civil Liberties and Redfern Legal Centre, sends registered members SMS messages to warn them where police are patrolling drug detection dogs. It hit the headlines last month, sparking an outcry from NSW Police Minister Michael Costa who called for the site to be taken down. zdnet.com ------------------ Super-Secure Linux, Inch by Inch - Part 1 of a 3 part series. Super-secure additions to the Linux operating system are inching closer to the mainstream. Developers have turned Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), a prototype created in part by the National Security Agency, into a module that operates almost seamlessly on the Linux operating system. "Even though SELinux wasn't intended as a complete secure system, we knew that as released it could make a substantial impact to the security of systems that incorporated it," says Grant Wagner, technical director for NSA's Secure Systems Research Office. www.wired.com ------------------ Assessing Internet Security Risk, Part One: What is Risk Assessment? The Internet, like the Wild West of old, is an uncharted new world, full of fresh and exciting opportunities. However, like the Wild West, the Internet is also fraught with new threats and obstacles; dangers the average businessman and home user hasn't even begun to understand. But I don’t have to tell you this. You’ve heard that exact speech at just about every single security conference or seminar you’ve ever attended, usually accompanied by a veritable array of slides and graphs demonstrating exactly how serious the threat is and how many millions of dollars your company stands to loose. The “death toll” statistic are then almost always followed by a sales pitch for some or other product that’s supposed to make it all go away. Yeah right. online.securityfocus.com ------------------ 'Grid' Computers to Simulate Terror Scenarios Grid computing lets users plug into processing power on the Internet in the same way electrical power is drawn from the electricity grid. Researchers say a futuristic computing technology will help government agencies prepare for worst-case scenarios involving terrorist attacks. The need for such a tool gained urgency Monday after U.S. authorities said they had captured an al-Qaida operative allegedly planning an attack on the United States with a radioactive "dirty bomb." www.newsfactor.com ------------------ Site points out potential nuclear waste dumps www.usatoday.com *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: www.newsbits.net *********************************************************** 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 2000-2002, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA. _____________________________________________________________________ Deputy Ron Levine #9251 | Pager (888)399-7369 Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office | FAX (408)283-0562 55 W. Younger Avenue | ICQ#:15159602 AIM:RonLevine San Jose, CA 95110-1721 | mailto:rlevine@ix.netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Web Site at http://www.sccsheriff.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------