Category: Cybercrime

In a First Amendment case with implications for everything from neighborhood e-mail lists to national newspapers, an Eastern Shore businessman argued to Maryland’s highest court yesterday that the host of an online forum should be forced to reveal the identities of people who posted allegedly defamatory comments.It is the first time the Maryland Court of Appeals has confronted the question of online anonymity, an issue that has surfaced in state and federal courts over the past few years as blogs and other online forums have increasingly become part of the national discourse.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803405.htmlUS court tackles online anonymity
Be careful the next time you engage in an Internet flame war: it could land you in court.The Maryland Court of Appeals is taking up a case this week that could have major implications for Internet users’ ability to anonymously post their opinions on the Web. The case revolves around Zebulon Brodie, a Maryland businessman who is alleging that he has been defamed by anonymous Internet users who posted messages on a Web site owned by Independent Newspapers, a community newspaper company that owns local papers in Arizona, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.
http://computerworld.com.au/article/270367/
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/270367/

Christmas shoppers are being warned to protect themselves from internet scammers this festive season.The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) say half of all Australians buy or sell goods or services online.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2441587.htm

Cybercriminals are adapting their tactics to target people worried about their finances and job security during the financial crisis, experts have warned.Conmen are sending out so-called “phishing” emails purporting to be from struggling banks, and setting up fake CV websites, in order to lure web users into giving up personal information which can then be used for identity fraud.The looming recession is also leaving people more susceptible to internet get-rich quick scams, according to the report by McAfee, the online security experts.
www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/3685492/Cyber-criminals-adapt-tactics-for-financial-crisis.htmlRussia and China accused of harbouring cybercriminals
Russia and China are protecting gangs of criminals engaged in cybercrimes such as internet fraud, blackmail and money laundering, a study says today.The annual Virtual Criminology Report, which draws on interviews with senior staff at organisations such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the United Nations and the FBI, found that a number of countries were providing “political cover” for criminals against attempts at prosecution by other nations.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5312323.eceIneffective law enforcement, bad economy fueling cybercrime
Cybercriminals operating worldwide are benefitting from ineffective law enforcement and a growing economic recession that could make jittery people more susceptible to cybercrime scams.So concludes security firm McAfee in its new report, “Virtual Criminology Report — Cybercrime vs. Cyberlaw.” published Tuesday. The report pulls together the opinions of about two dozen legal experts, academic researchers and security-response professionals working as far afield as Britain, continental Europe, the Baltic countries, Brazil, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and North America.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/120808-cybercrime.htmlReport: Cybercrime is Winning the Battle Over Cyberlaw
Law enforcement agencies worldwide are losing the battle against cyber crime at a time when criminals are increasingly using the global economic downturn to make headway in recruiting more computers and computer users to further illegal online activities, a scathing new report from security vendor McAfee concludes.McAfee’s annual “Virtual Criminology Report” (PDF) notes that the number of compromised PCs used for blasting out spam and facilitating a host of online scams has quadrupled in the last quarter of 2008 alone, creating armies of spam “zombies” capable of flooding the Internet with more than 100 billion spam messages daily.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/12/report_cybercrime_is_winning_t.html

A Congressional oversight panel plans to ask the National Security Agency to start an investigation into new evidence that the agency illegally wiretapped a Muslim scholar in Northern Virginia and concealed the eavesdropping during a 2005 trial in which the scholar was convicted on terrorism charges.Representative Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, said in an interview that he planned to ask the inspector general of the N.S.A. to open what would be the first formal investigation by the agency into whether its eavesdropping program had improperly interfered with an American’s right to a fair trial.
http://nytimes.com/2008/12/08/washington/08nsa.html

An Indian Court has been called to ban Google Earth amid suggestions the online satellite imaging was used to help plan the terror attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai last month.A petition entered at the Bombay High Court alleges that the Google Earth service, “aids terrorists in plotting attacks.” Advocate Amit Karkhanis has urged the court to direct Google to blur images of sensitive areas in the country until the case is decided.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article5311241.ece

Microsoft offered Monday to abide by a European privacy panel’s request that it reduce the length of time it kept records of Web searches if its rivals, Yahoo and Google, did the same.Google and Yahoo, in separate statements, said that for now they were unwilling to change their policies.
http://nytimes.com/2008/12/09/technology/internet/09privacy.html

[IDG] The U.S. government should overhaul its approach to cybersecurity by imposing sweeping new regulations on businesses and creating a centralized cybersecurity office in the White House, an outside group of experts recommended today.The White House office is needed because the Department of Homeland Security isn’t equipped to protect the federal government against cyberattacks, according to a report issued by a cybersecurity commission that was set up last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Many members of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency “felt that leaving any cyber function at DHS would doom that function to failure,” according to the report.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9122903
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/120808-csis-releases-government-cybersecurity.htmlPanel Presses to Bolster Security in Cyberspace
License plates may be coming to cyberspace.”Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency,” a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (pdf)A government and technology industry panel on cyber-security is recommending that the federal government end its reliance on passwords and enforce what the industry describes as “strong authentication.”Such an approach would probably mean that all government computer users would have to hold a device to gain access to a network computer or online service. The commission is also encouraging all nongovernmental commercial services use such a device.
http://nytimes.com/2008/12/09/technology/09security.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/12/08/technology/09security.phpCybersecurity report offers Obama assorted recommendations
A congressionally sponsored study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made public on Monday, recommends everything from the creation of a the National Office for Cyberspace outside the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to maintaining “sufficient manufacturing capabilities” at home to supply components and software that is not dependent on a global supply chain.On the issue of the US Department of Homeland Security and maintaining cybersecurity, the comprehensive 64-page report, titled Securing Cyberspace in the 44th Presidency, was emphatic.
www.infoworld.com/article/08/12/08/Cyberspace-report-offers-Obama-someo-far-reaching-recommendations_1.html
http://computerworld.com.au/article/270147/Commision: White House Should Take Lead In Cybersecurity
President-elect Barack Obama should take leadership of the U.S. cybersecurity effort, tie together the disparate federal initiatives, and expand regulation of cyberspace, according to recommendations issued today by the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency.The Commission was formed in August 2007 — long before the election — and has been studying the problem under the auspices of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for more than a year. Co-chaired by U.S. Reps. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and Michael McCaul (D-Texas), it was formed expressly by members of Congress to study the U.S. cybersecurity problem and make recommendations to the next president on how to proceed.
http://www.darkreading.com/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212300241Panel says White House should oversee cybersecurity efforts
The White House, not the Office of Management and Budget or the Homeland Security Department, should take the lead role in managing the government’s cybersecurity program, according a report for the Obama administration released by a nonpartisan cybersecurity commission Monday.By placing the primary responsibility for cybersecurity in the White House, federal agencies will take a comprehensive strategy more seriously, said Jim Lewis, the program manager for the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, who released the report.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081208_4713.phpU.S. Losing Cyberspace Security Battle
A new cybersecurity report released on Monday by the Center for Strategic & International Studies Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency warns that America is losing the battle to protect cyberspace.The CSIS report, “Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency,” states that cybersecurity “is a strategic issue on par with weapons of mass destruction and global jihad” and that it “can no longer be relegated to information technology offices and chief information officers.”
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212300200CNET News Daily Podcast: Behind DHS’ failing grade on cybersecurity
A nonpartisan report on cybersecurity recommends that President-elect Barack Obama create an office in the White House focused on cyberspace which would be headed by an assistant to the president. But the report offers a worried look at the current state of the nation’s cyberdefenses, describing the challenge as one of the most urgent national security problems facing the new administration. We check in with CNET News’ Stephanie Condon to find out more.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11424_3-10118203-90.html

[IDG] The e-mail looks important: “National 1st Credit Union temporarily suspended your account. Reason: Billing failure.” Further down, it tells you to call this number to reactivate: 201-621-5813.The e-mail is a scam, sent by criminals who are trying to trick you into divulging sensitive information such as your bank account number and password. But in this case, victims have caught a break. Instead of reaching scammers, people who dial this number get a message from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
http://computerworld.com.au/article/270012/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/120608-ftc-has-a-message-for.html
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/270012/

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to bolster Australia’s cyberdefenses to fend off the threat posed by hackers.Rudd last week kicked off his first National Security Statement by acknowledging, amongst other things, the threat posed to the country by hackers and terrorists’ access to “readily available” technology.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Hacker-threat-Rudd-promises-action/0,130061744,339293665,00.htm
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,62049094,00.htm

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged to halt the extradition to the US of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in the US of breaking into military computers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7768394.stm