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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2004 FTC Refuses No-Spam List Gartner Estimates U.S. Lost $2.4 Billion in 2003 to Online Fraud New Group Forming to Fight Online Identity Fraud DDoS Attack Affects Akamai Customers Mobile Phone Virus Sent to Antivirus Firms FTC REFUSES NO-SPAM LIST The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has concluded that a "do not e-mail list" along the lines of the telephone "do not call list" would be ineffective and might actually help spammers find legitimate e-mail addresses. The FTC was ordered to report on the feasibility of such a list when Congress passed the CAN-SPAM act in 2003. The report suggested instead the development of an effective sender authentication system, which would reduce or eliminate e-mail that uses spoofed return addresses. The FTC has said it will leave the decision on which standard to employ to the private sector, an issue still under discussion. New York Times, 16 June 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/technology/16spam.html GARTNER ESTIMATES U.S. LOST $2.4 BILLION IN 2003 TO ONLINE FRAUD A report from Gartner estimates that U.S. consumers lost $2.4 billion to online scammers and phishing attacks in 2003, with most fraud carried out by people obtaining access to account numbers and passwords. The most extensive methods used were phishing and key logging. Gartner surveyed 5,000 U.S. Internet users to reach an estimate of nearly 2 million victims of online fraud in 2003, with an average loss of $1,200 per victim. The fastest growing category of fraud was unauthorized access to checking accounts. The Register, 16 June 2004 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/16/phish_fraud_grows/ NEW GROUP FORMING TO FIGHT ONLINE IDENTITY FRAUD More than a dozen major companies are forming the Trusted Electronic Communications Forum (TECF) to eliminate phishing and spoofing threats to e-mail and e-commerce. Participants include AT&T Wireless Services, IBM, Best Buy, and Fidelity Investments. The companies have publicized their concern about virtual threats that have slowed the progress of Internet communications and damaged customers' trust in using the Internet for commerce. The threats identified include spoofing, phishing, and identity fraud. The TECF will focus on standardizing technologies, techniques, and best practices to fight these threats and other forms of cybercrime. Trusted Electronic Communications Forum, 16 June 2004 http://www.tecf.org/pr/TECF_Launch_F.doc DDOS ATTACK AFFECTS AKAMAI CUSTOMERS Akamai Technologies was apparently the target of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that slowed traffic across the Internet early on June 15. Akamai hosts Web content for other businesses and is reportedly the largest such service provider, handling 15 percent of Internet traffic. According to reports, the company's major DNS customers, including MSN.com, Microsoft.com, and Yahoo.com, saw severe slowdowns on their Web sites, making them nearly inaccessible for several hours until service was restored. eWeek, 15 June 2004 http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1612740,00.asp MOBILE PHONE VIRUS SENT TO ANTIVIRUS FIRMS A worm spread by mobile phones seems to be the first computer virus of its type. The worm was sent directly to antivirus firms, and no infections have been reported. Antivirus firms consider it harmless, more a proof-of-concept effort than a serious attempt to infect mobile phones. Some security experts are concerned that a more malicious virus will appear within the next few months and recommend that mobile phone users download a firewall onto their handsets. Others doubt a glut of mobile phone viruses will appear in the near future, pointing out that virus writers have not seriously targeted handheld devices despite the debut four years ago of the first virus written for a Palm device. BBC, 16 June 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3809855.stm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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