_________________________________________________________________ London, Monday, May 27, 2002 _________________________________________________________________
INFOCON News _________________________________________________________________ IWS - The Information Warfare Site http://www.iwar.org.uk _________________________________________________________________ IWS Sponsor National Center for Manufacturing Sciences http://www.ncms.org host of the InfraGard Manufacturing Industry Association http://trust.ncms.org _________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------- [News Index] ---------------------------------------------------- [1] Face recognition kit fails in Fla airport [2] Qwest Glitch Exposes Customer Data [3] Navy Domain Hijacked By German Pornography Site [4] Football e-mails could hide viruses [5] Hackers gain entry to key state database [6] State CIOs aid White House in homeland security plan [7] Experian, Ford Still Unsure How Hacker Stole 13,000 Credit Reports [8] DARPA developing killer tech [9] Intrusion-detection net revived [10] Waiting for Wi-Fi: Europeans trail U.S. in wireless Net hubs [11] EU probes Microsoft over privacy law [12] Tips from a cyberterrorism expert [13] Regents OK A&M security, computer centers [14] (UK) Government plans national strategy to fight cybercrime [15] (South Korea) Daum Files Suit Against Spammers [16] Spammers threaten UK Net user [17] Senate OKs stripped-down version of bioterrorism bill _________________________________________________________________ News _________________________________________________________________ [1] Face recognition kit fails in Fla airport By Thomas C Greene in Washington Posted: 27/05/2002 at 08:02 GMT Palm Beach International Airport security workers would be racking up heaps of overtime pay dealing with more than fifty false positives daily if their bosses were to install Visionics' terror-busting face recognition gear, the airport administrators have concluded. The kit had been installed free of charge for a trial run. The airport, not surprisingly, decided to test it on volunteers who work there over four weeks. Using fifteen volunteers and a data base of 250 snapshots, Palm Beach County administrators enjoyed a success rate of less than fifty per cent. That is, more than half the people the kit should have flagged slipped past undetected. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/25444.html Biometric sensors beaten senseless in tests http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/25400.html The ACLU obtained a copy of the Palm Beach report and has posted it here. http://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy/FaceRec_data.pdf ---------------------------------------------------- [2] Qwest Glitch Exposes Customer Data Critics say the phone company took too long to close a hole that left some long-distance phone bills and subscriber credit card numbers accessable to anyone. By Kevin Poulsen, May 23 2002 3:30PM Telecom giant Qwest Communications acknowledged Thursday that a glitch in its Web-based paperless billing system left some long-distance customer records exposed for over a week. Qwest offers long-distance customers a price break if they forgo printed statements and pay their bills with a credit card though the company's Web site. Subscribers who avail themselves of the service are offered a choice of logging in with a phone number and calling card PIN, or a user-specified name and password. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/431 ---------------------------------------------------- [3] Navy Domain Hijacked By German Pornography Site By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes May 23 2002 3:59PM Due to a domain registration snafu, two Internet addresses used by the U.S. Navy for recruiting new sailors have recently been commandeered by other sites, including a pornography site. Since late April, visitors to NavyDallas.com, formerly the home page of the Navy's Dallas recruiting district, have been redirected to How-to-find-porn.com, a portal that features links to numerous hardcore pornography sites. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/434 ---------------------------------------------------- [4] Football e-mails could hide viruses Could David Beckham inspire the next virus attack? With the World Cup about to kick off, virus experts have warned computer users to be on their guard against infection. With millions of people using e-mail and the internet to keep up to date with the soccer action, anti-virus firm Sophos says screensavers, spreadsheets and electronic wall charts could prove ideal hiding places for viruses and worms. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2002000/2002928.stm ---------------------------------------------------- [5] Hackers gain entry to key state database Personnel files were breached last month for 265,000 workers Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, May 25, 2002 Computer hackers have cracked into the state's personnel database and gained access to financial information for all 265,000 state workers, including Governor Gray Davis, officials said Friday. The database, housed at state's Teale Data Center in Rancho Cordova, holds names, Social Security numbers, and payroll information for everyone from office workers to judges. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/25 /MN179392.DTL&type=tech ---------------------------------------------------- [6] State CIOs aid White House in homeland security plan By Liza Porteus, National Journal's Technology Daily State chief information officers are coalescing to help the White House Office of Homeland Security with technology-related components of the national homeland security strategy. Homeland Security CIO Steve Cooper this week asked the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) to designate some members to help his office decide the technology aspects of the strategy, which is expected to be released in July. NASCIO likely will name those CIOs next week. Cooper "wants to make sure that whatever blueprint Homeland Security puts out we're in line with," NASCIO President and Connecticut CIO Rock Regan told reporters Thursday. Regan said there is an "extraordinary relationship" between NASCIO, the White House and Congress on tech issues, particularly those addressing homeland security. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/052402td1.htm ---------------------------------------------------- [7] Experian, Ford Still Unsure How Hacker Stole 13,000 Credit Reports NEW YORK, May 28 (LendingIntelligence.com) - It is almost four months after hackers using at least one Ford Motor Credit Co. authorization code stole 13,000 consumers' credit reports from Experian and the companies still do not know exactly how the scam was pulled off - although neither is saying it was at fault for the security breach. The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to look into the purported theft. http://www.lendingintelligence.com/news.ez?viewStory=1123&Form.sess_id=84552 1234&Form.sess_key=1022430845 ---------------------------------------------------- [8] DARPA developing killer tech BY Dan Caterinicchia May 27, 2002 An office established last fall in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has added a key word to the traditional research area of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR): kill. Richard Wishner, director of DARPA's Information Exploitation Office (IXO), said his office is charged with developing technologies to find, precisely identify, track and kill targets. And it recently coined the phrase C4KISR (pronounced C4-Kisser), he said. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0527/web-darpa-05-27-02.asp ---------------------------------------------------- [9] Intrusion-detection net revived BY Diane Frank May 27, 2002 The General Services Administration and Carnegie Mellon University this fall will start testing a new technology to analyze and report on patterns in the cyber intrusion information gathered across government, an idea that was first floated and eventually sunk two years ago. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0527/news-net-05-27-02.asp ---------------------------------------------------- [10] Waiting for Wi-Fi: Europeans trail U.S. in wireless Net hubs Chris Oakes The International Herald Tribune Monday, May 27, 2002 PARIS Wi-Fi, a new breed of wireless service that can invisibly connect a mobile computer to the Internet in "hot spots" - public places like airports - has yet to gather steam in most of Europe. But industry analysts see the market gaining momentum by 2003 as telecom operators and start-up Internet service providers seize a low-cost opportunity to link up laptops on the go. http://www.iht.com/articles/58988.html ---------------------------------------------------- [11] EU probes Microsoft over privacy law 10:15 Sunday 26th May 2002 Reuters The European Commission has confirmed that it is investigating Microsoft's .Net Passport system The European Commission is checking whether Microsoft's system of collecting personal data from Internet users breaks privacy laws, compounding the software giant's antitrust probe headaches in Europe. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t272-s2110895,00.html ---------------------------------------------------- [12] Tips from a cyberterrorism expert By Stephen Pounds, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 15, 2002 FORT LAUDERDALE -- The enemy in the war on cyberterrorism is as likely to be a person tapping a keyboard in the next cubicle as he is a government-sponsored hacker or "hactivist" trying to make a political statement. "Do you know who the keyholders are to your computer system? Do you know the guy who changes out your software? I think not. You need to be be vigilant in checking them out," said Robert Wright, a computer scientist with the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center in Washington. http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/business_c31e1c45 c1c4d0ef10d0.html ---------------------------------------------------- [13] Regents OK A&M security, computer centers LAREDO (AP) - The creation of two centers focused on homeland security and cyberterrorism was approved Friday for Texas A&M University. The University System Board of Regents, meeting in Laredo, approved the school's request to establish the Integrative Center for Homeland Security and the Center for Information Assurance and Security. http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/052502/tex_regentsok.shtml ---------------------------------------------------- [14] Government plans national strategy to fight cybercrime by Bill Goodwin Thursday 23 May 2002 The Government has unveiled plans to create a national information security strategy that will bring together government bodies and the private sector in a co-ordinated fight against computer crime. The national information assurance strategy, to be developed by the Office of the E-Envoy, is a response to concerns about the threat posed by computer-criminals as more organisations go online. http://www.cw360.com/bin/bladerunner?REQSESS=P448304E&2149REQEVENT=&CARTI=11 2687&CARTT=1&CCAT=2&CCHAN=22&CFLAV=1 ---------------------------------------------------- [15] Daum Files Suit Against Spammers By Kim Deok-hyun Staff Reporter Internet media company Daum Communications said yesterday it has filed a 39 million won lawsuit against three unsolicited advertising e-mail senders. The country's biggest Internet portal company contended that the three spammers each sent junk mail six million times a month to its e-mail subscribers. http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_tech/200205/t2002052219020245110.htm ---------------------------------------------------- [16] Spammers threaten UK Net user By Tim Richardson Posted: 24/05/2002 at 10:53 GMT A British man has been threatened by a gang of spammers after reporting its activity to his ISP. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, is so concerned he fears for this own safety. "These people are nasty," he told The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/25424.html ---------------------------------------------------- [17] Senate OKs stripped-down version of bioterrorism bill >From CongressDaily The Senate Thursday unanimously approved and sent to President Bush legislation authorizing more than $4 billion in new funding to prevent, detect and respond to a potential bioterrorist attack and renew for five years the law requiring brand-name drug makers to pay user fees to the Food and Drug Administration to speed the drug approval process. The 98-0 vote came a day after the House approved the conference report, 425-1. The Senate debate, like the House's a day before, highlighted the bipartisan comity that surrounded the bill, particularly on provisions aimed at protecting the nation's food and water supply. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0502/052402cdam2.htm ---------------------------------------------------- _____________________________________________________________________ The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. 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