News Tidbits for the Week of 2/10/2003

[Uneek]

Douglas Boudreau, a Boston College student, was indicted on charges of installing keystroke-logging software on more than 100 computers at his school; Boudreau then allegedly used the information he collected to steal about $2000.  He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983717.html
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Researchers at Arizona State University have published a paper describing how strategically designed attacks on high-load Internet nodes could cause cascading failures and ultimately crash the Internet. They recommend that high-load nodes should have extra protection and that load redistribution mechanisms should be developed in case high-load nodes fail.

http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20686.html
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A hard drive that contained personal information belonging to over one million people and that had been reported missing from ISM Canada Inc. has been recovered.  A Regina (Saskatchewan) police department sergeant says charges are pending against one individual. Investigators are checking to see if the information on the disk had been used.  Several companies that had customer data on the disk say they will not work with ISM Canada again until it can provide assurance that the data it stores is secure.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20030204/wdriv24a2a/Front/homeBN/breakingnews
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Police in the UK have arrested two men believed to be a part of a hacking ring responsible for creating the TK worm, which has infected about 18,000 computers around the world, according to the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU).  US law enforcement agents have been aiding in the investigation into the ring.  Computers infected with the TK worm become hosts under the command of computers controlled by the group.  The two suspects have been released on bail.  A third man was also arrested in the US.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/29221.html
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A Pennsylvania man was convicted of unlawfully accessing a judge's America Online account on three different occasions.  Brian T. Ferguson could face up to three years in prison and a fine of as much as $300,000 when he is sentenced in early April.

http://www.ds-osac.org/view.cfm?KEY=7E4455464155&type=2B170C1E0A3A0F162820
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The trial of Oleg Zezov, the man from Kazakhstan who is accused of breaking into Bloomberg financial news services' computer systems and attempting to extort $200,000 from the company, has begun.  Zezov could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Zezev's defense team said he was simply attempting to receive payment in exchange for demonstrating Bloomberg's computer security vulnerabilities. An alleged accomplice in the case will be in court later this year.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/29218.html
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A computer that had been used by a Kentucky state agency and that was being made available at a government surplus sale was found to contain sensitive data about people with AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.  The State Auditor said the computer has never left state custody, and that the security breach was discovered during a random check for unpurged data.  The Health Services Secretary said the drive was thought to have been cleaned before the computer was offered for sale and has ordered an investigation.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/869709.asp?0dm=T248T
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David Litchfield acknowledged last week that proof-of-concept code he published to demonstrate a vulnerability in Microsoft SQL was used as the basis for the Slammer worm. He says he will continue to publish code, asserting that such publication is beneficial to network and computer security.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,868083,00.asp
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Transportation officials in London have expressed concern about a website that offers detailed instructions for hacking into the computers that control London traffic signals.  Experts say the information provided could be used to cause turmoil on London streets.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/traffic/articles/3266323?source=Evening%20Standard
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The General Services Administration (GSA) has removed the URL of an unauthorized .gov site from the .gov directory name server.  The site in question, AONN.gov, purported to be a government agency that had the support of the Defense Department; however, there is no such agency.

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-983384.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed