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Thursday, October 24, 2002 |
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Many sources have commented on the latest Computer Security Institue (CSI) survey, which was done in cooperation with the FBI. These surveys are quite interesting but I question the methodology used by the various respondents to the survey to get their answers.
For example the survey counts non work related web surfing as a Cyber Crime. It specifies that in the past year the average cost per respondent has gone from $357,160 to $536,000 a year. The survey claims the two main issues here being productivity and liability. While I can definitely see liability as being a potential issue, I'm quite unsure of the methods they use to quantify their loss of productivity. Howabout the increase of productivity of employees who are happy because their employer doesn't chose to treat them like children.
Another area that might raise a few eyebrows is the losses based on theft of proprietary information. The report says that respondents reported a total loss of $170,827,000 last year. Yet only 20% of respondents reported such infractions. Granted these can be serious issues, however the Tech industry has a history of overreporting the value of such crimes. Just remember the Kevin Mitnick case where companies such as Sun, Nokia etc. made outrageous claims on losses caused by him.
Much more serious in my view is Financial Fraud. The survey states that 12% of respondents had a loss on average of $957,384. Most of this from what I can acertain is basically traditional credit card fraud. However I do believe we will see a growth over the next year or two in losses based on investment banking systems. Just imagine how much money could be made if someone managed to create large false trades or spread disinformation on trade/news feeds. Not covered under Financial Fraud but equally an issue would be the cost of DOS attacks targeted at realtime trade feeds. [Financial Applications Security Weblog]
22:54
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Cellular phone customers in cities along the Texas-Mexico border are being held up by phone bandits. The phones are not being stolen at gunpoint but rather snatched out of the air, as border crooks use small electronic radio scanners to intercept cell phone transmissions. Later, they use the encoded information to "clone" a second phone, billing their calls to the account of the phone that was scanned. Some customers only learn of the fraud when their monthly cellular bill lists hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of international calls. [NewsFactor Cybercrime & Security]
22:02
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U.S. investigators are still trying to determine who launched the massive and potentially crippling cyberattack against the Internet earlier this week. The attack knocked out most of the "root servers" -- the main superhighways of the Internet -- but backup servers kept most users from noticing the shutdowns. [NewsFactor Cybercrime & Security]
21:42
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Declan McCullagh reports that the world's most popular search engine has deleted over 100 controversial web sites from some search results.
Absent from Google's French and German listings are Web sites that are
anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi, or related to white supremacy, according to a
new report from Harvard University's Berkman Center. Also banned is
Jesus-is-lord.com, a fundamentalist Christian site that is adamantly
opposed to abortion.
Google confirmed on Wednesday that the sites had been removed from
listings available at Google.fr and Google.de. The removed sites
continue to appear in listings on the main Google.com site.
Link Discuss via News.com and politech. [Boing Boing Blog]
21:35
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Microsoft has been caught using a fake advert that claimed people were switching from Macs to Windows PCs. The advert debuted on Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) website and supposedly recounted the story of a former Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Mac user who had converted to using Windows ...
But investigative work by Net users revealed that the supposed 'switcher' actually worked for a marketing company employed by Microsoft...
21:30
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(CNN) -- As investigators continued tracking the source of a bid to topple the heart of the Internet this week, experts said the attack was neither the most efficient nor likely way to inflict pain on the average Web surfer.
"Most people had no idea this was happening," said Hari Balakrishnan, a computer science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "If the top five most-visited sites were down, that's when people will tell you their service was disrupted." [News Is Free]
17:43
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(CNN) -- As investigators continued tracking the source of a bid to topple the heart of the Internet this week, experts said the attack was neither the most efficient nor likely way to inflict pain on the average Web surfer.
"Most people had no idea this was happening," said Hari Balakrishnan, a computer science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "If the top five most-visited sites were down, that's when people will tell you their service was disrupted." [News Is Free]
17:43
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Rejected inventor robs the machines he wanted to protect
A German boffin who invented a security system for automatic teller machines (ATMs) has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for faking credit cards and using them to withdraw cash from the machines.
The 71-year-old inventor, nicknamed 'The Professor', invented a security system for ATMs but found that banks were not interested because it was too expensive.
According to the prosecution The Professor then decided to turn his skills against the banks, coming up with the idea of faking the cards and using them to withdraw cash from the machines.
The investigating judge was taken off the case after it was discovered that she had been among the victims.
According to The Guardian, the court heard that The Professor counterfeited 671 cards, which he used to make illegal withdrawals.
[vnunet Hacking]
17:11
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Former tennis star Boris Becker has been handed a two-year suspended sentence for evading millions of euros in taxes. [Adam Curry]
14:09
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So say more and more members of the legal field. In fact, we're looking at dense blawg warnings in all regions (and the first to call this a dense blawg gets it). Tough to keep up, but here's my latest feeble attempt at chronicling the blooms:
I can't believe Ernie, Rick, the Law/Net Marketing Blog and I haven't jumped on this earlier: Goldstein & Howe's SCOTUSblog, the self-proclaimed blogchild of Howard Bashman. Tom, Stephanie, Amy and Erik deliver comprehensive Supreme Court coverage, their first names and their own voices. Color me impressed and happy to see them. [via JURIST and Howard]
Lane McFadden, law clerk to Judge Kleinfeld, blogs from Alaska. [via Howard]
The boy named Soo, a San Diegan, formerly was with this firm, and now ? [via Howard]
Kim Weatherall is an intellectual property/information technology/Internet law lecturer with the University of Sydney. (More here.) [via JURIST]
Christine is a law student at Notre Dame and her blog was IBGR (Inspired By Glenn Reynolds). [via JURIST]
Manhattan 1L Superhyperdemonchild: Code at the speed of light she does not. But code she does; lovely site. [via the Blawg Ring]
Elizabeth ("Janeway Speaks") is a Star Trek fan (naah, I'm not getting sucked into that whole "Trekker"/"Trekkie" imbroglio), and 1L. [via the Blawg Ring]
Nathan Newman is an author, lawyer and progressive. More here and here. [via the Blawg Ring]
Inns Of Court is by an Australian law grad seeking gainful employment. [via the Blawg Ring]
ZaftigGirl is a 1L at McGeorge with a way with words: "call me the abominable snowchick. and then make me melt." [via the Blawg Ring]
Cyberspaces.org has a group weblog on law and technology issues. [via the Blawg Ring]
Echos from the Void (aka Leareth) is written by an Australian Law/Arts student who wonders "if the day will ever come when judges can use more commas and full-stops." [via the Blawg Ring]
I'm guessing the mind behind LegalMind.org is in-house counsel. Somewhere. Emphasis on Internet and securities law. [via the Blawg Ring]
Who'm I missing, hmm? [Bag and Baggage]
11:07
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MP3 file of an answering machine message by a guy who can't fathom that someone would use Windows to design websites. Link Discuss (Thanks, Raymond!) [Boing Boing Blog]
8:37
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Howard Berman's "Hollywood hacking" bill, which would have allowed copyright holders to use denial-of-service tactics against peer-to-peer networks, looks set to be rewritten.
Alec French, an aide to bill author Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., defended his boss' ideas but acknowledged that some critics had made reasonable points about the controversial proposal.
"He plans to significantly redraft the bill to accommodate reasonable concerns before... [zem]
8:27
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US President Bush has urged the Senate to approve a bill outlawing virtual or "morphed" child pornography. Courts have repeatedly overturned previous attempts on constitutional grounds, but this hasn't stopped legislators from reintroducing minor variations on the same laws.
"The House passed a bill which makes it illegal for child pornographers to disseminate obscene, computer-generated images of children," Bush said. "It's an important piece... [zem]
8:26
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A powerful attack on the 13 root servers that manage worldwide Internet traffic temporarily crippled seven of the servers and caused two others to fail intermittently.
But the attack, which occurred around 1 p.m. PDT Monday and briefly resumed Tuesday, had only minor effects on Internet traffic.
Didn't DDOS attacks on *.root-servers.net happen for years but the powers that be kept silent about it to avoid spreading "bad ideas"? What's different about this new attacks?
1:32
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The Australian government has rushed through new anti-terrorism laws outlawing terrorist groups, and allowing the arrest of suspected members. There are few details on the law; it's not yet clear what constitutes a terrorist group, or under what circumstances a suspected member may be detained.
The new laws were rushed through parliament yesterday after a personal appeal from Prime Minister John Howard to Labor leader Simon Crean on Tuesday night, when the government realised a...
1:14
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popping a cap into some guy
1:09
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(Evening Standard)
A man suspected of inventing the Lion Worm computer virus which cost US companies and government agencies up to £65 million has been arrested after a joint operation by the Metropolitan Police and the FBI. Officers from the Computer Crime Unit swooped on a house in Surbiton and seized equipment.
1:03
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The following books are by authors that have died more than 50 years ago, which places them in the public domain in many countries, particularly those outside the US and Europe. However, they remain copyrighted under United States law, where works copyrighted in 1923 or later can be protected for up to 95 years after publication.
0:56
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c00l stuff by Mark Pilgrim and Sam Ruby
0:51
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(Reuters)
Top international cyber-crimebusters wrapped up a three-day conference in South Korea, the world's most wired country with a call for greater global cooperation to fight online offences. Senior cyber-crime police officers from 37 countries agreed at a meeting in South Korea that worldwide investigations were needed to chase online criminals who operate with little regard for state frontiers.
0:49
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(BBC)
West African criminals have used a fake version of a British bank's online service to milk victims of cash, say police. The fake site was used to squeeze more money out of people they had already hooked.
0:48
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(New Zealand Herald)
A new computer laboratory was opened to help the unit that tracks down illegal pornography on the internet.
0:47
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(Irish Examiner)
Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe (COPINE) a group set up to tackle child pornography on the Internet is on the verge of collapse because the Government is not providing enough funding, a conference heard.
0:46
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(justice.gouv.fr)
Guide méthodologique du ministère de la Justice (au format PDF).
0:46
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(Baker & Mackenzie Elaw Alerts)
The Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act received its second reading in the House of Commons on July 22, 2002 and was given royal assent on July 25, 2002. The Act creates offences in relation to the re-programming of the unique electronic identifiers used in mobile phones. It also makes it an offence to interfere with the operation of unique identifiers by use of an electronic chip.
0:44
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(MSNBC)
The state of Michigan is demanding that six Web site billing companies stop processing payments from computer users interested in getting child pornography online. Attorney General Jennifer Granholm has issued cease and desist orders to BillCards, CardBilling, Ccbill, LancelotSecurity, iBill and Trust-Bill. Each of the companies were notified that providing access to and collecting proceeds from members on behalf of child pornography Web sites constituted aiding and abetting child porn distribution, which is illegal in Michigan. "These companies are acting as the keepers of the keys to child porn Web sites across the globe," Granholm said. "They're now on notice that if they choose not to take responsibility for their actions, we'll take them to criminal court."
0:43
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(Guardian)
The Sentencing Advisory Panel has published a new "league table" of five classes of child porn offences, to help judges give appropriate sentences to paedophiles. The panel rejected significant toughening of punishments for child porn perverts, and said the 10-year maximum jail term should be reserved for "very serious examples". It also rejected the view - expressed by some who responded to a consultation exercise earlier this year - that offenders who view or collect child porn should always go to jail. The new sentencing system features a five-point sliding scale ranging from "nude or erotic posing" in level one to images of sadism or bestiality in level five. see UK - Offences Involving Child Pornography (Sentencing Advisory Panel) Advice to Court of Appeal. see also Child porn sentencing guide provokes concern (Guardian) and The Children's Charities' Coalition for Internet Safety (CHIS) Open letter to the Lord Chief Justice of England about sentencing in child pornography cases.
0:43
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(Heise)
Mit der Mehrheit der unionsgeführten Länder hat der Bundesrat zahlreiche Änderungen am Regierungsentwurf zur geplanten Novelle des Urheberrechts beschlossen. Die Empfehlungen des Bundesrates tragen dafür deutlich die Handschrift der Interessensverbände. So sollen die Urheber künftig gezwungen werden, sogenannte technische Schutzmaßnahmen (Digital Rights Management) einzusetzen. . Kreative, die auf solche Kopierschutzmaßnahmen verzichten, sollen nach Vorstellung der IIT-Lobby und des Bundesrates künftig keine Pauschalvergütung mehr erhalten.
0:34
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(Spiegel)
In mehreren Bundesländern durchsuchten die Polizeibehörden am Dienstag und Mittwoch zahlreiche Wohnungen und Büros. Allein in Niedersachsen und NRW klingelte es an über 160 Türen. Das, verspricht das LKA Niedersachsen, sei noch nicht das Ende der Aktion.
0:34
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(BBC)
West African criminals have used a fake version of a British bank's online service to milk victims of cash, say police. The fake site was used to squeeze more money out of people they had already hooked.
0:29
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(Sydney Morning Herald)
Spanish police have smashed a Nigerian-led scam that reaped up to ¬o20 million ($A36.15 million) by duping Internet chat enthusiasts and other victims into paying seed money for access to safety deposit boxes supposedly full of dollars. police arrested five Nigerians, a British man, a Spanish woman and a minor whose nationality was not disclosed, the Civil Guard said.
0:24
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Maximillian Dornseif, 2002.
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