By Associated Press Staff

Hackers took over Comcast Corp.'s Web portal for several hours overnight, denying 14.1 million subscribers access to the cable company's site for e-mail, news and technical support.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/sns-ap-tec-comcast-web-hack,0,3610680.story

By Shane Harris

Computer hackers in China, including those working on behalf of the Chinese government and military, have penetrated deeply into the information systems of U.S. companies and government agencies, stolen proprietary information from American executives in advance of their business meetings in China, and, in a few cases, gained access to electric power plants in the United States, possibly triggering two recent and widespread blackouts in Florida and the Northeast, according to U.S. government officials and computer-security experts.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40112&dcn=e_gvet

By Jennifer LeClaire

The threat of cyber terrorism is growing, the European Network and Information Security Agency has warned. ENISA urged more European Union investments in security to avoid a "digital 9/11." Andrea Pirotti, executive director of ENISA, urged the EU to require reporting on security breaches and more cooperation among member states.

http://www.newsfactor.com/news/EU-Warned-of-Growing-Cyber-Threat/story.xhtml?story_id=1230048OPVML

By Huw Jones

Attacking the European Union's Internet backbone is now the preserve of organised crime, not young hackers out to prove a point, the head of the bloc's Web security body said on Tuesday. Andrea Pirotti, executive director of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), said public authorities have been able to hold their own in the contest -- so far.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7542606

By Andrew Noyes

The FBI released details this week about a little-known information-sharing initiative known as N-DEx, or the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange, which lets agents search and analyze crime data on a secure Web site to help connect the dots between people, places and events.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39839&sid=60

By Antonio Olivo

After years of being detained and interrogated for hours by federal agents each time he returned from a trip abroad, Chicago entrepreneur Akif Rahman could finally know whether his name is on a government watch list for suspected terrorists, his attorneys said Wednesday.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-watchlist-24-apr24,0,7847146.story

By Andy Bloxham

The Home Office will create a database to store the details of every phone call made, every email sent and every web page visited by British citizens in the previous year under plans currently under discussion, it has emerged. The Government wants to create the system to fight terrorism and crime. The police and security services believe it will make it easier to access important data as communications become more complex.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

By Shaun Waterman

U.S. indictments unsealed this week charge 38 people with being part of a multinational cybercrime ring that fooled thousands of Americans into giving up credit card and bank information through spam "phishing" e-mails and used it to steal millions of dollars.

http://www.upi.com

By Associated Press Staff

Todd Davis has dared criminals for two years to try stealing his identity: Ads for his fraud-prevention company, LifeLock, even offer his Social Security number next to his smiling mug. Now, Lifelock customers in Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia are suing Davis, claiming his service didn't work as promised and he knew it wouldn't, because the service had failed even him.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9343471?source=rss

By Will Spencer

The Air Force has begun intensive research and development to create cyber warfare tools. An announcement was placed in the government website soliciting ideas for business opportunities. The solicitation notice was released as the Dominant Cyber Offensive Engagement and Supporting Technology effort by the Air Force Research Library.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/62296

By Anick Jesdanun

Think twice before you sign up for an online service using a fake name or e-mail address. You could be committing a federal crime. Federal prosecutors turned to a novel interpretation of computer hacking law to indict a Missouri mother on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user. Prosecutors alleged that by helping create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist, Lori Drew, 49, violated the News Corp.-owned site's terms of service and thus illegally accessed protected computers.

http://www.physorg.com/news130180938.html

By Dan Whitcomb

A Missouri woman who prosecutors say used a fake MySpace persona to "torment, harass, humiliate and embarrass" a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide was indicted on Thursday on federal charges.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1531758020080515

By Katherine McIntire Peters

The violent Islamist terrorist threat has evolved and expanded since al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and radicalization of disaffected Muslims and recent converts to Islam is increasingly occurring here in the United States. Yet the federal government has "no cohesive and comprehensive outreach and communications strategy in place to confront this thread." Those are among the findings of a new report by the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39998&dcn=e_gvet

By Jordan Robertson

Even criminal hackers want to protect their intellectual property, and they've come up with a method akin to copyrighting — with an appropriate dash of Internet thuggery thrown in. Professional virus writers are now selling a suite of software on the Internet with an unusual attachment: a detailed licensing agreement that promises penalties for redistributing the malicious code without permission.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2008-04-30-criminals-malware_N.htm

By Jack M. Germain

Computer network attacks are often perpetrated by gangs of criminal hackers attempting to break into a system for financial gain. However, cyber attacks for political purposes could just as easily be -- and sometimes are -- perpetrated. A country's national security could be severely threatened should a team of hackers successfully crack certain computer systems.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/The-Art-of-Cyber-Warfare-Part-1-The-Digital-Battlefield-62779.html#

By Robert Lemos

Eight months after the nation's chancellor accused China of information attacks, Germany now faces criticism over its intelligence agency's use of software designed to spy on other countries' officials.

http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/730

By Anne Laurent

The National Defense University is building a 600-seat auditorium above an island in a virtual world. Ten days ago, the Air Force put out a call to gauge companies’ interest in prototyping a virtual base. The Transportation Department has constructed a synthetic world with IBM. Last year, the State Department held an eight-hour jazz fest for 300 avatars and chatted in Second Life with 20 others from Canada and Poland about student visas.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080428_3630.php?zone=ngtoday

By Associated Press

Several Web sites of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have been attacked, the broadcaster said today, suggesting the Belarus government could be responsible. In the form of a denial-of-service attack that floods servers with fake traffic so legitimate visitors cannot get through, the assault began Saturday and continues, the network said in a statement.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/europe/view.bg?articleid=1090260&srvc=rss

By Andrew Noyes

The FBI released details this week about a little-known information-sharing initiative known as N-DEx, or the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange, which lets agents search and analyze crime data on a secure Web site to help connect the dots between people, places and events.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39839&dcn=e_gvet

By Robert McMillan

Researchers have found a difficult but viable method for hacking a PC's microprocessor -- an attack that would be devastating and virtually undetectable. For years, hackers have focused on finding bugs in computer software that give them unauthorized access to computer systems, but now there's another way to break in: Hack the microprocessor.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/15/Malicious-microprocessor-opens-new-doors-for-attack_1.html

By Olivier Guitta

Bernard Squarcini the head of the DST (Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire), the French equivalent of the FBI, told the French daily Libération regarding Islamic radicalization: "An ideological transformation can be done in three months on the Web. An individual can at night auto-radicalize himself via the Web and get in touch with leaders of terrorist organizations." This assessment shows how dire the situation is in Europe when it comes to al-Qaida's use of the Web.

http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/04/20/europe_facing_radicalization_over_the_web/5616/

By Brian Grow, Keith Epstein and Chi-Chu Tschang

For more than a year, a Burlington-based Internet company hosted a website that taught its members how to outfit a suicide bomber, aired Al Qaeda propaganda videos, and offered an "exclusive" Taliban video showing the beheadings of three "spies," according to computer records.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/27/unwittingly_hosting_terror/

By Brian Grow, Keith Epstein and Chi-Chu Tschang

A BusinessWeek probe of rising attacks on America's most sensitive computer networks uncovers startling security gaps.
The e-mail message addressed to a Booz Allen Hamilton executive was mundane—a shopping list sent over by the Pentagon of weaponry India wanted to buy. But the missive turned out to be a brilliant fake. Lurking beneath the description of aircraft, engines, and radar equipment was an insidious piece of computer code known as "Poison Ivy" designed to suck sensitive data out of the $4 billion consulting firm's computer network.

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/08_16/b4080032218430.htm

By Ellen Nakashima

When FBI investigators probing New York prostitution rings, Boston organized crime or potential terrorist plots anywhere want access to a suspect's telephone contacts, technicians at a telecommunications carrier served with a government order can, with the click of a mouse, instantly transfer key data along a computer circuit to an FBI technology office in Quantico.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/07/AR2008040702364.html?hpid=moreheadlines

By Greg Grant

With wars increasingly fought among the people, information is now an element of combat power as important as lethal action in determining a conflict's eventual outcome, said an Army officer who heads the services computer warfare efforts.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39733&dcn=e_gvet

By Scott Louis Weber

We are addicted to information and cannot go long without being "connected." Indeed, while you are reading this article you will likely check your e-mail or instant message a friend or colleague. Traveling with technology is commonplace. Whether we are on the move for business or pleasure, technology allows us to remain in communication with our personal and business lives, 24/7, without any travel interruptions. But look out. All this can be just fodder for spies.

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/04/08/viator-corporate-espionage-oped-cx_slw_0408viator.html

By Nick Heath

Nato is creating a cyber-defence command to protect its allies against crippling online attacks on national infrastructures. The Cyber Defence Management Authority (CDMA) will co-ordinate cyber-defence among Nato allies after its formation was backed by members at a Nato summit in Bucharest last week.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39382597,00.htm

By Ryan Singel

Across the world, thousands of home computers have been conscripted into zombie computer gangs that cyber criminals use to spam, attack and defraud others on the net, causing considerable consternation to law enforcement and security professionals alike, who count the so-called botnets as the most vexing net threat today.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/zombie-computer.html

By William Jackson

Making national cybersecurity policy is an always difficult and often thankless task, the director of a House subcommittee told an audience Wednesday at the RSA Security conference. “One of the things that make cybersecurity difficult is that there are a lot of mixed messages out there,” said Jacob Olcott of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cyber Security, and Science and Technology. Some see the threat of cyberterrorism as a reality, and others think dire pronouncements are overblown. “There is a lot of disagreement about what, exactly, we’re dealing with.”

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/46086-1.html

By Anick Jesdanun

U.S. military officials seeking to boost the nation's cyberwarfare capabilities are looking beyond defending the Internet: They are developing ways to launch virtual attacks on enemies. But first the military will have to figure out the proper boundaries.

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=108&sid=1381656

By Jan Sliva

Two groups working separately to boost Europe's defenses against online crime will present proposals this week, almost a year after most of the nation of Estonia's links to the Internet were disrupted for days or weeks.

http://www.physorg.com/news126199429.html

By Jordon Robertson

Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned Friday that the huge profits generated from piracy and counterfeiting are increasingly flowing into the coffers of terrorist groups.

http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/359147.html

By Scott Stewart

Watching the behavior of countries like China and the United States underscores one of the most important insights you can have into geopolitics: Essentially, the world community is in anarchy. The world stage is in a Hobbesian state of nature; there are no rules for those with enough strength or influence to avoid them.

http://media.www.unogateway.com

By Clarke Canfield and Brian Bergstein

At first, it sounded like another in a long line of credit card breaches: Up to 4.2 million account numbers were stolen by thieves who cracked computers at Hannaford Bros. Co., an Eastern supermarket chain. But the specifics of the crime, revealed this week, included some troubling twists that might expose big holes in the payment industry's security standards.

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_8640617

By Lolita Baldor

The military is beefing up efforts to gather intelligence, fend off cyber-attacks and improve relations with other nations as part of a strategy for keeping the U.S. safe while fighting two wars, according to a Pentagon document.

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/march/0319_military_cyber1.shtml

By Jordan Robertson

From iPods to navigation systems, some of today's hottest gadgets are landing on store shelves with some unwanted extras from the factory - pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam.

http://www.physorg.com/news124646014.html

By Mandy Clark

While people work hard on their computers - so too do the Internet viruses or malicious software known as malware. Cyber experts say hundreds of thousands of them bombard personal computers every day. Far from being a mere nuisance, these bugs threaten modern life.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-13-voa17.cfm

By Siobhan Gorman

Five years ago, Congress killed an experimental Pentagon antiterrorism program meant to vacuum up electronic data about people in the U.S. to search for suspicious patterns. Opponents called it too broad an intrusion on Americans' privacy, even after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120511973377523845.html?mod=blog

By Bob Brewin

The United States is in the midst of a cyberwar and is not prepared to deal with it, top Defense Department and intelligence officials acknowledged this week.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39466&dcn=todaysnews

By Matthew Broersma

A New Zealand security researcher has published a software tool allowing attackers to quickly gain access to Windows systems via a Firewire port.

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/939892823D52DE75CC25740300048AD0

By Jill R. Aitoro

The number of information security incidents reported by federal agencies jumped from 5,146 in fiscal 2006 to 12,986 last year, with a 70 percent increase in unauthorized access to federal networks alone, according to a report from the Office of Management released Saturday.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39425&dcn=e_nextgov

By Simon Moores

The internet is certainly not safe. The statistics may show the risk of crime is decreasing in some areas because of new technical measures and policies. But elsewhere, under the extreme pressures of criminal interests, new leaks are appearing in the collective firewall. They may become a flood if not tackled quickly. That growing influence of serious and organised crime in cyberspace is the focus of representatives from business, finance, government and law enforcement agencies at next week's sixth international e-Crime Congress in London.

http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39170197,00.htm

By Staff Reporter

Germany's highest court has restricted the right of the security services to spy on the computers of suspected criminals and terrorists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7266543.stm

By Frederic J. Frommer

Nearly two years after an embarrassing flap in which veterans' personal information was put at risk of identity theft, federal agencies are still not doing all they can to prevent further lapses, investigators have found.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39347&sid=1

By Jill R. Aitoro

Federal agencies continue to struggle with information security, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Weak access controls, network device configuration, and management procedures leave systems vulnerable to malicious attacks and data at risk of exposure.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39314&dcn=e_gvet

By Peter Buxbaum

A new report says that 2008 will see an expansion of economic espionage in which nation-states and companies will use cybertheft of data to gain economic advantage in multinational deals.

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=14354&tag=

By James Jay Carafano and Richard Weitz

Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, security experts were becoming increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of U.S. computer systems and associated infrastructure. The 9/11 attacks amplified these concerns.

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=4FC31039-5A9C-4ADC-97EB-583829145052

By Jessica Mintz

Near-perfect knockoffs of 21 different Microsoft programs began surfacing around the world just over a decade ago. Soon, PCs in more than a dozen countries were running illegal copies of Windows and Office, turning unwitting consumers into criminals and, Microsoft says, exposing them to increased risk of malicious viruses and spyware.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1208462~Microsoft_Helps_Nab__900M_Piracy_Ring.html?cid=sec-promo

By Jill R. Aitoro

President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal 2009 includes $7.3 billion for cybersecurity efforts -- a 9.8 percent increase from last year and a 73 percent increase from fiscal 2004.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39252&dcn=e_nextgov

By Dmitry Sidorov

U.S. Congress held annual hearings on security issues, based on the report by National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell. Along with al-Qaeda, Iraq, and Iran, U.S. intelligence officials listed Russia and China among the outer threats. Moscow and Beijing are charged with using their growing economic influence in the world for advancing their own political goals, and with cyber-terrorism. 

http://www.kommersant.com/p850125/r_527/U.S._spy_chiefs_list_Russia_among_threats/

By Staff Reporter

A gang of Swedish criminals was seconds away from completing a digital bank heist when an alert employee literally pulled the plug on their brazen scam, investigators said Wednesday. The would be bank robbers had placed "advanced technical equipment" under the employee's desk that allowed them to take control of his computer remotely, prosecutor Thomas Balter Nordenman said in a statement.

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/01/30/1265825-swedish-bank-stops-digital-theft

By Tim Stevens

Just last week it was revealed that the group that perpetrated the cyber-attacks on Estonian networks, escalating the already high tension between that nation and its neighbor Russia, wasn't really a group at all. It was a 20-year-old hacker from within Estonia itself. That revelation was a bit of a wake-up call for the global community -- that a strong-minded individual could create an international incident without much trouble. President Bush seems to have been paying attention and is reportedly ready to propose a $6 billion project to create some sort of National Security Agency for American networks.

http://www.switched.com/2008/01/29/bush-wants-6-billion-for-cyberterrorism-protection/

By Staff Reporter

Every day, some half a million computers are infected by bots, according to data compiled by PandaLabs in its annual report on malware activity in 2007. Bots are programs that operate as agents for a user or another program to simulate human activity, and malicious bots can take complete control of the infected system. Once they have control over several hundred computers, cyber-criminals can connect them to create botnets.

http://www.govtech.com/gt/252775?topic=117671

By Ellen Nakashima

President Bush signed a directive this month that expands the intelligence community's role in monitoring Internet traffic to protect against a rising number of attacks on federal agencies' computer systems.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012503261.html?hpid=moreheadlines

By Kelly Jackson Higgins

A Website frequented by al Qaeda supporters has released an upgrade to an encryption software tool for Islamic militants to communicate more privately and securely over the Internet -- with a stronger form of encryption, according to a Reuters report.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143780

By Robert McMillan

Criminals have been able to hack into computer systems via the Internet and cut power to several cities, a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency analyst said this week.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141564-c,hackers/article.html

By Gregg Keizer

A large-scale hack of legitimate Web sites to infect visitors' PCs is much more massive than first thought, researchers said Friday. At least 10,000 sites have been compromised, and have hijacked unpatched systems that steered to their URLs.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141544-page,1/article.html

By Staff Reporter

The internet has long been an al Qaeda stronghold - a center for raising money and spreading propaganda. A record 97 messages were posted in 2007. But now, the cyber world has also largely replaced conventional training camps and has become the primary location where Islamic radicals are recruited, trained and sent on their way to carry out attacks.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/17/eveningnews/main3725693.shtml

By Owen Bowcott

Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists. The US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2241005,00.html

By Staff Reporter

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell is drawing up plans for cyberspace spying that would make the current debate on warrantless wiretaps look like a "walk in the park," according to an interview published in the New Yorker's print edition today.

http://rawstory.com//printstory.php?story=8868

By Gordon Corera

The extraordinary story of the solitary computer geek in a Shepherds Bush bedsit who became the world’s most wanted cyber-jihadist.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3191517.ece

By Allan Holmes

A Wisconsin government agency, like some companies, federal agencies and other organizations, has decided that the way to avoid accidentally exposing Social Security Numbers is to, well, not use them at all to identify citizens. The state's Department of Health and Family Services, which administers the state's Medicaid program, said this week that it would randomly generate ID numbers for the state's 800,000 Medicaid recipients instead of using their Social Security Number. The announcement immediately follows an incident in which EDS, which holds the contract to process the state's Medicaid claims, accidentally printed and mailed the Social Security Numbers of Wisconsin Medicaid recipients on newsletters. Another Wisconsin agency made a similar mistake last year.

http://blogs.govexec.com/techinsider/archives/2008/01/one_way_to_stop_exposing_ssns.php

By Allan Holmes

California has led the nation in passing laws to protect private data, and it continues to hold true to the role. This past Tuesday, a California law went into effect expanding the state's groundbreaking security breach notification law, the nation's first law requiring companies to notify customers if a cyberattack exposes personal financial information.

http://blogs.govexec.com/techinsider/archives/2008/01/calif_expands_privacy_protecti.php

By Jan Libbenga

The discovery of a USB memory stick containing classified NATO information in a library in Stockholm has prompted a meeting between the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service and foreign defence officials.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/another_stick_with_military_secrets_found/

By Erik Holmes

A laptop computer with personal information of 10,501 active-duty and retired airmen is missing from Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, an Air Force official confirmed Wednesday.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_missing_computer_080102/

By Staff Reporter

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's state government Web site was almost completely shut down Friday after it was infiltrated by hackers from China, but officials said they found no evidence of damage. Four departments had security problems with their Web pages, leading to a decision to take nearly all of the state's Internet site down on Friday morning. Office of Administration spokeswoman Mia DeVane said there was no reason to think anyone's personal data had been compromised or that any damage occurred when a hacker "got into what we would say is a back door."

http://www.nbc10.com/technology/14982217/detail.html?rss=phi&psp=news

By Adam Liptak

A couple of years ago, Michael T. Arnold landed at the Los Angeles International Airport after a 20-hour flight from the Philippines. He had his laptop with him, and a customs officer took a look at what was on his hard drive. Clicking on folders called “Kodak pictures” and “Kodak memories,” the officer found child pornography.

http://www.nytimes.com

By Jill R. Aitoro

In addition to addressing less than 30 percent of the information security weaknesses highlighted in a 2007 Government Accountability Office report, the Internal Revenue Service provided false claims about its progress, according to a Government Accountability Office auditor.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38990&dcn=e_gvet

By Paul Miller

Boeing's still in the final stages of production on its 787 Dreamliner mid-sized jet, but the FAA has already spotted what looks to be a serious security vulnerability in the plane's IT infrastructure. Apparently the computers that provide the 787's passenger area with in-flight internet access and other amenities are physically networked with the main plane computers, including control, navigation and communication systems, which could theoretically provide a path for a hacker to screw with the plane, and even go as far as take full control of the 787.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/faa-warns-of-boeing-787-hacker-vulnerability/

By Mark Jewell

The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8TRVTIO0.htm

By Siobhan Gorman

After delaying a domestic satellite-surveillance program for more than two months, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expects to finalize a new charter for it this week, a move that attempts to quell civil-liberties concerns and get the program back on track.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119812248622741723.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news

By Don Jackson

SecureWorks has discovered a stealthy, new Prg Banking Trojan. This new variant is the malware behind Zbot, a new botnet designed specifically to do banking fraud. The hackers using this new malware are specifically targeting banking clients that have commercial accounts. The banking variant has been designed and is being used by the Russian UpLevel hacking group and some German affiliates. The UpLevel hackers are staging their latest attacks using data centers in Moscow, Russia, and Mumbai, India.

http://www.secureworks.com/research/threats/bankingprg/?threat=bankingprg

By Staff Reporter

The Israeli military used cyberwar techniques to help blind Syrian air defenses prior to its strike on an alleged nuclear facility at Dayr az-Zawr.

http://www.upi.com

By Aliya Sternstein

NASA is going forward with what some are calling "invasive" background checks at all but one of its field centers despite ongoing litigation to end the process at that facility, NASA officials said Thursday.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38776&dcn=e_gvet

By John E. Dunn

Hackers have succeeded in breaking into the computer systems of two of the U.S.' most important science labs, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140390-c,hackers/article.html

By Gautham Nagesh

The Air Force is moving ahead on establishing its new Cyber Command, searching for permanent facilities and planning meetings to establish rules by which it will operate, according to Air Force officials.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1207/120707n1.htm

By Alice Lipowicz

Although the Homeland Security Department terminated a controversial visual analytics data mining program this summer, it continues to engage in visual analytics research in a separate program, a spokeswoman confirmed. The ongoing visual analytics research at the Science and Technology Directorate is being publicized as a means of eventually identifying terrorists through potential use of data collected from video surveillance footage, cell phone calls, photos, bank records, chat rooms and e-mails. But no real-world, operational data is actually being used in the research, said DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45491-1.html?topic=homeland-security

By Kenyon Wallace

A security flaw in Passport Canada's website has allowed easy access to the personal information - including social insurance numbers, dates of birth and driver's licence numbers - of people applying for new passports.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

By Jill R. Aitoro

The Homeland Security Department began this week testing a fingerprint scanning application in certain airports so it can tap into an FBI database to identify more accurately whether visiting foreigners may be criminals, illegal immigrants or terrorists.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38755&dcn=e_gvet

By Jeremy Kirk

Britain's domestic intelligence agency is warning that cybercrime perpetrated by China is on the rise following hacking attacks against Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140221-c,hackers/article.html

By Rory Cellan-Jones

Responsibility for investigating e-crime is split between agencies. IT chiefs at some of the UK's biggest companies have accused the government of failing to take e-crime seriously.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7128491.stm

By Ibtihal Hassan

RIYADH (Reuters) - There are now about 5,600 Web sites spreading al Qaeda's ideology worldwide, and 900 more are appearing each year, a Saudi researcher told a national security conference on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has identified the Internet as a key battlefield with militants who launched a campaign to topple the U.S.-allied ruling royal family in 2003.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0488465620071204?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&sp=true

By Michael Evans

The golden rule in the counter-espionage business is that when your “enemies” get more sophisticated you have to keep one step ahead of them, particularly when the threat is an electronic one. The Chinese and Russians have now become so adept at hacking into computer systems that MI5 has had to issue a general warning to all government departments and defence companies to take extra precautions to protect their most sensitive information.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2980544.ece

By Dave Montgomery

While U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan engage the enemy with guns, tanks, airplanes and missiles, the American military is quietly fighting a much different kind of war on a new front – cyberspace.

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/520067.html

By Joab Jackson

U.S. agency officials stung by data loss can take some solace in the fact that the United States isn’t the only country struggling with data security issues. A U.K. finance head admitted last week that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) lost 25 million records with personal information.

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45464-1.html

By Staff Reporter

In the spring of 2005, Mirsad Bektasevic and Cesur Abdulkadir shared a small apartment in Sarajevo. They watched with dismay as Western television networks gave their take on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They grew enraged. And they vowed to strike back.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_gillespie/2007/11/cyber_wars_and_the_west_1.html

By Staff Reporter

Islamist militants are becoming more skilled at tailoring their message to specific audiences, including women and children, and Western societies are struggling to find a response. That was the message from a meeting hosted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) this week, attended by leading experts on Islamist radicalisation.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4280823a28.html

By John Gramlich

The 2001 terrorist attacks led every state but South Dakota to restrict access to information deemed critical to homeland security — from architectural blueprints to emergency evacuation routes, according to a comprehensive, state-by-state study of post-9/11 changes to open-government laws.

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=258013

By Yang Kuo-wen, Lin Ching-chuan and Rich Chang

Portable hard discs sold locally and produced by US disk-drive manufacturer Seagate Technology have been found to carry Trojan horse viruses that automatically upload to Beijing Web sites anything the computer user saves on the hard disc, the Investigation Bureau said. Around 1,800 of the portable Maxtor hard discs, produced in Thailand, carried two Trojan horse viruses: autorun.inf and ghost.pif, the bureau under the Ministry of Justice said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/11/11/2003387202

By Staff Reporter

Brussels - European Union justice ministers Friday agreed on a minimum set of rules protecting the cross-border exchange of personal data by law-enforcement agencies in the 27 member states.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/

By Steven Schwankert

When a visitor views the page, an exploit first attempts to install malware on the visitor's computer if it is not properly patched. Thompson said he was not sure yet which flaw the malware was looking to exploit. If that is not successful, the user is then asked to install a fake codec to view a video.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139472-c,hackers/article.html

By Mark Mazzetti

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity project is directed by Jeffery Morrison, who runs the Analyst Space for Exploitation (A-SpaceX) program. Morrison says his project is designed to harness technologies to help the 15 agencies that report to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to change from a "need to know" culture to a "need to share" culture.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38498&dcn=todaysnews

By Mark Mazzetti

Congress authorized spending of $43.5 billion over the past year to operate spy satellites, remote surveillance stations and C.I.A. outposts overseas, according to a budget figure released Tuesday by Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/washington/31intel.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

By Staff Reporter

It is planned that the police will use online searches in Austria from autumn 2008 onwards. According to a report of the radio station Ö1, the Minister of Justice, Maria Berger (SPÖ) [Social Democratic Party of Austria] and her colleague, the Minister for Internal Affairs, Günther Platter (ÖVP) [Austrian People's Party] have agreed to this. In the station's morning news show called "Morgenjournal" Platter maintained that online searches would only be used in the case of serious crime or suspicion of supporting a terrorist organisation. The law drafted by Platter and Berger is to be discussed today in a cabinet meeting. After that a group of experts will settle the legal and technical details arising from the use of a Trojan program.

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/97595

By Jill R. Aitoro

Federal agencies report an average of 30 incidents a day in which Americans' personally identifiable information is exposed, double the number of incidents reported early this summer, according to the top information technology executive in the Bush administration.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38348&dcn=e_hsw

By Jill R. Aitoro

The Homeland Security Department, chastised by Congress and security experts for having some of the worst information security practices in government, has improved its security plan and policies but now must begin deploying its plan, according to a report recently released by the department's inspector general.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38312&dcn=e_tcmg

By Jill R. Aitoro

Current regulations to protect the control systems that support power plants nationwide fall short of federal recommendations, posing a serious threat to the electric infrastructure and national security, witnesses testified at a hearing Wednesday. One lawmaker threatened legislation if standards don't improve.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38319&dcn=e_tcmg

By Ellen Nakashima

Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders hundreds of times since 2005.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501857.html?hpid=topnews

By GAO

Control systems--computer-based systems that monitor and control sensitive processes and physical functions--perform vital functions in many of our nation's critical infrastructures, including electric power, oil and gas, water treatment, and chemical production. The disruption of control systems could have a significant impact on public health and safety, which makes securing them a national priority. GAO was asked to (1) determine cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and the potential impact of attacks on critical infrastructure control systems; (2) determine the challenges to securing these systems; (3) identify private sector initiatives to strengthen the cybersecurity of control systems; and (4) assess the adequacy of public sector initiatives to strengthen the cybersecurity of control systems. To address these objectives, we met with federal and private sector officials to identify risks, initiatives, and challenges. We also compared agency plans to best practices for securing critical infrastructures.

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-07-1036

By Michael Moss

When Osama bin Laden issued his videotaped message to the American people last month, a young jihad enthusiast went online to help spread the word.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15net.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

By Staff Reporter

Washington State resident Randall Ellis, 19, will be arraigned on 22nd October for abusing the 911 emergency call system. It appears that he has a method for spoofing the origin of a 911 call, and is believed to have used this to make over 200 hoax emergency calls throughout the US over a period of a couple of years. However, as reported by the Orange County Register, his latest exploit came near to ending in tragedy on the night of 29th March this year. He reported a bogus drug-related shooting at an apparently randomly selected private address in Lake Forest, Orange County, California, eliciting a full armed response from the authorities.

http://www.heise-security.co.uk/news/97549

By Ashley Phillips

For the first time, researchers have conducted an Internet census by mapping the Web's nearly 3 billion assigned IP addresses, an effort that could provide important clues to how to fight computer viruses, according to the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/TenWays/story?id=3713460&page=1

By Eli Lake

Al Qaeda's Internet communications system has suddenly gone dark to American intelligence after the leak of Osama bin Laden's September 11 speech inadvertently disclosed the fact that we had penetrated the enemy's system.

http://www.nysun.com/article/64163

By Bob Brewin

A day-long system outage at a new Veterans Affairs Department data processing center in northern California on Aug. 31 crippled critical information systems used to manage patient care at VA hospitals and clinics scattered across more than a third of the world, according to details from an internal VA after-action report.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38235&sid=1

By Sonia Phalnikar

Defining what constitutes terrorism on the Internet poses new challenges for governments. In a landmark case, a court in Germany will decide whether posting terrorist propaganda and calls to violence on the Internet is tantamount to supporting terrorism as it tries a man for conducting a "virtual jihad."

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2800263,00.html

By UN Staff

The international community should step up its efforts to defeat cyber crime, starting by acceding to an international convention on the issue and eventually building to the development of a globally negotiated and comprehensive law of cyberspace, Estonia’s President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told the General Assembly tonight.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=23977&Cr=general&Cr1=debate

By Ellen Nakashima and Brian Krebs

The FBI is investigating a major information technology firm with a $1.7 billion Department of Homeland Security contract after it allegedly failed to detect cyber break-ins traced to a Chinese-language Web site and then tried to cover up its deficiencies, according to congressional investigators.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/23/AR2007092301471.html

By Jeanne Meserve

Researchers who launched an experimental cyber attack caused a generator to self-destruct, alarming the government and electrical industry about what might happen if such an attack were carried out on a larger scale, CNN has learned.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/power.at.risk/index.html

By Abdul Hameed Bakier

In July 2007, jihadi forums announced the creation of a new computer program called the Secrets of the Mujahideen, version 1.0. The objective of the program—which was published and distributed by the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) through many jihadi websites—is to replace the old and unreliable PGP corporation encryption tools that jihadis had used in the past. Since the release of the program, jihadi websites, especially the GIMF, are instructing their subscribers to communicate using the program's encryption keys (http://ebnseren.modawanati.com, March 22). Furthermore, al-Qaeda operatives are using Secrets of the Mujahideen in an attempt to avoid U.S. eavesdropping operations against them (http://el-bilad.com, July 6).

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373681

By Brent MacLean

The great and many wondrous virtues of the Internet—its ease of access, lack of regulation, the potential audiences it caters to, and its fast flow of information, among others have been turned to the advantage of groups committed to terrorizing societies to achieve their selective goals. Today, most active terrorist groups have established their presence in some way or another on the Internet. Terrorism on the Internet is an extremely dynamic phenomenon: websites suddenly emerge, frequently modify their formats, and then swiftly disappear—or, in many cases, seem to disappear by changing their online address but retaining much the same content.

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/internet-security092107.htm

By Abhishek Behl

In an exclusive telephonic interview, a Swedish hacker slammed the US government in believing the dictum ‘security in obscurity’. He appreciated the support of Indians in exposing the security loopholes.

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126448

By Joby Warrick

Early yesterday morning, a South Carolina Web designer who works at home managed to scoop al-Qaeda by publicly unveiling its new video, a feat she has accomplished numerous times since 2002. Within hours, cable news stations were broadcasting images of Osama bin Laden commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and crediting the 50-year-old woman, who uses the pseudonym Laura Mansfield.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/11/AR2007091102465.html

By Staff Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Burglars stole two computers containing records on people who receive medical assistance benefits for mental health and substance abuse treatment, state officials said Tuesday.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5125978.html

By Staff Writer

Cyber-attacks against government networks in recent months illustrate how states like China are discovering the power of a new weapon that is less expensive and more discreet than battalions of tanks or spies.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5izkiUz-8u1rsvfDH29rJEsd17clw

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt

In an effort to enhance security, the 3.8 million participants in the federal Thrift Savings Plan will no longer be identified by their Social Security numbers, officials for the retirement savings program announced Friday.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37972&dcn=e_gvet

By Michael J. Sniffen

The Homeland Security Department has given up on one of its broadest anti-terrorism data-mining tools after investigators found it was tested with information about real people without the required privacy safeguards.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37936&dcn=todaysnews

By Tom A. Peter

Since news broke this week that Chinese hackers, allegedly part of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), had hacked into US, British, and German government computers to access defense and foreign-policy-related information, analysts have begun to speculate that the West may be moving into something of a new age cold war stand-off with China.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0906/p99s01-duts.html

By Economist.com

A decade or so ago, thinkers and pundits were fond of discussing the emerging threat of cyber attacks as a matter of international affairs. The growing reliance of advanced economies on the internet, and the increasing use of the internet by governments and armies, seemed to offer vulnerability along with riches and convenience. The scare of the “Y2K bug” seemed to highlight the danger, at least until it became obvious that the bug was of no threat to anyone.

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9752625

By Brittany R. Ballenstedt

Hackers have stolen the names and contact information of about 146,000 job seekers on the USAJOBS Web site, the Office of Personnel Management revealed Wednesday.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37888&dcn=e_gvet

By Wilson P. Dizard III

The Homeland Security Department has unveiled several important upgrades to databases that collectively contain tens of millions of personal immigration and travel records.

http://www.gcn.com/print/26_22/44925-1.html?topic=homeland-security

By Staff Reporter

BEIJING - Police in China's capital said Tuesday they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20477258/

By Staff Reporter

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China has been overshadowed by a report in SPIEGEL claiming that the Chinese government has been hacking into computers in Merkel's chancellery and three other Berlin ministries.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,502169,00.html

By Chris Strohm

The Homeland Security Department on Wednesday announced broad changes for using a database that collects and stores information on foreign travelers to the United States. In one of the biggest changes, the department plans to regularly share information with U.S. intelligence agencies, department officials said in an interview Thursday. "This is a first step to make it clear that we do have the authority to conduct this type of sharing and to make the public know that we do plan to do so in the future," one official said on condition of anonymity.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=37843&dcn=e_gvet

By Staff Writer

ISLAMABAD: The Electronic Crimes Bill 2007 has already been approved in principle by the federal cabinet and will be enacted soon through an act or an ordinance.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=69539

By Judi McLeod

When it comes to capitalizing on the Worldwide Internet, Al Qaida has shot up to the top of the list in the savvy category. Jihadists working the Internet are prolific, so much so that they could easily borrow a line in popular use during the Cold War: “They’re everywhere!”

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover081007.htm

By Alice Lipowicz

In response to more than 600 public comments, the Homeland Security Department has shortened the amount of time it will retain data and made other changes to its Automated Targeting System (ATS).

http://www.fcw.com/article103446-08-07-07-Web

By Spencer S. Hsu