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Security: All
US passports to be implanted with readable computer chips
The US
will undertake one of the most revolutionary and innovative security measures
by implanting remotely readable computer chips in all US passports. CFC reports that although there is
widespread opposition to the plan, it is likely to be adopted by other
countries including Germany and the UK. Sweeping new State Department
regulations say passports issued after October 2006 will have tiny Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) chips that can transmit personal information
including the name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth and
digitised photograph of the passport holder. InformationWeek reports that the State
Department will begin the program in December 2005 with a pilot, issuing
these passports to US Government employees who use official or diplomatic
passports for government travel.
Full InformationWeek report
www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=W5G5T1CTWVNPOQSNDBCSKHSCLUMEKJVN?articleID=172900377
Over the past year opposition to the idea of
implanting RFID chips in passports has grown reports silicon.com, amidst
worries that identity thieves could snatch personal information out of the
air simply by aiming a high-powered antenna at a person or a vehicle carrying
a passport. Out of the 2 335 comments on the plan that were received by
the State Department this year, 98.5% were negative. The objections mostly
focused on security and privacy concerns. But the Bush administration chose
to go ahead with embedding 64KB chips in future passports, citing a desire to
abide by 'globally interoperable' standards devised by the International
Civil Aviation Organisation, a United Nations agency.
Full report on the silicon.com site
http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39153665,00.html
Copyright: First
file-sharing case heard in Sweden
A man
found guilty of file-sharing for making a copyrighted film available to
others on the Internet, was ordered to pay a fine of 16 000 kronor. The Age reports
that this is the first file-sharing case to be tried in the Swedish courts
since a new law banning the practice went into effect on July 1. The
28-year-old man downloaded the popular Swedish film Hip Hip Hora and
made it available to others on a file-sharing program. The Swedish Antipiracy
Agency took the man to court on behalf of the Filmlance production company.
The Vaestmanlands district court found that downloading copyrighted material
was not illegal at the time, but spreading it was, even under Sweden's
ordinary copyright law. 'Making a film available to the public on
the Internet has significant consequences for the film industry. Illegal
material can in this way be spread quickly and reach many people, which can
lead to heavy economic losses for the copyright owners,' the court said.
Full report in The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/news/breaking/first-swede-fined-for-filesharing/2005/10/26/1130285564365.html
General: VeriSign drops lawsuits against ICANN
VeriSign has dropped all its lawsuits against ICANN, agreed to hand over
ownership of the root zone, and in return has been awarded control of all
dotcoms until 2012. The agreement, which is a huge boost for ICANN, also
represents a significant victory for VeriSign, reports The Register. The deal ultimately means
that VeriSign holds control of the two most important registries: the dotcoms
and the dotnets, through which much of the world's e-commerce and Internet
business is conducted. Under the proposal, VeriSign and ICANN will create and
agree to clear definitions and processes on the future of the domain name
system. VeriSign has agreed not to make changes to registry services without
prior notice. A standing panel of international neutral technical experts
will review proposed changes to registry services. And competition issues
will be referred to appropriate governmental competition
authority/authorities.
Full
report in The Register
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/25/verisign_icann_deal/
Privacy: BlackBerry
service halted after flaw
The
BBC has stopped its staff from using BlackBerrys after a flaw in BlackBerry
Enterprise Server meant workers at the Beeb received portions of e-mails
intended for colleagues. According to the silicon.com
site, the service was suspended after BlackBerrys, used by 300 of the
corporation's execs who spend the most time out of the office, started
receiving fragments of e-mails meant for their co-workers. A spokesperson
for the BBC said the problem was first spotted by one of the BlackBerry
users. The spokesperson said: 'We immediately suspended the service and the
service remains suspended until we get assurances that it is secure.'
Full report on the silicon.com site
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39153677,00.htm
Across in the US, Blackberry maker Research In
Motion suffered a setback last week in when the US Chief Justice John Robers
rejected RIM’s request to stay a lower court’s patent-infringement ruling
while the high court decides whether to hear its appeal, reports BusinessWeek Online. Analysts note that
it is now near-certainty that RIM will settle with its opposition,
patent-holding company NTP, before an injunction, banning Blackberry sales in
the US, can be issued.
Full BusinessWeek Online report
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2005/tc20051029_716520.htm
Security: New
versions of virus staging renewed attacks
Two new
versions of a virus first reported earlier this year are staging renewed attacks against
computers in Russia, encrypting files and then extorting money from victims
to decode the files, ComputerWorld
reports. After an infection, the Russian-language instructions let
victims know how many of their files have been encrypted. Translated, the
warning says, 'If you want to get these damn files in the decrypted
format' then write to the e-mail address given. The message goes on to
say, 'P.S. And be thankful that they were not completely erased!' The
viruses, called JuNy.A and JuNy.B, search for more than 100 file types by
extension, according to a warning issued by Websense. So far, the viruses
appear to be limited to Russia, and it's not known how many computers have
been affected.
Full report on the ComputerWorld site
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,105706,00.html
Meanwhile, a worm found spreading via America
Online's Instant Messenger is carrying a nastier punch than usual, a security
company has warned. CNET News
reports that the unnamed worm delivers a cocktail of unwanted software,
including a so-called rootkit, security experts at FaceTime
Communications said last week. A rootkit is a tool designed to go undetected
by the security software used to lock down control of a computer after an
initial hack. 'A very nasty bundle is downloaded to your machine' when you
click on the worm link, said Tyler Wells, senior director of engineering at
FaceTime. 'This is the first time that we have seen a rootkit as part of the
bundle of applications that is sent to your machine. It is a disturbing
trend.' All that unwanted software can eat up system resources, slowing down
the PC, Wells said.
Full CNET News report
http://news.com.com/AIM+worm+plays+nasty+new+trick/2100-7349_3-5920403.html?tag=nefd.top
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