Technology Risk Newsletter

 

 

Issue no. 177

 

November 9th 2005


Cybercrime: Online world at risk from casino cheats
One of the world elite of casino cheats – during a 25-year reign he and a small team took casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, London and Monte Carlo for a reported $5m – has warned that the online world is far more at risk from cheating than the casinos in which he made millions, reports Silicon.com. Richard Marcus claims the boom in Internet gambling, which has come along since he went into early retirement, offers even more rich pickings for the criminally-minded who no longer even have to show their faces to claim their ill-gotten gains. In another Silicon.com report, Marcus noted that many of the technologies used at real world casinos as anti-cheating measures are doomed to expensive failure. He criticised the effectiveness of controversial solutions such as RFID and facial recognition and warned the casinos that they were making the wrong bet by backing technology, saying that ‘most people only get caught because they get too much exposure’. Marcus said that the greatest value casinos would get out of high-profile security rollouts is the deterrent factor.First full report on Silicon.com http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/gambling/0,3800010160,39153953,00.htm
Second full report on Silicon.com http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/gambling/0,3800010160,39153954,00.htm

Security: Sudden surge in number of viruses
The has been a record increase in the number of viruses loose world-wide with anti-virus software vendors Sophos and Kaspersky Labs saying that October saw the largest number of new viruses reported in a single month since their records began. ITWeb reports that according to both vendors, the Mytob worm and its variants were among the most prevalent viruses last month, with Kaspersky saying: ‘It's highly likely that this worm (Mytob.c) will turn out to be the most widespread malicious program of 2005.’ However, local Sophos distributor Netxactics says Netsky-P, the worm written by convicted German teenager Sven Jaschan, still heads its list of the worst viruses for the month.
Full ITWeb report http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/Internet/2005/0511021032.asp?A=SEC&S=Security&O=FPIN

Software: ‘Choose and Book’ system behind schedule
The rollout of the NHS' £64m electronic 'Choose and Book' appointment booking system is a year behind schedule, the UK Government has admitted. The system is a key part of the NHS IT programme and would allow patients to choose from at least four hospitals when booking an outpatient appointment through their GP surgery, reports Silicon.com. Although the technology behind the system is up and running, NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp said that rollout to GPs and primary care trusts is ‘running about 12 months late’.Full Silicon.com report http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39153855,00.htm

Domains: Lance Armstrong wins two domain names
Cycling hero Lance Armstrong has won control of two Internet domain names that contained the name of his fund-raising LiveStrong bracelets, under a ruling issued by arbitrators for the World Intellectual Property Organisation, reports News24. WIPO ordered the transfer of the domains www.livestrongbracelets.net and www.talk-livestrong.com to the American cyclist, who had complained that it infringed his trademark rights and that they had been registered in bad faith. The names had been registered by Chris Angeles of
California, who had been given several opportunities to assert a right or a legitimate interest in the domain names but had failed to do so.
Full News24 report http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/More_Sport/0,,2-9-32_1827391,00.html

Software: Open Source Software risks considered..
Risk perception has diverged from risk reality’, says Columbia University Law School professor and prominent open source software lawyer, Eben Moglen. He says that many of the potential risks to users of free and open source software are misplaced, as they have been addressed over the years in the General Public License, which is used in many products, including Linux Free Software Foundation. In addition, CNET News reports that Moglen railed against the US patent system, saying it was a ‘sin and a shame,’ with little chance of reform because of reluctance from vested interests. He said too many patents are granted for software inventions, causing legal risk for software users, and some bad patents ‘need to be blown up from time to time.’
Full CNET News report http://news.com.com/Lawyer+Open-source+risks+overblown/2100-7344_3-5929015.html?tag=nefd.top

General:  Sony's under fire for anti-piracy measures
Sony is facing severe criticism over its latest anti-piracy measures, which is being rolled out on some of its audio CDs and which includes a self-installing rootkit. A researcher at F-Secure has charged that the digital rights management technology could cause user systems to malfunction, according to Vnunet. The software limits the number of copies that a user can make, and regulates which file formats can be used when ripping the music. The rootkit renders the DRM technology invisible to the user and the system, including to antivirus tools. Users who have tried to change the settings and remove the software have rendered the CD drive useless because data streams inside the system are interrupted. And, security experts claim that the technology can easily be exploited by worms, spyware and other malicious software, which could use the rootkit to dodge detection by antivirus tools. While Sony maintains that there are no security risks involved with its technology, the company has released a patch that allows virus and spyware filtering software to remove the technology.
Full Vnunet report http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2145617/sony-cd-rootkit-spell-doom

Cybercrime:
UK man jailed over eBay swindle
A British man was has been jailed for four years for masterminding an eBay auction swindle which stole computer account details from users and assumed their identities. Silicon.com reports that David Levi led six others in a gang which scooped almost $355 000 through a phishing fraud – the practice of stealing goods after tricking computer users into revealing their personal details.
Full report on the Silicon.com site http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39153860,00.htm


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