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Governance: WSIS ends in ‘uneasy’ agreement over Internet
control
The UN technology summit in Tunis may
have ended in an ‘uneasy’ agreement between the US and other countries over the control of the
Internet, but there were numerous positives that emerged. World leaders
approved a plan to leave Washington
squarely in charge, as they wrapped up the three-day summit last weekend. The
delegates from 174 countries approved a five-page platform outlining the
future of Internet governance, along with prescriptions for expanding access
worldwide and guarding the free flow of information, ideas, and knowledge.
But the EU and other nations said the debate was far from over. They argued
that summit delegates had simply delayed the battle for another day by
agreeing to set up another multinational forum for debate, instead of
tackling the issue now. It was an issue that had threatened to overshadow the
summit all along, but several other significant breakthroughs were reached.
Among them was a pledge to drive the IT revolution into poor countries and
promote the expansion of the Internet. Middle
East Online reports that summit organiser, the UN's
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), is aiming to connect all villages in the world to
the Internet by 2015.
Full Middle East Online report
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15054
Cybercrime: South African concern over increase in
cyber attacks
South Africa is tipped to face an 'onslaught of cyber attacks' within the
next three months, as syndicates are expected to turn away from
security-conscious regions like Europe and the US, a local expert predicts. ITWeb reports Derek Nareen, 3Com business
development manager, says most local enterprises are not seeing the urgency
of intensifying their security measures, as the country has not yet seen a
spate of serious Internet-based attacks. Nareen claims 'cyber unfriendly
attacks' or 'cyber terrorism', which includes threats such as phishing and
pharming, are often not easy to predict or monitor, so the best remedy is
prevention. Nareen also maintains that enterprises should exercise
caution when considering what type of information they put out over the
Internet.
Full
ITWeb report
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2005/0511171035.asp?A=VIR&S=Virus%20Watch&O=FPIN
Security researcher Secunia has advised that new exploit
code, made
public on Monday, has surfaced on the Net. The code aims to take advantage of
'extremely critical' vulnerabilities in IE 5.5 and IE 6 running on XP Service
Pack 2 (SP2), and IE 6 running on Windows 2000 SP4. CNET News reports that once a PC user
is tricked into visiting a malicious Web site, the exploit can be triggered
automatically, without the user doing anything. 'An attacker could use
the exploit to run any code they want to on a person's system,' said Thomas
Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer. 'It could be they want to
launch some really nasty code on a user's system.'
Full
CNET news reports
http://news.com.com/Attack+code+released+for+IE+hole/2100-1002_3-5965247.html?tag=nefd.top
General: Empire terminates talks with PartyGaming
Internet poker
firm Empire Online has terminated takeover talks with PartyGaming and
announced it will pursue legal action against its former suitor, reports City A.M. The row broke out over
PartyGaming’s decision to ring-fence its customers from gamblers using
so-called skin sites, which funnel punters to gaming operators such as itself.
In a statement, Empire said: ‘Having received legal advice, the directors
intend to institute and vigorously pursue legal proceedings as soon as
possible.’ However, PartyGaming responded by saying that if any action were
forthcoming, the group was confident of a successful outcome.
City
A.M. report on 22 November 2005 (not available online)
General: Online dating site gets sued over fake
dates
Match.com is accused in a US lawsuit of eliciting renewal subscriptions by sending
fake romantic e-mails to clients. In some instances, employees of Match.com even went on
sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy, reports Silicon.com. H Scott Leviant, a lawyer at
Arias, Ozzello & Gignac, which brought the suit, said: ‘This is a grossly
fraudulent practice that Match.com is engaged in.’ Match.com would not
comment on the pending litigation by a spokesperson did state that the
company ‘absolutely does not’ employ people to go on dates with subscribers
or to send members misleading e-mails professing romantic interest.
Full
Silicon.com report
http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39154427,00.htmv
Workplace: Employee gadgets pose a serious security
risk to companies
The many gadgets carried around by workers today pose a real
security risk to organisations and require action, session attendees at a
security conference agreed last week. CNET
News reports that smart phones, handheld computers, thumb
drives, digital cameras, iPods and other MP3 players can all connect to
computers. That's fine when used at home, but when connected to a work PC,
the devices can pose a serious risk, said Norm Laudermilch, chief security
officer at Trust Digital. Connecting the gadgets to work PCs could lead to a
number of unwanted scenarios, Laudermilch said. For example, a malicious
code that crept onto the device at home could enter the corporate network
unseen by the firewall or intrusion detection software, he said.
Full
CNET News report
http://news.com.com/Employee+gadgets+pose+security+risk+to+companies/2100-1029_3-5954642.html?tag=nl
Cybercrime: Six men plead guilty to online credit
card operation
Six men have pleaded guilty to the administration and operation of an online
centre for trafficking in stolen IDs and credit and bank card numbers,
reports Out-Law.com. The
Shadowcrew organisation and its site - Shadowcrew.com - was a hub of online
identity theft activity. In all, the losses incurred as a result of the
conspiracy amounted to over $4m. The operation was closed down in October
2004 with 21 people arrested in the US
and others abroad. According to prosecutors, the Shadowcrew members face up
to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250 000 for conspiracy to
commit credit and bank card fraud, as well as identification document fraud.
Full
Out-Law.com report
http://www.out-law.com/page-6366
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