This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text, while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools. Send mail to mimet_private for more info. --------------BAB129A8846F0745340485A1 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=us-ascii Content-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.96.981002182939.27694ft_private> Forwarded From: David Day <ddayt_private> http://my.excite.com/news/r/980929/10/tech-email Latest Email Security Flaw Raises New Concerns By Andrea Orr PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A new hole has been discovered in the security a popular Internet browser program, once again calling into question the confidentiality of information exchanged over the Internet. The problem, found in Netscape Communications Corp.'s Internet browser, was the latest in a series of holes in email and Internet browsing software that have surfaced over the summer. Although most of the problems discovered so far have been quickly corrected, some experts say they fear that, collectively, they may be pointing to a major security crisis in cyberspace. The latest security flaw involves the so-called caching feature on several versions of Netscape's browser. This feature captures information to provide a record of sites visited, a sort of trail of one's travels around cyberspace. Dan Brumlee, a 20-year-old independent computer consultant in Sunnyvale, Calif., discovered he could write a program that would allow him to access this information from another computer. His finding led to online di scussions into the matter over the weekend and was the subject of a New York Times article on Monday. It was not immediately clear how much private information might be gleaned from this technique. The common example cited was employers exploiting the hole to see if their employees were visiting porn sites. Other sec urity experts warned the potential abuses went much further. "It gives you a real shortcut to what somebody does on the Web and what somebody does on the Web says a lo t about them," said Evan Hendricks, editor of "Privacy Times," published in Washington D.C. One big danger, Hendricks said, was an abuse by spammers, the junk mailers of the Internet. "A spammer could see where you have gone and they would be able to put together in an automated way a list of all your preferences," he said. Netscape said it was working on a patch to fix the problem and, in the meantime, advised people using its browser software to go to the menu bar and clear the cache, which would delete the electronic record of sites visited. Although this particular problem was not found in Microsoft Corp.'s browsing software, in recent months ot her security holes have been found in a number of popular email programs, including those made by Microsoft an d Qualcomm Inc. All companies have promptly come out with fixes. They have also been quick to point out that none of the p roblems were discovered by actual hackers looking to break into a system, but rather by the "good guys", who r outinely peruse software code looking for potential security lapses to avert any kind of security crisis. "We certainly take all security and privacy issues very, very seriously," said Eric Byunn, a Netscape prod uct manager. He added that this latest security lapse was, "not the sort of bug you would just stumble upon ra ndomly." Still, many security experts were not so easily comforted. Although millions of people around the world routinely use the Internet to purchase goods and enter person al information in the process, many others continue to avoid Internet transactions precisely because of securi ty concerns. "This latest problem shows that much more private information could get out than a lot of people would wan t to see get out," said Richard Smith, President of Phar Lap Software Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Smith, who recently discovered another hole in email programs, says as more and more features are added to the Internet, more and more holes are being left open. Added, Hendricks of Privacy Times: "There is so much information held about so many people by so many diff erent companies, which is why I think we are heading for some kind of privacy disaster." --------------BAB129A8846F0745340485A1-- -o- Subscribe: mail majordomot_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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