-----Original Message----- From: NIPC Watch [mailto:nipc.watch@private] Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 8:20 AM Subject: NIPC Daily Report, 29 August 2001 NIPC Daily Report 29 August 2001 Significant Changes and Assessment - No significant changes. Private Sector - NTR Government - An individual is scheduled to face federal criminal charges this week in U.S. District Court in Miami for allegedly downloading a virus into his employer's computer system, crashing the network for nearly two full days. This case, which comes a little more than a year after the first federal criminal prosecution of computer sabotage, is just one in a growing number of insider-based network attacks, according to federal law enforcement agents. The US Secret Service, which splits its focus between protecting heads of state and conducting criminal investigations, is handling twice as many cases that involve insider attacks as just a year ago. "Eighty percent of the cases we're seeing are from the inside or people who were formerly with the organization," according to Bruce Townsend, special agent in charge for the Secret Service's financial crimes division. "When you conduct an investigation, that's one of the first areas you need to look at now...It's not if you're going to be attacked, but when you're going to be attacked." (Source: Infosec News, 28 August) Stephen Trilling, Symantec's senior director of Advanced Concepts, will participate in a field hearing for the US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations. The hearing is scheduled for 29 August and will be held in the City Council Chamber in San Jose, California. It will examine the threats posed by computer viruses and worms to governments at the local, state and federal level in the US. Trilling's testimony will focus on the key challenges that government entities face in providing the necessary Internet security to protect their operations from today's fast-moving threats. (Source: Symantec Press Release, 27 August) International - E-business enthusiasm is wobbling within British firms, with two-thirds falling victim to cybercrime in the past year, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed on 29 August. Hacking, viruses, and credit card fraud are some of the more common offenses suffered by the 148 companies in the survey. In addition, 69 percent said that even though the financial loss was negligible, they fear their reputations could be tarnished. The CBI data showed 53 percent of businesses felt safe trading online with other businesses, but confidence dropped to 32 percent when it came to dealing with consumers via the web. He urged the government to set up a national center for online crime, modeled along the lines of the Internet Fraud Complaint Center in the US, to combat the changing cybercriminal profile. Once most Internet fraud was committed by someone inside the company but now external hackers pose the biggest threat, accounting for 45 percent of attacks. Former employees and professional criminals each make up 13 percent, with current employees accounting for 11 percent. The CBI also wants Prime Minister Tony Blair to extend the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 to cover attacks that bring entire computer systems to their knees. (Source: Reuters, 29 August) On 29 August, Kansai Electric Power Co. said it has reached an agreement with Itran Communications Ltd. of Israel to apply its ultra-high-speed Internet access technology to existing power lines rather than conventional telephone lines. Under the system, called power line communication (PLC), users will install a special modem developed by the Israeli start-up that links personal computers to the Internet via household electrical outlets. "Users will be able to access the Internet from any room of their house that has a wall plug," Kansai Electric said in a press release. The technology eliminates the need for telephone lines and also means electric power firms can avoid huge start-up costs when launching the new service as it uses existing power lines. Kansai Electric aims to launch the new service once the government deregulates the use of high-frequency bands for PLC, expected as early as next year. As the first step toward the practical use of PLC, Kansai Electric, Itran Communications and Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. established a joint venture on 29 August. Linecom Company Inc. will research and develop necessary networking equipment for the new service. (Source: Tokyo Kyodo News Service, 29 August) A Russian hacker known as "RyDen" defaced a Web site touting Afghanistan's Taliban government and left a politically charged message. The message criticizes the Taliban government for its recent move to ban Afghan citizens from using the Internet as well as poking fun at the Islamic fundamentalist leaders for outlawing the very tool that they have been using to promote their ideas. Last week, the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced that all foreigners and Afghan citizens residing in the country had to permanently disconnect from the Internet or risk punishment. Last month, RyDen hit another Taliban Web site, www.taleban.com, where he left a message deriding Afghan leaders. Taleban.com is currently offline. According to defacement mirror safemode.org, RyDen has been hacking Web sites since June 2001. The majority of his defacements carry the same angry message. (Source: Security Watch, 27 August) Vietnam has set new fines for illegal use of the Internet, including the spreading of prohibited information, and is tightening regulations on Internet cafes. Under a decree which takes effect 7 September, spreading prohibited information, pornographic material, and stealing passwords or private information are subject to fines of 10 million dong to 20 million dong ($666 to $1,330), an official from the General Department of Post and Telecommunications said. The highest fine under the decree, 70 million dong ($4,666), is for providing Internet service without a license and 20 million dong to 50 million dong ($1,330 to $3,330) for creating or spreading viruses on the Internet. Last month, authorities in southern Ho Chi Minh City apprehended two 17-year-old boys who allegedly spread viruses and stole Internet accounts belonging to others. The two boys were fined 5 million dong ($330) each in the country's first punishment of people accused of computer crimes. (Source: Associated Press, 29 August) The Japanese Telecommunications Ministry will in Fiscal Year 2002 begin developing an ultra-high-speed Internet service, in which 1 million people will be able to receive high-resolution video images simultaneously, ministry sources said. The Telecom Ministry plans to commercialize the new Net service by 2005. Users will be able to instantly download various types of software to their personal computers and other digital equipment 10,000 times faster than through existing systems. Because of the faster system, new types of Net shopping, digital distribution and other novel kinds of services will likely be created. The ministry will ask Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), KDDI Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Fujitsu Ltd., and other companies and universities to join the project. (Source: Tokyo Nihon Keizai Shimbun in Japanese, 29 August) Local electric utility companies in Germany launched what vendors boasted as the world's first commercial services for high speed Internet access via the power line, a potential competitor to DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and cable. Earlier attempts to offer Internet service through the electrical outlet were frustrated by technical problems. Now, however, the companies behind the commercial rollouts have solved problems such as electromagnetic incompatibility, created by transmitters and high-frequency transmission on the power line. Other problems that have been solved include line noise, caused by various devices connected to the power grid, which can disrupt data communication. If the technology proves itself, power line networking could become big, said Lisa Pierce a research fellow with Giga Information Group Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Power companies could be tomorrow's telecommunications operators, she said. (Source: IDG, 29 August) Military - NTR U.S. SECTOR INFORMATION: Emergency Services - Reports show the D.C. Fire Department's $5.3 million emergency radio system cannot properly broadcast to firefighters in more than four dozen locations. These areas include major landmarks like the D.C. police, FBI Headquarters, Union Station, MCI Center and the State Department. Firefighters' personal, portable radios also have trouble communicating with each other and reaching the communications center in these locations, according to fire department records. After eight months of operation, the "dead zone" problems have become so bad that some firefighters are using their own cellular phones to call the incident commander during emergencies. "It's a life-or-death situation, and they're using their cell phones as a backup," said Lt. Raymond Sneed, head of the D.C. Firefighters Association. When the digital radios fail, firefighters often switch to Channel 16, a backup analog channel that allows the radios to work like walkie-talkies, sending signals to nearby squad members. Fire department reports indicate that using the channel deactivates the emergency locator devices. (Source: Washington Times, 29 August) Water Supply - NTR Gas and Oil Storage Distribution - NTR Government Services - NTR Electrical Power - NTR Telecommunications - NTR Banking and Finance - NTR Transportation - NTR NOTE: Please understand that this is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any verification of the information contained in the report nor does this constitute endorsement by the NIPC or the FBI.
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