-----Original Message----- From: NIPC Watch [mailto:nipc.watch@private] Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 6:49 AM To: Daily Distribution Subject: NIPC Daily Report 7 January 2002 THIS INFORMATION IS FOR OFFICAL USE ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION. The NIPC Daily Report Prepared by WWU 7 January 2002 General - A variant of the Remote Shell Trojan (RST) has been discovered. Rstb, like its predecessor, a remote control virus, targets Linux operating systems by infecting binary files in the executable and linking format. Considered much smarter than the original virus, RSTb creates a back door on the affected system, and carries a payload that turns the infected machine into a network sniffer. (Newsbytes, 5 January) Antivirus company Symantec reports that "spyware" code is bundled with two popular file?swapping downloads, Grokster and Limewire,. The code does not damage computers, but it surreptitiously sends information like user ID's and Internet computer addresses to other Web addresses. Symantec also reports that advertising software called "Clicktilluwin" that comes bundled with Grokster and Limewire carries a program called W32.DIDer which Symantec has classified as a Trojan horse. (CNET News, 3 January) Government - Mark Forman, associate director for IT and e?government at the Office of Management and Budget, says the government may increase its IT budget by $4 billion in fiscal 2003 to improve security and counter terrorist attacks. The increase is about 9% over the $45 billion the president requested for 2002. (Government News Release, 2 January) US Customs Service officials are seeking to replicate the agency's computer systems and regularly back up their data. In the event of a disaster, Customs wants its fallback mission-critical applications and systems, including its Automated Commercial System handling imports at the nation's borders, up and running with data that is no more than 36 hours old. (Federal Computer Week, 7 January) Military - Congress recently passed the Defense authorization and appropriations bills which increased IT spending for DoD and civilian agencies involved in homeland defense. The bill gives DoD $20 million for the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center, which will build a system to simulate the Internet and the nation's telecommunications system and infrastructure to assess how weaknesses can be identified and minimized. (Federal Computer Week, 7 January) Items of International Interest - Cyber crime will be a top priority at this spring's US / Canada cross-border crime forum, says Canada's Solicitor General Lawrence MacAuley. According to MacAuley, international cooperation is needed to deal with cyber crime. He asserts that the laws must change to reflect the need for cross?border cooperation. Canada's Minister of Justice Anne McLellan agrees that cybercrime needs to be handled internationally. She says cyber crime challenges the assumption of national jurisdiction. (Washington Internet Daily, 4 January) A report issued 21 December by the Canadian Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Services (OCIPEP) raises the specter cyberattack by Al-Qa'ida agents or sympathizers. OCIPEP's threat analysis concludes that, although there have been no examples to date of cyberterrorist attacks conducted by Al-Qa'ida, "Bin Laden's vast financial resources . . . would enable him or [Al-Qa'ida] to purchase the equipment and expertise required for a cyberattack and mount such an attack in very short order." (ComputerWorld, 4 January)
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