CYBERCRIME
SITES
C Y B E R C R I M E
The U.S. government's website dealing with cybercrime - what it is, how to report it, what government agencies are doing about it.
ARTICLES
'Mafiaboy' Gets 8 Months For DDoS Attacks
Mafiaboy, who launched distributed denial of service attacks against major commercial websites in 2000, was sentenced to 8 months in a youth detention center. (9/12/2001 at SecurityFocus)
30 Countries Sign Controversial Cybercrime Treaty
The 26 Council of Europe member states, the U.S., Canada, Japan, and South Africa have signed a cybercrime treaty criminalizing child pornography, online fraud, and hacking; civil rights groups say the treaty goes too far in some areas. (11/26/2001 at IDG.net)
Bin Laden Inquiry Was Hindered by F.B.I. E-Mail Tapping
According to a memo unearthed by a FOIA request made by EPIC, the FBI had to throw out email between members of Osama bin Laden's network intercepted by Carnivore because Carnivore retained non-target information. (5/29/2002 at The New York Times)
Brit Cops Tackle E-Thievery
Britain has announced the formation of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, a police squad that will focus on cybercrime. According to reports, British companies are second only to Indian ones in the number of hacker attacks they are subject to. (4/19/2001 at Wired News)
Cybercrime Bill Ups the Ante
The Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA) would increase the legal penalties for breaking into computer systems, in some cases to life imprisonment; it would also provide ISPs more protection when turning over user information to the police. (2/12/2002 at Wired News)
Europe Slaving Over Cybercrime
The Council of Europe's treaty for dealing with cybercrime is coming under fire; it calls for ISPs to monitor Web users' online movements, and some countries said it doesn't go far enough. (3/6/2001 at Wired News)
The Feds'll Come A-Snoopin'
A new Department of Justice report posted at the cybercrime.gov website covers information-technology topics such as encryption, searching citizens' electronic devices (such as PDAs), and electronic wiretapping. (1/12/2001 at Wired News)
FTC Puts Bull's-Eye on Spammers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled charges against seven people running an email-based pyramid scheme, and intends to take action against other spammers. (2/12/2002 at Wired News)
The Great Credit Card Bazaar
A look at the online black market for stolen credit cards numbers, identity papers, and personal data - information all traded on easy-to-find websites. (9/20/2002 at internet.com)
Hackers Face Life Imprisonment Under 'Anti-Terrorism' Act
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the U.S. Justice Department is trying to get Congress to pass the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which would classify many computer crimes (including defacing websites) as terrorist acts. (9/23/2001 at SecurityFocus)
IFCC: More Consumers Conned by Auction Fraudsters
64 percent of the more than 30,000 complaints received by the US's Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) have related to auction fraud; the fraud total was almost $4 million last year, and is already $3.2 million in the first 4 months of 2001. (5/30/2001 at NUA Internet Surveys)
Internet Crime Sprees Getting More Costly
The 186 corporate respondents to the 2001 Computer Crime and Security Survey reported $378 million in losses to cybercrime for the year 2000; the previous year, 249 businesses lost about $1 million each, according to the Computer Security Institute. (3/12/2001 at ZDNet)
Maker of Kournikova Gets Wrist Slapped Too
Slashdot discussion of the light sentence imposed on Jan de Wit, "maker" of the Anna Kournikova e-mail worm, in a Netherlands court. (9/15/2001 at Slashdot.org)
Online Auction Fraud Rate Dips
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the number of Internet fraud complaints increased from 22,009 in 1999 to 25,469 in 2000; but online auction fraud complaints declined by approximately 3000. (4/16/2001 at News.com)
Online Fraud Loss 19 Times Offline's - Gartner
More than 5 percent of online consumers were hit by credit card fraud; but they were unclear whether their card info was stolen online or offline. (3/4/2002 at NewsBytes)
Police Crack Down on Net Fraud Ring
Investigators are arresting suspects in a scam that involved sending PayPal customers to a bogus website where the customers input their PayPal login info, giving the con artists access to their accounts. (2/21/2001 at ZDNet)
RIAA Wants To Hack Your PC
Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America tried, and failed, to amend Congress' anti-terrorism bill to allow copyright holders to hack pirates' computers and not be held responsible for any damage caused. (10/15/2001 at Wired News)
SEC Attacks Online Scammers
The SEC has filed charges against 23 companies and individuals who have used "pump-and-dump" scams to make money off of lightly-traded stocks. (3/1/2001 at Wired News)
Sex Sites to Refund $30M to Settle FTC Charges
The Federal Trade Commission is forcing the owners of porn sites highsociety.com and playgirl.com to repay $30 million to consumers whose credit cards were charged when they signed up for the "free" websites. (11/5/2001 at InternetNews.com)
Symantec Will Not Detect Magic Lantern
Slashdot discussion of anti-virus companies' decisions not to detect the FBI's key-logging software, Magic Lantern, with their products. (11/28/2001 at Slashdot.org)
Tech Firms Form Alliance Against Hackers
Microsoft, Oracle, and other big software companies, usually enemies, are formally allying to share intelligence about cyber-attacks and hacking activity. Joining their club will cost other firms $5000 a year. (1/16/2001 at ZDNet)
Warning From Microsoft on False Digital Signatures
A hacker convinced VeriSign Inc., a certificate authority, to issue him or her an electronic certificate in Microsoft's name; VeriSign says this is the first time that something like this has happened. (3/23/2001 at The New York Times)
Why Worm Writers Stay Free
Virus and worm writers often brag about their exploits and aren't caught anyway; as with non-computer crimes, investigators only have limited resources with which to investigate crimes, and rely on tips from the public to catch criminals. (12/27/2001 at Wired News)
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