Hackers: Archive: November 2003

U.S. Named as Biggest Spammer, Spammee

An annual United Nations report identified the country as the biggest victim of spam and digital attacks, while also leading the globe in sending unwanted e-mail.

Are You Ready for RFID?

Radio frequency identification technology is suddenly one of the hottest trends in the industry, and plenty of companies are poised to benefit from its use.

Mimail Becomes Fourth Most Damaging Virus

Even though the Mimail virus didn't achieve the threat level or the media coverage that its malicious code cohorts, Sobig and Blaster, did a few months ago, it has become the fourth most damaging virus of all times.

Spam Driving Away 25% of Emailers

Spam is taking its toll, driving 25 percent of Americans away from using email. A new report shows that people are actually using email less because they don't want to deal with the digital scourge.

AntiOnline Security Spotlight: Ironclad Passwords

More often than not, a weak user password is the only thing standing in the way between an intruder and your company's valuable data. Lay the foundation for a strong password policy with this week's spotlight AO discussion.

Cyber Crime Sweep Nets Over 100 Arrests

Federal, local and overseas authorities team up to crack down on online crimes involving fraud, software piracy and fencing stolen goods.

Clock Ticking on Spam, 'Net Access Bills

With House and Senate adjournment dates looming, passage of 2003 tech legislative centerpieces is threatened.

Gates' New Window On Seamless Computing

The chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft shows off the company's new anti-spam filtering technology for Comdex attendees -- and talks security.

Fending Off a Vicious Attack

eSecurityPlanet's Phil Hollows describes a hypothetical virus attack on a company's email system. Sound possible? Sound familiar? Take a look at what you can do to make sure it doesn't happen to you.

The Firewall and the Wandering Workers

Corporations with strong firewall defenses didn't take long to figure out that their greatest threat was from employees who log on from outside the building. Executive Tech columnist Brian Livingston outlines some new solutions to this security hazard.

GAO Report Targets IRS Security Weaknesses

Persistent problems place confidential data at risk of hack attacks and inappropriate disclosure.

Experts to Marketers: Spam Lawsuits are Coming

Bigfoot Interactive's 'Spam Summit' in New York finds marketers bracing for the impact of a far-reaching California law.

PayPal Phishers Turn to E-mail Viruses

Internet scammers have come up with a new -- and startling -- technique to 'phish' for sensitive information.

Stopping Spam before the Gateway: Honeypots

There's more than one way to stop a spammer. Our author discovers that like pesky flies, spammers just can't resist the allure of honey.

Arrested Criminal Hackers Used Wi-Fi

Two Michigan men have been arrested and released on bond after the FBI picked them up for causing damage to a protected computer system -- all from a store parking lot.

AntiOnline Security Spotlight: How Hackers Pick Their Victims

Are you an easy target? Delve into the factors that motivate an attacker to breach your network's security.

Security Threats Outpace Net Usage Growth

More than 6 percent of e-commerce transactions were potentially fraudulent.

Primary Response 2.0 Mimics Immune System to Prevent Intrusions

Sana Security's latest version of its host-based intrusion prevention system searches for vulnerabilities using an approach based on principles of the human immune system.

Weakness Found in Wi-Fi Security Protocol

A glaring weakness in the interface design of the WPA protocol could open the door to passphrase cracking attacks.

Will Microsoft's 'Hang 'em High' Plan Work?

The security community is reacting with both incredulity and excitement to the news that Microsoft is putting a quarter-of-a-million-dollar bounty on the heads of the virus writers behind the highly destructive Blaster and Sobig worms.

Microsoft Posts Bounties for Cyber Saboteurs

In collaboration with FBI and Secret Service, Redmond offers $500,000 rewards for instigators of MSBlast and Sobig.

Change of Guard in New List of Worst Viruses

Two viruses that pose as security patches issued from Microsoft have outdone malicious competitors like Klez, Bugbear and Blaster for the top two seats in October's top virus charts.

Worm Hitting Anti-Spam Sites with DoS Attacks

Five new variants of a mass-mailing worm are infecting computers around the globe and launching denial-of-service attacks -- some against well-known anti-spam Web sites.