Network Security: Archive: February 2003

Job Site Warns of ID Theft Risk

Monster.com sends users an e-mail advising caution in providing personal information, says some fake job listings are trolling for data.

Senators Want FBI Info on Web Spying

New legislation would enhance congressional oversight of FBI domestic surveillance efforts.

Realtime Black-hole Lists: Heroic Spam Fighters or Crazed Vigilantes?

In the continually escalating and increasingly frustrating battle against spam, email administrators are resorting to increasingly draconian measures. Carla Schroder reports on one such measure, the use of Realtime Black-hole Lists (RBLs) to head off spam before it ever reaches your mailserver.

CERT Warns of SIP Vulnerabilities

The text-based signaling protocol contains numerous security bugs that could lead to denial-of-service attacks.

Security Bugs in Oracle, Lotus Products

NGSSoftware has released a slew of security alerts for vulnerabilities in enterprise products from Oracle and IBM's Lotus.

E-Mail Coalition Announces False-Positive Forum

The NAI's new e-mail group will gather anecdotal information from consumers whose legitimate messages have been blocked by over-aggressive e-mail filters.

White House Finally Debuts Cybersecurity Plan

National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace calls for voluntary participation by private sector to share network vulnerability information.

Dangerous Mix -- Increased Threat, Less Security Spending

Just as the network security industry braces for a rough year, IT managers are backing off security spending -- making for a dangerous mix of circumstances, according to industry analysts.

Banking on Fear?

Software security firms are ramping up the marketing of early detection and warning systems for Internet attacks but one analyst dismisses the notion of cyber-terrorism as 'hogwash.'

DoJ: We Want to Read Your E-Mail

Proposal by Ashcroft seeks to expand government's domestic electronic surveillance powers even while controversial Patriot Act is under legal attack by privacy groups.

Court Sets Deadline for DoJ FOIA Compliance

Pentagon Moves to Revive Funding for Data Mining Program

Military says its will establish an internal board of senior DOD officials and an external civilian advisory committee to oversee controversial Total Information Awareness program.

Senate Kills Funding for Pentagon Data Mining Program

Report: Bush Considering Cyber Warfare

President seeks parameters for launching attacks against an enemy's network infrastructure.

FedCIRC Seeks Industry Input

Government group wants to establish common standards for exchanging information about network security incidents.

The 411 on Digital Forensics

Jacqueline Emigh undresses the sexy part of the computer security world in tackling the somewhat ambiguous term 'Digital Forensics.'

Analysts: Next Cybersecurity Czar Must Get Things Done

IT industry analysts say that whoever replaces outgoing White House cybersecurity chief Richard Clarke must be capable of weaving together a network of security procedures and mandates that will protect government and business interests.

Microsoft Issues 'Critical' IE Patch

Another 'critical' cumulative patch is issued for Internet Explorer versions 5.01, 5.5, 6.0.

Problematic Windows NT Patch Pulled

At a time when sysadmins are being scolded for not patching their systems, Microsoft pulls a security patch for NT 4.0 systems, admitting it introduces an error that may cause systems to crash.

Opera 7 Holes Detected; Multimodal Toolkit Released

The alternative Web browser project plans to release a new version to plug potential security breaches; Separately, the multimodal toolkit built in partnership with IBM is now available for download.

The Perennial Problem with Patches

Patches cannot be relied upon to deliver effective front-line security because they simply aren't applied in a consistent, effective and timely fashion. Organizations instead should rely on security event management.

Study Shows 82% Vulnerability Increase in 2002

In the wake of the Slammer attack, a new report reveals that network administrators had to deal with nearly 82% more vulnerabilities last year than the year before.