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Senate Feinstein carries over the fight against ID theft, begun in the 107th Congress, to the new Congress as cosponsor of the Identify Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, S. 153. See her press release here, which details requirements for additional penalties of two and five years respectively for “aggravated identity theft” and for “anyone who commits …
Global web access was disrupted on Saturday by an attack of a worm called SQL Slammer that affects Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Other consequences included a delay in e-mail delivery and all of Bank of America’s ATMs were shut down.
This USA Today article highlights how your employee data is increasingly vulnerable to ID theft. The means by which such information is obtained is not necessarily sophisticated or complicated, or accomplished electronically. For example, credit card receipts, 401K reports and direct deposit pay stubs thrown into the office trash are collected and then used to …
The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to guidelines applicable to persons convicted of crimes related to the misuse of computers (i.e., hacking, cracking, writing and disseminating viruses, ID theft, web-related fraud, etc.). These new guidelines have garnered a new level of attention due to significantly increased incidences of …
The author of three computer viruses that were unleashed in 40 countries was sentenced to two years in prison by London’s Southwark Crown Court, under the Computer Misuse Act of 1990. The viruses were: Gokar, Admirer, and Redesi.
This FTC press release provides an overview of their new 2002 National and State Trends in Fraud Identity Theft Report (in PDF). ID theft accounts for 43% of total complaints made, with fraud associated with Internet auctions accounting for 13% of complaints. See also another new FTC report, ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen To …
Appellate courts around the country are attempting to craft procedures that apply to the use of technology by cybercrime offenders once they leave incarceration. Disparate determinations are being made in regard to such offenders, allowing some to return to regular use of the Internet and e-mail, while others, such as notorious hacker Kevin Mitnick, was …
The National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council Report 2001-2002 (in PDF) to Congress is a joint effort by DOJ, USPTO, State Dept., U.S. Trade Representative, Commerce, and the Copyright Office. “The mandate of the Council is to coordinate domestic and international intellectual property law enforcement among federal and foreign entities.” See also the DOJ …
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles apparently caught personnel from Allstate Insurance illegally accessing online records for personal purposes, and subsequently banned the company’s direct access to the system pending further review. Previous incidents involving obtaining personal data through online DMV searches has resulted in criminal acts, and is therefore an issue of significant concern for …
The Federal Trade Commission is doggedly pursuing frauds committed using spam e-mail, and their latest efforts have culminated in compliants filed in six federal courts (copies of which are available here), with charges against “marketers who used the Internet and spam to sell purportedly authentic international driver’s permits (IDPs).”
Think twice, and then a third time, before you trash your old PC hard drive. This MIT press release describes a recently released study conducted by two of the university’s grad students about their purchase of 158 used drives from which they successfully salvaged a treasure trove of personal credit card information, banking transaction data, …
Bonzi.com is the focus of a recent class action suit that charges the company with directing traffic to the company’s web site via the use of deceptive Web banner ads. Examples of these ads are available in this press release on the case here, and the complaint, filed in the Washington State Superior Court, Spokane …
