NetHappenings Headlines 3/28/06

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
NetHappenings Mailing List ©1993
Subscribe - Unsubscribe - EmailPreferences http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NetHappenings.html

Educational CyberPlayGround Community Mailing Lists http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/
Advertise NetHappenings Guidlines
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/Subguidelines.html
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>


*********************************************************************

THE HOTLIST IS A MASTER REGISTRY OF K-12 SCHOOLS ONLINE

The registry is organized by state and by grade level.
The registry also includes sites for charter Schools, virtual schools,
school districts, state and regional education organizations, state
departments of education, state standards and state administrators.

PLEASE LIST YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT OR SCHOOL WEBSITE TO:
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/schools/

*********************************************************************


Hi,

NetHappenings Headlines

enjoy,

<Karen>



1)
DOD removes missile defense system report from Web site
http://www.fcw.com/article92668-03-20-06-Web

2)
AT&T spotlights disaster recovery
<http://telephonyonline.com/telecomnext/news/ATT_TelecomNext_NDR_031706/>


3)
 It's raining IT security surveys
<http://www.techworld.com/security/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=2350>
If it feels like you're getting bombarded with surveys about network
security threats, that's because you are. Leading security vendors,
looking to scare up interest in their products, pumped out more than
twice as many of these surveys last year as in 2004, and this year are
on an even more aggressive pace.

4)
Bringing Botnets Out of the Shadows
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032100279.html>

5)
School district investigating illegal grade changes
<http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/03/22/s1a_SKGRADES_0322.html>
Someone used a school district employee's computer access to change
grades and possibly other confidential records that may have affected
students' college applications.
The Palm Beach County School District recently sent letters to
colleges and universities - they would not say how many - informing
them that some of the records they received could be wrong.
Since December, school police have been investigating one or more
instances in which someone altered grades without hacking into the
computer system, school district spokesman Nat Harrington said.
Whoever did this got to the records using the identity of someone
authorized to access student records.

Palm Beach County schools learn tough lesson: Hackers can
always break in
<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pgrades27mar27,0,2175689.story?coll=sfla-news-palm>
Despite numerous measures to protect its computer network and prevent
hacking, Palm Beach County schools appear to be a victim again.
A recent breach under police investigation -- possible grade changing
by several students -- adds to a growing number of attacks on
seemingly defenseless schools and colleges across Florida and the
country.
The sobering reaction among national experts and educators: Students
and employees who want to cheat or attack computer networks are likely
to be successful, regardless of high-tech security features and
repeated warnings to abide by the rules.


6)
FBI ripped for IT upgrade costs
<http://news.com.com/FBI+ripped+for+IT+upgrade+costs/2100-1028_3-6052326.html>
The FBI squandered $10.1 million on "questionable contractor
costs"--including custom-made ink pens and highlighters--and another
$7.6 million on missing equipment while upgrading its computer
systems, government auditors reported.
Since mid-2001, the FBI has been undertaking a massive project called
Trilogy, aimed at ushering its computer systems into the 21st century,
and the agency has already reached $500 million in reported costs.
One stage of the project--building a new infrastructure--was completed
in April 2004. But work on a revamped electronic case-management
software system has stalled, though the FBI said last week that it had
awarded its main contract for the system, known as Sentinel, to
defense tech giant Lockheed Martin. The agency expects that endeavor
to cost $425 million over the next six years.

7)
Symantec pulls Backup Exec patches
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=5621
Companies using Symantec's Veritas Backup Exec are facing a dilemma
after Symantec warned of security flaws in the software, but pulled
some of the patches due to quality issues.

8)
Man fined $250 in first area case of Internet piracy
<http://rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS0107/103230036/1011>
ROCKFORD - Just as pirating your neighbor's cable service to watch
premium movie channels is against the law, so too is surfing the Web
using someone else's wireless Internet access.
David M. Kauchak, 32, a former Machesney Park resident, is the first
person in Winnebago County to be charged with remotely accessing
another computer system without the owner's approval. He pleaded
guilty Tuesday to the charge and was fined $250 and sentenced to one
year of court supervision.

9)
HHS rebuts GAO's security assessment
http://govhealthit.com/article92719-03-23-06-Web
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Government
Accountability Office are at odds over a GAO report [1] that describes
HHS' information systems as vulnerable to hackers, identity thieves
and privacy breaches.

10)
40,000 BP workers exposed in Ernst & Young laptop loss
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/23/ey_bp_laptop/
Exclusive - Like sands through the hourglass, these are The Days of
Ernst & Young laptop loss. Yes, friends, The Register can confirm that
BP has been added to the list of Ernst & Young customers whose
personal data has been exposed after a laptop theft. BP joins Sun
Microsystems, Cisco and IBM in this not so exclusive club.

11)
IRS security is weak
http://www.fcw.com/article92737-03-24-06-Web
Taxpayers' financial and personal information remains at risk because
the Internal Revenue Service has not yet strengthened its information
security measures, according to a new Government Accountability Office
report.


12)
Terrorist 007, Exposed
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032500020.html>
For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to
uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key
conduit for al-Qaeda. The savvy, English-speaking, presumably young
webmaster taunted his pursuers, calling himself Irhabi -- Terrorist --
007. He hacked into American university computers, propagandized for
the Iraq insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and taught other
online jihadists how to wield their computers for the cause.

13)
Cyber security an emphasis at OCCC
http://www.okc.cc.ok.us/pioneer/Archives/March_27_2006/News8.html
The battle against cyberterrorism is being fought around the globe -
and on OCCC campus.
As a part of President George W. Bush's plan to combat cyber terrorism
a National Security Agency grant was used to find two national faculty
development centers in June 2002 to train computer science
instructors, said Al Heitkamper, Cyber Security Program director.

14)
VSC laptop theft creates security concerns
<http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060324/NEWS/603240363/1002>
MONTPELIER - Thousands of Vermont State Colleges students, faculty and
staff learned this week that a VSC laptop computer stolen from a car
parked in Montreal on Feb. 28 could have given thieves access to their
personal financial information, including Social Security numbers and
payroll data.

15)
S'kiddies get into spyware for just $15
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/27/spyware_diy/
A Russian website is selling a DIY spyware kit, called WebAttacker,
for around $15 a throw. The site, which proudly boasts of its
creator's credentials in the scumware industry, also offer technical
supporter to potential buyers.
The kits come in a script kiddie friendly form with code designed to
make the task of infecting computers a breeze. All the buyers need do
is send spam messages inviting potential marks to visit a compromised
website.
Spam samples trapped by internet security firm Sophos use newsworthy
topics to lure unwary users. One presents itself as a warning about
the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, providing links to the bogus website,
purporting to offer health advice. Another plays on claims that
Slobodan Milosevic was murdered.

16)
Offshore outsourcing cited in Florida data leak
<http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,109938,00.html>
Florida state employees are being warned that their personal
information may have been compromised after work on the state's People
First payroll and human resources system was improperly subcontracted
to a company in India.

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
Copyright statements to be included when reproducing
annotations from NetHappenings the largest
and oldest K12 Education Mailing List exploring and using the World Wide Web. 


The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when
reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

EDUCATIONAL CYBERPLAYGROUND http://www.edu-cyberpg.com
NetHappenings copyright
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NetHappenings.html 

FREE EDUCATION VENDOR DIRECTORY LISTING
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Directory/

HOT LIST REGISTRY OF K12 SCHOOLS ONLINE
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Schools/
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Other related posts: