January 2004

The Indian Express - December 3, 2003

Cyber crime: Prevention better : Some Guidelines

New York - December 21, 2003 - Ritu Kohli, a Delhi house-wife was receiving obscene calls online. Enquiry revealed one Manish Kahuria, an acquaintance, had hacked into Ritu's identity and he had been passing her phone number to people on porn sites. He was arrested under section 509 IPC. "Any criminal activity that uses a computer either as an instrument, target or a means for perpetuating crimes comes within the ambit of cyber crime," says cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal. Malicious hackers can steal or destroy your files by tunneling through your broadband connection straight to your hard drive using mobile code. The details you give to various websites, especially e-commerce sites, can also be hazardous. According to Ambarish Deshpande, Symantec Sales Head, digital means of commerce must be kept safe. The terrorists, who attacked Parliament last year, used laptop for communication and fake identification. About 10,000 India sites were hacked in August alone, according to Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL). Special password programmes can help keep a track of various passwords. Use of encrypted emails and data should ensure safe communication. According to Duggal, most cases remain unreported due to lack of awareness. Of every 500 cases, 50 are reported and only one of them acted upon. According to Niraj Kaushik, country manager, Trend Micro India, "The government needs to clearly phrase definition of cyber crimes and its constituents, create mechanisms that pin accountability on perpetrators of such activities and also legislate stringent laws which take offenders to task." Till it is done, prevention is certainly a better idea. To counter cyber crime: Use latest software and update them - Use Internet security software - Keep broadband connection locked - Delete all cookies - Close Active X controls - Backup database - Be vigil while giving information to website - Use secure websites only - Use encrypted mails.

(Courtesy: Kuber Sharma)
Hindustan Times - December 22, 2003.

Now, a war on e-terror

Predictions are being made for the New Year 2004. Particularly for the dynamic world of Information Communication Technology (ICT), these analyses and predictions are becoming more interesting. Virus and worm attacks backed up by regular distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS) as also internet Frauds happened across the year and regions. According to the British security analyst firm mi2g, there have been more than 200,000 overt digital attacks during the year. The worst attack was in the month of August where Sobig and Blaster words inflicted the maximum damage. And in the third quarter of December, as many as 13 NASA websites were targets of successful hacking attacks. The importance of securing cyberpace from criminals and anti-socials is being realised. There has been no global effort in terms of a legal and response structure. Privacy concerns and the vast differences in legal frameworks across nations are seen as obstacles. Many feel that the Internet should be free from regulation. Most governments' approach towards security of criminal infrastructures has acquired a strong focus and security policies and response structures are being given priority. In regard to predictions for 2004, there are four issues relating to cyber security which will see rapid movement. The first trend we are likely to see is the blending of threats and resulting attacks. The second trend will be attacks on mobile networks. The third trend will be increased spamming attacks. Fourth, critical infrastructures will also be prominent targets for attacks. The emerging information society should be a better place rather than a new pasture for criminals and terrorists.

(Courtesy: Subinal Bhattacharjee)
The Indian Express - December 23, 2003.

Technology: Busted up

Last week more than 220 armed agents of Germany's Federal Crime Office, tax authorities and local police joined in a nationwide blitz against a suspected software-privacy ring. A bounty of expensive watches, computers and 10 flashy cars were confiscated and 10 people were arrested or detained on charges of commercial fraud and copyright violation. Sources close to the investigation tell Newsweek that the alleged ring is believed to have pushed some $200 million in software products last year, a chunk of the $34 million in illegal business software believed to have been sold in Germany. Newsweek sources say many ring members escaped detection for 13 years because they also ran legitimate companies.

Newsweek Magazine - November 24, 2003.

NASA websites hacked

Hyderabad - December 24, 2003 - A week after the space agency suffered the embarrassment of having its 13 websites defaced by a Brazilian hacker called himself "drwxr," two more NASA sites - cosmo-nas.nasa.gov and marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov - fell to the cyber assault by the same crew on Wednesday. The websites were vandalized by "drwxr" who posted his comments on the ongoing US-led war in Iraq. "The war in Iraq, kill is a play!" the hacker said in his message of the defaced sites. The index pages were quickly pulled out and the original page uploaded again. However, zone-h.org which monitors defacements managed to record the defacements.

The Hindu - December 26, 2003.

Cyber blackmail wave targets office workers

London - The extortion scam, which is believed to have surfaced one year ago, indiscriminately targets anyone on the corporate ladder with a PC connected to the Internet. The email typically contains a demand that unless a small fee is paid - at first no more than $20 or $30 - they will attack the PC with a file-wiping programme or download onto the machine images of child pornography. "They prey on the nice secretary who wouldn't do anything wrong. When she gets one of these e-mails, she thinks 'Oh, my goodness what am I going to do?" So she puts it on her credit card and transfers the funds to the (suspect's online bank) account and hopes it goes away," a British detective specializing in cyber-crime said. Several university officials in Scandinavia received an e-mail from a fraudster who appeared to be based in Estonia, said F-Secure research manager Mikko Hypponen. The email said unless the e-mail recipient transferred 20 euros ($25) to the author's online bank account, he would release a series of viruses capable of deleting a host of computer files. Hypponen said he advised the university to take necessary precautions, alert police and not pay.

The Times of India - December 30, 2003.

For residents of Kerala capital, cops are just a click away

Thiruvananthapuram - December 29, 2003 - For lodging a compliant at a police station, the Thiruvananthapuram police have developed a multi-purpose web portal to serve its denizens in style. Now one can file a complaint from home and monitor its status online. Users can also tip off the police and obtain information about missing persons, stolen vehicles and other details. Special training will be given to Net-savvy police officers and a computer studio will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram to handle the online complaints. "There is enough scope for e-governance in the police force. This will benefit both the police and the public," city commissioner Rajan Singh said.

Hindustan Times - December 30, 2003.

A-I to comply with US norm

New Delhi - Air India on Monday said it will comply with the US directive to place armed sky marshals on all US-bound flights. "The directive states that US authorities will inform which flight from which country is being perceived as a threat. If we are informed about any threat perception on our flights, we will comply with their directive," an A-I spokesman said.

The Times of India - December 31, 2003.

Food for Thought


Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.

Albert Einstein(1879-1955)

***

Science is organised knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

Immanuel Kant