Category: News

In a letter to executives at technology companies, Rep. Adam Putman, R.-Fla., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census, says he’d rather avoid legislating such action–but that the gravity of such vulnerabilities may leave him no alternative.

Putman says he circulated a discussion draft to industry representatives, who responded with “some interesting ideas for alternative approaches” to accomplish the goal of protecting the nation’s computer networks.

More info: [url=http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31974.html]http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31974.html[/url]

A teenage computer student has pleaded guilty to hacking into IT systems at an American nuclear weapons laboratory. More info: [url=http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=126141]http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=126141[/url]

Police have arrested a 17-year-old Brazilian boy living in Tochigi Prefecture on suspicion of violating the Unauthorized Computer Access Law, the police said Friday. More info: [url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20031101wo21.htm]http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20031101wo21.htm[/url]

The retooled patches apply to the Windows Messenger Service vulnerability in Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and to a problem in Windows 2000’s implementation of the Windows Troubleshooter ActiveX control.

Microsoft’s original security bulletins for the two vulnerabilities were made public on Oct. 15, and were rated as ‘critical,’ Microsoft’s highest warning level.
More info: [url=http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20031030S0007]http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20031030S0007[/url]

An Iranian hacker has managed to rob a local bank of some 700-million rials ($83 000) in the first reported case of a bank in the Islamic republic being robbed by computer, according to press reports. More info: [url=http://www.ebcvg.com/news.php?id=1175]http://www.ebcvg.com/news.php?id=1175[/url]

Not to be confused with the instant messaging service with a similar name, Windows Messenger Service is used primarily by enterprises to send pop-up text messages to alert users of such events as impending server shutdowns.

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, which is expected by the middle of 2004, will turn off the service by default.

Current editions of Windows XP have it enabled.

Windows Messenger Service has been exploited by spammers, and security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers have been recently noted by Microsoft.

More info: [url=http://www.securitypipeline.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=V2GPYY5VZ1PW2QSNDBCSKHQ?articleId=15800063]http://www.securitypipeline.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=V2GPYY5VZ1PW2QSNDBCSKHQ?articleId=15800063[/url]