Nigerian Cyber Criminals Target Smartphone Users Now

Have you ever dreamt of spying like a secret agent in an action movie? With gadgets like cameras, voice recorders and memory devices dropping to Size 0, it is possible, and spammers are trying to convince you exactly this. Now, Nigerian cyber criminals are arriving in new avatars -- targeting your smart phones. The spammers offer a solution to those who wish to eavesdrop on others' phones. The solution is not a bug, but a software that once installed on the target phone, sends back information of all the calls and messages originating from the target phone to your phone. And those who decide to purchase this spy device are asked to download the `unique MMS phone interceptor loader' on their own mobile phones. This could be a potentially dangerous step towards installing malware into your own phone. Once installed in your smartphone, it affects phones running Windows on CE platform on ARM processors. It spreads by generating new polymorphic copies of itself each time, and can cause a severe nuisance on a compromised phone (including unwanted phone calls to toll numbers). This has been the emerging cyber crime trend during the first half of 2009, where cyber criminals have started attacking smartphones also. This is apart from the popular phishing mails of the year, which include Obama spams, Michael Jackson spams and Harry Potter spams, which target mail accounts. According to Ratnamala Dam Manna, director of security technology and responses, Symantec Corporation, 90% of all e-mails during 2009 have been categorized as spam. The variants of Nigeria 419 (named after the Nigerian Penal Code it violates) are turning out to be dangerous and have even started attacking mobile phones. Another piece of bad news for the ever-increasing smartphone users in India is that a deadly smartphone is on the prowl and could be sending the spams. `Sexy girl', the world's first smartphone work, is on the loose, making its way into smartphone inboxes, Manna said. VoIP new target The spammers are also targeting Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) users, by creating fake accounts and offering VoIP services to existing users. After compromising the user's account, they send invites to others, using the `invite friend' functionary. MAJOR SPAMS OF THE YEAR

* US President Obama's health service programmes The spams, which have lines like `No health care and can't afford pills? You can now! Obama Sponsored Med Program' and `Obama isn't helping: Let us give you cheap pills'.
* Michael Jackson's death, which has lines like `Jackson is still alive: proof', `Who killed Michael Jackson?', `Jackson's killer found', `Jackson's last interview'
* Harry Potter, with lines like `Full e-book Harry Potter', `Harry Potter interactive e-book', `See Emma Watson Exposed' and so on

Chennai Cyber lab upgraded at cost of Rs 70 lakh

The cyber lab at the city police commissionerate has been upgraded at a cost of Rs 70 lakh and will be formally inaugurated on Friday. The upgraded facility, one of the most sophistictaed in the country, will help the police in solving IT-related cases. "We have had a successful test run, nabbing the Haryana kabaddi player Sumith by using the advanced technology installed," said a senior police officer. The upgraded lab has 68 forensic tools, 43 relating to hardware and 25 to advanced software. The system has an external memory hard disk, which has a storage capacity of 320 gigabyte, as well as an in-built storage facility. Though Bangalore has a cyber lab, the technology is not as advanced as in Chennai. "The lab will be under the direct supervision of the deputy commissioner of police, central crime branch. However, there is a proposal to upgrade the cyber crime wing attached to the assistant commissioner of police to the level of deputy commissioner of police because the wing plays a dominant role in cracking white-collar crime as well as other crimes such as murder for gain," a senior police officer said. The cyber lab will also be useful in investigating cases involving computers, mobile and satellite phones, the internet, issues of tampering, destruction, restoration and retrieval of stored data, hackers who get into protected networks, defamatory and illegal publications, and intellectual property rights and crimes. City police commissioner T Rajendran will inaugurate the lab on Friday morning at a function organised by the city police. Since the cyber crime wing was established in 2003, it has handled 133 cases and more than 2,500 petitions, sources said.

Curtesy: Times of India

Kerala seeks quick action on terror-related cyber crimes

With terror-related cyber crimes having international links, Kerala on Monday asked the Centre to develop protocols with countries having a large Indian population for quick exchange of information. It also suggested that states should develop special wings to keep a tab on their residents indulging in suspicious activities in other states as well as those coming from outside. Addressing the Chief Ministers' Conference on Internal Security on behalf of Kerala chief minister V S Achutanandan, home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said increasing anti- national elements were using digital technology and most of the terror-related cyber crimes have an international link. "But complications arising from international law prevent both effective, immediate responses as well as the tracing of original source. An act which is a crime here may not be a crime abroad. "It is very much necessary that, at least in terror- related crimes, protocols are developed in international community and with countries having large Indian population about immediate exchange of information on such crimes at the request of state police forces," he said.
Curtesy: Times of India

Cops no more interested in checking cyber cafes

LUCKNOW: Are the Lucknow police waiting for another cyber crime to take place. It appears so when one visits the cyber cafes in the state capital. Many cyber cafes have started maintaining records of the visitors but the exercise seems to be a cosmetic one as the entries in the registers are incomplete. The registers have not been checked by the police for months. Last year, the STF arrested a man identified as Shadab from Aminabad for his alleged links with terrorists. According to cops, they got a terror mail and it had links with the state capital as its IP address was from a local cyber cafe. After this arrest, the police and the district administration woke up and ordered for proper maintaining of records by the cyber cafe owners. But after some months, the police seemingly lost interest in the exercise. The cyber cafe owners claim that the registers which they maintain are seldom checked by the police. "I maintained the records properly which included recording of the name and address of the visitors and a photocopy of their identification proofs but not even once any cop had checked my records," said Rajeev, a cyber cafe owner in Aliganj. "It is this carelessness on the part of cops that gives those not maintaining proper records to carry on their business without any fear of the law," he added. Last year, the police organised a slide show by a private firm which displayed the cyber cafe monitoring system (CCMS). The CCMS comprises a biometric system for recording finger prints of a person who uses the work station. This system has some other features like facility to take snapshots, public IP address and MAC address (used to keep record of computer system used in crime). However, after the initial enthusiasm, the fate of the system hangs in balance in the absence of instructions by the authorities concerned. "It is a good system which could have helped us a lot in putting a check on the cyber crime. But we cannot force anybody to adopt the technology and those who have the power to take a decision regarding its use have not come out with a clear directive," said cyber cell incharge and circle officer, Chowk, Vinay Chandra. The system has already been adopted by some cyber cafes in Kolkata. Earlier, the cyber cafe owners and police have stated that the technology was expensive and could not be adopted. The administration and police gave an option to the cyber cafes to go for a cheaper technique, that is the manual maintenance of records with only close circuit television cameras (CCTVs) as technology.

Curtesy: Times of India

India's Cyber Crime Tribunal in red tape mesh

Over two years after the Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (CRAT) — the maiden forum in the country to exclusively try cyber cases — became functional, it recently got a new address and a well-equipped courtroom.
Its head, Justice Rajesh Tandon, remains dissatisfied with the “unreasonable” provision relating to the retiring age of the tribunal’s presiding officer, and the procedural delays in appointments.
Created under the IT Act, the presiding officer of a tribunal is required to be either a judge of a High Court or is/has been a member of the Indian Legal Services and holds/has held a Grade I post in that service for at least three years. The term for the presiding officer has been limited to five years from his joining the post or till he attains the age of 65, whichever is earlier, under Section 51 of the Act. A High Court judge, however, retires at 62; hence he is left only with a three year-term to serve the office, Justice Tandon said.
“A presiding officer will naturally need time to get adjusted to the new arena of cyber laws. By the time he gets accustomed to the functioning of the tribunal, his tenure is almost over,” Justice Tandon said.
Justice Tandon, who earlier served as a judge at Uttarakhand High Court, said: “The Secretary of the IT department received my consent last August, but took more than six months to send me the letter of appointment.”

Curtsey: Indian Express

US Marines renew ban on Twitter, Facebook

WASHINGTON: The US Marine Corps on Tuesday renewed a ban on Twitter and other social networking sites as the Pentagon weighed a similar prohibition over cybersecurity concerns. The Marines had already banned the use of social media on military networks but issued a more detailed order this week defining which sites were out of bounds and noting possible exceptions to the rule, Marine Corps spokesman Lieutenant Craig Thomas said.

"These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries," the Marine Corps said in an order posted on its website. "The very nature of SNS (social networking sites) creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts opsec (operational security), comsec (communications security)... at an elevated risk of compromise," the order said.

Those marines whose assignments may require access to social media could apply for a waiver, it said. Marines working in criminal investigations, press relations and recruiting have a need to use social media to carry out their duties and would likely be granted access, Thomas said. But he said "social networking sites have always been banned in the Marine Corps." The Defense Department meanwhile confirmed it was carrying out a formal review of its policies on the use of social networking sites. In a July 31 memo, the deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, said he had asked the Pentagon's chief information officer to draw up policy options examining the threats and benefits of so-called Web 2.0 capabilities.

The memo acknowledges how social networking sites have proved valuable for recruitment, press relations and sharing information with allies and among military families. "However, as with any Internet-based capabilities, there are implementation challenges and operational risks that must be understood and mitigated," the memo said. The policy review comes as other branches of the armed services have embraced social media with enthusiasm, seeing the sites as a means of reaching a wider audience and spreading information within the military.

The US Army has set up a new office for online social media but the military has struggled to balance security concerns with demands to modernize its communications. Security rules have been blamed for stifling blogging by soldiers from the battlefront, even as some senior commanders write blogs or maintain a Facebook page.

Curtsey: Times of India

China Internet addict beaten to death in rehab: Reports

BEIJING: A teenager was allegedly beaten to death by trainers at a rehabilitation camp in southern China where his parents had sent him to cure his Internet addiction, reports said on Tuesday.

The three supervisors who allegedly beat Deng Senshan, 16, were arrested after the boy's death early on Sunday, his father Deng Fei told the Global Times. "We are investigating a case where a high school student was beaten to death by his camp supervisors. The case is still under investigation," a police officer in Nanning, Guangxi region, was quoted as saying.

Deng Fei said he paid 7,000 yuan (1,000 dollars) to give his son a month's training at the Guangxi Qihuang Survival Training Camp to rid him of his addiction to the Internet. But instead, he said, the boy was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival and then beaten to death by his trainers who scolded him for running too slowly.

"My son was very healthy and was not a criminal. He just had an Internet addiction when I left him at the camp," Deng Fei told the paper. "We can't believe our only son was beaten to death."

China has the world's largest number of Internet users with 338 million -- more than the entire population of the United States. More than 10 million of the country's 100 million teenage web surfers are Internet addicts, the China Daily said, citing a survey by the China Youth Internet Association last year.

There is controversy over the treatments for Internet addiction and how it is diagnosed. The health ministry last month banned the use of electroshock therapy to treat Internet addiction, the China Daily said.

Curtsey: Times of India

Law Minister of India wants to strengthen Cyber Law

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Union Law Minister Dr. M Veerappa Moily has opined that he would like to see more Acts to deal with the increasing volume and variety of cyber crimes. "Last year the Government of India amended IT Act 2000, which was mainly intended to give legal recognition to e-commerce, including electronic filing of documents. It is only chapter 11 of the said Act that covers a few offences relating to use and abuse of computer system which invites penalty of fine or imprisonment or both," said Moily at the inaugural ceremony new office and court room for Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (CRAT) here on Monday. "On other hand, the United States has several Acts including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Misuse Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Child Online Protection Act. Volumes of cyber crime in our country in course of time will demand a variety of law. Present Indian Penal Codes are quite helpful in tackling IT related offences, but that may not be enough," he observed.CRAT is the first cyber court room established in India. Justice Rajesh Tandon would be the presiding officer of CRAT. Justice Tandon said the government should have an international conference for the enforcement of cyber laws as most of the cyber crimes originate outside the country. Moily also stressed on the need of capacity building and called upon the Ministry of Communications and IT to work out mechanism to deal with technical challenges that are arising with development in technology. "Law should be there to resolve conflict and not to create conflict. Law has to be friendly. We would like to have new capacity building under new technology and law which are coming," said Moily.Moily said he would sit with IT MinisterA.Raja to decide the way in which we can build capacity in this sector. He also expressed concern on the increase in cyber criminal activity and said that there should be stringent laws to check it. "The next world war would be fought in cyber space. Cyber terrorist and Mafias are emerging, whose activities are growing to threaten the sovereignty of our nation and world over."The minister said terrorists often take over us in the cyber space, which is a product of technical innovation. "This we should prevent by putting proper regulation everywhere." He described the cyber space as a parallel universe.Justice KG Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, who inaugurated the CRAT court room, said the increase of computers pose question for legal system. "IT Act addresses some basic aspects such as legal recognition of electronic cards and digital signature for the purpose of entering in to contract. Question may arise how the present law of contract principles still applicable to the contract entered through Internet," he said. The CJI added that cyber courts will be established in various states and an appellate tribunal will also be there. Union IT and Communication Minister A.Raja, along with his State Minister Sachin Pilot, offered to lend all possible support required for the working of this court. Lawyers have welcomed this new initiative of government. However, they also demanded more laws to deal with conflicts in cyber space.

Tips to Reduce Spam in Your Email

Spam is a common, and often frustrating, side effect to having an email account. Although you will probably not be able to eliminate it, there are ways to reduce it.
What is spam?
Spam is the electronic version of "junk mail." The term spam refers to unsolicited, often unwanted, email messages. Spam does not necessarily contain viruses—valid messages from legitimate sources could fall into this category.
How can you reduce the amount of spam?
There are some steps you can take to significantly reduce the amount of spam you receive:

*Don't give your email address out arbitrarily - Email addresses have become so common that a space for them is often included on any form that asks for your address—even comment cards at restaurants. It seems harmless, so many people write them in the space provided without realizing what could happen to that information. For example, companies often enter the addresses into a database so that they can keep track of their customers and the customers' preferences. Sometimes these lists are sold to or shared with other companies, and suddenly you are receiving email that you didn't request.

* Check privacy policies - Before submitting your email address online, look for a privacy policy. Most reputable sites will have a link to their privacy policy from any form where you're asked to submit personal data. You should read this policy before submitting your email address or any other personal information so that you know what the owners of the site plan to do with the information (see Protecting Your Privacy for more information).

* Be aware of options selected by default - When you sign up for some online accounts or services, there may be a section that provides you with the option to receive email about other products and services. Sometimes there are options selected by default, so if you do not deselect them, you could begin to receive email from lists those lists as well.

* Use filters - Many email programs offer filtering capabilities that allow you to block certain addresses or to only allow email from addresses on your contact list. Some ISPs offer spam "tagging" or filtering services, but legitimate messages misclassified as spam might be dropped before reaching your inbox. However, many ISPs that offer filtering services also provide options for tagging suspected spam messages so the end user can more easily identify them. This can be useful in conjunction with filtering capabilities provided by many email programs.

* Report messages as spam - Most email clients offer an option to report a message as spam or junk. If your has that option, take advantage of it. Reporting messages as spam or junk helps to train the mail filter so that the messages aren't delivered to your inbox. However, check your junk or spam folders occasionally to look for legitimate messages that were incorrectly classified as spam.

* Don't follow links in spam messages - Some spam relies on generators that try variations of email addresses at certain domains. If you click a link within an email message or reply to a certain address, you are just confirming that your email address is valid. Unwanted messages that offer an "unsubscribe" option are particularly tempting, but this is often just a method for collecting valid addresses that are then sent other spam.

* Disable the automatic downloading of graphics in HTML mail - Many spammers send HTML mail with a linked graphic file that is then used to track who opens the mail message—when your mail client downloads the graphic from their web server, they know you've opened the message. Disabling HTML mail entirely and viewing messages in plain text also prevents this problem.

* Consider opening an additional email account - Many domains offer free email accounts. If you frequently submit your email address (for online shopping, signing up for services, or including it on something like a comment card), you may want to have a secondary email account to protect your primary email account from any spam that could be generated. You could also use this secondary account when posting to public mailing lists, social networking sites, blogs, and web forums. If the account start to fill up with spam, you can get rid of it and open a different one.

* Use privacy settings on social networking sites - Social networking sites typically allow you to choose who has access to see your email address. Consider hiding your email account or changing the settings so that only a small group of people that you trust are able to see your address. Also, when you use applications on these sites, you may be granting permission for them to access your personal information. Be cautious about which applications you choose to use.

* Don't spam other people - Be a responsible and considerate user. Some people consider email forwards a type of spam, so be selective with the messages you redistribute. Don't forward every message to everyone in your address book, and if someone asks that you not forward messages to them, respect their request.

http//www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-007.html

UAE signs deal to curb cyber threats

Dubai : The UAE has boosted its defenses against cyber threats with the signing of an agreement of between the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) Alliance today. TRA signed the partnership and cooperation with the global alliance on behalf of the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT), which was accredited by the Ministerial Council for Services as the National CERT of the UAE.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, and Dr. Mohd Noor Amin, IMPACT Alliance Chairman. During the signing ceremony at the Godolphin Ballroom 1 at the Emirates Towers in Dubai, Al Ghanim said: “The TRA is pleased to sign this agreement with IMPACT Alliance on behalf of the aeCERT in its continuous efforts to develop the capabilities of cyberspace security in the UAE and to enhance the aeCERT faculties in this area; especially that IMPACT Alliance is the official physical home for Global Cyber-security Agenda (GCA) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).”

IMPACT Alliance is an international organisation based Malaysia that encompasses one of the most advanced and informed Global Response Center (GRC) worldwide. It has partnerships and alliances with multinational corporations and public entities that it coordinates with in exchanging information to provide this network of communications with the fastest alerts on cyber threats, including viruses and attacks.

“IMPACT Alliance has also an Escape Collaborative System, where security experts and professionals from around the world log into it together to form a virtual team of highly accredited experts to solve cyber threat incidents. It also has highly accredited training facilities for its partners and affiliates to join free of charge,” added Al Ghanim. “Hence, by signing this agreement, the UAE, through the aeCERT, has become the first country in the region to be one of IMPACT Alliance’s affiliates and partners, to exchange information and benefit from all the experiences of this global organization to serve the safety of the UAE cyberspace.

“Yet, with the training facilities, even the UAE national ICT human capital will be also allowed to benefit from this partnership. In the final analysis, this agreement represents the core of the TRA strategy, including the strengthening of the UAE ICT sector and the development of the UAE national human capital, especially in the ICT field,” concluded Al Ghanim.

Cyber Crime Cases hit a new high in Japan in 2008

While in 2008 there were further reductions in the overall crime rate, the year saw a 15% increase in Cyber-Crime.
The police across Japan uncovered 6,321 cases of Internet-related or cyber crime in 2008, up 15.5% from the previous year and the highest number since comparable data became available in 2000, a National Police Agency survey showed Thursday. The figure represented a threefold jump from 2,081 cases recorded in 2004.There were 112 cases of threats made over the Internet during the reporting year, up 53 from the preceding year, the NPA said. Among such cases was that of a woman referred to prosecutors in connection with posts she made on a comedian’s blog. The comedian was forced to close his blog due to a flood of abusive messages from other Net users. Libel cases involving the Net came to 61, down 18. In 2008, the police were asked by the general public to look into a record 11,516 potential libel cases, up 29.8% from the previous year.

Source:Japan Today

Four Cyber Crime Cases reported in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Four cyber crime cases registered in Cyber Crime Police station of CID (Criminal Investigation Department). A loss of about Rs 4 lakhs through phishing and hacking cases were reported.
The hackers have drawn an amount of Rs 2.20 lakh from Srinath Imarati, an administrative officer with a private firm, Bearing Point, to four other accounts by making 10 transactions. His account was with ICICI bank of CMH road branch.
He received a `phishing’ e-mail in the name accountsupdate@icici.com which asked for passwords and other details. He believed the mail and gave details through e-mail. On 22nd he noticed his account was debited of Rs 2,20,500. After consulting the bank officials, he lodged a complaint with CID’s Cyber police.
In another incident, Girish C Rath has lost Rs 49,000 from his Axis bank account. He got to know that some miscreants did a unauthorised transfer of money to their accounts by hacking his e-banking password.
In yet another case, Subrahmanya, a senior consultant with WIPRO has registered a complaint with Cyber Crime Police about hacking of his HDFC account and transferred Rs 28,000 to other account.

Express News Service
In another case, Prasanna Kumar, an engineer of ITPL has lost his Rs 58,000 when he was in South Korea on official duty. The money was transferred by hacking the e-mail ID to one MS Aimsing Shankhil’s account.
The hacker had changed the e-mail ID prasana_rpk@yahoo.co.in to rippychuppy@ gmail.com and has also changed the mobile number from the account details.

Netizens dub Pak law ‘cyber terror’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cyber buffs are fretting over a new move by the government to crack down on indecent emails and SMS text messages under which they can be jailed for up to 14 years.

Fatima Bhutto, niece of slain ex-PM Benazir Bhutto, was the first to air apprehensions about the laws against cyber terrorism which threaten death to satirists, spammers and activists alike.

Pakistan’s so-called democratic government has introduced a bill before parliament, the prevention of electronic crimes ordinance that aims to censor our already frightened media and censured citizenry.

According to the bill, anyone found guilty of “cyber terrorism”, an undefined crime is liable to face the death penalty, she wrote in the Guardian.

The Cyber Crime Act has become a cause for much consternation among cyber-buffs. Ahsan, who blogs at fiverupees.blogspot.com, wrote that “the act is draconian in the extreme and its effect on civil liberties will be vast.”

A senior official said overseas Pakistanis can be deported to Pakistan if they violate the cyber crimes law.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4787204,prtpage-1.cms)

IIT engineer is online sex stalker

WASHINGTON: In perhaps the first such case involving an Indian in the US, police in Pennsylvania have arrested an Indian engineer, an IIT graduate, on charges of using the internet for soliciting sex with a minor girl. According to Pennsylvania attorney general Tom Corbett, Nityanand Gopalika (30), in the US on a work visa, allegedly used a chat room to approach what he believed was a 13-year-old girl from Pittsburgh, who turned out to be an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit.

Gopalika, who is from Purnia, Bihar, and a resident of State College, Pennsylvania, was arrested on July 1 when he arrived at a predetermined meeting location. He was arrested, arraigned and sent to the Butler County Jail after he failed to cough up $15,000 cash bail. His preliminary hearing is coming up on Friday, July 24.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Child Predator Unit, Gopalika, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and DPS Bokaro, had a series of chats over several days, questioning the girl about her sexual experiences and describing the sex acts he wished to engage in with her.

Gopalika has also been charged with sending the girl two web cam videos that showed him nude or masturbating in front of his computer.

Cops seized two laptop computers from his vehicle, along with a digital camera, a cell phone allegedly containing a partially completed text message to the "child'', condoms and directions to the meeting location.

The techie is charged with one count of attempted unlawful contact with a minor (related to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse), a first-degree felony which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Additionally, Gopalika is charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to obscene performances), along with one count of criminal use of a computer, all third-degree felonies — each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Nityanand Gopalika's family in Purnia, when contacted, declined to either confirm or deny the information. His brother Shravan claimed he did not know of any arrest and that he had not spoken to Nityanand for two months. He, however, added: ``Please do something to help him''.

Negotiations have been going on for Gopalika's marriage. Gopal, another brother, told TOI on Thursday that the family was unaware of Gopalika's arrest. When informed about it, he refused to comment and, instead, said he would call back.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Indians-Abroad/IIT-engineer-is-online-sex-stalker/articleshow/4810690.cms)

Cyber crooks get biz savvy

Cyber criminals are aping executives when it comes to sales, marketing and risk management in the world of online treachery, according to a report released by networking giant Cisco.

“The novel thing is that they have taken the Harvard Business School, General Electric board room business training and applied it to their old techniques”, said Cisco chief security researcher Patrick Peterson. The US technology firm summarized current threats and said hackers are increasingly operating like successful businesses. Peterson cited how cyber hackers capitalized on interest in the death of pop icon Michael Jackson in June.

Disasters, celebrity doings and other major news is routine fodder for bogus emails and websites booby-trapped with computer viruses, but in the case of Jackson’s death, crooks cranked out fake news stories to dupe readers. “They had their criminal copy editors working on copy for the story as fast as it happened” Peterson said. “They brought the Jackson story to market in a way that rivals media outlets. They have an advantage; they don’t have to do any reporting.”

Billions of spam messages with links to trick websites or videos promising scintillating Jackson images and information were fired off in the days after his June 25 death, according to Cisco.

“Sales leads” that followed online links were turned into “customers” whose computers were stealthily infected with nefarious codes for stealing data, usurping control of machines or other evil deeds.

Cyber criminals are embracing a nefarious version of a “cloud computing” trend of offering computer applications online as services. Commanders of infected computers rent out illegally assembled networks to fellow criminals for sending spam or launching attacks. Peterson also told of an “anti-anti-virus” operation called Virtest that charges monthly fees to keep hackers informed about which security firms can detect their malicious programs.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4778136,prtpage-1.cms )

US government lacks tech talent for cyber defense: study

Bureaucracy and a shortage of employees with technology prowess have left the US government without the talent it needs to defend against cyber attacks, a study warned on Wednesday.

“The results of this research are troubling and, in many ways, familiar,” said the authors of the report, which is intended to check the status of the federal cybersecurity workforce.

“The overriding finding of our analysis is that our federal government will be unable to combat these threats without a more coordinated, sustained effort to increase cybersecurity expertise in the federal workforce.”

The “pipeline of potential new talent” are inadequate, while complicated processes and rules hamper efforts to recruit and retain federal workers with needed technology skills for cybersecurity, according to the study, titled “Cyber IN-Security.”

It also found that there are conflicting views inside government regarding what technology talents are sought in new hires.

The study surveyed 18 federal agencies and experts both inside and outside government, said the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit group based in Washington that authored the study with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

“Numerous factors hamper government’s ability to build a top-notch cybersecurity workforce, making it difficult to fill critical talent gaps,” the study concluded.

US leaders, it suggested, need to vastly improve the way government hires, manages, and cultivates employees with technology talent.

Congress and the White House should also promote and support students learning math and science skills to bolster the future pool of cyber security workers, the study concluded.

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=929f9fd3-a5ca-4492-a417-a8295ea06ede)