http://www.databreaches.net/?p=8848
HSBC Heist Includes Data on 130,000 Clients Worldwide, JDD Says
December 13, 2009 by admin Filed under Breach Incidents, Financial Sector, Insider
Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) reports that the data stolen from HSBC in Geneva includes information on 130,000 clients from around the world, according to a story in Bloomberg News that cites the paper and a French prosecutor, Eric de Montgolfier.
A former employee at the Swiss bank leaked the information to de Montgolfier, who is probing possible money laundering, the newspaper reported, without identifying the worker. The Finance Ministry in Paris also received some of the data that was stolen and is using it to investigate the 3,000 or so French taxpayers on the list, JDD said.
“Hey, is how legal system vorks in Russia!.”
ID Thief Tries To Get Witnesses Whacked
Posted by kdawson on Monday December 14, @05:13AM from the palpable-escalation dept.
adeelarshad82 writes
"Pavel Valkovich of Sherman Oaks, CA has pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder, admitting that he attempted to hire hit-men to kill witnesses working with Federal authorities in their investigation of Valkovich's ID theft activities and subsequent crimes. According to the Justice Department: '...Valkovich and others had stolen personal identifying information and used that information to transfer funds from victims' bank accounts to PayPal accounts.'"
A reminder that governments are no better at securing data than anyone else...
http://www.databreaches.net/?p=8853
UK: Previous cases of missing data
December 14, 2009 by admin Filed under Government Sector, Non-U.S.
In the wake of another breach involving the Ministry of Defence (not listed on this site as it is not clear whether it involved personally identifiable information), the BBC has published a recap of other breaches.
No wonder I was confused. The answer is yes AND no.
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=6276
Orin Kerr: Does the Fourth Amendment Prohibit Warrantless GPS Surveillance?
December 14, 2009 by Dissent Filed under Court, Featured Headlines, Surveillance, U.S.
Orin Kerr provides his analysis and views on the issue over on The Volokh Conspiracy.
Does the Fourth Amendment require a warrant to conduct surveillance of a government-installed GPS device, such as a device installed on a suspect’s car to monitor the car’s location? This issue comes up occasionally, and the DC Circuit has a case pending on the issue. I don’t think I have ever blogged about it, so I want to offer my thoughts. This post will explain why I think the doctrine here was settled by a pair of Supreme court cases from the 1980s, and why those cases draw a pretty reasonable Fourth Amendment line.
In the 1980s, the Supreme Court decided two cases on whether the Fourth Amendment requires a warrant for the government to monitor a suspect’s location using a government-installed locating device. Both cases involved beepers, defined as “a radio transmitter, usually battery-operated, which emits periodic signals that can be picked up by a radio receiver.” The combined holding of United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276 (1983), and United States v. Karo, 468 U.S. 705 (1984), was that the constitutionality of warrantless beeper surveillance depends on what information the beeper reveals. Beeper surveillance that reveals the location of the beeper in a public place does not require a warrant (Knotts); on the other hand, beeper surveillance that reveals the location of the beeper inside a home does require a warrant (Karo).
Read more on The Volokh Conspiracy.
Interesting that so many governments are working on open source projects. Perhaps that's just an off-shoot of their cyber war R&D, but I suspect not.
French Military Contributes To Thunderbird 3
Posted by kdawson on Sunday December 13, @09:28PM from the mais-oui-l'oiseau dept.
fredboboss sends news about Mozilla's email client Thunderbird 3, whose release we noted last week.
"Thunderbird 3 contains code from the French military, which decided the open source product was more secure than Microsoft's rival Outlook. The French government is beginning to move to other open source software, including Linux instead of Windows and OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office. Thunderbird 3 used some of the code from TrustedBird, a generalized and co-branded version of Thunderbird with security extensions built by the French military."
The next device to ban while driving? Then the radio and maybe the horn...
Are Sat-Nav Systems Becoming Information Overload?
Posted by Soulskill on Sunday December 13, @12:23PM from the pothole-under-right-wheel-in-forty-two-centimeters dept.
curtS writes
"The Economist's tech editor reviews the ever-more-detailed assistance of mobile GPS devices, and wonders if the attention-sucking visual complexity isn't more trouble than it's worth. He contrasts the simplicity of London's Underground map (not directionally accurate but visually easy to understand) and his own habit of dimming the display and using the audio commands for guidance."
What a great way to build a “Bob's best lectures” collection on USB for stocking stuffers!
How To Make A Portable Version Of Winamp For Your USB Drive
By Simon Slangen on Dec. 13th, 2009
A lot of people use USB MP3 players these days, but why not the other way around? Using a standard USB stick (often way cheaper), we can have our music on the go as well.
… By loading the Winamp portable media playing software on a USB stick, as well as your music library, you can listen to your tunes everywhere, as if you were at home.
Hackers can come up with cute names too. (For every tool, an anti-tool.)
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200951/4944/COFEE-loses-some-of-its-impact-thanks-to-DECAF
COFEE loses some of its impact thanks to DECAF
by Steve Ragan - Dec 14 2009, 12:59
The Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) is a tool created by Microsoft to help law enforcement with forensic investigations.
In November, COFEE ended up leaking to the web, and one of the sites hosting it was issued a takedown notice. In the end the notice was pointless, as Wikileaks is now hosting downloads of COFEE, so if you want a copy head here. It is a useful tool, but in our opinion BackTrack is the tool of choice.
Thanks to a new tool, as first mentioned by Dan Goodin over at The Register, there is a bit of protection for those worried about the use of COFEE.
The tool is called DECAF, and according to the site hosting it, DECAF is a “counter intelligence tool specifically created around the obstruction of the well known Microsoft product COFEE used by law enforcement around the world.”
“DECAF provides real-time monitoring for COFEE signatures on USB devices and running applications. Upon finding the presence of COFEE, DECAF performs numerous user-defined processes; including COFEE log clearing, ejecting USB devices, drive-by dropper, and an extensive list of Lockdown Mode settings. The Lockdown mode gives the user an automated approach to locking down the machine at the first sign of unusual law enforcement activity.”
Also, in a moments notice “almost every piece of hardware can be disabled and pre-defined files can be deleted in the background,” the site explains. There is even an option that allows users to test their DECAF settings by simulating the presence of COFEE on the system.
The team behind the tool explain that future versions will contain remote functionality, as well as email and text messaging alerts.
You can download DECAF here.
Something to get my math students' attention. Perhaps a final exam question?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10414473-71.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
How to use math to park a car
by Chris Matyszczyk December 13, 2009 11:00 AM PST
… This formula solves that problem."
Indeed it does. Save for one small issue. You see, a U.K. government survey showed that almost 7 million Brits have math skills that are below the level of an average 11-year-old.
Many places in the US might have larger parking areas, but US math skills are not exactly proportionate. The National Assessment of Educational Progress suggests that only 4 out of 10 fourth- and eighth-graders are, well, any good at math at all. And only 42 percent of high school graduates left prepared for college-level math. [Highly optimistic. Bob]
[The formula is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/6784428/Scientists-create-formula-for-perfect-parking.html
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