Web developers are gathering in London for the first BBC/Yahoo hackday. The free-form event aims to show web developers how to get more out of the data feeds and interfaces the two organisations make available. Those attending will be encouraged to play around with the technology to see what kind of innovative applications they can produce over the weekend.
Hundreds of workers at Cornwall’s Eden Project are at risk of exposure to identity fraud following the theft of a company laptop containing their personal details. The computer was snatched from the car of an employee of the payroll services company Moorepay, which deals with the wages of the environmental complex. The laptop is believed to contain 500 employeesâ names, addresses, bank details, national insurance and phone numbers, and pay rates.
A federal judge in Seattle has denied bail to a man accused of sending millions of illegal “spam” e-mails. Robert Soloway is charged with violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2004 by sending e-mail with fake headers, and with cheating businesses who hired him as a consultant by sending out spam under their names. At a hearing Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Warma argued that Soloway, if free, could use his technical expertise to intimidate witnesses via the Internet. She said investigators are unsure how much money he has.
SANTA FE, N.M. – Officials with the contractor that runs Los Alamos National Laboratory sent top-secret data regarding nuclear weapons through open e-mail networks, the latest potentially dangerous security breach to come to light at the birthplace of the atomic bomb, two congressmen said. The breach was investigated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which rounded up laptop computers from Los Alamos National Security LLC’s board members and sanitized them.
Hackers have infiltrated at least 1 million computers in the U.S. without their owners’ consent, using them to steal personal information or attack other systems, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI plans to notify the computers’ owners, most of whom are unaware that someone is using their computer to commit a crime, according to a statement. Criminals take control of a group of remote computers and use that network to launch attacks.
No retailer wants to be the next TJX Co., victim of one of the largest data breaches in recent history, but many might as well paint a bull’s eye across their marquees and post the sign ”Hackers Welcome.” The TJX breach resulted in at least 45.7 million compromised debit and credit cards used at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other TJX stores. The incident, which easily could have been avoided by a simple software upgrade, will cost TJX millions of dollars.
Sophos says Java-based content is to blame. Child pornography is being injected into web forums by hackers using Cross Site Scripting (XSS), a technique typically deployed to distribute malware. According to Sophos principal virus researcher Fraser Howard, the attacks occur because many websites allow Java-based content on their forums, or do not require adequate user authentication for posting.
Federal prosecutors allege that “Spam King” Robert Soloway has sent tens of millions of e-mail messages since 2003 to advertise his company, which offered software to send out broadcast e-mails. For $495, customers could have an ad sent to 20 million e-mail addresses or receive software allowing them to send up to 80 million e-mails. A man accused of defrauding people through tens of millions of spam e-mail messages sent around the world was denied bail.
Faculty members at the University of Virginia have had their personal records hacked, including salary details and social security numbers. The hack, which is believed to have gone undetected for two years, netted details on over 6,000 staff who had taught at the university from 1990 to August 2003. The hacker defaced a web page on the university’s portal and when IT staff cleaned up they found evidence of the attack. “We sincerely regret the distress this causes to our colleagues,” said James Hilton, vice president and chief information officer at the University of Virginia.
A Glendale man is being indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly scanning ATM card data from Dollar Tree stores and using that information to withdraw funds from the associated bank accounts. The indictment alleges that Parkev Krmoian, 44, and another unidentified suspect were involved in the bank and debit card fraud conspiracy. The unidentified suspect may be found driving a light-colored, late model Honda minivan.