Daily CyberCrime and Security Report for March 19, 2003

CNN: Looking into the Mind of a Virus Writer
19-Mar-03 10:03:45 ET

Story Highlights:
"Male. Obsessed with computers. Lacking a girlfriend. Aged 14 to 34. Capable of sowing chaos worldwide..."

* * *

"That is the profile of the average computer-virus writer..."

Full Story on CNN

The Register: VX Writers Latch onto Gulf War II Tricks To Spread Worms
19-Mar-03 11:03:28 ET

Story Highlights:
"Virus writers are attempting to tap into public interest in the imminent war between Iraq and the US to lure unwitting users into launching a new email-aware worm..."

* * *

"The Ganda-A worm uses a variety of different email subject lines (including 'Spy pics', 'G.W Bush animation' and 'GO USA !!!!') and message bodies to try and encourage computer users to run its viral attachment..."

Full Story on The Register

Wired: Leaked Bug Alerts Cause a Stir
19-Mar-03 02:00:00 ET

Story Highlights:
"Riley Hassell was bewildered this week when details from a confidential bug report he had written mysteriously showed up on a popular security mailing list..."

* * *

"Hassell, a security researcher for eEye Digital Security, had explained in writing a flaw he discovered in widely used Internet software from Sun Microsystems..."

Full Story on Wired

The Register: People Are the Biggest Security Risk
19-Mar-03 15:32:07 ET

Story Highlights:
"Human error -- not technical malfunction -- is the most significant cause of IT security breaches in the public and private sectors..."

* * *

"That's according to a survey by trade group the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), published yesterday, which calls for a greater emphasis on educating employees about security risks..."

Full Story on The Register

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