Network Security Roundup for November 19, 2003

E-Commerce Times: How Much Is a Hacker’s Head Worth?19-Nov-03 6:44 ET

Story Highlights:“While few people question the existence of Crime Stopper hotlines or highway billboards, Microsoft’s recent plan to offer a bounty for information leading to the arrest of malware authors brings tip lines into the digital age. Will the initiative work — and is it the right approach to catching digital miscreants?”

Full Story on the E-Commerce Times

Story Highlights:“Marking a trend in which large security players are among the last to the party, Internet Security Systems released the first of its new Proventia G Series intrusion-prevention appliances this week, promising proactive protection and ease of use. Atlanta-based ISS said the G200 employs ‘multiple blocking techniques’ to handle legitimate network traffic and Internet ills.”

Full Story on TechNewsWorld

Story Highlights:“A German company launched a new mobile handset on Tuesday targeted at business executives that secures that lines are free from eavesdroppers, sparking criticism that it could also make criminals harder to catch. Berlin-based Cryptophone, a unit of privately held GSMK, developed the phone by inserting an encryption software inside a standard handheld computer phone. This ensures that calls can only be decoded by a similar handset or a computer running the software.”

Full Story on Wired News

Story Highlights:“Lawmakers have yet to get a handle on the best way to combat computer ‘spyware’ that tracks Internet users’ online activity, a nonprofit policy group said. Rather than drafting narrowly targeted legislation to outlaw specific snooping tactics, Congress should establish broad online privacy rights to protect against secret online surveillance, the Center for Democracy and Technology said.”

Full Story on CNN

Story Highlights:“Australia’s first criminal trial for online music piracy has ended with two students each receiving suspended 18-month jail sentences. Charles Kok Hau Ng, 20, and Peter Tran, 19, ran a music-swapping site called MPW3/WMA Land. Available for download were 390 CDs, some 1,800 tracks. The pair charged no money for their service, but were responsible for big losses to the record companies.”

Full Story on The Register