Fight Katrina frauds

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: M. E. KABAY ON SECURITY
09/27/05
Today's focus: Fight Katrina frauds

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Examples of those who would take advantage of Hurricane
Katrina disaster
* Links related to Security
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Lancope
YOU vs ZOTOB? Is Your Internal Network Safe?

Explore how Network Anomaly Detection Systems (NADS) protect
internal enterprise networks by providing zero-hour detection of
and response to network threats, like Zotob, that easily bypass
traditional security defenses. Download the FREE White Paper
"Zotob: Zero-Hour Detection and Response" at
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=115722
_______________________________________________________________
REVISTING SPYWARE

Spyware can kill your business quicker than spam or viruses.
Spyware insidiously logs your keystrokes, rifles through your
files for password and credit card data, peppers your screen
with ads and slows your PCs to a crawl. So how do you stop it?
Network World reviews 16 spyware stopping products. Click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=115657
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Fight Katrina frauds

By M. E. Kabay

Depravity knows no bounds. Millions of donors had contributed
more than $600 million by Sept. 16 to help the victims of
Hurricane Katrina, according to news wire reports; however, the
FBI also reported that thousands of Web sites have appeared
soliciting money for disaster relief, and many of them are
fraudulent.

A Sept. 13 article from the Associated Press published in the
Washington Post <http://www.networkworld.com/nlsec7412> reported
that "The FBI [had] so far reviewed 2,100 sites, of which 60%
are foreign and thus more likely to be bogus, said FBI assistant
director Chris Swecker."

Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency may have been
scammed; the official Web site listed Pat Robertson's "Operation
Blessing"
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/1411237> as
the second of three recommended charities, yet this charity has
a questionable record in allocation of funds, including
allegedly taking $400,000 of money originally donated for relief
during Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s and diverting it to
send mining equipment to a diamond operation in Zaire in which
Robertson was the principal shareholder. Robertson is reported
to have refunded that money and then escaped prosecution through
political connections.

Some identity thieves have apparently been making donations from
their victims' credit cards. Brian Krebs of the Washington Post
wrote in his blog on Sept. 12 that he saw traffic on a chat
channel clearly indicating that criminals were doing so
("Scammers 'donate' to Katrina Relief Effort"
<http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/> ). Krebs
immediately forwarded the details of the fraudulent credit card
use to the Red Cross and also called two victims to alert them
personally of the fraud in the hope that they could cancel those
donations. These people confirmed that their cards had been
misused.

A Sept. 12 posting on a blog run by Gene Becker, an interesting
musician who works for HP Labs, reported on the misuse in a
phishing scam <http://www.fredshouse.net/archive/000414.html> of
what appears to be a copy of an e-mail appeal from the
Republican National Committee; the original (legitimate) links
to the American Red Cross Web site were replaced by pointers "to
an oddly wholesome looking [Asian Web site] with the title
'God's Family.'"

Network and security administrators would do well to remind all
their users to be on guard about sending money to crooks,
especially when everyone's thoughts and prayers are going out to
the victims of this recent appalling disaster.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. McAfee, Omniquad top anti-spyware test
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlsecuritynewsal6949>
2. Ransomware: How big is your risk?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlsec7741>
3. How to solve Windows system crashes in minutes
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlsecuritynewsal7602>
4. Mass. finalizes plans to phase out Office
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlsec7742>
5. The rise of the IT architect
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlsecuritynewsal7052>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: M. E. Kabay

M. E. Kabay, Ph.D., CISSP, is Associate Professor in the
Division of Business and Management at Norwich University in
Northfield, Vt. Mich can be reached by e-mail
<mailto:mkabay@norwich.edu> and his Web site
<http://www2.norwich.edu/mkabay/index.htm>.

New information assurance journal - Norwich University Journal
of Information Assurance (NUJIA). See
<http://nujia.norwich.edu/>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Lancope
YOU vs ZOTOB? Is Your Internal Network Safe?

Explore how Network Anomaly Detection Systems (NADS) protect
internal enterprise networks by providing zero-hour detection of
and response to network threats, like Zotob, that easily bypass
traditional security defenses. Download the FREE White Paper
"Zotob: Zero-Hour Detection and Response" at
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=115721
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Security newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sec/index.html

Security Research Center:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/security.html

Instant sign-up for Security News Alert:
http://www.networkworld.com/isusecna

Instant sign-up for Virus & Bug Patch Alert:
http://www.networkworld.com/isubug
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

The Trend Micro Threat Map

The Trend Micro Threat Map dynamically displays real-time data
to show worldwide trends in virus and content security threats
as they happen. Collected from actual computer infections, the
Threat Map can be used to help determine appropriate security
policies, based on the prevalence of threats that can adversely
affect your business.

http://www.networkworld.com/go/trendmicro/trend_frr
_______________________________________________________________
May We Send You a Free Print Subscription?
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered
at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by
receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply
today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2

International subscribers click here:
http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html
_______________________________________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail
newsletters, go to:
http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx

To change your e-mail address, go to:
http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx

Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to
this message.

This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com
Please use this address when modifying your subscription.
_______________________________________________________________

Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor,
at: mailto:jcaruso@nww.com

Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118
Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of
Online Development, at: mailto:sponsorships@nwfusion.com

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2005