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United Investigates After Security Guard Uses Force to Subdue Teen
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX) (10/15/10) Young, Adam D.
United Supermarkets has launched an investigation into a security guard’s use of force in a confrontation with a 15-year-old high school student in Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday. The confrontation began when the teen walked into the store smoking a cigarette. The security guard, who is said to be a 20-year veteran of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office, escorted him out of the store for violating the no smoking policy. Once outside, the teen became verbally abusive to the people around him. The security guard then left the store and attempted to bring the teen back into the building to issue him a trespassing notice. It was at that point that the two had a physical altercation, during which the security guard held the boy to the ground using his entire body weight for approximately eight minutes. The incident was reportedly not the first clash between the guard and the unnamed student. Officials have not said if they believe the security guard acted unprofessionally or was at fault, though a United spokesman did say that the past incidents and the fact that the teen was using abusive language did not justify the guard's use of force. It remains unclear whether the teen was arrested in the wake of the incident. Neither the teen or the guard suffered any serious injuries during the altercation.
Ex-Con Shot in Failed Heist
Wall Street Journal (10/15/10) Gardiner, Sean; Sussman, Anna Louie
A 69-year-old man attempted to rob a bank in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday, one day after he completed a 21-year prison sentence for armed bank robbery. The attempted robbery began around mid-day, when the robber walked into a Chase bank branch, pulled out a knife, and demanded money from the bank's customer service agents. However, the employees could not comply with the demand because the bank did not have any money, as all of the money that was available for withdrawal was stored in its ATMs. The robber then walked out of the bank and into nearby Penn Station, where he was followed by police. The man eventually returned to the street level and flashed his knife to the police. Officers continued to follow the man to a loading dock area, where they ordered him to drop his weapon. The robber refused to drop the weapon and lunged at the officers with the knife, prompting them to shoot him in the right thigh. The wounded man was identified as John Daniel Stolarz, who had just been paroled from Fairton Federal Correctional Institution in New Jersey. Stolarz was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was in stable condition.
Violence Mars Italy-Serbia Match
New York Times (10/13/10) Hughes, Rob
The crowd watching the Euro 2012 qualifying soccer match between Serbia and Italy on Tuesday night had to be evacuated from Genoa's Luigi Ferraris Stadium after some Serbian fans began behaving violently. A group of Serbian fans were detained for two hours by riot police after one individual threw a flare into the Italian goal, forcing the goalie to run for safety. Another fan sat on the fence that divides the home crowd and away supporters and was cutting away at the wire barrier. Earlier in the day, outside of the hotel that the Serbian team was staying at, Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic was hit by flares as he boarded the team bus. Stojkovic, who appears to have been attack because he played for one Belgrade team after playing for a different team in the city earlier in his career, was shaken but not seriously injured in the incident. Serbian soccer federation president Tomislav Karadzie said that the Serbian hooligans involved in the violence are currently back in Belgrade. He added that the violence represented an attack against the state, and that the state must address the issues that led up to the incident.
Tehran Detains 2 German Journalists
Wall Street Journal (10/13/10) Fassihi, Farnaz
Two German journalists have been arrested by Iranian authorities for attempting to interview the family of a woman who had been sentenced to stoning. Iran said that the two journalists were arrested while traveling to the interview because they had entered the country on tourist visas. Under Iranian law, foreign journalists entering the country for work must obtain press visas and coordinate their travel plans with the Ministry of Information. Journalists are not allowed to work under tourist visas and cannot travel outside of Tehran to do their jobs unless they receive written permission from the Ministry of Information and the police. In addition, Iranian authorities have said that they have doubts that the two are journalists at all, and that they may in fact have ties to German-based Iranian opposition groups. Two German consular officials have been asked to investigate the matter and meet with the journalists. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on Tehran to allow the journalists to return to Germany as soon as possible.
Ebooks Embraced, but What About Illegal Downloads?
Canadian Press (Canada) (10/10/10)
Interest in illegal downloads of eBooks appears to be on the rise, according to a study by Attributor, a company that attempts to track and combat the problem of copyright infringement. In its study, Attributor created several fake illegal download sites for some of the most popular eBooks and examined Google search statistics to determine how many people were looking for illegal downloads for eBooks. The study found that there are between 1.5 million and 3 million Google searches for illegal eBook downloads every day, a number that is 50 percent higher than it was last year. Attributor noted that interest in the illegal downloading of eBooks has increased by roughly 20 percent since the release of the Apple iPad. However, Attributor also found that one in five people who surfed to one of its fake download sites clicked on links to Amazon's eBook store and purchased the books they were looking for legitimately. Attributor's Jim Pitkow said that shows that consumers are "malleable" and open to "the different choices they can make." Pitkow added that he hoped that the publishing industry could fight copyright infringement of eBooks in a different way than the music industry has fought the spread of pirated MP3s. This approach could involve getting consumers to "care about the (eBook) choices they make, similar to how they care about fair trade and where they buy their coffee, and how their clothes were produced," Pitkow said.
Cities, Counties Can't Stop Federal Immigration Checks
MSNBC (10/15/10) Johnson, Alex
Officials in a number of jurisdictions are criticizing Secure Communities, the federal government's immigration enforcement program. Under the program, the fingerprints of those arrested in participating jurisdictions are checked against Immigration and Customs Enforcement's database in order to determine whether the suspects are eligible for deportation. If ICE finds that the suspect is eligible for deportation, either because the suspect is in the country illegally or because he holds a green card that has been voided by a previous conviction, it can then begin proceedings to bring the individual into federal custody for possible deportation. Some officials say that they do not want their jurisdictions to participate in the program because they are concerned that immigrants will no longer cooperate with police out of fear of being deported. But while participating in Secure Communities has been characterized as voluntary, jurisdictions cannot decide that they no longer want to take part in the program, according to a memo released by ICE in August. However, the memo also goes on to note that local officials can request a meeting with ICE so that both sides can discuss any problems with Secure Communities and come to an agreement about whether or not the jurisdiction will continue to participate in the program. However, local officials who have been critical of Secure Communities say that ICE has never agreed to such meetings. As a result, it remains unclear whether or not there is any way for jurisdictions to stop participating in Secure Communities, critics of the program say.
US-Bound PAL Passengers Need To Provide More Info
Manila Standard (Philippines) (10/15/10) Apolonio, Eric B.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration are requiring Philippine Airlines (PAL) to pre-file the personal information on all passengers who book flights for the U.S. Beginning on Oct. 15, PAL will be required to send the U.S. the complete name, date of birth, gender, nationality, passport number, visa number, and destination of every passenger on flights to, from, within, or over the U.S. and certain U.S. territories. The rule will apply to flights that begin after Nov. 1. PAL will send the information through its Departure Control System (DCS) for matching against a Homeland Security Department database. The results of the matching will be reflected in the PAL DCS when a passenger checks in for the flight. Other U.S. and non-U.S. based carriers that fly to, from, within or over the U.S., including Guam and Saipan, will also be required to comply with the regulation. Most Asian airlines are already in compliance with the program, which was adopted last year as a counterterrorism measure.
Pakistan Pledges to Attack Al-Qaeda 'Epicenter of Terrorism,' Mullen Says
Bloomberg (10/14/10) Gienger, Viola
In an interview that will air this weekend on Bloomberg Television, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said that Pakistan has pledged to go after militants that have sought refuge in the country's North Waziristan region--an area that Mullen said is the "epicenter of terrorism." As part of the offensive, Pakistani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will shift more than 70,000 troops from Pakistan's border with India to North Waziristan, which lies along the border with Afghanistan. That will bring the number of troops taking part in the offensive in North Waziristan to 140,000. The U.S. wants Pakistan to go after terrorists in North Waziristan because officials believe that terrorists in the region and elsewhere in the country are threatening troops in Afghanistan and could be preparing new attacks on targets in the U.S. or Europe. However, it remains unclear when Pakistan will launch its offensive in North Waziristan. In addition, Kayani's offensive will primarily target groups that represent a threat to Pakistan, not those that U.S. officials consider to be dangerous, Mullen said.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate Calls for D.C. Strikes
Washington Post (10/13/10) P. A16 Miller, Greg
The latest edition of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) online publication "Inspire," which is read by the group's English-speaking followers, includes a number of threats of terrorist attacks against the U.S. For instance, the publication calls for the group's followers to launch shootings at restaurants in Washington, D.C., during lunch hour. AQAP said that such attacks could "take out a few government employees" and would attract widespread media attention to the group. U.S. counterterrorism officials said they were taking the threat against restaurants in Washington, D.C., seriously. "Inspire" also features a separate article that calls on followers to attach a steel mowing blade to the front of a truck so that the vehicle could be used to attack pedestrians in a crowd. Finally, the publication cited the arrest of five Virginia residents in Pakistan last year in warning American Muslims against traveling overseas to participate in jihad. AQAP said American Muslims interested in participating in jihad should do so in the U.S. instead.
U.S. Failure to Retaliate for USS Cole Attack Rankled Then -- and Now
MSNBC (10/12/10) Isikoff, Michael
Despite being presented with evidence that al-Qaida was behind the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen in October 2000, both the Clinton and the Bush administrations passed up an opportunity to retaliate against the terrorist organization, according to experts and information contain in recently declassified documents. Mark Fallon, the chief of the U.S. Navy investigative task force, noted that within two weeks of the attack there was "solid evidence" that al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden were linked to the bombing. However, President Clinton never made good on his vow to retaliate against al-Qaida. He later told the 9/11 Commission that he was never shown hard evidence that bin Laden's operatives were responsible for the bombing. After President Bush took office in January 2001, Roger Cressey, who was then serving as the director of transnational threats, and Richard Clark, the then-chief counterterrorism advisor to the president, urged Bush to launch a full-fledged military and diplomatic response to force the Taliban to stop providing al-Qaida with a safe haven in Afghanistan. Newly declassified documents show that the two were concerned that bin Laden was using the bombing as a recruitment tool. But once again the attack on Cole slipped off the Bush administration's agenda. Condoleeza Rice, who was then serving as the national security advisor, told the 9/11 Commission that the administration decided that "tit for tat" responses to terrorist attacks would be counterproductive. The 9/11 Commission concluded that the failure to retaliate against al-Qaida for the attack on the Cole had grave consequences, including allowing the terrorist group to boost recruitment.
Intrusions at Large Companies Up Sharply in 2010, Study Says
DarkReading (10/13/10) Wilson, Tim
More than 66 percent of enterprises say they have encountered system intrusions in the past 12 months, a significant increase from the 41 percent that reported such intrusions in 2009. VanDyke Software's Sixth Annual Enterprise IT Security Survey finds a noticeable increase in the proportion of large companies reporting a breach of their user machines, office networks, and/or servers. Between 2005 and 2008, the percentage of large enterprises reporting an intrusion ranged from 51 percent to 58 percent, VanDyke says. This year's 67 percent is the highest reported level in five years. For small- and medium-sized enterprises, the percentage reporting an unauthorized breach remained fairly steady between this year and last. Among mid-size companies between 1,000 and 4,999 employees, the proportion reporting a breach was 57 percent in 2009 and 59 percent this year, according to VanDyke. Among companies with 100 to 999 employees, the percentage reporting an intrusion was 45 percent in 2009 and 43 percent in 2010. Among micro-size companies with 99 or fewer employees, the proportion reporting an intrusion was 25 percent in both 2009 and 2010. Fourteen percent of survey respondents blamed hacker/network attacks as the cause of their intrusions, while 12 percent blamed lack of adequate security policies. Malware was listed as the biggest risk for intrusion by 25 percent of respondents, while 17 percent listed hacking and 12 percent mentioned employee error or carelessness.
Carberp Trojan Said to Be Infecting Computers
Bank Systems & Technology (10/12/10) Crosman, Penny
A new Trojan called Carberp may be replacing the Zeus Trojan as the largest malware concern for banks this year as its popularity grows among cyber criminals in America and Europe. According to Microsoft, Carberp is "a Trojan that silently downloads and installs other programs without consent, including additional malware or malware components to an affected computer." TrustDefender of Australia has been keeping a close eye on Carberp and expects it to become a major problem for bankers if it evolves at the same speed as previous Trojans. It has become significantly more sophisticated since it was first detected in May 2010. The Trojan has several very unique characteristics, including the ability to run as a non-administrator, the ability to disable other Trojans so they do not interfere with its attack, and the ability for stolen data to be transmitted in real-time to a Trojan's 'Command and Control' server. TrustDefender CTO Andreas Baumhof said the growth of Trojans, such as Carberp and Zeus, indicates that malware will likely be a perpetual obstacle that worsens over time. This highlights the need for financial institutions and enterprises to offer appropriate security to their users in order to obtain complete protection, especially for cloud based applications.
DHS Launches Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign
Dark Reading (10/11/10) Montalbano, Elizabeth
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a new cybersecurity awareness campaign that aims to encourage Internet users to be more careful when surfing the Web. The campaign—dubbed "Stop. Think. Connect."—is part of October's Cyber Security Awareness Month 2010 and is the result of a collaboration between government agencies, nonprofits, industry leaders, and special interest groups such as the Online Consumer Security and Safety Messaging Convention. It aims to educate U.S. Internet users to help them establish smart Web surfing habits that will lead to increased protection against threats while online. As part of the campaign, which is an extension of DHS' efforts to work with the private sector to improve cybersecurity, DHS will engage with the public in two ways—Cyber Citizen Forums, which are town-hall meetings in which DHS officials will meet with Internet users and discuss ways they can help promote cybersecurity; and the Cyber Awareness Coalition, which will provide public or private organizations with resources they need to help promote cybersecurity.
ITC Steering Committee Meets in Person and Virtually
National League of Cities (10/11/10) Bonavita, Laura; Spirer, Stephanie
Members of the National League of Cities' Information Technology and Communications Steering Committee recently met in Louisville, Ky. Among those in attendance was NASCIO executive director Doug Robinson, who, along with Louisville CIO Beth Niblock, discussed how IT can help state and local governments provide better services to their citizens while simultaneously lowering costs. In addition, Robinson noted that IT can be used by state CIOs to reduce redundancy and manage data. Grant Thornton LLP's Rex Booth discussed how cities need to protect sensitive data from being accessed by unauthorized users and to create protocols governing the appropriate use of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Booth also noted that cities need to be vigilant about complying with these protocols. The meeting comes ahead of NLC's 2010 Congress of Cities & Exposition next month in Denver, which aims to educate city officials on the benefits and risks of using social media and the importance of securing IT networks.
Survey: Enthusiasm for Cyber-Security High, Preparation Lacking
Government Technology (10/08/10)
Symantec and Applied Research recently surveyed nearly 1,600 enterprises in a number of different industries across the world in order to get a sense of what kind of experiences they had with cyberattacks. The survey found that 80 percent of companies believe that the number of cyberattacks has either stayed the same or increased over time. That finding is supported by data from Symantec, which shows that the number of malicious applications has been on the rise for the past five years. The survey also found that cyberattacks have cost each company an average of $850,000 over the past five years, and that a third of companies are extremely prepared for future cyberattacks. In addition, the survey found that two-thirds of enterprises were either enthusiastic, appreciative, or accepting of government critical infrastructure programs. That finding is good news for governments, since it means that enterprises are willing to hear what they have to say about cybersecurity and are willing to cooperate on improving security, says Symantec's Cris Paden. Finally, the survey found that enterprises must educate their employees and have processes in place in addition to using technology if they hope to safeguard their networks.
Abstracts Copyright © 2010 Information, Inc. Bethesda, MD |
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