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Alleged Antiquities Smugglers Busted
Wall Street Journal (07/15/11) Johnson, Keith
Homeland Security officials report that they have broken up an antiques-smuggling ring designed to bring Egyptian artifacts into the United States illegally. It was the first major crackdown on a cultural-property smuggling network inside the country. Four men have been charged with smuggling artifacts and between October 2008 and November 2009. They have also been charged with money laundering. One of the men, New York-based collector Joseph Lewis, allegedly conspired with two other U.S. antiques dealers and one in Dubai to ship items including Egyptian boats, limestone figures, two sarcophagi, and thousands of ancient coins. All told the collection is estimated to be worth approximately $2.5 million. It is currently unclear where the items came from, but they may have been looted or stolen from their rightful owners. The items will go to the U.S. government until the rightful owners can be identified.
Chamber of Commerce, Businesses Want Anti-Piracy Bill
Reuters (07/13/11) Chew, Cassie M.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 750 businesses and organizations, including NBC Universal, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), are teaming up to push Congress to pass a bill that would protect intellectual property online. Under the legislation, known as the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act, search engines, advertisers, and payment service providers would be prevented from doing business with Web sites that the Justice Department believes are used only to engage in copyright infringement. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its coalition of businesses and organizations believe that the bill should be passed because copyright infringement by international Web sites puts jobs and future innovation in all industries at risk. But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) opposes the bill, saying that it overreaches in its effort to prevent Web sites from engaging in copyright infringement. Wyden could filibuster the bill if it is brought to the Senate floor for consideration.
Most Violent Job in Washington? Nurse's Aide
Associated Press (07/13/11)
A Seattle public radio station's investigative series on workplace violence found people who work as nurse's aides are more prone to violence than employees in any other profession in Washington state. According to the investigation, healthcare workers in Washington state are affected by workplace violence six times as often as the average worker. Frontline caregivers working in emergency rooms and psychiatric wards are even more prone to violence, the report found. The investigative series also found that the most violent workplace in Washington state is Western State Hospital, where defendants are taken after they have been found mentally incompetent to stand trial. There were 313 assaults at the hospital in 2010, though the number of assaults per patient-care hour dropped 30 percent, said James Robinson, the president of the union that represents many of the hospital's employees. Because of the risk of violence, some hospitals have implemented security measures to protect their employees. At Tacoma General Hospital, for example, everyone is required to pass through a metal detector in order to enter the emergency room. In addition, staff members have been given training on how to get agitated people to calm down. However, nurses' unions say that hospitals need to provide their workers with more hands-on training on how to avoid violent situations or bring them to an end.
Putting Athletes in Bubbles
Wall Street Journal (07/12/11) Kinkhabwala, Aditi
Four years ago, former Hoboken, N.J., police officer John Scutellaro started Player Protect, a full-service security company that provides safe drivers and undercover bodyguards for professional athletes. Player Protect's agents are hired by New York-area professional sports teams, including the Giants, the Jets, and the Nets, so that their players can be protected when they are out in public. Agents pick up players in one of Player Protect's vehicles, which are driven by state troopers or police officers from other law enforcement agencies, and accompany them throughout the night. Agents can alert players to trouble, such as nightclub patrons who are planning to do something to the athlete. For example, Scutellaro and his agents once overheard a woman spy on a player and say that she could make herself rich, while a man who had lost a sports bet was overheard talking about breaking a player's leg. Player Protect agents also protect athletes from themselves and their friends. Players who hire Player Protect are not allowed to carry firearms, and individuals who are accompanying the athletes must agree to be searched. Finally, Player Protect agents write reports to NFL Security in order to document disputes that would otherwise involve one person's word against another's.
U.S. City Requires Armed Guards at Some Restaurants
Reuters (07/11/11) Allen, Jonathan
Under a new law approved by the Newark, N.J., City Council, small restaurants in the city will be required to have an armed security guard at night. The new rule comes in the aftermath of a May drive-by shooting at a city restaurant that resulted in an off-duty Newark police officer being shot and killed. The rule would require restaurants that serve 15 people or less to hire an armed guard to monitor the their premises after 9 p.m. Restaurants that do not hire a security guard will be forced to close by 10. Keith Hamilton, an aide to the city council member who sponsored the bill, said that the rule was necessary because small restaurants are magnets for criminal activity. However, many restaurant owners in the area are opposed to the new rule, claiming it places an unfair and expensive burden on small business owners to do something that is law enforcement's responsibility.
Bin Laden Plotted New Attack
Wall Street Journal (07/15/11) Gorman, Siobhan
An analysis of the communications seized during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan in May shows that the al-Qaida leader was attempting to put together a team of terrorists to attack the U.S. on the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. According to U.S. officials, bin Laden was working with al-Qaida operations chief Attiyah Abd al-Rahman to organize a group of people that would carry out the attack. The intelligence gathered in the raid shows that bin Laden and Rahman wanted to recruit terrorists who had valid passports and other travel documents to carry out their plans. However, U.S. intelligence agencies do not know whether bin Laden and Rahman ever succeeded in putting together an attack team, or whether they discussed details such as which targets to attack, though an initial analysis of the intelligence collected during the raid showed that al-Qaida may have been planning to attack trains in the U.S. on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The intelligence illustrates Rahman's importance in al-Qaida. Rahman became a more important figure in the terrorist network after Sheik Sa'id al-Masri, the group's third in command, was killed in a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan last year. However, the intelligence has not helped the U.S. track down any al-Qaida leaders, partly because the al-Qaida leaders were aware that the U.S. had the information following the raid, a top U.S. official said.
India Has No Leads in Mumbai Blasts Probe
Washington Post (07/14/11) Lakshmi, Rama
A coordinated series of explosions tore through the Indian city of Mumbai during Wednesday evening's rush hour, killing 18 people and injuring 131 others. Among the three locations that were attacked was the Zaveri Bazaar, a jewelry market that was also bombed in 2003 and 1993. A bus stop was also bombed on Wednesday. According to Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the bombers used ammonium nitrate with a timer mechanism rather than a remote-controlled bomb to carry out the attacks. Chidambaram also noted that the Indian government did not have any intelligence that indicated that an attack was imminent. Following the bombings, strict security measures were put in place around Mumbai, including police checkpoints in various parts of the city. However, schools and offices in the city were open on Thursday. Meanwhile, the investigation into the attacks is continuing. Forensic teams searched the three bombing sites from Wednesday night into Thursday morning in order to find any evidence that may help investigators track down the perpetrators. No one has claimed responsibility for attacks. Video recorded by surveillance cameras on the streets near the bombing sites is also being analyzed.
Thousands of Airport Security Breaches Raise Alarms
Tennessean (TN) (07/13/11) Stoller, Gary
Recently-released documents from the Department of Homeland Security show that there have been more than 25,000 airport security breaches in the U.S. since November 2001. Of that number, more than 14,000 consisted of people going through airport doors or passageways in order to enter "limited-access" areas of airports without permission. In addition, the documents show that there have been 6,000 incidents in which Transportation Security Administration personnel did not screen or improperly screened a passenger or his carry-on items. There were also more than 2,600 incidents in which a person gained unauthorized access to the sterile area of a security screening checkpoint or exit lane without undergoing all security screening procedures and inspections, the documents showed. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nicholas Kimball said that the data contained in the documents is not cause for concern because the number of breaches since November 2001 amounts to less than 1 percent of the number of airline passengers who have flown to or from U.S. airports over the past 10 years. Kimball also noted that the term "breach" includes accidental security violations that do not pose any danger to the public. But Federal Aviation Administration Security Director Billie Vincent says that the 25,000 security breaches since November 2001 indicates that there is a problem with security at U.S. airports, though he said that travelers should only be slightly concerned about their safety until more information--such as what specifically occurred in the security breaches--has been provided.
Agent Testifies at Bail Hearing for Bulger's Lover
Associated Press (07/11/11)
FBI Special Agent Michael Carazza testified on Monday during a bail hearing for Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of James "Whitey" Bulger who spent more than 16 years on the run with the former leader of Boston's Winter Hill Gang. In his testimony, Carazza said that Bulger's former associate Kevin Weeks said that Bulger first left Boston in late 1994 with another longtime girlfriend but returned early the following year to drop her off and pick up Greig. From early 1995 through late 1996, Bulger and Greig hid out in Selden and Holtsville, N.Y., Chicago, and Grand Isles, La. The couple eventually made it to Santa Monica, Calif., where they lived for nearly 16 years before being captured last month. Bulger and Greig were able to avoid capture by using a number of fake identities. In fact, more than a dozen fake IDs were discovered in the couple's Santa Monica apartment after they were captured. Bulger also used prepaid phone cards to make secret calls from a pay phone in Louisiana. In addition, Bulger made preparations for a life on the run, including keeping safe deposit boxes in Dublin, Ireland, and London, and storing more than $800,000 in cash in his apartment.
Iranian Shipping Hit by Sanctions
Washington Post (07/11/11) Erdbrink, Thomas; Warrick, Joby
Over the past year, the U.S. and other countries around the world have levied sanctions against Iran in the hopes of convincing it to give up its nuclear weapons program. Those sanctions aim to hurt Iran's ability to trade with other countries by restricting its access to international banking, insurers, and transportation companies. Although the sanctions have not hurt Iran's efforts to produce weaponized uranium, officials such as National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said that they are hurting vital Iranian industries. Vietor cited the $60 billion worth of projects in the Iranian energy sector that have been canceled or frozen as the result of the sanctions, as well as the fact that Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to do business with reputable banks around the world or conduct business in either euros or dollars. Despite the public defiance from the Iranian government, some Iranian officials have said that the sanctions have had an immediate and lasting effect on Iran, in part because Iran is increasingly relying on imported food and other goods. However, some experts have said that the sanctions are harming ordinary Iranians more than the country's leaders. Additional sanctions are being considered by the Obama administration, said David Cohen, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Pentagon: 24,000 Files Stolen in Cyber Attack
Politico (07/14/11) Epstein, Jennifer; Martinez, Jennifer
The Pentagon has announced the theft of more than 24,000 computer files by a foreign government. The files were taken from a defense industry computer in a single intrusion in March 2010. Officials have not identified the country behind the attack. Instead they say they are focused on developing new cybersecurity rules to prevent similar attacks in the future. “It is critical to strengthen our cyber capabilities to address the cyber threats we’re facing,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement. The Pentagon has now designated cyberspace to be a new warfare domain, along with land, sea, and air, and has instituted its new rules accordingly. The new rules stress stronger defenses, improved collaboration between the Pentagon and defense contractors, and measures to prevent sabotage from civilian or military employees.
Cyber-Criminals Shift to Compromised Web Mail Accounts for Spam Delivery
eWeek (07/13/11) Rashid, Fahmida Y.
Many spammers are changing the techniques they use for sending out spam messages, according to Commtouch's recently released quarterly Internet Threat Trend Report. The study found that the number of malware-laden emails rose in the second quarter of the year as hackers tried to steal the log-in credentials for victims' email accounts so that they could hijack their accounts and use them to send out spam. The report also noted that attackers tended to target users of major Web mail services such as Gmail and Hotmail who had weak passwords and used their accounts to send spam to all of their contacts. Spammers previously relied mostly on botnets to send out spam messages. The change in tactics followed the shutdown of the Rustock botnet in March, which resulted in a 30 percent decline in global spam levels. Researchers at Commtouch note that spammers do not seem to have recovered from the shutdown of the Rustock botnet, which was carried out by Microsoft and the Department of Justice. Commtouch also notes that spammers were moving away from using botnets because the IP reputation mechanisms that are used in anti-spam products cannot block spam as effectively from hijacked email accounts as they can when the messages are coming from botnets. That is because the IP addresses of Web mail services are legitimate, whereas the IP addresses used by botnets are often blacklisted.
Microsoft Fixes 22 Bugs in July Patch Tuesday
eWeek (07/12/11) Rashid, Fahmida Y.
Microsoft fixed 22 security vulnerabilities across four security bulletins in July's Patch Tuesday update. Three of the patches close holes in the Windows operating system. The four bulletins patched issues in all versions of the Windows operating system and in Microsoft Visio 2003 Service Pack 3, Microsoft said in its Patch Tuesday advisory. Of the patches, only one has been labeled critical. The other three are rated important, according to Microsoft. "Today's Patch Tuesday, though light, should not be ignored, as these patches address vulnerabilities that allow attackers to remotely execute arbitrary code on systems and use privilege escalation exploits," says Dave Marcus at McAfee Labs. Security experts ranked Microsoft bulletin MS11-053, which addressed a core vulnerability in the Windows Bluetooth stack on Windows Vista and Windows 7, as the highest priority. Attackers could take advantage of the vulnerability by devising and sending specially designed Bluetooth packets to the target system to remotely seize control, Microsoft said in its bulletin advisory.
Is the Military Prepared for Cyberwarfare?
Wall Street Journal (07/12/11) Rooney, Ben
Britain's Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Steve Hillier of the country's Royal Air Force is the U.K. Ministry's of Defense's Director of Information Security, charged with putting an end to cyberwarfare. But some are concerned that the country's military is not up to the task of fighting cyber criminals due to their time-consuming processes and asymmetric environment. On July 11, Hillier spokes at the 2011 Annual Defense Lecture in London. The group focused on the challenges, threats and opportunities of cyber in the modern world. While the military is tackling the issue, many question whether it should. Hillier defended the military's ability to combat cyberwarfare. However, when asked if the military was able to operate at the same speed as their opponents, Hillier acknowledged that it is not. Hillier also admitted that there is a bit of a cultural clash between the mentality that the military expects, versus the mindset needed to counter the often highly sophisticated and subtle threats that cyberwarfare presents, which requires flexibility, speed and guile. Hillier stressed that the military was not the lead organization in the country's fight against cyber crimes, but did not clarify who was.
Hacker Group Says It Stole Military Email Addresses
Wall Street Journal (07/11/11) Morse, Andrew
Hackers from the AntiSec hacking movement claimed to have pulled off another security breach on July 11. In an online statement, AntiSec said that it broke into an unprotected server belonging to the McLean, Va.-based military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and stole 90,000 military e-mail addresses and passwords. Booz Allen has not confirmed whether or not an attack took place, saying that it does not comment on specific threats or actions taken against its systems.
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