Symantec ranks India as 5th in cyber crime

Symantec in its “Internet Security Threat” 2009 report has ranked India 5th in malicious activity, i.e. a climb of six places. India is the highest spam originating country in the world, contributing 4 per cent to the worldwide spam volumes, while the country ranks first in the Asian region. On the basis of web-based attacks,India has gone up from the rank of 13 in 2008 to rank 3 in 2009, next to US and Brazil. Of the phishing URLs identified in India, 91 per cent targeted the financial services sector last year.
source:http://www.cyberlawtimes.com/2010/04/28/symantec-india-ranks-5th-world-cyber-crime/

Google India Faces Defamation Suit

Bombay High Court has ordered Google to disclose the identity of a blogger who allegedly had criticized a Mumbai based construction company. The judgment has come in pursuance of a suit filed by Mumbai-based Gremach Infrastructure Equipments & Projects Ltd. Appellant in the plea had demanded for Google’s discloser of the name of the person who had criticized them using Google'sblogging service.

Now, if Google does not disclose the name, it could face the charge of defamation. Incidentally, blogger.com offers a facility to a blogger to blog without disclosing real identity. And, in the given case the blogger had used the name ‘Toxic Writer’ and had criticized the said company. Now, the Bombay High Court has asked Google to present the blog written on February 26.

The court observed that there is merit in the contention, and on the basis of the article put up by the defendant on the blog site defamation is apparent. The court further ordered to defendant to reveal the identity of the blogger within four weeks of the order.

My Comment:

This is an absolute case of defamation but based on the definition of the defamation all the conditions of defamation should be met for the court to accept this as defamation. Regardless of the presence of the defamation conditions, what I'm willing to focus here is not the defamation itself but emphasis on role of third parties involved in such issues. As you see here, even the ISP or the facilitator (Google India) is responsible to control and monitor the content of the virtual space it has given to its subscribers/members.

Source: http://www.india-server.com/news/google-india-faces-defamation-suit-3084.html

'Iranian cyber army' hits Twitter

A group claiming to be the Iranian Cyber Army managed to redirect Twitter users to its own site displaying a political message. Twitter said the attack had been carried out by getting at the servers that tell web browsers where to find particular sites. The site said it would start an investigation into what allowed the "unplanned downtime" to take place

my comment: I believe this case is a cyber crime issue. To be more exact, this should be recognized as website defacing which falls under computer crimes.

source: http://www.qlinks.net/update/2009/12/iranian-cyber-army-hits-twitter.htm

Mumbai CCIC arrests Army officer for Child Pornography

Investigations started in Germany in September 2009, when German Police tracked the IP address to India in respect of some Child Pornography matter. And the Police alerted the Interpol, which through CBI, forwarded the matter to Mumbai Police.
After completing the investigations, the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell raided the flat of the 42 year old lieutenant last week, who was caught red handed, while downloading porn clippings. The Mumbai Police has collected the hard disks, mobile phones, print outs, etc from the residence of the Army officer and booked him under section 67A of Information technology Act.
If convicted, he can be sentenced to a maximum seven years in jail and also fined Rs 10 lakh. The accused has been remanded to Police Custody till 12 May 2010.

my comment:As sending indecent material, in this case child pornography,is an illegal use of internet ,define as computer crime and he is arrested by the cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the Mumbai police for allegedly posting obscene pictures of children on an international web site.

source:http://www.cyberlawtimes.com/2010/05/10/mumbai-ccic-arrests-army-officer-for-child-pornography/

Pakistan blocks Facebook and Youtube

A Pakistani court ordered temporary blocking of Facebook.com on Wednesday due to the controversies over a competition for caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. And the next day on Thursday, similar order has been passed for the blocking of YouTube.com… the Pakistan Government has urged the international community to address the issue at the earliest, as it is an extremely sensitive and emotional matter for Muslims across the world.
A statement from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that YouTube and Facebook websites were blocked after the government failed to convince them to remove "derogatory material". A webpage called "Ban FACEBOOK in Pakistan" has been set up "to condemn the hypocrisy of FACEBOOK. As it won't delete the hate mongering page called "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!".
source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/internet/Web-abuzz-over-facebook-ban-in-Pakistan/articleshow/5957676.cms

'Cybersquatters:' Invading big names' domains

from the clip above you may have a brief definition of cybersquatting and how people can deal with that.so lets take a glance on the case below about cybersquatting.

LONDON (CNN) -- If you are a Madonna fan and want to visit her on the web, do not bother logging on to madonna.com.
If international travel is your online interest, avoid singaporeairlines.com or klm.org and if you want to know more about your favourite drop, guiness.net and steinlager.com will not help.
Confused? So are the individuals and organisations claiming to have had their internet identities stolen by so-called "cybersquatters".
The occupation of website domains by people seeking to trade on famous names is a rapidly growing trend and an increasingly lucrative one.

Scotland's Charles Sweeney is one of Europe's aspiring net name entrepreneurs.
He has claimed the ownership of more than 300 domains ranging from those of famous people and organisations to ones featuring current events.
Despite investing more than £10,000 ($14,500) on the rights to the names, he is confident he can make a healthy living from either trading them or selling advertisements on phantom websites.
"You can register a name for about £12 ($17.41) and once you have, it is yours," he said from his Glasgow home.
"It's a great deal because if you pick the right one it could turn out to be a great investment."
His interest in websites is hardly driven by any technology fixation: "I'm not into computers as such. I'm into buying something for a tenner (ten pounds) and selling it for five grand."
He has just done exactly that.
Sweeney sold his first domain name last month -- the innocuous enough URL londontolet.com -- for £5,000 ($7,255).
He says he held out for the price after quite a few offers.
While that domain name is hardly controversial, Sweeney also has control over babyleo.com, as in Leo Blair, the new son of the British Prime Minister, and babyrocco.com, which is dedicated to Madonna's new son.
He has names featuring the car brands Porsche and Ferrari and has just bought benainslie.com in the hope that the English yachtsman will win a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
It's this variety of cybersquatting that poses a vexing problem for regulators.
The Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) arbitrates domain name disputes and every month, the increase in its workload sets new records.
Almost 1,200 challenges -- a third of them from Europe -- have come before WIPO since its establishment last year.
With the number of URLs now estimated at more than eight million, the United Nations body says its massive job aims to ensure the integrity of the net.
"I think there is a broad-based, underlying interest in having authenticity in identifiers on the internet," Francis Gurry, WIPO's assistant director-general said.
"You aren't dealing with someone face to face. When you type in a name you want to know you are going to that site and not to a pornography site."
source:http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/09/06/internet.domains/index.html

The online gambling addiction

According to statistics, one in ten people has an online gambling addiction and can't get out of it anymore. In addition, the worse the gambling addiction is, the more that they have a loss for life, their circle of friends, their hobbies, and their broken family. One person out of ten becomes a slave and servant to the gambling addiction.

The victims of an online gambling addiction will not take a taxi or go to rehabilitation. On the other hand, the wife shouldn't worry if her husband comes home on foot the next day. In the other aspects, the online gambling addiction is the same. People can hold on for a week, a month, or even longer but then all the same, will wish to get into this ideal world. He will do this especially quickly, if someone reminds him about his illusionary existence every 100 steps.

my comment:althoug online gambling has its own psycological problems it also has some concequences such as tendency to cybercrime or other offences through internet in the purpose of extortion.means that when a person was addicted to online gambling he or she may motivate to commit crime or other offences through cyber space to gain money ,like hacking other's bank account number and in this way hurts other online user.

source:http://www.syl.com/gambling/theonlinegamblingaddiction.html

How to deal with online harassment?

I posted an article about Cyberbullying. Now I think it's necessary and constructive to inform online users what they should do if they found they're involved in any cyberbullying event:


According to ASP Mahfuz Abd Majid of the police's Technology Crime Investigation Unit, this could be due to the problem being settled privately by the parties involved or the victims may feel that there is no significant loss (usually in monetary terms) to warrant the hassle of lodging a report.
Less than 10 per cent of breaches in Internet security made to MyCert are lodged with the police.
If you've been flamed, spammed or harassed in an online community, the experience can be terrifying or plain annoying. Here's what you can do:
1. Do not reply to spam (junk e-mail). It will confirm your e-mail address and lead more spam into your inbox.
2. Ignore the hate mails (being 'flamed') and spam as much as you can. Sometimes, all the perpetrators want is for you to respond.
3. However, once these messages start to distress you, show it to a parent. "If you think your life could be in danger, lodge a report at the nearest police station. They will then conduct an investigation," said Mahfuz.

Source: http://www.cybersecurity.my/en/knowledge_bank/news/2004/main/detail/904/index.html

Cyber Bullying: Questions and Answers

"Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs via the Internet. Vicious forum posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and mean or cruel email messages are all ways of cyberbullying".

Below questions and answers would help you to have a better understanding about cyber bullying.

Q: What does cyber bullying involve? What methods are used?
A: There are several ways that young people bully others online. They send e-mail containing insults or threats directly to a person. They may also spread hateful comments about a person through e -mail, instant messaging or postings on websites and online diaries. Young people steal passwords and send out threatening e-mail or instant messages using an assumed identity. Technically-savvy children may build whole websites, often with password protection, to target specific students or teachers.
These methods are simple as all one needs to know is how to log into the Internet, send/receive e-mail, chat and download files.
Q: Is there any way to trace the bully?
A: Yes, any kind of bullying or illegal activity done via the Net is traceable. This is done by analysing system logs, full headers and other information or evidence that can be extracted from a machine used to carry out the bullying activities.
Q: Is cyber bullying legal? Are there any laws to tackle such cases?
A: Cyber bullying is illegal. Bullies can be convicted under the Computer Crimes Act, the Penal Code or the Juvenile Act, depending on the nature or severity of the case.
Q: Whose responsibility is it to ensure this problem does not persist?
A: It is the responsibility of parents, schools and youngsters to take proactive action to prevent or minimise such activities in the society.
Parents should be more aware of and monitor their children's activities on the Internet. They should even consider installing software in their home PCs to monitor their child's online activities. Parents should also limit the time spent by their children on the computer. Schools can integrate curriculum-based Net-bullying programmes into classrooms and educate teachers, students and parents about the seriousness of cyber bullying. Schools may consider updating the school or board's computer Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to specifically prohibit using the Internet for bullying.

Sources:

1-http://teenadvice.about.com/od/schoolviolence/a/cyberbullying1.htm

2http://www.cybersecurity.my/en/knowledge_bank/news/2004/main/detail/904/index.html

Comment: As everybody is able to act anonymously in the Internet, effective and applicable law should be enacted and imposed by legal entities to enusre this type of crime will be minimized.

what is Meta Tag?

- A meta tag is a tag (that is, a coding statement) in the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that describes some aspect of the contents of a Web page. The information that you provide in a meta tag is used by search engines to index a page so that someone searching for the kind of information the page contains will be able to find it. The meta tag is placed near the top of the HTML in a Web page as part of the heading.
There are several kinds of meta tags, but the most important for search engine indexing are the keywords meta tag and the description meta tag. The keywords meta tag lists the words or phrases that best describe the contents of the page. The description meta tag includes a brief one- or two-sentence description of the page. Both the keywords and the description are used by search engines in adding a page to their index. Some search engines also use the description to show the searcher a summary of the page's contents.

source:http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci542231,00.html

IMPACT: against cyber terrorism: VIDEO

Refer to my last post in regard to Cyber-Terrorism, this is an interesting video which helps you discover more about IMPACT project and cyber-terrorism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQTRnO9Imk

IMPACT: against cyber terrorism!

One of the issues which has become of a serious concerns for most of the governments in digital world is Cyber-terrorism issue. IMPACT is one action in regard to this issue.

IMPACT, or the ‘International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber-Terrorism’, is an international, multilateral, public-private sector collaborative partnership dedicated to searching for and implementing the most effective methods for combating cyber-terrorism.
IMPACT will focus on three main areas of activity -- that is training, security certification, and research and development. IMPACT will also provide a global emergency response center to help governments which face an imminent cyber threat or those already in an emergency situation.

Source:http://www.impact-alliance.org/about_us.html

Is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act already passé?

Live, televised sporting events are popular with consumers and valuable to those owning the copyrights for the broadcasts. The Olympics is somehow more satisfying, if you can see the competition live, even if it means watching freestyle skiing at 3 o’clock in the morning. But, with great popularity comes the threat of piracy. A growing problem for content owners is the illegal streaming of their live events over the Internet in real-time. While the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) provides a mechanism for removing infringing material after it has been posted to a website, the DMCA does not contemplate notification prior to, or contemporaneous with, the transmission of infringing material. Content owners and legitimate website operators are attempting to develop solutions that make it easier for copyright owners to protect their intellectual property rights in live broadcasts.
One of the more promising solutions is video fingerprinting. Video fingerprinting takes advantage of the fact that every digital video exhibits a unique, characteristic pattern. Using various algorithms, there is software that can identify, extract and compress those patterns and create a unique identifier for any video. These unique fingerprints, usually bits of data much smaller than the actual video file, can then be uploaded into databases and compared against video that is being streamed on the Internet. A video stream that matches the fingerprint could be identified and shut down almost immediately or even filtered out by website operators, before it can be broadcast on the Internet.

source:http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=03438c73-689f-4f92-a3e8-eef0150bfa65

CyberSecurity Malaysia Cautions People of Phishing Bank Websites

Today one of my blog viewers had posted an interesting link pertaining to "phishing" in Malaysia. This is the content for all the viewers:

CyberSecurity Malaysia have cautioned people to be watchful of fake or phishing websites used to carry out 'phishing attack' by disguising as reliable entities like familiar banking websites.

In this particular scam, cybercriminal mainly attempts to convince users to visit falsified banking websites. Usually, Internet users are persuaded by using e-mails that are so well written that users click onto a link which would redirect them to a phishing or fake website.

Worryingly, in Q1 2010, Cyber999 Help Centre of CyberSecurity Malaysia registered 143 cases wherein phishing websites targeted Internet banking websites in the country.

The agency asserted that the online users must know that as far as Internet Banking is concerned, banks never carry out online maintenance for their customers. It also noted that it is the customers and not the bank that fall prey to phishing scams.

For example, an e-banking scam victim from Malaysia recently told recently cited his unfortunate story. His money was deceptively transferred to some place in Romania. The victim also said that though online banking is convenient, it is very likely for unwary users, as in his case, to for fall for phishing scams. This is because the perpetrators behind such scams are quite brilliant, tech-savvy people. Websites designed by them exactly imitates the original websites.

The abovementioned example is not the only case and several other similar cases have been reported to CyberSecurity Malaysia.As stated by the agency, while it might not be possible for it to put a complete halt on the occurrence of such incidences, the Internet users can at least defend themselves if they gain know-how of cyber best practices, and take safety measures while browsing the Internet.

In case anyone receives a link to phishing sites or a phishing e-mail, he/she can immediately send it to Cyber999 Help Centre for further investigations.

Source:SPAMfighter News - 30-04-2010,
http://www.spamfighter.com/News-14294-CyberSecurity-Malaysia-Cautions-People-of-Phishing-Bank-Websites.htm

phishing

Phishing is The act of sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Website where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

To avoid getting hooked:

• Don't reply to email or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information, and don't click on links in the message. Don't cut and paste a link from the message into your Web browser — phishers can make links look like they go one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
  
• Some scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a "refund." Because they use Voice over Internet protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card.
  
• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly.
  
• Don't email personal or financial information.
  
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges.
  
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them.

source:http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/aussies-still-ignorant-about-phishing/2007/10/04/1191091252153.html

Email privacy at work: Your employer can lie to you about reading your emails… and then fire you for relying on these lies!

Most employees probably know that the emails sent from their work email accounts are probably being monitored. However, what if your employer repeatedly assures you that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged? What if your employer further tells you that e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used by against you as grounds for termination or reprimand? Can your employer still intercept your emails, read them, and then fire you for the contents…? YOU BET!!


In Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (1996), Pillsbury maintained a company e-mail system which the employees used to communicate among themselves. Mr. Smyth was an employee of Pillsbury. Pillsbury assured Mr. Smyth as well as the other employees that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged and that the e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used against the employees as grounds for termination or reprimand.


The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania surprisingly held that despite the assurances made by Pillsbury, its employees did not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail communications voluntarily made by an employee to his supervisor over the company e-mail system.” The Court went on to hold that no “reasonable person would consider the . . . interception of these communications to be a substantial and highly offensive invasion of his privacy.”



The Pillsbury case, although decided under Pennsylvania law and dating back to 1996, has been cited with approval by courts in other states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Oregon, and Texas.

source:http://cyberlawyerblog.com/2007/05/21/email-privacy-at-work-your-employer-can-lie-to-you-about-reading-your-emails-and-then-fire-you-for-relying-on-these-lies.aspx

Indian National Sentenced to 81 Months in US Prison for Role in International Online Brokerage Hacking Crime

An Indian national was sentenced today to 81 months in prison on conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges arising from an international fraud scheme to “hack” into online brokerage accounts in the United States and use those accounts to manipulate stock prices, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg of the District of Nebraska.

Jaisankar Marimuthu, 36, a native of Chennai, India, was also ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution. Marimuthu pleaded guilty on Feb. 5, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, and to one count of aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett III in Omaha, Neb. Marimuthu, who was extradited to the United States following his arrest in Hong Kong, was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp.

Source: http://cyberlaws.us/indian-national-sentenced-to-81-months-in-prison-for-role-in-international-online-brokerage-“hack-pump-and-dump”-scheme/

Website development contracts: The “handshake deal” can cost you.


Under U.S. copyright laws, the developer of a website owns the intellectual property and copyrightable elements of the website. The copyrightable elements of a website include the text, graphics, scripts, code, and the “look and feel.” Unless there is a contract to the contrary, the website developer’s client only obtains a non-exclusive license to utilize the intellectual property that it paid to develop. Even the copyright notice on the client’s website applies only to the contents that were developed by the client and not to the contents that were created by the developer.
This means that under the default scenario, your business’ website developer can create a very similar website for your competitors. Furthermore, at the end of your business’ relationship with the website developer, the website developer can also demand that you stop using its intellectual property and copyrightable contents. If you refuse, you may find yourself as the defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit. Even worse, your website developer may refuse to facilitate your business’ transition to a new developer. If your business depends on its website, it may never recover from this website hijacking scheme commonly applied by some unscrupulous website developers.
You should be aware of the risks associated with the absence of a carefully drafted website development agreement and should consult with an Internet Attorney before hiring others to develop your website.

source:http://cyberlawyerblog.com/2007/07/22/website-development-contracts-the-handshake-deal-can-cost-you.aspx

When Copyright Goes Bad

did you know that even a pice of music you downloud from websites could be a kind of copyright infringement?

Annas Khatib sued Adam Abdul Hamid

The former director-general of Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority has filed a libel suit against the authority’s chairman, Adam Abdul Hamid.

Datuk Annas Khatib Jaafar, who retired on April 22, filed the suit through Dasuki and Co at the High Court here yesterday. He is seeking general damages, compensation, and aggravated and exemplary damages.

Annas is also seeking an injunction to restrain Adam from publishing or making statements that would affect him.

He claimed that Adam’s statement to the press last month and what he said in a letter dated Feb 6 to the Anti-Corruption Agency meant that he (Annas) had committed misappropriation of funds with regard to the construction of the authority’s RM55 million new complex at Kuala Kedah, Kedah.

Annas claimed that Adam’s statement also meant that he had committed misappropriation of funds by awarding the project to Pembinaan Zakaria Salleh Sdn Bhd through direct negotiations.
He claimed the allegations made by Adam also meant that the price tag was excessive, that normal tender procedures were not followed, and he did not spend government money economically.

Annas said that it indirectly meant that he had committed corrupt practice by offering the project to Pembinaan Zakaria Salleh.

He claimed that the writing, printing and publication were a vicious attack and campaign to deny him from continuing his term in the administrative and diplomatic service.

Annas alleged that Adam must have known that the allegations were not true as the project was implemented in 2002, long before his appointment as the director-general.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/20070509081852/Article