TELECOM Digest     Sat, 1 Oct 2005 16:33:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 447

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    State of the Internet, 2005 (TELECOM Digest Editor)
    'Ethical Hacker' Reveals Trade Secrets (Daniel Sieberg)
    Hackers Shift to Financial Gain (Daniel Siedberg)
    EU Wants Shared Control of Internet (Aoife White)
    United States Says No! Internet is Ours (Bradley S. Klapper)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet.  All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote.  By using -any name or email address-
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               ===========================

Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent.  Chain letters,
viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome.

We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime.   Geoffrey Welsh

               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: State of the Internet, 2005
Date: Sat,  1 Oct 2005 14:28:36 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)


A look at the internet as it stands now, in 2005, from a compilation
originally prepared by CNN.com:

Spam:

"Spam," a slang term for unsolicited e-mail, is a multimillion-dollar
business and a daily nuisance to people the world over. E-mails with
subject lines such as "Miracle weight loss drug!" and "Get Viagra
cheap!" flood inboxes -- along with e-mail to enlarge your penis --
waste time and irritate Internet users. Spam now accounts for 80-95
percent of all e-mail, depending on whose estimate you wish to accept.

Despite the passage of anti-spam laws, the volume of spam has
overtaken other e-mail. According to IBM, three in four e-mails sent
in February 2005 were spam, inventive spammers constantly change their
methods to defeat even the most sophisticated e-mail filters, so the
ratio of spam to.

Hoaxes, rumors and urban legends

Bill Gates is giving away free money! Muggers at malls are using
perfume to render victims unconscious! A cafe at an upscale department
store charged a woman $250 for a cookie recipe! Urban legends like
these make the rounds of inboxes every day, and every day someone is
duped into believing the rumor and forwarding it.

According to Snopes.com, which identifies and tracks urban legends,
the Bill Gates rumor, which began making the rounds in 1997, is still
the most circulated urban legend on the Internet.

Experts advise checking your facts before forwarding messages to your
friends and family. Want to know if an item is true? Check out one of
the many Web sites devoted to investigating and debunking urban myths
and legends.

Chain letters

"Forward this message to 10 people and DO NOT BREAK THE CHAIN!" the
writer implores. Messages like these have been pouring into inboxes since
the inception of e-mail -- taking the old-fashioned chain letter from the
post office to cyberspace. Chain letters are a particularly annoying form of
spam because they often come from friends and promise negative consequences
for not forwarding the message (bad luck or a lost chance at riches, for
example).

Choosing to forward a message, however, could get you in trouble. Many
people don't know it is illegal to start or forward an e-mail chain letter
that promises any kind of return. Anyone doing so could be prosecuted for
mail fraud.

Pop ups/pop unders:

It's practically impossible to surf the Web without encountering some
form of advertising. It's big business, totaling more than $2.8
billion in just the first quarter of 2005. Many savvy surfers have
strategies to tune them out or ignore them, but when the ads are
unexpected or disruptive, tempers flare.

The advent of pop-up blockers has some predicting the death of this
form of advertising. Until that happens, software to block ads and pop-ups
is available, but advertisers are constantly inventing new ways to
circumvent techniques intended to block their ads.

How-to Lessons:

Want to know how to grow cannabis? What are the ingredients for a
Molotov cocktail? What's the best strategy to successfully shoplift?
Web surfers can get just about any kind of information, including
bomb-making manuals, recipes for illegal drugs and even a step-by-step
guide to becoming anorexic.

To date, efforts to regulate controversial sites like these have
failed. The lack of regulation may be a victory for free speech, but
is it compromising public safety? As technology improves and more
people embrace the Internet, the question of freedom of speech versus
public safety is sure to persist.

Piracy (file sharing):

Internet piracy first entered the public's consciousness when Napster
burst on the scene in the late 1990s. Napster allowed users to
download songs without paying for them, which rankled the music
industry. The members of Metallica were among those who sued Napster
(the case was settled out of court).

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit
research group focusing on the Internet, some 17 million Americans are
using the Web, e-mail and other technology -- like their friends'
iPods -- to get bootlegged music.

Online extremism:

Hate groups have been around a long time, but widespread use of the
internet has enabled extremist groups to get their messages to a
worldwide audience. The relative anonymity of the Internet allows
fringe groups to flourish. Hate groups and everything in between use
the Internet to recruit members and promote their agendas.

The U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech of most of these
groups and, as long as no crime is being committed, there is little
that can be done to regulate them.

Pornography:

Sex sells, so it's no surprise that Internet pornography is big
business. Now, instead of an embarrassing trip to buy pornography,
users can just log on the Net and access millions of racy images --
all in the privacy of their homes. Pornographers keep pushing the
limits, catering to just about any taste, fetish or proclivity.

The ease of accessing porn has long worried parents, but efforts to
regulate the industry have largely failed. Internet and spam filters
aid those who want to avoid pornographic material, but pornographers
are constantly creating new ways to circumvent them.

Terrorist groups:

Terror has gone high-tech. In recent years, terrorist groups have set
up Web sites to issue messages, recruit followers and share
information.  Some have even shown video of hostages being killed. On
the Web, terrorist groups can reach millions, while hiding in the
anonymity of cyberspace.  Identity masking and other techniques allow
groups to post their messages with little fear of being tracked down.

Phishing:

The messages look official, down to the spoofed e-mail addresses in
the from line, but if the message asks for personal information such
as credit card or Social Security numbers, chances are it's a
fake. Phishing schemes trick users into revealing personal
information, and scammers use this data to steal the identities of
their victims.

A 2004 study by the Internet Crime Complaint Center found that e-mail
and Web pages are the two primary ways in which fraudulent contact
takes place. The Federal Trade Commission recommends avoiding filling
out forms that come in e-mail messages and that users never e-mail
personal or financial information.

The Internet has been fertile ground for scammers and con artists.
According to the FBI, in 2004 scammers tricked Americans out of more
than $68.14 million, with a median dollar loss of about $220 per
complaint.

The FBI recommends that users closely guard their personal
information. The FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center has more tips
on avoiding online fraud.

Harassment/cyberstalking:

The popularity of the Internet has given stalkers a new medium to
torment their victims. Cyberstalkers track their victims online,
making threats and harassing them. This virtual stalking can be
difficult to prosecute, as some states have not yet adopted
cyberstalking laws.

According to Working to Halt Online Abuse, a volunteer organization
focused on fighting online harassment, 69 percent of cyberstalking
victims are women, while 52.5 percent of harassers are men. To avoid
becoming a victim, WHOA recommends that users select a gender-neutral
username and e-mail address, keep primary e-mail addresses private and
don't give out personal information online.

Spyware:

Spyware is a type of software that gathers and reports information
about users without their consent. Users acquire these unwanted
programs -- often without their knowledge -- by downloading free
software or through e-mail or some instant message applications.

Efforts to rein in spyware have started to pick up steam. A year ago,
Utah became the first state to enact anti-spyware legislation. In
March, the U.S. House of Representatives got into the act, passing the
Internet Spyware Prevention Act of 2005. Despite these measures,
spyware continues to plague Internet users.

Child pornography:

According to the Department of Justice, the trafficking of child
pornography in the United States was all but eliminated in the
1980s. The Internet boom changed that. The new technology has enabled
purveyors of child porn to create and disseminate images and video,
while remaining almost anonymous.

Fraud in General:

The Internet has been fertile ground for scammers and con artists.
According to the FBI, in 2004 scammers tricked Americans out of more
than $68.14 million, with a median dollar loss of about $220 per
complaint.

The FBI recommends that users closely guard their personal
information. The FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center has more tips on
avoiding online fraud.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
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profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.  Copyright Law. If you wish
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For more information go to:
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------------------------------

From: Daniel Sieberg <cnn@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: 'Ethical Hacker' Reveals Trade Secrets
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:52:04 -0500


By Daniel Sieberg

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- What comes to mind when you think of
wireless Web surfing? It may not be security, or lack of it. There are
nearly 30,000 public wireless "hot spots" in the United States at
places such as parks and cafes, but there's more to consider than just
where to log on. The convenience comes with a caveat.

"Understand that the information you're sending is very similar to
standing up here in the park and shouting out all the information --
would I normally do that?" said Richard Rushing, a wireless expert
with security firm Air Defense who visited an Atlanta park to show
security vunerabilities.

Rushing is considered an "ethical hacker" and works with companies to
strengthen their wireless networks. He said many people don't realize
they could have all their personal data stolen while checking out
their checking account.

"It's great to be able to sit somewhere and work without having any
wires attached, no nothing attached, but you have that risk that it
comes back to," Rushing said.

At the park, Rushing was able to log onto an unsecured hotel wireless
signal in a matter of seconds. To illustrate how vulnerable such
networks can be, Rushing then sent an e-mail and intercepted the
entire contents of the message. He could've done the same thing to any
of the dozens of people sitting nearby in the park.

"At any point in time, I can reach out and touch everyone's laptop at
the hot spot, and there's usually not any way of preventing that --
from me touching and looking at other people's stuff at the hot spot
itself," Rushing said.

He also demonstrated a growing concern called "evil twins" -- fake
wireless hot spots that look like the real thing.

For example, he said, a hacker could be sitting around the corner
sending out a wireless signal. It may look like a legitimate one, even
offering people a chance to sign up for service. But if you log on,
the hacker then would have complete access to your machine.

He said anybody with some tech know-how and the right tools can break
into the basic level of wireless security that's commonly used. There
are even how-to video instructions online.

Rushing said people need to imagine that nothing is truly private at a
wireless hot spot.

"A lot of the time you really want to stay away from doing certain
things at the hot spot that you would normally not do if you knew
somebody would be watching," he said.

Nevertheless, Rushing doesn't discourage using wireless. He tells
people to be aware of what they're sending and the potential for
theft. In other words, it's a good chance to read the baseball scores,
but even if you're sitting by yourself, it doesn't mean you are all
alone.

There may be no wires attached, but the convenience still comes with
strings.

Copyright 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without
profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.  Copyright Law. If you wish
to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner, in this instance, Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

------------------------------

From: Daniel Sieberg <cnn@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Hackers Shift to Financial Gain
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:54:04 -0500


By Daniel Sieberg, Staff Writer for CNN.com

      Internet criminals not content to just wreak havoc online

(CNN) -- Internet criminals want your computer, your money and your
identity. And their tactics are becoming increasingly refined and
organized, according to security experts.

The prime objective for hackers and online thieves has shifted from
largely hitting major corporate networks to gaining control of home
desktops, both to steal data and collect processing power.

"Attackers are increasingly seeking financial gain rather than mere
notoriety," said Vincent Weafer, senior director at Symantec
Corp. "During the past year we have seen a significant decrease in the
number of large scale global virus outbreaks and, instead, are
observing that attackers are moving towards smaller, more focused
attacks."

Symantec this week released its Internet Security Threat Report. The
company says it is compiled from data from 500 Symantec customers,
20,000 sensors that monitor network activity around the world and
Symantec's database of vulnerabilities, which includes about 11,000
entries.

The report echoes what many analysts say is a rise in malicious code
for profit; in other words, stealing your sensitive data and selling
or using it. The report's authors also worry that with this tempting
opportunity to make money, virus writers will find stealthier ways to
disable firewalls and other security measures.

"Criminals today view home computers as resources for committing
crimes," writes Jason Milletary, Internet security analyst at the CERT
Coordination Center. "One resource is the increasing amounts of
information of value that we store on our computers, including user
names and passwords for online banks and commerce sites, e-mail
addresses, instant message IDs, and software licensing keys. This
information can be used directly or sold for monetary gain."

Online organized crime

It's that monetary gain that has many security analysts concerned that
the coordination and sophistication behind recent worms and viruses
has escalated to the level of organized crime. Gone may be the days
when it was mostly about kids experimenting with their newfound
hacking skills, though that tendency remains.

With the global nature of the Internet, it's difficult to track down
offenders who hide behind countless networks and often erase their
digital footprints. High-level criminals could be anywhere on the
planet and may recruit younger computer hackers half a world away to
carry out their plans, each one getting a cut of the action, say law
enforcement and security experts.

While terms such as "worm" and "spam" have become part of the
Internet-user vernacular, people should also become familiar with
"bots" and "phishing."

Symantec's Weafer explains bot networks as computers controlled by an
attacker or attackers to launch harmful activities, such as spam,
fraud, extortion and spyware. Symantec's report found that bot network
activity has doubled in the past six months, and these bot networks
often are used for illegal financial gain and are readily available
for third-parties to purchase or rent.

Phishing e-mails appear to be from a reputable source or company,
complete with logo and language, and often ask for personal
data. Symantec found the volume of phishing messages also has doubled
in the past several months, from 3 million messages a day to almost
5.7 million. Often, phishers simply are identity thieves looking for
victims.

And the money can add up.

Profits from online scams can range from a few dollars to several
thousand and in some cases, much more.

In 2004 the average loss to consumers who reported Internet-related
fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a partnership between
the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center) was $240 for
credit card fraud and $907.30 for identity theft.

In June 2005, two men in the UK were sentenced to four to six years in
prison for conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to launder
money. Their operation was connected to phishing scams, which netted
them at least $11.8 million over a couple of years.

Dan Clements, who runs CardCops.com, a service that helps consumers
and companies deal with identity theft, said many phishing e-mails are
designed to get people to launch a virus by opening an attachment or
clicking on a link.

If the hidden program, or Trojan horse, is launched, it could then
look for keywords on your computer, such as "password," "username" or
"login," and send them to the thief's e-mail account. In some cases
the phishing messages contain key-logging software that will enable a
thief to record all your keystrokes, Clements said. Your data can then
end up for sale online in underground chat rooms.

Clements recommends changing passwords and logins every 90 days, and
getting new credit cards every four to six months. If you receive an
e-mail asking to confirm your personal information, he says do not
click on the link in the message. Instead, Clements says to open a new
Web browser window and type in the link. And then delete the message.

Beyond money, the motivations for hackers or computer criminals can
vary. George Spillman is a computer security expert and the event
coordinator for ToorCon, an annual gathering that attracts both
hackers and security professionals. Spillman said hackers sometimes
break in to networks simply because they can; to gain credibility
within the hacking community or because they see it as a puzzle or
challenge. But many times it's more predatory and profitable.

Securing your computer

"The most obvious aspect is trying to steal things like your credit
card number or your passwords to important accounts or, even more
general, just trying to steal 'you' by being able to take your
identity," Spillman said. "Most people don't think much about securing
their computer. They lock their front door when they leave the house
but don't bother to lock their computer."

So what's the best defense?

Howard Schmidt, former White House cyber security advisor, and
president and CEO of R&H Security Consulting, says it's not enough for
people to install a few security programs and move on.

Schmidt offers these tips:

   a.. Install security patches and keep security software updated;
   b.. Do not click on unexpected e-mail attachments;
   c.. Secure your wireless networks at home by turning on encryption
       features;
   d.. Be cautious when using any peer-to-peer products, such as
       file-sharing networks;
   e.. Educate family members on how to use the Internet safely;
   f.. Be aware of taking a potentially infected laptop between home
       and work;

      Find this article at:
      http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/09/26/identity.hacker

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

------------------------------

From: Aoife White <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: EU Wants Shared Control of Internet
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:39:13 -0500


By AOIFE WHITE, AP Business Writer

The European Union insisted Friday that governments and the private
sector must share the responsibility of overseeing the Internet,
setting the stage for a showdown with the United States on the future
of Internet governance.

A senior U.S. official reiterated Thursday that the country wants to
remain the Internet's ultimate authority, rejecting calls in a United
Nations meeting in Geneva for a U.N. body to take over.

EU spokesman Martin Selmayr said a new cooperation model was important
"because the Internet is a global resource."

"The EU ... is very firm on this position," he added.

The Geneva talks were the last preparatory meeting before November's
World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia.

A stalemate over who should serve as the principal traffic cops for
Internet routing and addressing could derail the summit, which aims to
ensure a fair sharing of the Internet for the benefit of the whole
world.

At issue is who would have ultimate authority over the Internet's
master directories, which tell Web browsers and e-mail programs how to
direct traffic.

That role has historically gone to the United States, which created
the Internet as a Pentagon project and funded much of its early
development. The U.S. Commerce Department has delegated much of that
responsibility to a U.S.-based private organization with international
board members, but Commerce ultimately retains veto power.

Some countries have been frustrated that the United States and
European countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of
the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving
developing nations with a limited supply to share.

They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the
Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't
get derailed by some future U.S. policy.

Policy decisions could at a stroke make all Web sites ending in a
specific suffix essentially unreachable. Other decisions could affect
the availability of domain names in non-English characters or ones
dedicated to special interests such as pornography.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

More AP headlines and news reports at:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html   (also)
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html

------------------------------

From: Bradley S. Klapper <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: United States Says No! Internet is Ours!
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:40:32 -0500


By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer

A senior U.S. official rejected calls on Thursday for a U.N. body to
take over control of the main computers that direct traffic on the
Internet, reiterating U.S. intentions to keep its historical role as
the medium's principal overseer.

"We will not agree to the U.N. taking over the management of the
Internet," said Ambassador David Gross, the U.S. coordinator for
international communications and information policy at the State
Department. "Some countries want that. We think that's unacceptable."

Many countries, particularly developing ones, have become increasingly
concerned about the U.S. control, which stems from the country's role
in creating the Internet as a Pentagon project and funding much of its
early development.

Gross was in Geneva for the last preparatory meeting ahead of
November's U.N. World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia.

Some negotiators from other countries said there was a growing sense
that a compromise had to be reached and that no single country ought
to be the ultimate authority over such a vital part of the global
economy.

But Gross said that while progress was being made on a number of
issues necessary for producing a finalized text for Tunis, the
question of Internet governance remained contentious.

A stalemate over who should serve as the principal traffic cops for
Internet routing and addressing could derail the summit, which aims to
ensure a fair sharing of the Internet for the benefit of the whole
world.

Some countries have been frustrated that the United States and
European countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of
the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving
developing nations with a limited supply to share.

They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the
Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't
get derailed by some future U.S. policy.

One proposal that countries have been discussing would wrest control
of domain names from the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers, or ICANN, and place it with an intergovernmental
group, possibly under the United Nations.

Gross dismissed it as unacceptable.

"We've been very, very clear throughout the process that there are
certain things we can agree to and certain things we can't agree to,"
Gross told reporters at U.N. offices in Geneva. "It's not a
negotiating issue. This is a matter of national policy."

He said the United States was "deeply disappointed" with the European
Union's proposal Wednesday advocating a "new cooperation model," which
would involve governments in questions of naming, numbering and
addressing on the Internet.

In 1998, the U.S. Commerce Department selected ICANN to oversees the
Internet's master directories, which tell Web browsers and e-mail
programs how to direct traffic. Internet users around the world
interact with them everyday, likely without knowing it.

Although ICANN is a private organization with international board
members, Commerce ultimately retains veto power. Policy decisions
could at a stroke make all Web sites ending in a specific suffix
essentially unreachable.  Other decisions could affect the
availability of domain names in non-English characters or ones
dedicated to special interests such as pornography.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For the life of me, I do not understand
why United States insists on keeping total control of Internet for
itself, rather than at least sharing control with other countries. I
do not think other countries could make any more of a mess out of
Internet than ICANN and Vint Cerf have already made. I mean, just 
consider how much spam, scam, illegitimate advertising, viruses,
spyware, etc -- in aggregate total about half of the internet -- ICANN
has fostered since its inception. Since ICANN refuses to do anything
about it at all, maybe the Europeans could do better.   PAT]

------------------------------


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career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
(MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35
credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the
skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including
data, video, and voice networks.

The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College
of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the
College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has
state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus
offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum.  Classes
are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning.

Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at
405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at
http://www.mstm.okstate.edu

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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #447
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