Global Dispatches: Israeli police uncover Trojan horse espionage ring

Mitch Betts   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Security Stories  

Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Avoiding the Latest Phishing Attacks Safeguarding Critical Data Intercept Spam & Viruses Web Security SaaS: The Next Generation of Web Security Spam Spikes: A Real Risk to Your Business Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

June 06, 2005 (Computerworld) -- Israeli Police Uncover Trojan Horse Spy Ring
Israeli police have uncovered a major industrial spy ring that allegedly used Trojan horse software to snoop into some of the country's leading companies.
A husband-and-wife team, Michael Haephrati and Ruth Brier-Haephrati, was detained last week in London on suspicion of creating the Trojan horse program. The software was sent via e-mail or computer disks to people at targeted companies and was then used by competitors to harvest confidential information from the infected PCs, according to a report in the Haaretz newspaper.
The Tel Aviv-based newspaper detailed how a wide range of businesses, including television, mobile phone, automotive and utility companies, allegedly used the Trojan horse to obtain "tens of thousands" of pilfered documents.
Police told Haaretz that the companies started using the malicious software after engaging the services of any one of three private investigation agencies, which were given the task of carrying out the industrial espionage. The newspaper reported that another 21 people have been detained for questioning in Israel.
• Techworld.com (U.K.) and IDG News Service
U.K. Biometric Test Finds Scanning Glitches
LONDON -- The U.K. government has reintroduced a bill to create a biometric identity card system by 2010 to help fight terrorism and fraud, after having shelved the measure before last month's general election . But it also released a report describing what officials called "teething problems" with the technology.
The report on the U.K. Passport Service's eight-month trial of biometric technology, which involved 10,000 people, cited problems with scanning large fingers and the eyes of people with dark complexions, for example.
Of the three methods tested, facial scanning had the lowest verification success rate, especially in bad lighting, the study found. Fingerprint scanning had a better success rate, but the report said the scanner surface was "too small to scan a sufficient area of fingerprint from participants with large fingers." Eye scanning was the most accurate, but the machines had difficulty scanning the irises of people with dark complexions and people over the age of 59, according to the report.
• Laura Rohde, IDG News Service
Japan Aims for PFLOPS in Supercomputer Race
TOKYO -- Japan this month will begin a research effort to build a supercomputer capable of crunching numbers about 30 times faster than today's fastest system can, the country's government said last week.
Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has established a program with NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and several Japanese universities to develop by 2011 a supercomputer that can perform more than 3 quadrillion floating-point operations per second, or 3 PFLOPS. "We predict that [IBM's] Blue Gene/L or its successors will be working at about 3 or 4 PFLOPS around 2010. Our target is to be at least the same speed or faster," a ministry official said.
• Paul Kallender, IDG News Service
Compiled by Mitch Betts.

Briefly Noted
Transmeta Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif., said last week that it has agreed to sell its Crusoe line of microprocessors to Culturecom Technology Ltd. in Hong Kong for$15 million in cash. Transmeta announced in late March that it would exit the chip-making business after failing to break into the market for notebook PCs .
• Paul Kallender, IDG News Service
Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's largest telecommunications service provider, last month named 46-year-old Peter Thomas Sany CIO, effective Sept. 1, and said he will be in charge of information management and processes. The Bonn-based company also named its first chief technology officer, Anton Hendrik Schaaf, 51, who will be responsible for technology and innovation activities starting June 16.
• John Blau, IDG News Service
Degussa AG, a large specialty chemicals company in D?sseldorf, Germany, has selected AT&T Corp. as its worldwide data network provider under a five-year contract valued at $45 million, AT&T announced last month.
GLOBAL FACT
10 years
Maximum jail sentence for phishing proposed in a U.K. antifraud bill.
Source: IDG News Service

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"If you're controlling document transmission processes, don't overlook your multifunction printers, advises one vendor...." Read more... "Is it just me or is Twitter suddenly experiencing a much, much heavier spam deluge than usual? And how evil..." Read more... Read more Security posts or See all Blogs

DNS hole prompts synchronized patching effort by IT vendors Microsoft plugs nine holes in Windows, DNS, SQL Symantec warns of new Word attack More top stories...

Microsoft sets XP SP3 automatic download for Thursday Don't give Google a free pass on data collection, privacy advocates say after YouTube ruling XP SP3 to reach most users 'shortly,' says Microsoft

This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how. Bill Gates moves on Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft. Five things you should never tell your boss There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss. Hands-On: Firefox 3 fixes what's broke and keeps what's right With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Download this webcast, free, compilments of Webroot Software Go to the webcast  Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs. (Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more. Download this executive briefing  Eliminate SPAM, Gain Productivity Get this white paper now! (Source: MessageLabs) Learn all about the dangers and the costs of spam in all its forms - from stock-touting to spreadsheet. Also, understand the drawbacks of traditional hardware- and software-based defenses - and the unique benefits of MessageLabs multi-layered, managed Anti-Spam solution; as illustrated by a real-world case study where MessageLabs stopped spam cold. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Virtualization Analysis for VMware A Guide to Understanding Messaging Archiving Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver View more whitepapers

• DNS hole prompts synchronized patching effort by IT vendors
• Microsoft plugs nine holes in Windows, DNS, SQL
• Symantec warns of new Word attack
• More top stories 

Security Management Zone Security management is the process of developing a comprehensive data protection plan. It takes into account all potential threats, the existing network environment, the future needs of the organization, and lays out a multi-tiered blueprint to integrate the security technology needed to combat these threats. CDW can help keep your network and data secure. Visit the CDW Security Management Zone now See All Zones

Fired up about IT? Join Sharkbait and share your true tales of IT. SharkBait is the place for you to sound off about everything IT – the good, the bad, and the rest of the weird stuff you deal with every day. New baits

"Security Directions" virtual trade show 2008's Code-Red Security Issues for Protecting the Enterprise Webcasts, white papers, demos, and more. Presented in a unique 3-d environment. Enter our show right now! Click here to enter

In Security Stripping away the trappings of applications, systems and networks, information is the core asset of most organizations. Our columnist describes how asserting the importance of information governance is crucial to making that asset tangible, addressable and protected. Click here to read the latest column by Jon Espenschied