Day: July 15, 2006

State Dept. probing computer ‘anomalies’ | CNET News.com

State Dept. probing computer ‘anomalies’ | CNET News.com For more info click on above link The State Department is investigating “anomalies” in its unclassified computer system, the agency said Tuesday, declining to comment on a report that the department’s computers had been hacked. The Associated Press said the State Department detected large-scale break-ins of its computers last month in its headquarters and offices that deal with China and North Korea. State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck confirmed only the problem was not a computer virus and that an investigation was under way

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Veterans Affairs faulted in data theft | CNET News.com

Veterans Affairs faulted in data theft | CNET News.com For more info click on above link In a blistering report, the inspector general’s office in the Department of Veterans Affairs said a series of missteps led to theft of hardware containing data on millions of veterans and held up response after the fact. The report, published Tuesday, blames agency officials for acting “with indifference and little sense of urgency” after the loss of the computer hardware in a house robbery. This, in part, caused the department’s slow response to the breach. The theft occurred on May 3,

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Microsoft looks to foil Web spammers – CNET News.com

Microsoft looks to foil Web spammers | CNET News.com For more info click on above link Researchers at Microsoft have developed a tool to scrub search engines of major Web sites that pollute search results and ultimately help clean the Web of spam. Called Strider Search Defender, the tool is designed to dig out Web pages that are a front for spam Web sites, according to a paper published by Microsoft researchers on Thursday. These Web pages typically reside on blogging sites and other services that provide free Web space, the researchers said.

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FCC fines alleged phone records scammer | CNET News.com

FCC fines alleged phone records scammer | CNET News.com For more info click on above link Federal regulators on Thursday voted to impose fines on a Florida company accused of thieving phone call records and selling them on the Web for as little as $100. At its monthly meeting, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously adopted an order that would force LocateCell to pay $97,500–the highest fee possible for an unregulated company in such a situation–for allegedly failing to provide the agency with all the information it had requested about how the company obtained the data it had

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FBI grapples with out-of-date computers – CNET News.com

FBI grapples with out-of-date computers | CNET News.com For more info click on above link our years ago, a former FBI project manager lamented the state of the agency’s primitive electronic case-management system. “There’s no mouse; there’s no icon,” the official told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in July 2002, according to a recent government report. “There’s no year 2000 look to it. It’s all very keyboard-intensive.” Not much has changed since then. According to recent reports, a string of managerial blunders, financial indiscretions and assorted snags have accompanied efforts to modernize the agency’s computer systems.

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No quick fix for government data security | CNET News.com

No quick fix for government data security | CNET News.com For more info click on above link The White House has set an early August deadline for government agencies to encrypt sensitive data, after the embarrassing theft of millions of veterans’ personal information. However, experts warn a quick technology fix will not cure security problems. While encryption and other security technology can help, slipshod handling of data and equipment, poor training and the slow moving government bureaucracy are seen as the main causes of vulnerability. “The White House directive is a good first step, but we’re concerned

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IMF warns of fake e-mails using its name | CNET News.com

IMF warns of fake e-mails using its name | CNET News.com For more info click on above link he International Monetary Fund on Friday warned of a jump in the number of fraudulent e-mails and communications claiming to be from or affiliated with the Washington-based multilateral lender. There has been an apparent spike in such messages recently involving people in the United States targeting recent immigrants and people in cities, an IMF official said. The IMF said U.S. authorities have been informed.

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