The FTC is stepping the spyware battle - it has shut-down a marketing scheme that scares users into buying spyware detection software when it was not needed, and later failed to remove spyware. The scheme was run by MaxTheater and its principal Thomas Delaney who used email, banner ads, and pop-up ads to drive consumers to their Spyware Assassin website.

One so-called scan – the remote scan – is performed free when consumers
land on the web site. This displays a pop-up message that states,
“URGENT ERROR ALERT: You have dangerous spyware virus infections on
your computer. Click OK to install the latest free update to fix these
errors. Immediate action is highly recommended before you continue!”

At a price tag of $29.95 there were numerous Internet users who actually got scared. The FTC is now seeking a permanent ban on this misleading marketing scheme. See the FTC Complaint.

[Via Out-Law.com, UK -]

Mark Mumma, a technology consultant and anti-spammer is now being sued by Omega World Travel (parent ot cruise.com) for trademark infringement and defamation after Mumma created a site listing his frustrating experience dealing with spam coming from cruise.com. After numerous attempts to opt-out, to talk to Omega’s counsel, or otherwise stop the incoming spam, Mumma threatened to sue under CAN-SPAM. As a result, Mumma was hit preemptively with a $4M lawsuit by Omega.

It seems that both parties come with unclean hands. Mumma argues that because he never opted-in, he should not have to opt-out. Also, there is evidence of his demands to settle for $6,000. Cruise.com on the other hand is using SLAPP-lawsuit tactics (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) which basically allows them to dictate the terms and the location of the lawsuit, hoping to prevent further action from Mumma. Such actions are illegal in California under their Anti-SLAPP statute, but not in Virginia, where cruise.com filed.

Decision on motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over Mumma in Virginia is pending (Mumma is in Oklahoma, but the lawsuit alleges that Mumma’s website contitutes sufficient contact with Virginia to justify personal jurisdiction.)

[Via Slashdot -]

Two Brittons considering themselves as the "Robin Hoods of the Internet" were convicted on Internet piracy charges. They were arrested in a U.S.-led sting operation. Throughout their trial they claimed that they have done nothing wrong - instead they said they simply downloaded the illegal software (calculated by US Customs to be worth more than $1B) just to try it before they bought it.

The two men seem to be a link of a chain of hackers and crackers who take a piece of software to crack it (or remove protections) and then distribute it, usually on peer-to-peer networks.

Once cracked, the testers - often IT managers with
access to sophisticated computer systems - then made sure the
reconfigured software worked before passing it on to the packagers. It
was their job to upload the software onto secure servers from where it
could be delivered to users on the internet.

The packagers would also add special labels to the
software which acted like film credits, ensuring fame and notoriety for
those who had cracked it.

[Via BBC News, UK -]

Before we can effectively fight and legislate against spyware, shouldn’t we first define it?

"Because of the challenges of developing a workable definition of
spyware, nearly all panelists expressed the concern that legislation or
regulations tied to a definition of the term ’spyware’ might define the
term so broadly that it would inadvertently cover some types of
beneficial or benign software," the FTC observes.

[Via Information Week -]

Whenever there is demand - inevitably there will be supply. If your identity has been stolen - there is little you can do - report the breach to your Attorney General’s office and start fighting the credit agencies to clear your name and record. Statistics show that on average it takes $500 and 30 hours of intensive work to clear your name. However, now there is an alternative - hire a private investigator - or "consultant."

In this discouraging, even frightening situation, privacy gumshoes
offer a ray of hope. More adept with gigabytes than guns, these
21st-century Sam Spades can make the problems go away - for a price.

The price, of course, varies, depending on your situation. But what these companies do might appeal to many - help victims understand their legal rights and work
with police and collection agencies to sort out claims - basically,
everything except those tasks that victims must do themselves, such as
report the crime and appear in court.

[Via CBS News -]

Customers who shopped at DSW Shoe Warehouse in the last three months should watch their credit card statements.

The company is still trying to determine how many customers were affected, said spokesman Rob Whitehouse, and how the thieves managed to hack in.

"They (company officials) wanted to get the info out to the consumers as quickly as possible," Whitehouse said.

[Via Columbus Business First, OH -]

Would this string of personal information theft news ever stop? It this a period of increased attacks by hackers, or companies are now going back into their systems and discovering undiscovered breaches because of the heightened scrutiny?

Hackers have gained access to personal information of about 32,000
U.S. citizens on databases owned by publisher Reed Elsevier, the second
company to reveal a major breach in the past month. Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier said the breach at the Seisint unit
was found after a customer’s billing complaint in the last week led to
the discovery that an identity and password had been misappropriated.

Reed-Elsevier is also known to many as the parent company of LexisNexis.

[Via News.com]

Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division
and U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O’Connor of the District of Connecticut
announced yesterday that three men have pleaded guilty to charges of
conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in the first U.S.
cases to be brought as a result of an 18-month, multinational software
piracy investigation known as “Operation Higher Education.”

“Cybercrime and online piracy respect no boundaries,” said Assistant
Attorney General Wray. “Operation Higher Education, and the broader
Operation Fastlink of which it is a significant part, are just another
step in our increasingly global effort to target organized online
piracy at all levels and around the world.”

[Via LinuxElectrons, TX -]

Some tech-savvy MBA applicants would not be studying business this fall. After the announcement of a breach in the online application system used by top business schools was announced in an Internet website, a number of applicants decided to use the easy-to-follow directions and obtain their admission results before the school had oficially released them.

Earlier this week Harvard Business School, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and
Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business have pledged to
reject any applicants who tried to get an early peek at their
acceptance or rejection letter. Other schools asked applicants who had seen their results to come forward voluntarily and explain themselves - how is this for an admissions test?

[Via Washington Post -]

Another proposed anti-spyware legislation is making its way among the numerous Congress committees - the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act, or Spy Act, is sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono (R-California). The bill makes it unlawful for software to hijacking a homepage, or tracking users’ keystrokes; requires that spyware be easily identifiable and removable, and allows personal information collection only after express consent by the user.

"To my mind, invading a personal computer is no different than breaking
and entering a person’s home," said House Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas). "Those who do it are crooks, if not strictly burglars…. I want the FTC to go after them with a vengeance."

Under the bill, the Federal Trade Commission would be allowed to pursue abusers and fine them up to $3 million for each violation.

[Via Wired News -]

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