A Miami businessman is suing Bank of America over $90,000 he says was stolen from his online banking account in a case that highlights the thorny question of who is responsible when a customer's computer is hacked into.

Online banking victim files suit; $90,000 lifted from account traced to Latvia

[Google Maps is extremely cool. Great interface. The maps are very good, however they are missing a few things, such as the direction of one way streets. It also does not support Safari yet.]

There also does not appear to be any indication at all of the scale factor. This somewhat limits the usefulness of the maps. That said, the graphical display of the map is very clean and nice to look at, and scrolling around without an http reload is really nice.

Google Maps

Decius wrote:
] [ This was inevitable. Its a good idea for their business and
] a bad idea for computer security on the whole. Its hard to
] argue that Microsoft has a moral obligation to patch stolen
] software, but on the other hand this is going to make a bad
] situation worse. ]

It may have been inevitable, but I think one has a moral responsibility to fix problems they cause. Remember, the biggest victim of vulnerble code is the internet as a whole, not the person who may be using microsofts products without a license. I think you can make a very strong case for microsoft having a moral obligation to provide patches for everyone.

RE: Microsoft: No Patches for Pirated Windows

Cryptologists at Johns Hopkins University have found a way to crack the code stored in millions of car keys. The car security system sold by Texas Instruments involves a transponder chip embedded in the key and a reader inside the car. The transponder emits radio signals, which the receiver in the car has to identify. If there is a mismatch then the car will not start irrespective of whether the key is correct or not.

Cryptologists crack the car key code

Lexus cars may be vulnerable to viruses that infect them via mobile phones. Landcruiser 100 models LX470 and LS430 have been discovered with infected operating systems that transfer within a range of 15 feet.

Mobile virus infects Lexus cars

In the stupidest security move microsoft has made to date, they've decided that pirated copies of microsoft products should not recieve security patches.

What's next, 'How to write a worm', published by Microsoft Press?

Microsoft: No Patches for Pirated Windows

Google has launched a service designed to search TV content from US broadcasters including PBS, NBA, Fox News and C-SPAN.

http://video.google.com

Google switches on TV search beta

] What does it say about the Central Intelligence Agency
] that its agents can crack the secret codes of enemy
] nations but can't unravel a coded sculpture sitting
] outside their cafeteria window?

] This is good news to Elonka Dunin, an executive producer
] and manager at Missouri gaming company Simutronics, who
] is obsessed with cracking Kryptos and thinks that the
] more people who work on the puzzle the quicker they'll
] solve it.
]
] "We have lots of different theories that we're chasing
] down," Dunin said of her band of sleuths, which includes
] some CIA employees. "But there's no way we'll know
] whether we're on the right track until something comes
] loose."

Elonka and Kryptos is currently featured in a front page story in Wired.

Wired News: Solving the Enigma of Kryptos

The problem relates to the way Microsoft implements the 128-bit RC4 encryption algorithm when re-saving documents after their initial creation. In this situation it appears that the programs use the same password key and initialization vectors to encrypt different versions of the same document. Normally where the same password key is being used, different vectors should be used.

MS Office encryption flaw uncovered

] Luckily, there's a solution: the FISH protocol. FISH
] implements an ftp-like interface over standard SSH. Since
] it interacts with the shell, it supports standard
] globbing constructs as well as completion.
]
] The protocol itself is fairly obscure, though.
] Apparently, it was originally developed as a virtual file
] system layer for Midnight Commander (a console-based file
] manager), but was later integrated with the Konqueror and
] Nautilus file managers, and is currently supported by the
] lftp program, too.
] ]
] Despite the fact that FISH has been around for almost six
] years at this point, it has not received widespread
] attention from either the user or security communities.
] It's probably time that both take a look at this nifty
] protocol. Meanwhile, I've found it to be an elegant, if
] obscure, solution to my file transfer needs, and would
] recommend giving it a try.

FISH Protocol