law enforcement agencies

FTC targets spam

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

The Federal Trade Commission is taking a hard look at the next generation of spam and what companies can do to fight the impact of malicious emails and phishing. In a new report called "The Next Generation of Threats and Solutions," the FTC said that Internet service providers' spam filters are essential to reducing the amount of spam that gets into a user's inbox.

The FTC is looking at spam and other malware as a consumer problem. It is fielding an increasing number of Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints. While the problem is growing, panelists at a recent summit said there are an increasing number of software solutions that can be employed to stop spam in its tracks. These include email authentication and email reputation services. And panelists at the summit also underscored the importance of educating both consumers and businesses to detect and hunt down spam attacks.

While the FTC can do little to shut down all these malicious attacks, summit panelists said the actions of these spammers are inherently criminal, and criminal law enforcement agencies, across the board, should be shutting them down. The FTC's Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database, is available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad. While the problem has not yet been solved, there are ways to fight a problem that is growing, not shrinking, in cyberspace.

To read more about the FTC's efforts to fight spam:
- See this agency report

Microsoft is serious about fighting phishing

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:01:36 -0500

Microsoft's efforts to shut down phishers are having some impact. According to a news report, Redmond has filed 129 lawsuits abroad against alleged phishers and is working hand-in-hand with law enforcement agencies in both Europe and the Middle East. A recent court case landed a Turkey phisher behind bars for a little over two years. The economic effect of phishing is nothing to sneeze at given that one analyst firm says the malware will cause nearly $3 billion in damages this year alone.

For more on Microsoft's phishing fight:
- read the article at News.com

Related Article: How phishing is getting more sophisticated. Article

CEO's role in scandal under scrutiny

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:01:38 -0400

A report in The Washington Post indicates that HP CEO Mark Hurd was not only aware of the strategy being used in the boardroom spying scandal, he may have even signed off on it. The spying tactics are under scrutiny by a slew of law enforcement agencies and will be the subject of Congressional hearings this month. According to news reports, Hurd supported a deceptive campaign designed to uncover who was feeding media outlets confidential information. It's just the latest revelation in the scandal that clearly won't be dying down anytime soon.

For more on Hurd's role in the HP scandal:
- read the article at InfoWorld

PLUS: HP considered using newsroom spies to ferret out leaks. Article

HP scandal grabs Congress' attention

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

I'm pretty sure that when HP leaders decided to embark on an investigation into board leaks to the media none of them expected the decision would land them in a public scandal that would draw scrutiny from several state law enforcement agencies. And now Congress has joined in, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee expected to initiate a two-day investigative hearing on what exactly the private investigation involved and if privacy laws were breached. HP has already admitted that the private eye firm it hired did engage in "pretexting," and its chairwoman has resigned. The company is promising to provide whatever information the committee requests.

For more on the latest with HP's scandal:
- Here's an article at C/NET News.com

SPOTLIGHT: Online privacy advocates step up efforts

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 19:01:33 -0500

Protecting online privacy of users, clients and customers is a growing issue today as governments such as China's boost censorship efforts. Even U.S. law enforcement agencies believe privacy comes in second behind the right to find criminals and investigate criminal activity. But grassroots efforts to protect the online user's privacy and right to surf in complete anonymity is gaining steam. Article