The Bush Administration: Richard Clarke: President Bush`s cybersecurity adviser has sought to make computer security a national security issue, taking his case to the private sector companies that now operate the majority of the nation`s most vital computer systems. John Tritak: Director of the Commerce Department`s Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (www.ciao.gov). Full Story and Roster

The official Web site of the government of Pakistan is apparently the victim of a politically motivated attack launched by the latest version of an Internet worm. Virus experts said the Yaha.E worm, first identified on June 15, contains a payload designed in part to disrupt the home page of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan…

1949: Hungarian scientist John von Neumann (1903-1957) devises the theory of self-replicating programs. 1983: Fred Cohen coins the term “computer virus,” to describe a computer program that can “affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself.” Full Chronology

A good electronic password should have a minimum of eight characters, include some punctuation or digits, upper and lower case letters, and should be changed regularly, according to the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team. Full Story

Al-Qaeda members have been investigating ways to carry out devastating attacks by seizing control of dam gates or power grids using the Internet, the FBI says. Evidence found on al-Qaeda laptop computers in Afghanis-tan indicates that cyberterrorism could be a realistic possibility. Logs showed that al-Qaeda members visited Web sites that offer software and programming…

The UK`s cybercrime police force is warning that IT staff could become a target for organised crime and kidnappers. Taking the bank manager`s family hostage used to be a common way for criminals to break into vaults – but soon it could be the IT expert that is the victim of strong arm tactics, says…

Online newspaper Navigator has found its site blocked by Kazakstan`s major internet providers, as a new “cyber” front opens in the ongoing battle between the Kazak government and the independent media. Widely regarded as one of the few independent internet newspapers, Navigator has regularly published material that`s upset the Kazak leadership. Journalists on the paper…

Some video game players got a nasty surprise this week when they downloaded software from a popular online gaming site — the Nimda computer virus. The installer for GameSpy Arcade 1.09, the main file exchange and gaming software of GameSpy.com, available from sites like CNET Networks Inc.`s CNET.O Download.com service, was infected with the Nimda…

Companies in every sector of the U.S. economy may soon find it difficult to operate without cybersecurity insurance, an evolving form of coverage that the Bush administration hopes will be instrumental in steeling the nation`s information technology infrastructure against attack. Full Story

Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence. Led by Pakistani cleric Shaykh Mubarik Ali Gilani, who established the organization in the early 1980s. Gilani now resides in Pakistan, but most cells are located in North America and the Caribbean. Members have purchased isolated rural compounds in North America to live communally, practice their…

Toxic Terror : Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons, edited by Jonathan B. Tucker is an excellent work on past cases of chemical and biological terrorism. Separate authors take on the task of analysing in depth one of twelve cases (Aum Shinrikyo, Alphabet bomber, Rajneeshees, etc.), and do so by utilizing many primary…

The ability to identify and adapt to emerging threats is a critical component of the U.S. homeland security strategy. An article in today’s Washington Post highlights several key pieces of evidence that support the notion that terrorists are looking to acquire a cyberterrorism capability. What this would portend is a major shift in operations, not…

06/27/1981Iran – The prime minister and seventy others were killed in the bombing of the Legislature. 06/27/1993Iraq, Kuwait, United States – U.S. Missile Strike On IraqThe United States launched a multiple cruise missile strike on the site of the Iraqi intelligence service in Baghdad in retaliation for an Iraqi plot to assassinate former U.S. president…

Terrorists at Threshold of Using Internet as Tool of Bloodshed, Experts Say. Unsettling signs of al Qaeda`s aims and skills in cyberspace have led some government experts to conclude that terrorists are at the threshold of using the Internet as a direct instrument of bloodshed. The new threat bears little resemblance to familiar financial disruptions…

Virtually nothing in the world of Sept. 11 relief efforts has come without complications. Charities are being criticized for failing to distribute cash fast enough. Family members are locked in tense struggles over inheritances. Full Story

Comptroller General David Walker Tuesday presented Congress with a reality check: Getting the proposed Homeland Security Department up to speed could take years to accomplish and require a lot more money than anticipated. Full Story

Agency`s Profile, and Its Duties, Have Grown Since Sept. 11. The public profile of the Coast Guard, whose traditional mission has been to patrol the coasts to stop illegal immigrants, drugs and other contraband, has been raised since Sept. 11. It now must also escort vessels into port, enforce safety zones around Navy ships, board…

Bigger Fourth of July crowds, more fervent displays of patriotism — and tighter security — are expected around the country on the first Independence Day since the Sept. 11 attacks. Full Story

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy charged on Wednesday that the Bush administration was effectively asking Congress to put its proposed department to combat terrorism “above the law.” Full Story

Pakistani native accused of link to convicted terrorist. A Pakistani native being held without bail in Oakland because of alleged ties to a terrorist once offered a woman $15,000 to marry him so he could become a U.S. resident, immigration officials said Tuesday. Full Story

Prompted by last week`s unhindered wandering of a private plane through prohibited airspace near the White House, the Pentagon said on Wednesday it would slash the response time by U.S. warplanes protecting Washington. Full Story

FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet head to Capitol Hill on Thursday where they likely will be asked about the failure of their agencies to share information that perhaps could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Full Story

A House of Representatives committee approved a bill on Wednesday that would allow some airline pilots to carry guns for a two-year trial period as a last line of defense against hijackers. The measure would allow about 1 out of 50 commercial pilots to undergo firearms training and carry weapons on board for a two-year…

At 3 o`clock on a weekday afternoon, there are no fewer than 75 travelers standing before the security checkpoint at Raleigh-Durham International Airport here. Proposals to design an expansion of the airport, in part to address this bottleneck, are being considered. Full Story

An American Airlines plane from Newburgh, N.Y., to Chicago made an unscheduled stop here today after crew members learned that a federal employee on board had not informed airline officials that he was armed. Full Story

A biodefense researcher whose home was searched by FBI agents commissioned a 1999 study depicting a hypothetical anthrax attack by mail, The (Baltimore) Sun reported Thursday. The study was commissioned by Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, 48, while he was working in McLean, Va., for defense contractor Science Applications International Corp., the newspaper said. Full Story

The Web site that carried the latest threats from the al Qaida terrorist network against the United States has been suspended. When visited, drasat.com showed the following message: “This account has been suspended for either a violation in Liquid Web Inc.`s terms of services or an issue with payment.” Full Story

Scientists are working on a detection test which they say could be a quick way of spotting dangerous contamination of food or water. Full Story

About 100 U.S. soldiers, accompanied by 50 Afghan fighters, are scouring the rugged mountains in an area where a former Taliban official says Osama bin Laden maintained several hide-outs. Full Story

The police in Northern Ireland have been warning judges, politicians and loyalists that their details have been found on IRA intelligence files. The information was found on a computer seized by the police in searches of republican areas after the break-in at the Castlereagh police complex. Full Story

AFTER viewing US spy plane footage of Friday`s encounter, in which Abu Sabaya is believed to have been killed, President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday called off the search for the bandit leader`s missing body. But the government is not withdrawing the 50,000-peso reward for anyone who can find Sabaya`s remains, the President quickly added. She also ordered…

In an update to an earlier report, a Philippines army officer and a number of Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed in clashes Thursday as local troops, backed by US techical support, stepped up their pursuit of kidnapping groups. Full Story

Senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Tomomitsu Niimi was sentenced Wednesday to death for his role in 26 murders and other crimes committed by the doomsday cult, including two deadly sarin attacks. The Tokyo District Court found Niimi, 38, guilty of playing active roles in 11 crimes perpetrated by the cult, including seven cases of murder and…

A notorious pro-Jakarta militia leader ordered his followers to kill East Timorese independence activists in violence that swept the former Indonesian territory three years ago, a prosecutor said Thursday. Full Story

Indian presidential candidate Abdul Kalam has urged the country`s IT industry to protect the country`s knowledge-based assets. Mr Kalam, a scientist who helped transform India into a nuclear power, called for a national security system to help prevent attacks on the country`s IT and communication networks. Full Story

“Cybercrime today is the equivalent of counterfeiting in the 1860s,” said special agent John Frazzini, speaking to security professionals at the NetSec 2002 conference in San Francisco last week. Frazzini related the simple rationale behind the decision to make the Secret Service, a law enforcement agency best known for protecting the U.S. president, our nation`s…

Chicago-based Near North National Group filed a civil lawsuit Monday against three former employees who allegedly hacked into the insurance brokerage`s computer system to read e-mail and other confidential information. Full Story

Companies` increasing fear of spam email being a vehicle for virus attacks will see the global spend on protection software more than doubling in four years, research shows. Spam and junk mail has replaced employee Internet abuse as the main explanation of organizations` rapid uptake of Internet filtering software. Full Story

One thing that can be said with certainty about network-based intrusion-detection systems is that they`re guaranteed to detect and consume all your available bandwidth. Whether they also detect network intrusions is less of a sure thing. Full Story

The SpyBlocker program he created can wipe out any targets in its path. In doing so, however, it also completely blocks access to large portions of many popular Web sites. Full Story

The need for holistic security management is crucial – the scale of compromised systems around the world has reached unprecedented heights, and all unprotected companies are vulnerable, says Geoff Tuck, regional sales director of Global Network Services at Unisys Africa. Full Story

A former Del Mar man was found guilty yesterday of one count of computer “spamming” that stems from a flood of e-mail messages he sent that shut down the computer system of his former employer, El Segundo-based Tornado Development Inc. Bret McDanel, 29, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Lourdes Baird after a nine-day trial…

Government officials know that cyber-threats exist, but they are not acting fast enough to prevent a serious attack, according to a survey of technology professionals that was released yesterday. Almost half of information technology workers who participated in the survey think a major cyber-attack in the United States is likely to occur in the next…

Microsoft Corp. disclosed Wednesday that it has found three security flaws – one critical – in its popular Internet audio and video software. The flaws were found in Windows Media Player versions 6.4, 7.1 and in its newest Windows XP operating system. The most serious flaw can allow an attacker access to the user`s system…

Polish prosecutors said on Thursday they were searching for a computer hacker believed by the United States to have penetrated the NASA space agency, causing damage reportedly estimated at $1 million. The search was focusing on Poznan in the west of Poland, a country which has a tradition of codebreaking dating back to helping crack…

Police on Monday arrested a hacker, surnamed Huang, for breaking into a local company`s computer system and stealing its programs for an online games company in China, local media reported yesterday. This is the first reported case of a Chinese firm hiring a Taiwanese hacker to conduct such a cyber crime, according to police at…

Hackers affiliated to Al-Qaeda may be planning cyber attacks on nuclear power plants, dams or other critical structures. According to a report in the The Washington Post, an FBI investigation of suspicious surveillance of key computers discovered “multiple casings of sites” nationwide. Full Story

ELN claims to be resuscitation of group established by Che Guevara in 1960s. Includes numerous small factions of indigenous subversive groups, including CNPZ, which is largely inactive today. ELN and CNPZ have attacked US interests in past years but [more recently has focused exclusively on Bolivian domestic targets]. Full Story and More Profiles

No One a Neutral: Political Hostage Taking in the Modern World by Norman Antokol and Mayer Nudell is an essesntial read on the topic of political hostage taking. While this book was published several years ago, one need only look at today`s headlines to determine the need for insights into this continuing phenomenon. Please note…

06/26/1960Somalia – Independence Day (North) 06/26/1955South Africa – ANC Adopts Political Platform 06/27/1981Iran – The prime minister and seventy others were killed in the bombing of the Legislature. 06/27/1993Iraq, Kuwait, United States – U.S. Missile Strike On IraqThe United States launched a multiple cruise missile strike on the site of the Iraqi intelligence service in…

This Travel Warning is being issued to alert Americans to the fact that the Department of State recommends that American citizens defer all but essential travel to India. U.S. Government personnel in non-emergency positions and all family members who departed India in early June remain out of the country. The Department notes that the very…

In light of the June 14, 2002 car bombing in Karachi and the ongoing concern for further terrorist actions against American citizens, the Department of State again reiterates its warning to American citizens to defer travel to Pakistan and strongly urges American citizens in the country to depart. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain at…

The Capitol Police are stockpiling up to 25,000 gas masks to protect tourists, lawmakers and their staffs in case of a terrorist attack, Congressional officials said tonight. Full Story

The FBI searched the apartment yesterday of a biological weapons scientist in Frederick as part of the continuing investigation into the mailing of anthrax-laced letters that killed five people last fall. Full Story

The Bush administration moved ahead today with steps to strengthen the United States` borders, while Congress questioned whether other measures to prevent terrorism were being delayed by plans for a new department for domestic security. Full Story

The International Atomic Energy Agency said today that virtually any country in the world had the radioactive materials needed to build a “dirty bomb,” and that more than 100 of these countries had inadequate controls to prevent their theft. Full Story

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge speaks softly but carries a dire warning. In urging Congress to create a Cabinet-level department quickly to protect the nation against another attack like Sept. 11, Ridge says terrorists might get their hands on weapons of mass destruction — and the United States must be ready. Full Story

Congress should not split up the Immigration and Naturalization Service when including the embattled agency in a new Homeland Security Department, the Bush administration said Wednesday. Full Story

A man believed to have been a roommate of at least two of the Sept. 11 hijackers last summer has been detained and charged with overstaying his visa, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Full Story

The nation`s vulnerability to attacks using nuclear weapons or “dirty bombs” is worsened by its own poorly funded, ill-coordinated efforts to stop the smuggling of radioactive materials, the General Accounting Office said Wednesday. Full Story