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Russians say Nyet to piracy
Computer Fraud & Security Bulletin
May 1992
European books. The computer program counterfeiters reportedly even are duplicating the holograms and other anti-forgery features being applied to legitimate copies of these bogus products. The laser devices used to reproduce these holograms have been estimated to cost up to $1 million if they are broughtthrough legitimate equipment distribution channels. Some idea of the scope of these operations can be drawn from the seizure in late January of 5000 counterfeit copies of Microsoft DOS 5.0 in a raid on a private home in Taiwan. A family-operated pirate software productionfacility in the building maintained a sophisticated multi-head hard disk program copier that could reproduce 10 or more copies of a program simultaneously. The pirated program copies recovered from the raided house had been shrink-wrapped and packaged with all of the documentation and other features of an apparently legitimate version of the product. It was estimated that the 5000 seized pirated copies of Microsoft DOS 5.0 represented a single shipment by the counterfeiting organization. -------------- - -
Computerized errors from US internal revenue The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) erroneously told 36 000 taxpayers who filed returns electronically that they were eligible for refunds amounting to $40 million. This is an increase from a $3 million refund notification error in the much smaller 1991 electronic tax return filing program. This year's error stemmed from an IRS failure to load correct data tapes and led many of the taxpayers involved to use the notification to take out a loan against the anticipated tax refund. When a tax refundactually occurs the funds are sent directly to the loaning bank. In this instance, the affected bank will be forced to collect from the taxpayer or to take a loss on the transaction, as was the case in some instances last year. Belden Menkus
©1992 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
Russians say Nyet to piracy The Russian parliament will enact its first software copyright law in the next few months, according to Leonid Maikov, an executive at ParaGraph JV, Moscow's largest software company. Maikov said that the law has won preliminary approval from the parliament and is supported by the newly formed Association of Software Publishers in Russia. Instant enforcement would result in, "the nightmare of millions of infringers overnight", said Maikov. Therefore introduction of the law is likely to be either delayed or relaxed for current users of pirated software.
... but Da to nuclear power A worker at the Ignalina, Uthuania-based nuclear power plant was discovered introducing a computer virus program into the plant's electronic control system, according to a Tass news agency report released in February and reported in ISM. Citing the Lithuanian government's own press office, Tass said that plant engineers were able to prevent any damage from taking place. The incident apparently took place atthe end of January this year. The agency confirmed that the unidentified worker has been arrested, but was not able to comment on the motives of the worker. Both reactors at the plant have subsequently been shut down, although Lithuanian Energy Minister Salius Kutas commented that this, "had nothing to do with the attempted attack" and was due to 'insignificant' technical details.
Marketplace A PC-LAN security checklist is now available free of charge from the Computer Security Institute (CSI). This 'road map' for the security of LANs allows practitioners to plan a structured security analysis for present and future LAN activity. The checklists can be customized for different environments. To receive a copy, send
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May 1992
European books. The computer program counterfeiters reportedly even are duplicating the holograms and other anti-forgery features being applied to legitimate copies of these bogus products. The laser devices used to reproduce these holograms have been estimated to cost up to $1 million if they are broughtthrough legitimate equipment distribution channels. Some idea of the scope of these operations can be drawn from the seizure in late January of 5000 counterfeit copies of Microsoft DOS 5.0 in a raid on a private home in Taiwan. A family-operated pirate software productionfacility in the building maintained a sophisticated multi-head hard disk program copier that could reproduce 10 or more copies of a program simultaneously. The pirated program copies recovered from the raided house had been shrink-wrapped and packaged with all of the documentation and other features of an apparently legitimate version of the product. It was estimated that the 5000 seized pirated copies of Microsoft DOS 5.0 represented a single shipment by the counterfeiting organization. -------------- - -
Computerized errors from US internal revenue The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) erroneously told 36 000 taxpayers who filed returns electronically that they were eligible for refunds amounting to $40 million. This is an increase from a $3 million refund notification error in the much smaller 1991 electronic tax return filing program. This year's error stemmed from an IRS failure to load correct data tapes and led many of the taxpayers involved to use the notification to take out a loan against the anticipated tax refund. When a tax refundactually occurs the funds are sent directly to the loaning bank. In this instance, the affected bank will be forced to collect from the taxpayer or to take a loss on the transaction, as was the case in some instances last year. Belden Menkus
©1992 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
Russians say Nyet to piracy The Russian parliament will enact its first software copyright law in the next few months, according to Leonid Maikov, an executive at ParaGraph JV, Moscow's largest software company. Maikov said that the law has won preliminary approval from the parliament and is supported by the newly formed Association of Software Publishers in Russia. Instant enforcement would result in, "the nightmare of millions of infringers overnight", said Maikov. Therefore introduction of the law is likely to be either delayed or relaxed for current users of pirated software.
... but Da to nuclear power A worker at the Ignalina, Uthuania-based nuclear power plant was discovered introducing a computer virus program into the plant's electronic control system, according to a Tass news agency report released in February and reported in ISM. Citing the Lithuanian government's own press office, Tass said that plant engineers were able to prevent any damage from taking place. The incident apparently took place atthe end of January this year. The agency confirmed that the unidentified worker has been arrested, but was not able to comment on the motives of the worker. Both reactors at the plant have subsequently been shut down, although Lithuanian Energy Minister Salius Kutas commented that this, "had nothing to do with the attempted attack" and was due to 'insignificant' technical details.
Marketplace A PC-LAN security checklist is now available free of charge from the Computer Security Institute (CSI). This 'road map' for the security of LANs allows practitioners to plan a structured security analysis for present and future LAN activity. The checklists can be customized for different environments. To receive a copy, send
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