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Woman accused of bullying teen on MySpace
computer FRAUD & SECURITY ISSN 1361-3723 June 2008
www.computerfraudandsecurity.com
Woman accused of bullying teen on MySpace
A
middle-aged woman has been charged with using MySpace to ‘cyber bully’ a 13-year-old girl who later took her own life.
Lori Drew, 49, of Missouri, USA, allegedly posed online as a teenage boy pretending to woo the girl, but then rejected her. Drew allegedly assumed the fictional identity of a 16-yearold teenager called Josh Evans. She is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorisation to obtain information to cause emotional distress to the girl. “This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target
a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications,” said US Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “After a thorough investigation, we have charged Ms Drew with criminally accessing MySpace and violating rules established to protect young, vulnerable people. Any adult who uses the Internet or a social gathering website to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realise that their actions can have serious consequences.” Drew is due to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court in Los Angeles in June. The girl’s identity has been withheld.
Contents NEWS Woman accused of bullying teen on MySpace
1
Consumers told: take care of bank info or be liable for fraud
2
UK universities neglect IT security teaching: survey
2
Purdue University research output rated best in US
3
Hackers post flashing images to cause epileptic fits
3
Bank clerk charged with attempting £70 million heist
3
Serious data protection breaches to be heavily fined in UK
3
FEATURES Cybercrime Politics
UK shadow home secretary victim of online card fraud
Featured this month: Cybercrime is back on the UK political agenda
A
new UK e-crime unit will sit within the National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), a Home Office minister has announced.
It will be the second dedicated unit to tackle cybercrime, coming two years after the National High Tech Crime Unit was amalgamated into the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. Home Office minister, Vernon Coaker, told a House
of Lords Science & Technology Meeting that the Home Office would fund the unit. It will be the law enforcement arm of the NFRC, but will still investigate non-fraud related crimes. The move is a signal that the Labour Government is starting to put cybercrime on the agenda – a cause, which the opposing Conservative party has also been backing recently. Turn to page 4...
Shedding light on the future
C
olumnists Power and Forte look at the work of Carnegie Mellon University in the US, which is striving to make the unimaginable a fact of future life.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon are coming up with bright ideas.
Guarding operating systems from malicious writes and giving users control of access management via smartphones are some of the suggestions. Turn to page 17...
4
Data Protection
Data protection: why are organisations still missing the point?
5
Policies
The best laid schemes of mice and information security consultants
9
Search Engines
Should search engines protect you against malicious sites?
11
The Face of Security
Passwords vs post-it notes
13
Cryptography
Protecting cardholder data with encryption 14 Attacks
The changing nature of malicious attacks 15 War & Peace in Cyberspace
Now for the good news – scientists and educators are keeping the flame alive 17 REGULARS Editorial
2
In Brief
3
Calendar
20
ISSN 1361-3723/08 © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.
www.computerfraudandsecurity.com
Woman accused of bullying teen on MySpace
A
middle-aged woman has been charged with using MySpace to ‘cyber bully’ a 13-year-old girl who later took her own life.
Lori Drew, 49, of Missouri, USA, allegedly posed online as a teenage boy pretending to woo the girl, but then rejected her. Drew allegedly assumed the fictional identity of a 16-yearold teenager called Josh Evans. She is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorisation to obtain information to cause emotional distress to the girl. “This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target
a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications,” said US Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “After a thorough investigation, we have charged Ms Drew with criminally accessing MySpace and violating rules established to protect young, vulnerable people. Any adult who uses the Internet or a social gathering website to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realise that their actions can have serious consequences.” Drew is due to appear for an arraignment in United States District Court in Los Angeles in June. The girl’s identity has been withheld.
Contents NEWS Woman accused of bullying teen on MySpace
1
Consumers told: take care of bank info or be liable for fraud
2
UK universities neglect IT security teaching: survey
2
Purdue University research output rated best in US
3
Hackers post flashing images to cause epileptic fits
3
Bank clerk charged with attempting £70 million heist
3
Serious data protection breaches to be heavily fined in UK
3
FEATURES Cybercrime Politics
UK shadow home secretary victim of online card fraud
Featured this month: Cybercrime is back on the UK political agenda
A
new UK e-crime unit will sit within the National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), a Home Office minister has announced.
It will be the second dedicated unit to tackle cybercrime, coming two years after the National High Tech Crime Unit was amalgamated into the Serious and Organised Crime Agency. Home Office minister, Vernon Coaker, told a House
of Lords Science & Technology Meeting that the Home Office would fund the unit. It will be the law enforcement arm of the NFRC, but will still investigate non-fraud related crimes. The move is a signal that the Labour Government is starting to put cybercrime on the agenda – a cause, which the opposing Conservative party has also been backing recently. Turn to page 4...
Shedding light on the future
C
olumnists Power and Forte look at the work of Carnegie Mellon University in the US, which is striving to make the unimaginable a fact of future life.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon are coming up with bright ideas.
Guarding operating systems from malicious writes and giving users control of access management via smartphones are some of the suggestions. Turn to page 17...
4
Data Protection
Data protection: why are organisations still missing the point?
5
Policies
The best laid schemes of mice and information security consultants
9
Search Engines
Should search engines protect you against malicious sites?
11
The Face of Security
Passwords vs post-it notes
13
Cryptography
Protecting cardholder data with encryption 14 Attacks
The changing nature of malicious attacks 15 War & Peace in Cyberspace
Now for the good news – scientists and educators are keeping the flame alive 17 REGULARS Editorial
2
In Brief
3
Calendar
20
ISSN 1361-3723/08 © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.