Daily Report Friday, December 1, 2006

Daily Highlights


The Atlanta Journal−Constitution reports federal immigration agents on Wednesday, November 29, arrested six illegal immigrants who had security badges that gave them access to restricted areas of Hartsfield−Jackson International Airport, including the tarmac. (See item 15)
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DeKalb Medical Center Infectious Disease Specialist says Atlanta is 'epicenter' of a potentially deadly MRSA epidemic, with up to 30 percent of metro Atlanta residents carrying a dangerous strain of staph infection, known as Pantone−Valentine−Leukocidin Staphylococcus Aureus. (See item 30)
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The San Francisco Chronicle reports polonium−210 −− the poison suspected in the death of an ex−Russian spy in England −− can be purchased on the Internet, a trace amount of it sells for $69 and is sent via the U.S. Postal Service or UPS. (See item 32)·

Information Technology and Telecommunications Sector

36. November 30, IDG News Service — Existing malware could affect Vista users. Microsoft has touted Vista as a more secure version of Windows, but on the day of Vista's official launch, a security company has identified malware already in circulation that can infect computers running the OS. Sophos identified three viruses typically spread through e−mail that can infect Vista customers who use a third party Web e−mail client. While Vista's e−mail client stops Stratio−Zip, Netsky−D, and MyDoom−O, the malware slips past Vista's defenses when users receive infected messages through a Web−based e−mail service, Sophos said. Stratio−Zip topped Sophos' list of malware affecting computer users in the month of November, accounting for 33.3 percent of malware in circulation. Combined, the three viruses that can affect Vista users make up 39.7 percent of all malware in circulation during the month, Sophos said.
Source:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/11/30/HNmalwareaffectvis ta_1.html

37. November 30, VNUNet — Sun, Nokia, and Ericsson aim for standard telecoms platform. Sun Microsystems on Thursday, November 30, announced details of a global tie−up with Ericsson and Nokia to create a forum for Network Equipment Providers, telecommunications operators and service providers. Dubbed the Telecommunications Platform Initiative, members will work to jointly develop the requirements for a standardized, integrated telecommunications technology platform to simplify technology integration. “By collaborating on a series of publicly available requirements documents for the Operations, Administration and Management Layer and Service Layer environments, the members of this initiative will provide the broader telecommunications industry with new alternatives to improve time to service, time to market and ultimately, time to revenues,” the firms said in a statement.
Source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2169934/sun−nokia−ericsson −aim−standard

38. November 30, VNUNet — ActiveX flaw leaves Adobe applications vulnerable. Adobe is warning users of a newly−discovered security flaw that could give attackers control over compromised systems. According to Adobe, the vulnerability affects the ActiveX components for versions 7.0.0 through 7.0.8 of both its Reader and Acrobat applications. The vulnerability can be exploited when a user views a specially−crafted Webpage with Internet Explorer. Once the exploit has been executed, an attacker would have the ability to remotely install and execute malware. The vulnerability was originally reported by French security research firm FrSIRT. Both FrSIRT and Adobe rate the vulnerability as "critical" −− the highest alert level for both organizations.
FrSIRT advisory: http://www.frsirt.com/english/advisories/2006/4751
Source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2169909/activex−flaw−leave s−adobe−apps