AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff
TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - December 18, 2005
SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, December 18, 2005
TEXT:
From Afghanistan opening a justice and reconciliation program to Morocco delivering its own commissions final report; from pandemic influenza to preventing proliferation of biological weapons; and from elections in Bolivia to those in Tanzania, the News Highlights cover key events from last week around the globe. The annual Year in Review Newsletter will come out on 1 January, but ahead of that this week's Feature Article goes into depth on trends in Cybersecurity over the past year, followed by "A Year of Disasters" next week.
1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published
FEATURE ARTICLE:
Cybersecurity: A Year in Review
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Amid running battles with anti-globalization protestors, the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference in Hong Kong is taking place. Among the demonstrators, there have been some 900 arrests and more than a dozen injuries. Six days of negotiation ended with modest progress. The most significant agreement is an EU offer to end farm export subsidies by 2013. Significant obstacles to a comprehensive global trade agreement remain, but negotiations will continue next year.
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min05_e/min05_e.htm
The UN General Assembly has set up the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support immediate relief in the event of natural and man-made disasters, thereby speeding response to those affected.
The British House of Lords Science and Technology Committee completed a brief review of pandemic influenza. As well as emphasizing the need for international cooperation, they addressed some shortcomings in the current plan. In particular, they pointed to the need to have detailed plans for food distribution and retail, lest shortages result. A new cabinet committee has been established to coordinate cross-government activities. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt will chair the Influenza Pandemic Planning Committee.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldsctech/88/8802.htm
http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page8775.asp
Democratic Republic of Congo is holding a vote on the new constitution that if passed would pave the way for elections. Details of the constitution have not been widely circulated, leading to many calls for a boycott, and there have been several violent incidents.
Eritrea last week requested that UN personnel from the US, Canada, Europe and Russia leave. In response, the UN mission has temporarily relocated out of Eritrea to Ethiopia, and will maintain a military presence. The UN Security Council also demanded that Eritrea remove all restrictions on UN operations or face actions, possibly including sanctions.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16942
Ethiopia has charged 131 people with crimes including treason, genocide, conspiracy, and other serious accusations with penalties that could include death. Those accused are opposition leaders, reporters, and humanitarian aid workers. Several have protested their imprisonment with a hunger strike. The detainees were held following protests over last May's elections, whose results have been disputed.
Guineans are voting in municipal elections that for the first time in five years include opposition parties who had boycotted previous elections.
Liberia's national electoral commission dismissed claims of massive fraud that were brought by George Weah's Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). Although there were some technical errors, they were deemed to have had a negligible effect on the final result. CDC plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. Weah's supporters have repeatedly clashed with police, as he continues to ignore international calls to accept his defeat and end violence.
Morocco's Equity and Reconciliation Committee (IER) delivered its final report on human rights abuses under King Hassan II between 1956 and 1999. The 2-year investigation found that 592 people had been killed, and recommends restitution payments to 9,280 victims of arbitrary detention, execution, and other human rights abuses. It suggests ending impunity through legal and judicial means. This is the first such report in the Arab world. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, suggesting that the numbers were too low, also published a list of people it believes should face trial for torture. The IER report, not yet released in full, does not name alleged abusers.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box1/morocco_s_truth_comm/view
http://www.ier.ma/_fr_sommaire.php (in French)
http://www.amdh.org.ma/ (in French)
Nigeria's oil- and gas-rich Bayelsa State has a new governor. Formerly the deputy governor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in amid tight security following last week's impeachment of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=35572
The northern Kano state's religious authorities began to implement a ban on women traveling on public transport, where men are also present. Many women have defied the ban, and taxi drivers joined the protest including attacks against state authorities. Women have been told not to travel so closely with an unrelated man (the driver), which has deprived the drivers of a major revenue source. There have been a number of violent incidents, and in one area drivers carrying women have been lashed.
Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDRL) fighters have left Democratic Republic of Congo, where they had fled after the 1994 genocide in which they participated. They have laid down their arms and returned to Rwanda for reintegration.
In Senegal, student riots in Casamance injured at least 11 university and high school students, and at least one police officer. A 4-year-old boy was killed when a billboard fell on him. The demonstrators were protesting police violence against fellow students.
"Somalia's Islamists" is a new report from the International Crisis Group. They find:
"The international community will only succeed in countering the threat of jihadi Islamism in Somalia if it addresses the real needs of the country: restoring peace and essential services, and helping Somalis establish a broadly inclusive government of national unity. Otherwise, international actors may continue to score victories in their battles against terrorism in the Horn while losing the wider war. Since the collapse of the government in 1991, there has been a rise in Islamist reformist movements, the majority of which are non-violent and opposed to ideological extremism. In fact, Islamist extremism has not become more widespread because of Somali resistance, not foreign counter terrorism efforts. International actors should therefore make clear that their counter terrorism efforts are aimed at a handful of criminals -- many of them foreigners -- not the Somali population at large."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3830
South African's living in the Khutsong township have rioted over a new measure that eliminates districts that cross provincial borders. With the boundary redrawn, residents moved into poorer areas fear their services will suffer. Five houses were burned down and a policeman was badly injured by a petrol-bomb. More than 70 people have been arrested.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=259362
In Sudan's Darfur region, continued fighting between Hotiya-Baggara and Newiba-Aballa nomads have killed about 60 people.
Sudan's government says that because it is willing and able to try war crimes cases, the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction. An earlier UN commission had drawn up a list of 51 suspects, against whom no action has been taken. Human Rights Watch has called for senior officials including the president to be investigated. Their new report, "Entrenching Impunity" documents more than a dozen officials involved in the use and coordination of Janjaweed militias and government armed forces, to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Sudan dismissed the charges and says it will not allow international investigators to investigate war crimes alleged in Darfur. Experts insist Sudan's Special Court is not satisfactory.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/speeches/LMO_20051213_En.pdf
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/12/09/sudan12186.htm
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50672
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2005/051216_Mendez.doc.htm
Tanzania's governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won a large majority in parliamentary and presidential elections. In Zanzibar, post-election violence injured at least nine people, including one stabbing. One policeman was also injured. Dozens of arrests were made.
In Bolivia eight candidates are running in presidential elections. The front-runner is leftist Evo Morales, an indigenous Aymara Indian and former coca-leaf grower, who has promised to legalize coca production and end the free-market.
Chile's Socialist Party presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet led the votes last Sunday, but without an outright majority she faces a runoff next month.
Colombian rebels with the National Liberation Front (ELN) have arrived in Havana, Cuba, where they are holding preliminary peace talks with Colombian government representatives. Nobel-prize winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez is hosting the talks with three European observers. To help make progress with the largest rebel group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the government has announced a major policy change. They will accept an international commission's proposal to withdraw troops from an area in the southwest where, supported by international observers, they could hold talks for exchanging rebel-held hostages for imprisoned FARC guerillas.
http://www.presidencia.gov.co/sne/2005/diciembre/13/26132005.htm (in Spanish)
Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernandez visited Haiti to discuss immigration, border security, and other regional issues. His visit sparked riots in which there have been a number of injuries. The protests involved alleged mistreatment of Haitians who had cross the shared island into the Dominican Republic, including reports of ten deaths. The Dominican Republic has demanded an apology for the clashes, which forced Mr. Fernandez to cut short his visit and which they blamed on the irresponsibility of the Haitian government.
The US Senate defeated an attempt to reauthorize several sections of the USA Patriot Act, which will automatically expire at the end of the month unless a compromise is reached. The Bush administration wants the provisions, which are seen by many as infringing on civil liberties, to be made permanent.
A Congressional Research Service report contradicts Bush's assertion that he and the Congress had the same intelligence information prior to the war.
http://feinstein.senate.gov/crs-intel.htm
A federal judge in New Orleans, Louisiana has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue paying hotel bills for evacuees whose housing aid has not yet been processed, through 7 February.
http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/GENERAL/Notices/05-5488order.pdf
New light is shed on US relations with Japan during the Carter, Reagan and first Bush administrations following the release of newly declassified documents acquired by the National Security Archive.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB175/index.htm
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual summit called explicitly for fellow member Burma to free political prisoners and expedite moves toward democracy. The highlight of the summit was the first East Asia Summit (EAS) meeting, on 14 December. At this meeting ten Southeast Asian countries, with China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, and New Zealand, agreed to hold annual talks on trade and security and other issues supporting their goal of promoting peace, stability and prosperity.
http://www.11thaseansummit.org.my/
"North East Asia's Undercurrents of Conflict" are reviewed in a report from the International Crisis Group:
"Simmering tensions between China, Japan and South Korea risk boiling over unless the three countries embrace confidence- and institution-building measures and leave history disputes to scholars. To keep relatively minor incidents from threatening progress on critical security and economic challenges, the three countries and the U.S. should refrain from unilateral military exercises in disputed areas, increase military-to-military exchanges and establish joint institutions to address specific political and security problems. Moreover, Tokyo should financially assist war crimes victims; South Korea should conclude an agreement with Japan on allowable fish catches in the area around Tokdo/Takeshima; and China should publicly acknowledge Japan?s role in its economic development. Taking these steps would go a long way toward reducing tensions and allowing these countries to focus on more important issues like resolving the North Korean nuclear threat, meeting energy needs and preparing for future environmental disasters." http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3834&l=1
In Australia, race riots began on Sunday, when thousands of young white men on Cronulla Beach near Sydney attacked people appearing to be Middle Eastern. Organized through mobile text messages and fueled with alcohol, rioting continued through Tuesday. Police in Sydney have been given additional powers to deal with the disturbances. The riots shocked and provoked Australians, who value their image of an open and tolerant society. These riots were rooted in economically (and therefore racially) divided suburbs, as were those in France, and as was seen in a different context in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lower levels of violence spilled over to other areas of the country. Police in Sydney have warned people to stay away from some beaches this weekend for fear of more violence.
http://smh.com.au/specials/campaign4sydney/index.html
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,1751,00.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pm-under-attack-on-race-riots/2005/12/13/1134236064277.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17563459%255E601,00.html
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17561923%255E3102,00.html
Indonesia has increased security ahead of the holidays, supported by members of several Muslim organizations who are helping to guard churches. Azahari, the Jemaah Islamiah mastermind of bombings in Bali, at the Marriot Hotel and the Australian Embassy, was killed earlier in the year. Intelligence reports suggest that his plans for other attacks may proceed without him, as well as retaliatory attacks. Australian intelligence has also warned of advanced planning for attacks against Western interests.
In Aceh province, the fourth and final round of decommissioning has begun, and will be followed by withdrawal of the last security forces sent to the area. Reaching the peace agreement that is underway has been attributed to the aftermath of last year's disastrous tsunami, which destroyed large parts of Aceh and killed more than 166,000 of its residents. The International Crisis Group reports on this crucial phase of the peace process in "Aceh: So far, So Good":
"The Aceh peace process has exceeded expectations thus far ? a credit to the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ? but it has now entered a critical stage. Since the peace agreement between the government and GAM guerrillas was signed in Helsinki on 15 August 2005, both have shown strong political will to keep the process moving, assisted by the EU-led Aceh Monitoring Mission. There are two key hurdles to overcome. The first is reintegration of former GAM members into civilian life; the second is the legal process of incorporating the agreement?s provisions into a new law to be adopted by Indonesia?s parliament. Since wiser heads have prevailed every time a potential obstacle has arisen, there is every reason to believe a way will be found around these problems, too."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3831
"Kyrgyzstan: A Faltering State" is the topic of another International Crisis Group report:
"The ouster of President Askar Akayev in March raised hopes for change, but the months since the revolution have been marked by uncertainty and paralysis. The new government of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has a unique opportunity to win the trust of its citizens, to show that 24 March was indeed a revolution, not a mere reshuffling of ruling elites, but it does not have unlimited time. Most importantly, it must tackle the underlying issues behind the country?s many conflicts by committing itself to transparency, fighting corruption and developing the rule of law. If Kyrgyzstan is not to become a failed state, the U.S., EU and other donors must also give the shaky government more political and financial backing."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3838
The Philippines House of Representatives passed the government's anti-terrorism bill just before Congress went on holiday recess. The Senate has been urged to pass the bill quickly, but they have concerns regarding its use against government opponents, particularly those who believe that President Arroyo used fraud to win the election last May.
Away from the capital, clashes on Jolo island erupted between government troops and Abu Sayyaf, killing at least two soldiers and injuring 12. The military estimates that dozens of militants were killed or injured. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been accused of secret training in Mindanao, including suicide attacks. The military believes the MILF recruitment and training effort is in preparation of a new offensive. New People's Army (NPA) militants are believed responsible for ambushes that killed four soldiers in two separate attacks, as well as continued attacks against utilities infrastructure.
Tonga has become the 150th member of the World Trade Organization.
Uzbekistan has agreed to allow German troops to continue to use the Termez military base near the Afghan border. Germany is the only NATO country permitted to station troops or use its airspace. In Tashkent, more than 100 people have gone on trial, including dozens of soldiers and police, in connection with the Andijan revolt in May.
Belarus will hold presidential elections on 19 March, six months before President Luschenko's second term would end. Strict Soviet-style controls on politics, the economy and media are in place and will be tightened even further to prevent any protests, including the type of popular protest that changed governments in Georgia and the Ukraine.
The Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) released its annual report, including a review of international terrorism, citing Iraq as a magnet for foreign extremists and Western policies, particularly in the Middle East, increasing support for anti-western movements.
http://forsvaret.dk/NR/rdonlyres/10049643-7AFF-413E-BD80-18D81242630C/0/risikovurdering2005.pdf (In Danish)
French police conducted raids in and around Paris in connection with efforts to disband an extremist network believed to have helped fund Islamic groups and are linked to al Qaeda. At least 20 people were arrested, including French, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals.
In Greece, a bomb exploded at the main square in Athens, injuring two people. The device was left on a motorcycle near the finance ministry and a post office in Syntagma Square. Responsibility is unknown.
Russian President Putin visited Grozny to attend the opening of the new Chechen parliament elected in November. The new parliament voted unanimously to rename Grozny after its assassinated Moscow-backed ruler, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was killed last May. Grozny was named after a tsarist fortress and means "terrible". If approved by Russia, the new name will be Akhmad-kala.
In Turkey, protestors surrounded the Istanbul courthouse where renowned novelist Orhan Pamuk was standing trial for stating that Turkey was responsible for the death of thousands of Kurds and a million Armenians, thereby denigrating the state. Armed riot police were unable to maintain order, and just minutes after the trial opened, the judge adjourned the case until 7 February, pending a decision on whether or not the minister of justice decides to continue the case.
London's Metropolitan Police Authority held a conference, "Together Against Terror?" to explore the threat and the response. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair cited an increased threat, including a 75 percent rise in counterterrorism operations since the 7/7 bombings.
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/events/tatconference.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1666012,00.html
As the British government considers changes to the proposed the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill, Northern Ireland's Human Rights Commission has reviewed the proposed legislation, which would provide amnesty for qualified fugitives. They find that it is incompatible with international human rights standards in a number of areas, including victims' rights, fair trials, and government powers.
http://www.nihrc.org/
A week after three men were cleared of spying inside Stormont, which closed that assembly and led to the collapse of power sharing in Northern Ireland, one of the three, Denis Donaldson, has admitted that he was a British agent for two decades. The veteran Sinn Fein official has been expelled from the party. Sinn Fein suggests that his admission could explain why the charges against him, of having documents of use to terrorists, had been dismissed. The government denies this. Prosecutors had said only that it would not be in the public interest to pursue the case. Unionists have called for a public inquiry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4536896.stm
http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/12435
http://www.nio.gov.uk/media-detail.htm?newsID=12652
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1217/northpolitics.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/17/nira17.xml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,1669536,00.html
The Gulf Cooperation Council is meeting over the weekend to discuss issues ranging from Iran's nuclear program to the standoff between the UN and Syria.
http://www.gcc-sg.org/
In Gaza and the West Bank, gunmen disrupted Palestinian Authority elections. A gunfight outside Fatah offices in Gaza, at least three people were injured. Within Fatah, a split developed between the old guard led by Mabmoud Abbas and a rival slate led by imprisoned Marwan Barghouti's new group al-Mustaqbal (the Future). They are negotiating uniting their lists ahead of the elections on 25 January. This move was inspired by Hamas' dramatic success in local elections in the West Bank, including sweeping 73 percent of the vote in the largest city, Nablus.
Gaza's casualty toll continued to rise amid continued Israeli airstrikes. On Wednesday, four alleged militants were killed and several people wounded, and Islamic Jihad spokesman Khader Habib was injured in another targeted strike. On Thursday, Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) leader Amar Karmout's home was targeted when he was away from home. One person was injured. On Saturday, Israeli soldiers killed a PRC gunman as he laid mines. Abu Rish Brigades leader Khaled Abu Sitta was killed when a missile hit his car, but Israel denies this attack and suggests the explosion came from materials carried in the car.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reached a new low in hate mongering as he suggested that the state of Israel be moved to Alaska or some other country that believed in or contributed to the Holocaust. Subsequent efforts to clarify the comments did not appease widespread international criticism.
13 December marked 1,000 days since the US-led invasion of Iraq.
US President Bush for the first time publicly estimated the number of civilian casualties since the invasion at 30,000. His estimate is at the low end: earlier this year an expert analysis published in The Lancet put the number at 100,000. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051212-4.html
http://image.thelancet.com/extras/04art10342web.pdf
The Campaign for Innocent Victims In Conflict (CIVIC) called for the US to fulfill its duty to keep an official count and lessen civilian casualties. http://www.civicworldwide.org/pressRelease.jsp?press_release_KEY=139
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50667
As Iraqis living in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, UAE, UK and US, as well as patients, prisoners and soldiers began to vote, Mizhar Dulaimi, a leading Sunni Arab politician leading the Iraqi Free Progressive Party, was shot dead, two days before the general election opened. Additional security measures for the elections included a ban on vehicles, curfews, and border closings. On election day, turnout was high, and the election commission extended voting in some areas to accommodate this. Although there were incidents of violence, the voting was not disrupted. The high turnout, including Sunnis who had boycotted the last election, provides a strong message of optimism despite underlying insecurity, and there were national celebrations after the election to mark its success. Results will be available in some two weeks.
High optimism despite security fears was also the message from Oxford Research International in its latest Iraq poll.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/PollVault/story?id=1389228
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4514414.stm
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,389676,00.html (in German)
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,389946,00.html
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/2005/12/13/k20051212000155.html (in Japanese)
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1139829,00.html
In Beirut, Lebanon, a massive car bomb has killed Member of Parliament and journalist Gibran Tueni, as well as three other people. At least ten were injured.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50641
There have been accusations that Syria was responsible for the anti-Syrian politician's death, charges that Syria has denied. Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom of the Levant, a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility. The assassination came shortly before UN Secretary General Annan received the second report into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which details Syria's role in the matter. UN investigators are confident that Syria was behind the killing. They also reported that Syria has not fully cooperated in the investigation, which has been extended for six months.
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2005/775
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16917
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16952
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/102305.html#FeatureArticle
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/022705.html#FeatureArticle
Saudi Arabia announced the formation of municipal councils that had been elected between February and April. They serve in an advisory role for local issues.
In the West Bank, an Israeli operation in Nablus killed two Israeli soldiers and one Palestinian, and wounded 20 people. Gunmen with Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade opened fire on a car, killing one Israeli settler and injuring two others.
Afghanistan held a Transitional Justice Conference, which adopted a plan for justice and reconciliation to investigate human rights abuses and war crimes from 1978 to the end of Taleban rule.
http://www.unama-afg.org/docs/Docs.htm#DC
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16919
Despite such political progress, violence continues. A suicide bomber killed himself outside a shrine in Mazar-e-Sharif. Fighting in Kandahar killed a US soldier and a Taleban militant. One Afghan and one US soldier were also injured in the fighting. A suspected Taleban militant attack against a checkpoint killed three police, and one militant. In Nadali district, a gunman shot a teacher in front of his students. In the capital, Kabul, a suspected suicide car bomber died near the new parliament, injuring two passersby. Parliament opens next week.
Bangladesh's police and special forces continued operations across the country, reportedly disrupting several Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) cells, recovering explosives and bomb-making equipment, and arresting many suspects.
Fearing that militants may cross the border, India has set up more border checkpoints and deployed thousands of additional troops.
India's parliament was evacuated, with both houses in session, following a specific bomb warning by a purported al Qaeda supporter that had been received by a US consulate. The warning, which also threatened an explosion at the US Embassy, turned out to be false and was traced to a cyber-cafe. Meanwhile, parliament was taken by surprise when a sting operation caught eleven Members of Parliament from four different parties taking bribes. The suspects have been suspended.
In Andhra Pradesh, a police operation was launched against Maoist rebels. Nearly sixty Maoists, including two of its leaders, escaped. A court in the Indian state of Gujarat has sentenced eleven people to life in prison for killing eleven Muslims, including four women and five children, during the 2002 religious riots. Three other people were sentenced to a fine and ten years in prison for leading mobs that attacked Muslim houses. This is the most significant judgment connected with attacks that killed as many as 2,000 people, mostly Muslim. Few cases have been brought to court and almost none resulted in convictions.
Indian-administered Kashmir saw continued attacks, including a serious incident in a village outside Srinigar in which troops killed six suspected militants, and fighting in the Rajouri district in which two militants and one soldier were killed.
Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province was hit by a rocket attack in which the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) attacked a military camp. During a subsequent investigation, a general and his assistant were injured when shots were fired at their helicopter. President Musharraf was visiting the province, and his trip motivated two BLA explosions near where the president was staying.
The Sri Lankan army claim that Tamil Tigers attacked a military helicopter as it flew over an eastern region to transport the deputy foreign minister. The helicopter suffered minor damage and returned safely. The Norwegian-led ceasefire monitoring mission said that since the incident originated from a Tiger-controlled area, the Tigers must bear responsibility. A Tiger spokesman denied any involvement. Sri Lanka's government has agreed that peace talks, not limited to a review of the ceasefire, could be held overseas, and invited the Tigers to participate.
http://www.slmm.lk/
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
Microsoft's monthly security update included a critical Internet Explorer exploit that requires immediate patching.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS05-054.mspx
Britain's Department of Work and Pensions, part of Revenue and Customs, shut down its tax credits portal earlier this month. Investigation into a security hole that allowed a fraud using staff identities involves the theft , by organized criminal gangs, of up to 13,000 job center staff identities, using fraudulent claims siphoning monies into shadow bank accounts. Revenue and Customs executive director David Varney told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee that the losses to date amount to GBP 15 million, but this accounts only for the initial investigations.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/downtime.htm
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article332918.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4523804.stm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmpubacc.htm
The Australian Institute of Criminology released a new report, "Identification processes in the higher education sector: risks and countermeasures". It explains:
"One of the most intractable crime problems that has arisen in the twenty-first century concerns the criminal misuse of identity - popularly known as identity fraud or identity theft. Computer technologies have enabled documents used to verify an individual's identity to be altered or counterfeited with ease, leading to a problem which, in 2001-02, was estimated to cost $1.1 billion in Australia alone (Cuganesan and Lacey 2003). The higher education sector is not immune from risks of identity-related fraud and other kinds of dishonest practices, and, as this paper demonstrates, risks are present throughout the sector - from enrolment of students, through the examination process, upon qualification, and during subsequent employment. Reducing the risks associated with identification of students and staff alike entails the employment of a wide range of strategies that need to be implemented uniformly across the entire sector."
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi305.html
Chicago Tribune reporter, David Jackson described the use of stolen identities in mortgage fraud.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512140203dec14,1,3236478.story
US financial regulators published a compliance guide for Interagency Guidelines Establishing Information Security Standards.
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2005-44a.pdf
The European Parliament has approved new rules under which telecommunication companies will retain fixed and mobile phone and internet records for up to two years for use in terrorism investigations.
http://www.europarl.eu.int/news/expert/infopress_page/019-3536-348-12-50-902-20051206IPR03225-14-12-2005-2005--false/default_en.htm
Israel Discount Bank of New York reached a settlement with US state and federal regulators for anti-money laundering deficiencies connected with illegal money transmitters in Brazil. The bank will pay fines up to $25 million and must install new controls to ensure they meet all anti-money laundering requirements. The accounts of Transmar Tourismo Ltda, the Brazilian transmitter, has been frozen and Brazilian police took action locally.
http://www.manhattanda.org/
http://www.idbny.com/
Danish political party, the Red-Green Alliance, faces criminal charges for refusing to remove an appeal from Association Rebellion, a group charged with supporting terrorism. The Red-Green alliance links to a website associated with Association Rebellion that supports a number of organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and other listed terrorist organizations. http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610572&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_nextitemno=1&ic_itemid=903487
Ivory Coast faces another year of sanctions following a renewal of the UN arms embargo. The Security Council has banned imports of rough diamonds, which have helped rebels in the north obtain weapons illegally, and required the country to be subject to the Kimberley Process. Given the deteriorating security situation, they warned that travel and financial sanctions would be imposed on any individuals threatening the peace process.
Indonesia's Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban says that many of those financing illegal logging have entered the country using fake Chinese or Malaysian passports.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20051212.D10
Officials in Turkmenistan attended a workshop on combating financing of terrorism, paying particular attention to legal and administrative tools. Turkmenistan is used for drug trafficking from western and northern Afghanistan, where the trade is closely connected to terrorist financing.
http://www.osce.org/item/17484.html
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2004-03-03_1.html
The US House and Senate reached agreement on extending federal terrorism insurance through 2007. Legislation needs to be completed before the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act expires on 31 December.
The UN Convention Against Corruption has come into force. It is the first legally binding global instrument to address return of assets illegally acquired by dishonest officials as well a prevention and detection of plundering of national wealth.
Former gang leader and convicted murderer Stanley Williams ("Tookie") has been executed by lethal injection in the US state of California. He had exhausted 24 years of legal action and failed in a clemency bid when Governor Schwarzenegger questioned his redemption. Williams insisted he was innocent of murder but had apologized for being involved in a street gang, and had become a well-known campaigner against gang violence. A group of California legislators have, in a separate development, proposed a moratorium on executions.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-williamsexecution-sg,0,237197.storygallery
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-moratorium14dec14,0,3456292.story
Jordan has received fresh calls to abolish the death penalty following an alleged miscarriage of justice in which a man was convicted based entirely on confessions of multiple murders that were obtained under torture.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50701
The Council of Europe's (COE) Committee on Legal Affairs ad Human Rights received a report from committee chair and rapporteur Dick Marty regarding the Council's inquiry into the alleged existence of secret detention centers in COE member states and extrajudicial transfer of prisoners. Initial findings indicate that the charges are credible, although he believes those prisoners secretly held in Europe have been moved to North Africa. He pointed out that the US had not formally commented on the allegations and urged further investigation and debate.
http://press.coe.int/cp/2005/690a(2005).htm
http://www.europarl.eu.int/news/expert/infopress_page/019-3682-346-12-50-902-20051213IPR03680-12-12-2005-2005--false/default_en.htm#
US President Bush has backed down from months of opposition to legislation banning cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of terrorist suspects. Earlier, he had said that the measure would constrain military and intelligence agencies and that he would therefore veto it. Vice President Cheney had failed in his attempt to have the Central Intelligence Agency exempted from the law. Both the house and senate strongly supported the measure, forcing this retreat from presidential authority. Allegations of torture undertaken by the US have severely damaged its reputation, and threatened its alliances in the "war on terror". The US is a signatory to the UN Convention on Torture.
http://mccain.senate.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051215-3.html
Meanwhile, the New York Times reveals that "Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials." Bush has admitted that he authorized the secret monitoring, was entitled to do so, ant that the report served merely to inform enemies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?hp&ex=1134795600&en=c7596fe0d4798785&ei=5094 http//www.aclu.org/safefree/general/23078prs20051215.html
"The State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible" is the annual report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The report focuses on millions of children who disappear from view from four basic causes:
* Every year over half of all births in the developing world (excluding China) go unregistered, denying more than 50 million children a basic birthright: recognition as a citizen. Without a registered identity, children are not guaranteed an education, good healthcare, and other basic services.
* Millions of orphans, street children, and those in detention are growing up without the loving care and protection of parents or a family environment. Some 143 million children in the developing world ? 1 in every 13 ? have suffered the death of at least one parent.
* Children are forced into adult roles too early, missing crucial stages of childhood development. Hundreds of thousands are caught up in armed conflict as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks, and sex slaves for armed groups. Despite laws against early marriage, over 80 million girls in the developing world will be married before they turn 18 ? many far younger. Some 171 million children work in hazardous conditions, including in factories, mines and agriculture.
* Shut away by their abusers, these children are among the most invisible. Some 8.4 million work in the worst forms of child labour, including prostitution and debt bondage. Nearly 2 million are used in the commercial sex trade, where they routinely face sexual and physical violence. A vast but unknown number are exploited as domestic servants in private homes.
To address these abuses requires international commitment to children, legislation reform, strengthening institutions, Financial support, research, monitoring and support.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc/index_30450.html
In Russia, a woman is killed every hour through domestic violence. This is the key finding of a new Amnesty International Report, " Nowhere to turn to - Violence against women in the family".
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR460562005
The Committee to Protect Journalists has released its annual list of countries that jail journalists. China is first with 32, followed by Cuba (24), Eritrea (15), Ethiopia (13), and Uzbekistan (6). Burma and the US have each imprisoned five. The total around the world is 125.
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/imprisoned_05/imprisoned_05.html
General Fortunato Abat, a retired general, has been arrested by Philippines police after he proclaimed himself the leader of a revolutionary government. He has previously been charged with sedition following accusations that President Arroyo had cheated in last year's election. After the arrest at his Country Club, he said that his movement was peaceful.
Majdi Amar, with the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, has been arrested in the West Bank by Israeli security service Shin Bet on suspicion of receiving up to $3,000 from Hezbollah to carry out attacks on Israelis. An Associated Press report says that in addition, Amar was paid up to $700 by the Palestinian Authority not to attack.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/656900.html
Ivan Atanasijevic , Miroslav Djankovic , Predrag Dragovic , Milan Lancuzanin , Predrag Milojevic, Djordje Sosic, Stanko Vujanovic, and Miroljub Vujovic were sentenced in Serbian court to 20 years in prison for the 1991 Vukovar massacre. Six other Serbs convicted in the incident were sentenced to prison terms of 15 to five years.
Wesam al Delaema may be extradited from the Netherlands to the US, where he is wanted for taking part in the Iraqi insurgency. The Iraqi-born Dutch citizen said he was forced to appear in a video, preparing a roadside bomb, or else be beheaded, and is therefore not guilty.
Bruno Gollnisch, a French Member of the European Parliament, has been stripped of his diplomatic immunity by the assembly in order to make it possible to face trial for comments he made about the Holocaust.
David Hicks, an Australian detained in Guantanamo Bay since 2001, has become a British citizen. The High Court ruled that since his mother was British he should be registered accordingly, and that the government had no power in law to deprive him of this right. Pending the citizenship oath and pledge, this opens the way for officials in the UK to work towards his release.
Donald Keyser, a former senior official in the US State Department, has pleaded guilty to failing to disclose a relationship with a Taiwanese intelligence officer and to illegally removing classified documents. Sentencing will take place in February.
Carlos Ortega, a Venezuelan trade union and opposition leader, has been sentenced in Venezuela to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of incitement during a 2002-3 strike.
Rayfran das Neves Sales was found guilty of shooting dead a 73-year-old Catholic nun and peasants' rights activist. The Brazilian court sentenced him to 27 years in prison and his accomplice Clodoaldo Carlos Batista to 17 years. This conviction may open the way for charging three men believed to have ordered and paid for her murder.
Aloys Simba has been found guilty in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda of supplying weapons and participating in massacres during the 1994 genocide. He has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
http://65.18.216.88/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2005/459.htm
Ataur Rahman Sunny has been arrested in Bangladesh. Security forces believe he is the operational commander of the banned Islamic militant group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen.
US air marshals expanded their work under a 3-day test program in bus and train stations, ferries and other mass transit facilities. Confusion over the anti-terror exercise led to it being ended after only two days.
In Israel, Knesset member and chair of the Subcommittee for Security Perception Ephraim Sneh called the failure to provide anti-missile protection for civilian airliners a grave security failure, which he blamed on budget cuts and an end to manufacturing protective equipment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/657926.html
Denmark's SAS airline says that the number of names on the US list of terror suspects has exploded to 80,000 this year. This and other security demands on flights to the US have reached their limit. SAS security head Tom Espe Hansen wants the number of requirements to be put on hold and says, "There are so many special demands on flights to the US, that we now feel that it is sufficient. Flights are now as safe as they can get".
http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610572&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_nextitemno=1&ic_itemid=901695
The UK Parliament's Transport Committee has announced a new inquiry into Piracy on the High Seas. The short inquiry addresses increased attacks from an average of 50 per year in the late 1980s to 325 reported incidents in 2004. They will look at why piracy increased, how it affects British shipping, national and international guidance for protection, terrorist threats and geographic areas of concern, data availability and reliability, and other matters.
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/transport_committee/trans05_06_press_notice18.cfm
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have agreed to hold regular joint patrols in areas centered around the Sulawesi Sea that are frequently subject to kidnapping and other attacks undertaken primarily by Islamic militants.
Thailand will join the patrols of the Malacca Strait now underway with Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, under a new standard operating procedure that allows entry into each other's territorial waters for pursuit but military action or opening fire.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20051212.C02
Aon's new Marine Insurance Market Review warned that " Shipping and cargo companies transporting goods and passengers around the world need to be more aware of their role in the possible spread of a flu pandemic.... Recent cases of ships being detained in the port of Piraeus and another in Malta due to dead birds -potentially carrying the strain - being found on deck demonstrate the concerns held over the ease at which the shipping industry can become involved in the transmission of infectious diseases."
http://www.aon.com/uk/en/about/Press_Office/marine_flu.jsp
Canada has begun operating its first port radiation detector at St. John in New Brunswick. All ports will have such equipment installed as well as other security measures.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=a5172b78-8ae6-40ee-ada3-5f87064e76bd&k=69055
Iraq's interior ministry plans to introduce new passports incorporating biometrics following the finding that dozens of foreign insurgents used counterfeit documents, some traced to interior ministry insiders.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50634
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
A Globescan survey undertaken on behalf of the UN finds that, while nuclear energy is an option being pursued in developing countries of Asia, some EU nations, and the United States, there is little public support for building new nuclear power plants. Covering all regions, the survey of Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the United States finds:
* Pluralities in all but three of the 18 countries believe IAEA inspections are not effective in monitoring countries' nuclear programs - 46 percent against 29 percent
* Majorities in 14 countries, and pluralities in the remaining four, believe the risk of terrorist acts involving radioactive materials and nuclear facilities is high due to insufficient protection, with 54 percent believing the risk to be high and 28 percent low.
* Stressing the climate benefits of nuclear energy positively influences one in ten people but there is still a general reluctance to build more nuclear plants.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2005/prn200516.html
A factory in Chechnya, Russia, has "catastrophic" levels of radioactivity, matching half the levels recorded at Chernobyl in 1986 and in one facility at 58,000 times the normal levels. Russian prosecutors are investigating the failure to remove radioactive materials or control access to the plant, which could present an opportunity to build a dirty bomb.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4535452.stm
The US National Nuclear Security Administration has removed 220 radioactive sources previously used for research at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The material could have been used for a dirty bomb, but has now been secured for disposal. http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/newsreleases/2005/PR_2005-12-13_NA-05-33.htm
Two American University researchers participated in a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars event that focused on the links between organized crime and nuclear smuggling in the former Soviet Union.
http://wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=154295
The International Association of Chiefs of Police with the National Law Enforcement Policy Center published a newsletter on "Quarantines: The Reality for Law Enforcement". They explain, "The growing risk of bioterrorist attacks, the specter of a global epidemic spawned by new and deadly diseases such as the avian flu, and even, as the United States has so recently seen, the possibility of public health emergencies created by natural disasters, make it clear that the occurrence of a major quarantine scenario in the near future is all too likely". They go on to describe the critical role of law enforcement agencies in responding to quarantine, and the monumental challenge it represents, including experience, workforce, and legal issues. Uniform enforcement guidelines should be prepared before such an event occurs.
http://www.theiacp.org/pubinfo/PRNewsltrVol17No2.pdf
Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention approved a proposal to encourage governments to adopt codes of conduct to reduce biological weapons proliferation risks.
http://www.opbw.org/
Doug Beason, "The E-Bomb: How America's New Directed Energy Weapons Will Change the Way Future Wars Will Be Fought", Da Capo
Steven Caton, "Yemen Chronicle: An Anthropology of War and Mediation", Hill and Wang
Haynes Johnson, "The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism", Harcourt
Alice Kaplan, "The Interpreter", Free Press
Shana Penn, "Solidarity's Secret: The Women Who Defeated Communism in Poland", University of Michigan Press
Charles Sanders Jr., "While in the Hands of the Enemy: Military Prisons of the Civil War", Louisiana State University
FEATURE ARTICLE: Cybersecurity: A Year in Review
New technology is invariably used for both positive and negative applications. Some of these are incidental and emerge over time. However, this year has reached a new level of rapid application development designed to subvert technology. Indeed, some exploits have been undertaken in a matter of hours following a new software release. Trends in malicious software over the past year are significant enough to warrant increased concern over the economic, social, and political impact of a successful cyber breach on a large scale. This review summarizes the numbers, increased identity fraud and theft, emerging threats, and prevention tactics during 2005.
A GROWING PROBLEM
Last year, security firm mi2g reported that total economic damage from malicious software was as much as $204 billion. Numbers for 2005 are not yet released, but they will be higher. This level of damage would be dwarfed if there should be a successful attack against communications, financial, or other critical infrastructures. Companies in the UK and UK are increasingly victims, but most are reluctant to notify authorities of such breaches. Insider threats from disgruntled employees as well as organized crime present increasing risks. Viruses increased by nearly 50 percent between 2003-2004, and the rate of increase in 2005 is likely to be higher. Recovery times and cost also increased.
http://www.mi2g.net
http://www.ncis.co.uk/ukta.asp
http://www.gocsi.com/press/20050714.jhtml;jsessionid=ALK4QTEGLQ2FMQSNDBCCKHSCJUMEKJVN
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mueller080905.htm
http://www.infragard.net/index.htm
http://www.nhtcu.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=12457&tt=nhtcu
http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/insidercross051105.pdf
http://www.cybertrust.com/pr_events/2005/20050405.html
Government systems including military sites and the tax service remain vulnerable. Several audit reports in the US have criticized a lack of resources and attention to cybersecurity..
http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05482.html
http://www.itrd.gov/pitac/reports/20050301_cybersecurity/cybersecurity.pdf
http://www.itrd.gov/pitac/meetings/2005/20050414/announcement.html\
In addition to deliberate attacks from insiders, people pose other major vulnerabilities. Phishing attacks leverage social engineering. Systems to counter such persuasive attacks are limited in their effectiveness. After all, passwords remain highly vulnerable.
http://www.honeynet.org/papers/phishing/
http://www.cyber-ark.com/networkvaultnews/pr_20050608.htm
NUMBER 1 THREAT: IDENTITY FRAUD AND THEFT
The use of identity fraud and theft for criminal gain is the leading cybercrime trend for the year, not least because some of the most sophisticated and dangerous attacks have been undertaken to steal personal data. Most of these crimes are for financial gain. No doubt this includes terrorist organizations and individuals that are already adept in the use of multiple stolen identities, fraudulent documents, and surreptitious movement of funds.
Although this is a global threat, it in unheard of in many parts of the world and at a very low level in others, depending on the amount of personal data collected and stored. The US is most prone to ID theft, where it occurs seven times higher than the UK or elsewhere in Western Europe and Japan, where it is almost unknown. The US lacks data protection laws but captures and stores more personal data than any other country on earth. Nearly a quarter of people in the US have been affected by identity theft each month and there have been some 44 million victims of identity theft or fraud. Financial institutions are particularly concerned, as losses from US banks and credit issuers mounted to more than a billion in 2004, and will be higher in 2005.
http://www.aitegroup.com
http://www.staysafeonline.org/news/press_dec07_2005.html
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/02/top102005.htm
http://www.pandab.org/
http://www.gartner.com/5_about/press_releases/asset_71087_11.jsp
Most of the serious data breaches last year took place in the US, including incidents at data brokers, payment processors, retailers, and educational institutions. The breaches were so serious and exposed the personal data of so many millions of people that the Congress held hearings on the topic, and a range of new legislation is in the works.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512140203dec14,1,3236478.story
http://www.mastercardinternational.com/cgi-bin/newsroom.cgi?id=1038
However, the worst this year may turn out to be the breach of Britain's tax credits portal that exposed the identities of 13,000 staff with losses already in excess of GBP 15 million.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/downtime.htm
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article332918.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4523804.stm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmpubacc.htm
Prior to this attack, the government had already identified sophisticated Trojans targeting government systems.
http://www.niscc.gov.uk/niscc/docs/ttea.pdf
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=142
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/03152005hearing1455/hearing.htm
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=144
British concerns over data security were revealed in an Information Commissioner report, while another report warns that consumer apathy could turn this into a serious problem, and research from Which magazine revealed the extent of the problem.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/
http://www.unisys.co.uk/about__unisys/news_a_events/08038564.htm
http://trial.which.co.uk/legal_advice.php?m_id=56&source_code=j8uw04
Ultimately, the victim of identity theft is an individual. However, individuals in the past year were not the primary targets. Instead, criminals, often part of international organized gangs, focused on attacks that would provide opportunities for bulk theft. Last year, corporations, educational institutions and governments all suffered security breaches in which personal data was compromised. This information was, in turn, used to set up shadow credit accounts, false mortgages, tax fraud, and other measures in which legitimate commerce was diverted for illegal gain. It only takes a few chosen from these stolen identities to make a profit.
http://www.idanalytics.com/news_and_events/20051208.htm
Fear of compromised data has begun to affect people's behavior. The National Survey on Data Security Breach Notification finds that it leads to closure of accounts. Consumer Reports says that people have reduced or stopped buying online. A Pew survey found nine of ten respondents had changed behavior to avoid an intrusion. The difficulty in recovering from an attack could contribute to this caution.
http://www.pgp.com/news/ponemon_report.html
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/web-credibility-reports-princeton.cfm
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/160/report_display.asp
http://onlinepressroom.net/nationwide/newsroom/
http://www.intervoice.com/
http://www.tns-global.com
NEW THREATS
The sophistication of new attacks presents a significant concern. The "Turing test" in which a communication with a computer becomes indistinguishable from that with a human is becoming a reality with new phishing and pharming attacks. As well as being more sophisticated, they are easier to undertake. Malicious code and code kits can be purchased or rented, and gangs for hire will undertake attacks - for a fee. Warnings of these trends came in reports from the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the Anti-Spyware Coalition, the Government Accountability Office, the Honeypot Project, Information Week, InfoWorld, Sophos, and Symantec.
http://www.antiphishing.org/APWG_Phishing_Activity_Report_Jul_05.pdf
http://www.antispywarecoalition.org/
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-231
http://project.honeynet.org/papers/bots/
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=170100709
http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/09/26/39FEattack_1.html
http://www.symantec.com/press/2005/n050919a.html
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2005/12/toptensummary05.html
Another dangerous trend is the move from malicious software targeting operating system flaws to flaws within applications, including cross-platform and network products.
http://www.sans.org/top20/
http://www.workshare.com/products/pr_metadata_overview.htm
New technologies also open new vulnerabilities. Last year, issues such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), wireless networks, cryptography, peer-to-peer networks, and virtual private networks (VPNs) were addressed.
http://www.voipsa.org/About/news_detail.php?newsID=4
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-58/SP800-58-final.pdf
http://www.rsasecurity.com/press_release.asp?doc_id=5601
http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60402150
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-383
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/fourier.htm
http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2005/18-05.htm
http://www.rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk/marketing/hotspots
http://www.niscc.gov.uk/niscc/docs/al-20050509-00386.html?lang=en
PREVENTION
Governments and private industry are working together to address these threats, using a combination of education, legislation, policy, and technology.
Education campaigns are very popular. The US Federal Trade Commission and Department of Homeland Security; Britain's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit and Home Office; the Australian High Tech Crime Center; and their partners in private industry all undertook such campaigns last year.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/09/onguardonline.htm
http://www.antiphishing.org/Phishing-dhs-report.pdf
http://onguardonline.gov/index.html
http://www.getsafeonline.org/
http://www.itsafe.gov.uk/index.html
http://www.niscc.gov.uk/niscc/index-en.html
http://www.nhtcu.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=12534&tt=nhtcu
http://www.identitytheftassistance.org/
http://www.bankers.asn.au/Default.aspx?ArticleID=857
In the US, government agencies provided a range of regulatory guidance and services. Financial regulators developed "Interagency Guidelines Establishing Information Security Standards" as well as guidance to deal with spoofing, account hijacking, pre-employment screening, and response to breaches. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed the new National Vulnerability Database (NVD), security checklists, and identity verification guidelines. The Federal Commission issued rules regarding disposal of personal information. The National Regulatory Commission updated its criteria for computers used in nuclear power plants.
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2005-44a.pdf
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2005-24.txt
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/idtheftstudysupp/index.html
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2005/fil4605.html
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2005/fil2705.html
http://www.occ.treas.gov/consumer/Customernoticeguidance.pdf
http://nvd.nist.gov/
http://csrc.nist.gov/piv-program/index.html
http://csrc.nist.gov/checklists/xccdf.html
http://iris.nist.gov/ICE
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/06/disposal.htm
http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/cgi-bin/downloader/rg_lib/123-0184.pdf
Many countries are looking to strengthen cyber security laws. India is reviewing intellectual property protections and data protection, particularly related to their high tech outsourcing and life sciences sectors. Singapore announced a S$38.5 million initiative to counter cyber attacks against the critical infrastructure.
http://www.nasscom.org
http://www.ida.gov.sg/idaweb/marketing/infopage.jsp?infopagecategory=&infopageid=I3280&versionid=3
More than 20 countries participated in "Operation Spam Zombies" to work with Internet Service Providers on a range of protective measures. Another vendor network shares information about phishing sites.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/zombie/index.htm
http://www.phishreport.net/
New technology also helps prevent attacks, including authentication and encryption techniques. For example, Lloyds launched a 2-tier authentication trial, the three major credit reporting bureaus announced encryption standards, and the new Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard came into effect.
http://www.mediacentre.lloydstsb.com/media/docs/2005/oct/access_device.pdf
http://www.equifax.com/corp/pressroom/pressreleases/2005/2005_9_22.shtml
http://www.verisign.com/products-services/payment-processing/pci-compliance.html
http://www.cardsystems.com/news.html
TERRORISM
The widespread use of mobile phones to detonate improvised explosive devices and other bombs was the most important technology development of the year. This trend has led to the virtual elimination of anonymous prepaid phone cards as well as new legislation regarding retention of phone and data records.
Another critical trend was the use of the internet and web for communication, recruitment, and advertising.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,382097,00.html
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=1987
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2005/08/05/CU2005080501141.html?whichDay=3
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
To help compensate for all this bad news, check out Cyberguard's holiday tips in "Ho Ho Oh No - Don't let Phishers and Pharmers become your 'Nightmare before Christmas'.
http://www.cyberguard.com/news_room/press_releases/pm_cg_13_12_05.html?lang=de_EN