contributed by Evil Wench
The LAPD Computer Crimes Unit plans to charge a 17-year-old New Hampshire resident in connection with defacing the Dare.org Web site. 'Coolio' has also admitted to defacing RAS.com and several other sites. The FBI is also investigating him concerning any involvement he may have had with DDoS attacks. He will be charged with unauthorized access to a computer and felony vandalism and would be charged as a juvenile. If convicted he could receive a fine of $18,000 in restitution and possible time in a juvenile facility. If he is charged in New Hampshire he could be tried as an adult and would face five to 15 years in prison.

MSNBC
ABC News

contributed by Evil Wench
Kevin Mitnick appeared before the Government Affairs Committee yesterday to offer his testimony. Kevin attempted to warn the Senators about social engineering, and to let them know that the human parts of information security is just as vital as the technical parts. (Anyone have a link to his verbal testimony?)

Associated Press - via San Jose Mercury News
Government Affairs Committee - Written Testimony
Senate Press Release

contributed by Evil Wench
Mindphasr (Chad Davis) was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $8,054 in restitution Wednesday for defacing the Web site of the U.S. Army. The defacement occurred on June 27th of last year.

Nando Times
Attrition.org - Defacement Mirror

contributed by Evil Wench
The question of liability has been raised in the wake of the recent DDoS against major sites on the internet. The computers used to launch the attacks are not only the culprits but the victims as well. No one seems to have sued a third-party site for being used to perpetrate a cyber-attack. But because most attacks are presumed to be judgment-proof (no money to pay restitution), it is only a matter of time before companies that suffer damage from attacks find someone who can pay that they can sue. The legal question in such lawsuit would be whether the computer owner had a duty of care to the victim.

New York Law Journal

contributed by David Schwindt
A 15-year-old High School student is currently in police custody after allegedly threatening school officials Monday with a plan to "blow (the school) to pieces." The threat was delivered via email from a computer within the school. Chad Varner was arrested Wednesday on a charge of making threats to place an explosive or incendiary device.

Clinton Herald

contributed by turtlex hacker
Software purchased by the defense agency of Japan would link the networks at 20 army garrisons across Japan, giving them internet and e-mail access. It has been discovered that some of the software may have been written by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. It is feared that Aum Shinrikyo, which carried out the fatal gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, may have left backdoors into the software they wrote allowing them access to defense computer systems. After police raided the apartments of eight cult members it was discovered that several software firms run by Aum members have also provided products for the Construction Ministry, the Education Ministry, and the Post and Telecommunications Ministry.

BBC

contributed by Weld Pond
Three hours after launching the business-to-business e-commerce web site it had been broken into. The web site, EDAToolsCafe.com, reported the break-in to the FBI's San Jose, California regional office who are looking into the attack.

Business Wire - via Excite News

contributed by SonjaC
State of Maine Governor Angus King has said that starting in 2002, he wants each of Maine's 17,000 seventh-graders to get issued laptop computer and receive internet access. King hopes to supply $75 million in Federal and state funds to pay for the plan. Some lawmakers said that the money would be better spent fixing leaky school roofs. (The hardware is worthless without the education to support it. Hope they take into account the cost of software, technical support and upgrades.)

Nando Times