contributed by weld pond
It's official. Thirteen months after the challenge was issued, a group of researchers hailing from Sweden has cracked the infamous 10 code set from Simon Singh's "The Code Book." The winners were awarded a $15,000 prize for their efforts to solve what Singh believes to be "the toughest code that has ever been cracked." Many are wary of the potential for disaster down the road as the presence of similarities between the 10th cipher and the type of Internet security used by ecommerce factions were revealed.

The New York Times
The Register
Cipher Challenge Home Page

contributed by pyle
Steven Boudrias has been banned from using the telephone for the next three years as punishment for breaking into the voicemail system of the Montreal Urban Community police. He is set to serve a year and a half in jail followed by a stint with the probation department. The twenty-something from Canada has a long history of getting into trouble for his telephone antics and willfully admits that using the phone is "like a sickness for him."

Canoe.ca
The Montreal Gazette
The National Post

contributed by weld pond
A Chinese computer security company has discovered a problem with has existed in Windows for 5 years. Security-by-obscurity can last quite a while. The problem is you don't need to know the password to connect to Windows file shares if "share level" passwords are used. This means that all the Windows users on the internet that are sharing files with "share level" passwords are vulnerable. NT and Windows 2000 do not have the problem.

Network Security Focus

contributed by pyle
Self-regulation appears to be the hot topic these days when the words "consumer online privacy" and "Federal Trade Commission" (FTC) are mentioned in the same breath. Many are in favor of private sector self-regulation rather then government imposed legislation. FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle appears to disagree with both sides of the argument, opting for no regulatory actions. Meanwhile, a separate suvey found that consumer websites average a C+ performance rating for security.

Reuters via San Jose Mercury News
Wired

contributed by iron river
It has been reported that someone from Labour Party infiltrated the Liberal Democrats' email system in a bid to get ahold of confidential information. The alleged policy information was then passed along to The Guardian newspaper. The supposed breach will be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister in due time.

ZDNet UK

contributed by laney
More and more Eastern Europeans are becoming part of the online tidal wave. The number of computer crimes originating from St. Petersburg is likely to skyrocket as users become better acquainted with computer systems. Software traded freely among some members of the Internet community has caused concern according to a story from The Moscow Times.

The Moscow Times

contributed by editor
It has been brought to our attention that the website we referenced on 10/11/00 was TheBurglar.com not Burglar.com. We regret the error.