Tactics for fighting e-crime could backfire

Sting operations by law enforcement agencies could force online criminals to forge closer links with each other offline, and become even more difficult to track down and arrest, according to an e-crime expert at Lloyds TSB, says Computing.co.uk.

Speaking at the annual RSA Conference Europe event in London this week, Mark Stanhope, senior manager of e-crime at the bank, warned that operations such as Dark Market, in which the FBI infiltrated the eponymous Internet chat room used by fraudsters, could backfire.

“They are getting more tightly organised - the risk is that we push them offline or into closed groups where they conduct their business dealings,” he argued. “Their language skills are also getting better - at the moment there are a series of small boutiques hired to carry out various functions.”

Microsoft has finally announced a version of its Office productivity applications for the Web with the next full-edition of its suite, reports The Register.

The company said it's planning Web applications for Office, a "lightweight" package of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote applications that'll "be compatible with familiar Web browsers" including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

A "private technical preview" is due later this year, before the tools are rolled into the next version of Office. In the meantime, Microsoft has asked potential beta customers to visit its Office Live site for updates and information.

With only a week to go before the US presidential election, academics, politicians and voters are voicing increased distrust of the electronic voting machines that will be used to cast ballots, says The Register.

In early balloting in West Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee, voters using e-voting machines made by Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software (ES&S) have reported the "flipping" of their vote from the presidential candidate they selected to the candidate's rival. In some cases, voters said their choice had been changed from Democrat Barack Obama to Republican John McCain while others reported just the opposite.

The reports prompted the Brennan Centre for Justice and a group called Verified Voting to write to voting officials in 16 states where the ES&S iVotronic machine is used to be on the lookout for problems.

Increasing numbers of teenagers are starting to dabble in hi-tech crime. Computer security professionals say many Internet forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips, reports The BBC.

The poor technical skills of many young hackers means they are likely to get caught and arrested, they say.

Youth workers added that any teenager getting a criminal record would be putting their future at risk.

When Dolly Parton speaks, people listen. At least that's what opponents to an upcoming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote on opening up "white space" spectrum hope, reports CNet.

Earlier this week, country western star Dolly Parton sent a letter to the FCC asking the agency to delay its vote to open up the unused spectrum for unlicensed use.

"I can unequivocally confirm that the importance of clear, consistent wireless microphone broadcasts simply cannot be overstated,” Parton wrote in her letter. “This industry relies on wireless technology and is in jeopardy of being irreversibly devastated by the commission's pending decision."