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The Weekly Round-Up: 06.08.04
First word, three syllables, sounds like Niagara...

By silicon.com

Published: Friday 06 August 2004

When the Round-Up was growing up (...spare the jokes, now) US motorbike cop show CHiPs was pretty much the TV highlight of the week.

The idea of chasing down "punks" on the California freeways, dressed in what the Round-Up now realises was the kind of homo-erotic garb popularised by the Village People, was aspirational in the extreme.

Now though it would seem US criminals have more to fear from 'chips' than 'CHiPs', with plans afoot to tag them all with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips.

The State of Ohio has approved a scheme to RFID chip all of its 44,000 prisoners in order to keep track of them and ensure rapid techno-roll-calls. In terms of the impact this scheme could have on society it pretty much puts stitching mail bags and hammering out car registration plates into perspective.

Inmates of the state's 33 correctional facilities will wear wristwatch-sized devices which will enable prison systems to track them throughout the building and will also include technology that alerts the systems if it appears the device is being tampered with - such as an attempt to remove it. If the system does detect a prisoner attempting to remove their wristband they will be shocked by 1,000 volts of electricity.

(OK, the Round-Up made that last bit up - but don't rule it out).

Normally any RFID chip scheme which is written about on the pages of silicon.com receives a barrage of negative feedback from those not yet ready to embrace the technology and a deluge of 'fire and brimstone' rantings from those forecasting the arrival of the next apocalypse. But could this be the scheme that sows a seed of acceptance for the controversial chips? (Read here for more.)

We just received the one negative response this week, from a reader in Florida.

"This is a precursor to the Mark of the Beast."

Did somebody say déjà vu? But we read on anyway and thankfully this reader fleshed out a few more details as to just what we can expect over the coming years.

"The Anti-Christ will make them mandatory," he continued, from his comfy chair in the day room. "I will not be here, Jesus will have come and taken me and other true believers away physically."

Certainly somebody will be coming to take you away, the Round-Up suspects. But it seems likely 'Jesus' (you keep telling yourself its Jesus, friend) will be wearing a white coat and driving the kind of ambulance that has bars on the windows.

But if the Round-Up is wrong then it sounds like we've got all that to look forward to. So, on the off chance, keep watching the skies above Florida (though it might make sense to keep one eye on the ballot boxes as well).

But joking aside, opposition has so far been slow to reach us, possibly because many of the immediate concerns are negated - most obvious of which is that RFID impinges upon our civil liberties. After all, if you're six weeks into a 10-year stretch for grand theft auto your civil liberties are pretty limited already.

Also, in terms of demonstrating the practical applications of RFID technology the scheme makes serious inroads. There would be no fooling anybody with a few pillows under the blanket, in the style of British caper movies, to create the impression of cell-occupancy. The chips don't lie.

All that said the episode of popular BBC lag-com Porridge in which Fletcher went gallivanting around the countryside, stopping for a pint in a village pub, would have been far less fun if Mr Barrowclough had been able to immediately tell that Norman Stanley had 'done one' on the vicar's half-inched bicycle.

(If you ask the Round-Up - and it's duly noted you didn't - having endured years of 'The Two Ronnies', it can only be concluded they definitely locked-up the wrong Ronnie.)

Also facing the prospect of some time in the 'big house' are a number of companies who really may be thinking they've picked on the wrong pill peddler.

Not before time, pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer has decided the time is right to Pfight the good Pfight and help rid the world of unsolicited email... or at the least the few million which daily try to market generic brands of it best selling pill (which rhymes with Niagara and sets off poorly configured spam filters whenever the Round-Up makes mention of it.)

Having limply sat back and watched as its brand became a by-word for spam, Pfizer has decided it is now time to stand up and be counted. No longer is it going to take it lying down and it's going to come down hard on those who have made a living ripping off its trademark.

But will it prove to be harder than it looks or will Pfizer's lawyers rise to the occasion?

Jeff Kindler, general counsel at Pfizer is bullish about his company's chances.

"Pfizer is taking these steps to help raise consumer awareness about the problems posed by illegitimate online 'pharmacies'."

Not to stop the erosion of brand value and revenues. Oh no... never crossed their minds! Still, as long as some spammers are brought to justice the Round-Up isn't about to question their motives.

Kindler added "We want it clearly known that Pfizer does not send or support the sending of spam."

OK. We believe you.

Speaking of spam, one email security firm which has been sniffing around in search of some publicity of late contacted silicon.com this week with the most hopelessly contrived piece of grovelling... sorry, feedback, on the back of a story we published about phishing attacks.

Now far be it from silicon.com to knock praise - it's always welcome - but it helps if there is an ounce of sincerity in there. The email, directed to its author, read:

"[Company name removed, because frankly they don't deserve even bad publicity] was extremely impressed by your article and the description of the problems and how they have reached epidemic proportions.

"The public revels in your reporting of computer crime, usually forcing companies to come clean about theft of customer data by hackers.

"It’s time for a writer with your credentials to make America aware of the progress being made in preventing online crime and take comfort in knowing there are solutions to keep their identities safe. Our industry needs people like yourself to help spread the word that solutions are available for organisations to protect their online banking and ecommerce clients from identity theft and fraud."

The Round-Up wonders if you've worked out what comes next. Guess who just happens to provide one such solution...? That's right... none other than the sweet talking flatterers who lovingly crafted this unsettling email to silicon.com.

It continues:

"Our products and solutions are being marketed and are building momentum in the on-line security world. We at [name removed] feel our message is important and should be publicised. The public needs to be assured that online identity theft has antidotes and can be prevented.

"This is a great story that we must do together on TV or in print."

Though they say so themselves! The Round-Up doesn't really know where to begin with that one. Putting aside the fact silicon.com doesn't do TV or print (good shot selection there then - and he sounded like such a fan!) the next natural point to query would seem to be the fact they think their product is being marketed. Not very well it isn't.

Far more credible than this (ahem) expert was the panel of security experts we put together to answer your questions about security this week.

We were inundated with queries about law, legislation, spyware, viruses, worms and a whole host of related issues.

We've now published the full Q&A in three parts and would urge you to take a look - even if you think you know all there is know about security. However, if you don't have time right now here are some of the highlights... starting with a great answer from Mark Morris, head of forensics at LogicaCMG.

Reader Andrew Partridge, asked: "How can company directors that have a network administrator with full access rights ensure their emails remain private and confidential from the administrator?"

Mark Morris, head of forensics at LogicaCMG, answered: "We have investigated a case where the managing director had higher privileges on one of the company's servers than the administrator. However, he is currently on bail and this would indicate that the reason behind his privacy was rather improper."

Other questions came up frequently in your concerns, with a number of readers asking why there isn't a small charge associated with sending an email - as with a mailed letter or phone call - that would make spamming prohibitively expensive.

To all those of you thinking: 'good question - I wish I'd asked that', here's what the answer would have been if you had:

Alyn Hockey, director of research, Clearswift, answered: "Micropayment for email has been discussed for years within the internet bodies, however it requires various changes to happen. Firstly a cultural change. As individuals we have become used to sending messages rather than using the phone or writing letters. This communications technology works even better because it is essentially free.

"The second change would be to try to determine just how the system would work in terms of money transactions. If the complex net of bank transactions was to be replicated to deal with the huge mesh of mail servers, who would run it? Maybe you would have to have a central body, but then who would fund it? I guess the people using email, so the cost per message doubles - once for the actual micropayment and the once for the admin fee.

"The last change would be the requirement to change every single piece of email infrastructure on the planet."

The Round-Up can't help thinking the last one there is the 'biggy' - the deal breaker if you like.

Other questions covered include everything from how spammers get your email address to how governments and lawmakers should be policing the internet. Read the articles now, go on... but come back for the rest of this week's Round-Up:

Security Q&A (Part 1) is here
Security Q&A (Part 2) is here
Security Q&A (Part 3) will be live on silicon.com this afternoon, click on the Q&A graphic at the top of the inbox.

Fortunately for those fighting any kind of criminal activity those committing the crimes aren't always the sharpest tools in the box... in fact to call some 'blunt' would be an insult to bluntness.

The head of a car crime gang known as the "iPod crew" was sent to prison this week and there's a clue in there already as to what telling piece of evidence sealed his fate.

The man and his accomplices had been using identity-theft tactics to secure finance agreements which were then used against the fraudulent purchase of a number of flashy motors including BMWs and Jaguars.

Hapless gang leader Oludayo Adeagbo then parked the fleet of 70 luxury cars outside his council estate home (and surrounding area the Round-Up assumes... unless council houses are now being made by NCP).

The sight of 70 luxury cars parked outside a council house then attracted the attention of a particularly alert member of the police force.

There is something quintessentially British about the thought of a bobby on the beat scratching their head, looking at 70 luxury cars outside a council house and reckoning that something 'isn't quite right here' - though the Round-Up assumes it had already raised a little ire among his neighbours and hopefully more than a little suspicion. Either that or they thought he had a lot of wealthy visitors. (Read here for more.)

When police searched Adeagbo's house they recovered an iPod upon which he had stored all the documentation used in his ID theft scams. Of course they were probably just looking to see what music he was into, but they'll never let on.

Until next week enjoy the sunshine, here's some news:

'No virus' Linux PCs break into supermarkets

Is Google the hacker's best friend?

Spam meltdown brewing in suburbia

iPod catches born-again Christian BMW theft mastermind

£35 biometric ID card charge may be scrapped