Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.

Campaign season can make presidential candidates do crazy things, but it's not often one resorts to hacking into a computer and stealing 700 voters' passwords and IDs to alter the electronic polling results.

Then again, not every presidential candidate is as desperate as Matt Weaver allegedly was.

 

Matt Liebowitz

This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends, new twists to previously-existing cyber scams, and announcements.

  MANHATTAN (CN) - A 27-year-old Belarusian man who ran Callservice.biz, an online business that helped 2,000 identity thieves commit more than 5,000 acts of fraud, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - A wave of class actions against Google claims the search giant's new privacy policy, which aggregates information the company collects about users across various Google platforms, violates computer fraud and abuse and wiretap laws.

CLAYTON, Mo. (CN) - In two class actions on the frontier of Internet law, people claim that Intelius and Digimedia dba Peoplefinder work as private investigators in Missouri without state certification.

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) - A class action will continue against Symantec after a federal judge found there is sufficient evidence to determine whether it misled consumers about its Norton Antivirus program.

 SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A Pennsylvania homemaker has two weeks to reveal communications with her lawyers that may show whether the prospect of Internet fame motivated her to sue over a YouTube video of her dancing toddler.

Filing a Complaint
If you would like to file a complaint about an e-mail scam or spam, you may call the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1.877.FTC.HELP (1.877.382.4357) or 1.202.326.2222. Or you may file a complaint online.

The IC3 has recently received over 250 complaints reporting a new twist to the online employment scam. The scam involves individuals who responded to online ads or were contacted via e-mail as a result of their resume being posted on job websites. The perpetrator posed as a research company and requested participants to complete a paid survey regarding services provided at wire transfer locations to improve the effectiveness of the company's money-transfer services.

Federal authorities have seized more than 300 websites, including several popular sports streaming sites, as part of a nationwide crackdown on Internet counterfeiting and piracy.

NEW YORK (AP) — Google, Facebook and other big tech companies are jointly designing a system for combating email scams known as phishing.

Rick Hendrix and Sarah Deswert-Hendrix Wanted in Internet Fraud Investigation

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Rick Devan Hendrix, age 56, and Sarah Candace Deswert-Hendrix, age 30, who are wanted in connection with an alleged Internet fraud scheme. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service arrested both Hendrix and Deswert at their home in Portland, Oregon in 2005; however, they disappeared while on pre-trial release. Investigators believe Rick Hendrix, at least, may now be living in the Beaverton area.

Cyber criminals can damage their victim's computer systems and data by changing or deleting files, wiping hard drives, or erasing backups to hide some or all of their malicious activity and tradecraft.

WASHINGTON – Seven individuals and two corporations have been charged in the United States with running an international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works, through Megaupload.com and other related sites, generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and causing more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI announced today.

This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime.

Hacktivists affiliated with the “Anonymous” movement took credit for crashing the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Universal Music Group on Thursday after the FBI shut down one of the most popular file sharing websites, MegaUpload.com.

The group later took credit for crashing the site of the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. They also briefly knocked the U.S Copyright Office site offline and gained internal access to the Utah Chiefs Of Police Association site.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 33-year-old Moscow man pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt to using the Internet and a cell phone to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct.

ATLANTA—ERIC McNEAL, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Willis B. Hunt, Jr. for intentionally accessing a protected computer of a competing medical practice without authorization, including personal information of the patients, in order to send marketing materials to these patients.

ICCS 2012 | Fordham University and the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Since 2007, the ZeuS Trojan has infected almost 4 million computers in the United States alone. It can collect data on forms and documents, take screen shots, steal passwords, and give remote access to the host computer. Financial losses due to the ZeuS Trojan are estimated at up to $60 million. What’s really worrisome, however, is that ZeuS can change its signature and avoid detection by current antivirus solutions. According to Deloitte & Touch LLP principal and ICCS 2012 speaker Rich Baich, there are at least 26 known variants of the ZeuS Trojan, but there may actually be hundreds that haven’t yet been identified.

Cyber criminals have found yet another way to steal your hard-earned money: a recent phishing scheme involves spam e-mails—purportedly from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—that can infect recipients’ computers with malware and allow access to their bank accounts.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cañon City Police Sergeant Robert Hill noticed a vehicle broken down in the 100 block of South 9th Street. Sergeant Hill stopped to assist the motorist and ran a routine check of the vehicles registration.

The check showed that the plates on the vehicle belonged to another vehicle. When questioned about the discrepancy, the driver's answers did not add up.

(CN) - An Illinois man can sue his online adversary who allegedly took their role-playing game on Battlecam.com too far with a series of prank calls for pizza deliveries, male prostitutes and police intervention, a federal judge ruled.

Federal detectives have reason to believe that a man pictured in an online dating profile under a pseudonym carjacked a young mother in Florida, killing her and taking her child.

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury has indicted six foreign nationals on charges related to an Internet sales scheme that allegedly defrauded Americans who attempted to purchase automobiles and other vehicles on the Internet through websites that included eBay Motors, Auto Trader, Yahoo Auto, Edmunds.com and Craigslist.

This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends, new twists to previously-existing cyber scams, and announcements.

The hacker group Anonymous has vowed to blackout the Internet if U.S. lawmakers pass the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act; under the bill, government powers would be greatly expanded, enabling the Justice Department working at the behest of individual copyright holders to shut down Web sites for potential copyright violations

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging 14 Romanian citizens with conspiracy, fraud and identity theft offenses stemming from their alleged participation in an extensive Internet “phishing” scheme.

FedEx has vowed to track down the deliveryman who was caught on video carelessly tossing a computer monitor over a fence during a delivery.

Company spokeswoman Shea Leordeanu would not say what would become of the employee once they find him, but added: 'This won't be his best day.'

 

WICHITA, KS—A Kansas man has been charged with devising a scheme to sell phony investments in Facebook, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Ronald D. Catrell, 45, Overland Park, Kan., is charged with three counts of bank fraud, one count of money laundering, one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Federal criminal charges were filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

 (CN) - The publisher of "World of Warcraft" claims a software company has made "tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in unjust profits" by selling a bot that enables people to cheat at the multiplayer online computer game.

The Charlotte Division of the FBI has learned a new phishing scam has reached the Charlotte area. Local people are now being targeted via e-mail in a complicated scheme involving personal and business accounts, financial institutions, and jewelry stores. The e-mail appears to be from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) alerting the recipient to a problem with a direct deposit transaction at their bank and informing them it was not processed. The e-mail advises the user to click a link to enter the secure section of the website, but instead it launches a virus that can monitor their keystrokes and steal their online banking credentials—but that is only the beginning of the scheme.

PROVIDENCE, RI—The founder of a defunct Rhode Island-based Internet consumer electronics company was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence to 70 months in federal prison and ordered to pay full restitution to more than 80 business customers and a credit card processing firm from whom he defrauded more than $10 million. David Whitaker, 36, formerly of Bristol, Tenn., was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to five years’ supervised release.

 SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A Russian video game developer and its Cyprus-based licensee claim a Belarussian computer programming company is illegally claiming credit for the "Fairy Farm" game, which is distributed through Apple's AppStore.

WASHINGTON — To mark the official beginning of the online holiday shopping season, known as Cyber Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the Department of Justice and the FBI Washington Field Office have seized 150 website domain names that were illegally selling and distributing counterfeit merchandise.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, the FBI Denver Cyber Squad would like to advise citizens of a new spear phishing campaign involving personal and business bank accounts, financial institutions, money mules, and jewelry stores. The campaign involves a variant of the “Zeus” malware called “Gameover.” The spam campaign is pretending to be legitimate e-mails from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), advising the user there was problem with the ACH transaction at their bank and it was not processed. Once they click on the link they are infected with the Zeus or Gameover malware, which is able to key log as well as steal their online banking credentials, defeating several forms of two factor authentication.

Tips You Can Use to Avoid Being a Victim

BOSTON, MA—With the holiday season approaching, Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers, of the FBI’s Boston Division, wants to remind New England shoppers to beware of cyber criminals and their aggressive and creative ways to steal money and personally identifiable information from you this season.

In advance of the holiday season, the FBI reminds shoppers to beware of cyber criminals and their aggressive and creative ways to steal money and personal information. Scammers use many techniques to fool potential victims including fraudulent auction sales, reshipping merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card, sale of fraudulent or stolen gift cards through auction sites at discounted prices, and phishing e-mails advertising brand name merchandise for bargain prices or e-mails promoting the sale of merchandise that ends up being a counterfeit product.

China's strong control of Internet communication undermines human rights and has significant impact on its relationship with the United States, witnesses told a joint congressional-executive commission on Thursday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (CN) - An anonymous blogger's identity will remain secret for now, a federal judge ruled, finding that the blogger's First Amendment rights outweigh discovery needs in a defamation case.

Congress should expand the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act so that violations no longer incur penalties that are weaker than those of analogous offline crimes, said Richard Downing, the Justice Department's deputy chief for computer crime, during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Nov. 15. 

LOS ANGELES (CN) - An Alaskan real estate developer claims he lost $525,000 to a company he found by "searching the Internet" for "how best to protect one's assets".

The FBI, in conjunction with the Hawaii State Department of Education, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and a host of private and not-for-profit organizations, is working to educate students about serious dangers lurking on the Internet.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Cooper Kweme, 31, of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced today to 132 months in prison for the sex trafficking of a female juvenile, stemming from a prostitution business operated by Kweme earlier this year in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.

The IC3 has received over 70 complaints since July 2011 reporting fraudulent e-mails claiming the recipient had been issued a traffic ticket. The spam, which spoofed a nyc.gov e-mail address, claimed to be from the New York State Police (NYSP).

(CN) - A federal judge dismissed a class action alleging NVIDIA committed securities fraud by propping up share prices through false and misleading statements that concealed problems with its computer chips.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A federal judge denied Oracle's motion to add additional patent infringement theories to its ongoing litigation against Google and the internet search giant's Android operating system, and also declined reconsider a ruling tossing out earlier contentions.

ERIE, PA—A former resident of Bradford, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 20 years in prison and lifetime supervised release on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

INDIANAPOLIS (CN) - The United States intervened in a Nigerian email scam to try to recover $237,000 in U.S. bank accounts - a fraction of the money a 20-year-old Nigerian allegedly swiped from a 73-year old woman who was looking for love on a dating website.

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in San Antonio this morning, 41-year-old Robert Lee Crews, of San Diego, California, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for using the Internet to stalk another individual.

WASHINGTON - In the largest operation of its kind, 81 countries have taken part in an international week of action targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines. This operation resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of 2.4 million potentially harmful medicines worldwide worth $6.3 million.

WASHINGTON – Hana A. Beshara, 29, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty today for her role in founding NinjaVideo.net, a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download infringing copies of copyright-protected movies and television programs in high-quality formats. 

WASHINGTON (CN) - The Federal Communications Commission has established three protections for broadband users, to preserve and reinforce Internet freedom and openness, according to new FCC rules.

 (CN) - The 1st Circuit reinstated a hefty $675,000 damages against a Boston College student who illegally downloaded and shared thousands of music files, saying the award to Sony BMG Music Entertainment was constitutional.

A particularly gross genre of Internet erotica has sprung up around alluring self-pictures of underage girls found on social media sites. But did you know there are actual people with real lives in those pictures? Meet Miami teen Angie Varona, whose life was turned upside down when she became an online sex symbol.

(CN) - The 1st Circuit reinstated a hefty $675,000 damages against a Boston College student who illegally downloaded and shared thousands of music files, saying the award to Sony BMG Music Entertainment was constitutional.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today that Duane Scott Battice, 39, of Manistee County, was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for production of child pornography.

BALTIMORE—Larry W. Warner, Jr., age 33, of Joppa, Maryland, pleaded guilty late yesterday to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has proposed amendments to online privacy rules for children that aim to give parents control over what personal information websites may collect from children under 13.

By John Ribeiro, IDG News

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Angie L. Jenkins, 35, of Lowell, Michigan, convicted in federal court of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and five years’ supervised release by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,480 to the victim.

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Timothy Kyle Survance, 21, of Amherst, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to possession of child pornography. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life.

Members of an online network called Dreamboard allegedly traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting children 12 years old and younger. The members created a massive private library of child sexual abuse. Members also praised and encouraged each other to create new images and videos of children being sexually abused. On Aug. 3, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in conjunction with the Department of Justice, announced indictments against individuals on five continents who were involved with the network, marking the largest in a child exploitation investigation in U.S. history. The investigation was deemed Operation Delego.

WASHINGTON – A Michigan woman was sentenced today to two years in prison for selling more than $400,000 worth of counterfeit computer software after an extensive investigation by IPR Center in Washington.

Jacinda Jones, 31, of Ypsilanti, Mich., was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and to pay $441,035 in restitution. Jones pleaded guilty on April 20, 2011, to one count of criminal copyright infringement.

The FBI today is warning the public that online vehicle shoppers are being victimized by fraudulent vehicle sales and false claims of vehicle protection programs (VPP). In fraudulent vehicle sales, criminals attempt to sell vehicles they do not own. They create an attractive deal by advertising vehicles for sale at prices below book value. Often the sellers purport they need to sell the vehicle because they are moving for work, to include military deployments.

SAN JOSE, CA—Sanford Wallace, 43, of Las Vegas, today self-surrendered to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. On July 6, a federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Wallace with multiple counts of fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail. Wallace was also charged with three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of criminal contempt

Interesting data about cash available in US treasury!

Will Steve Jobs come to the rescue?

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A Spokane woman is telling police she fell victim to the Nigerian boyfriend scam and lost $70,000 in the process.

--by Jeff Humphrey

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in San Antonio today, 41-year-old Robert Lee Crews of San Diego, California, faces two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to Internet stalking.

At least 19 women were victimized by a computer hacker who broke into their email accounts, captured risqué photographs of the women and then swapped them for the women's Facebook profile pictures, authorities say.

By Elaine Silvestrini

FBI agents arrested 16 people total yesterday for participating in major cyber attacks

Recent hacks on governments and large corporations have placed a spotlight on internet security and its importance.

Tiffany Kaiser

More Than 35 Search Warrants Executed in United States, Five Arrests in Europe as Part of Ongoing Cyber Investigations

WASHINGTON—Fourteen individuals were arrested today by FBI agents on charges related to their alleged involvement in a cyber attack on PayPal’s website as part of an action claimed by the group “Anonymous,” announced the Department of Justice and the FBI. Two additional defendants were arrested today on cyber-related charges.

Federal prison sentences aren't computed this way, but the 18 years Blaine hacker Barry Ardolf was sentenced to Tuesday works out to one year for every 39.3 days of hell he put his victims through.

By David Hanners

Hackers have taken over a Twitter account belonging to US broadcaster Fox News and declared President Obama dead.

NEWARK, NJ—A Georgia man who allegedly froze the operations of a New Jersey pharmaceutical company where he had worked by deleting portions of its computer network has been federally charged in connection with the alleged attack, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced

An international effort, coordinated by the FBI, has successfully nabbed two scareware cyber-crime organizations. The groups are believed to be responsible for infecting hundreds of thousands of computers, with one of the groups costing users a total of $72 million. 

by Paul Mah

Please read this first.

~~~~

~~~~

So apparently the Obama administration is deploying a new tool to be used to undermine oppressive governments. Also known as "Internet in a suitcase", the purpose of this project is to be able to set up a link to a wireless internet across foreign borders. The article provided a few countries that are easy examples of where this could be used first: Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Syria, countries that are in the midst of a revolution. However, since this is supposed to be an opinion, I'm going to take a separate route and talk about a country that is not mentioned: China.

I believe that this project's final goal is almost painfully obvious. The real target of this is the country that is known for censoring its population even as it rises into global superpower status. I've even written articles about it (and when I go looking for something to link, I am unable to find it, too much content, sorry!). If the United States is somehow able to steer the population of China around the censorship wall, I believe that the government of China could do nothing to stop a revolution. When I think of "oppressive governments", I think not of Iran or Syria, I think of China.

Given the foreign policy track record of the United States, I would not at all be surprised if this "oppressive government during revolution" thing was all a huge cover. We have been trying to convince China to let up for years now, and have tried a few times to crack it altogether. If they truly gain dominance like we have had for 50 years, who is to say that other countries would not adopt their practices of censoring everything un-Chinese?

So, for the poll: Do you support this "Shadow Internet" project?

NEWARK, NJ—Three principal operators of Wiseguy Tickets, Inc., were sentenced today in connection with their multimillion-dollar scheme to bypass the security mechanisms of online ticket distributors to buy premium tickets in bulk and resell them for a profit, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena announced today that the FBI has received multiple reports of a scam letter e-mailed to residents in Michigan and nationwide.

Tired of the easy pickings at Sony, the hacker group that calls itself LulzSec breached an FBI website on June 3 and uploaded some confidential information to the Internet.

--By John P. Mello, Jr.

Unfortunately people care less and less about the truth, and would rather have their beliefs confirmed , than actually know the truth.

"United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said Dwyer entered a guilty plea to a two-count indictment charging him with (i) using the Internet, computers, and telephones to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity; and (ii) attempted production of child pornography."

"According to financial analysts the homeland security business is still growing nearly ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; analysts project that the market for homeland security goods like body scanners, radiation detectors, and surveillance cameras will grow 12 percent each year until 2013; the market for x-ray and body scanners is set to grown steadily at 15 percent annually as airports begin replacing aging equipment and the market expands; analysts say that the primary driver for future growth will be in cargo screening at airports and seaports as only a small percentage of cargo is currently scanned."

RENO—Former Incline Village resident Darin French, 40, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks to 12½ years in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution for defrauding over 250 persons in an Internet fraud scheme involving high-end appliances, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM OEHNE, 50, of Amelia, Virginia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to 540 months of imprisonment, followed by a life term of supervised release, for producing and distributing child pornography.

The Pentagon has adopted a new strategy that will classify major cyber attacks as acts of war, paving the way for possible military retaliation; "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," a U.S. military official said; the move to formalize the Pentagon's thinking was borne of the military's realization the United States has been slow to build up defenses against cyber attacks, even as civilian and military infrastructure has grown more dependent on the Internet; the military established a new command last year, headed by the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), to consolidate military network security and attack efforts

In 2008, Illinois police received disturbing information about a Chicago woman who had taken a 3-year-old to a “sex party” in Indiana where the child and an 11-year-old girl were abused by three adults. However, by the time the tip was received, the crime had already occurred, and there seemed to be no evidence to support criminal charges.

What a toot-less threat, like anyone is going to be worried about a military attack!

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent this bulletin on 05/25/2011 03:47 PM EDT

ICE puts the summer heat on counterfeiters

WASHINGTON – As the summer months begin in the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is keeping the heat on counterfeiters by seizing domain names of websites used to sell counterfeit goods and illegally distribute copyrighted materials

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Scott Allan Herrick, 39, of Twin Lakes, Michigan, was convicted of three counts of attempting to produce child pornography, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. Herrick surreptitiously videotaped boys as they were dressing in the boys’ locker room in the YMCA in Muskegon. On the first day of trial, Herrick pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, but chose to go to trial on the much more serious charges of attempted production.

Washington, D.C. ~ Monday, May 16, 2011

Thank you, Secretary Clinton.  It is a privilege to join with you – and with Secretary Locke, Secretary Napolitano, and so many government and business leaders, security experts, civil rights advocates, and international allies – as we announce a new strategy aimed at engaging our global partners in maintaining the security and vibrancy of “cyberspace.”

San Jose, Calif. ~ Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Good morning.  It is an honor to join you today at this first-ever National Strategy Conference.  More than twelve hundred agents, investigators, prosecutors and others have assembled here in California this week to receive state of the art training to aid in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children.

Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, discusses cyber safety on his new video blog.

WASHINGTON—A Fremont, Calif., man was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison and to pay a $20,000 fine for possessing child pornography and attempting to extort additional child pornography images of an underage girl whom he harassed via the social networking website Facebook, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California.

 David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a jury in Hartford has found EUGENE C. BOISVERT, 40, of Springfield, Massachusetts, guilty of one count of using the Internet to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity, and one count of interstate travel to attempt to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

More Than 2 Million Computers Infected with Keylogging Software as Part of Massive Fraud Scheme

WASHINGTON - Today the Department of Justice and FBI announced the filing of a civil complaint, the execution of criminal seizure warrants, and the issuance of a temporary restraining order as part of the most complete and comprehensive enforcement action ever taken by U.S authorities to disable an international botnet.

The company at the center of a data heist involving Best Buy, Citigroup, and other major brands said Wednesday that the theft of potentially millions of names and email addresses won't significantly slow its email marketing juggernaut.

Epsilon, a subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corp., was the victim of a hacking attack that triggered scores of public warnings this week from major retailers, banks and others.

Epsilon sends more than 40 billion emails a year on behalf of more than 2,500 companies, for things like loyalty rewards programs.

In a statement Wednesday, it reiterated that Social Security and credit card numbers weren't compromised. Epsilon president Bryan Kennedy apologized for the inconvenience and the "phishing" emails that victims are receiving.

The company said that only 2 percent of its client base was affected and that its email volumes aren't expected to be significantly impacted. Epsilon said the incident should have "minimal if any impact" on Alliance Data's financial performance.

Epsilon is a big moneymaker for Alliance Data, which is based in Plano, Texas. Epsilon turned $65 million in operating profit last year, and its $613 million in revenue was 22 percent of Alliance Data's total.