Cyberlaw

Message from Citibank

Dear x,

You may have heard the term “phishing” in the news lately.

In case you haven't, it's not just “fishing” misspelled. It actually refers to unsolicited email that looks like it's from a trusted institution — but in reality is an attempt to lure people into providing personal or sensitive account information on phony web sites. The information collected is later used to commit fraud.

Citi Cards holds your security in the highest regard. For that reason, we're working diligently with law enforcement, industry organizations, and governments overseas to shut down these scams permanently.

But there are a few simple things you can do as well to protect yourself:

* Look for your “personal header” on all emails.
For your protection, effective immediately look for your first name, last name and the last 4 digits of your account number in an “email security zone” at the top of email we send you. Be suspicious of emails claiming to be from us that do not include this information.

* Never type account information into a pop-up window.
Don't type account information into a pop-up window, even if it looks legitimate. We never request account information through pop-up windows.

* Don't respond to emails asking you to verify information.
We'll never send you an email asking you to verify information. If we have an issue with your records, we'll contact you another way.

* Be suspicious of grammatical or spelling errors.
These are usually indications of a fraudulent message.

If you happen to receive a suspicious-looking email claiming to be from Citi Cards, please forward it to spoof@citicorp.com. We have agents on staff around the clock monitoring these reports and acting on them immediately.

If you'd like more information on phishing, please visit our “Security and You” module. Or, you can contact one of our Internet Security Specialists at 1-888-285-9696.

Phishing

pFor tomorrows class, we will look at:
http://www.antiphishing.org/phishing_archive/
westpac_03-26-04.htm

Once the bad guys get your account details, how do they get your money?

More on whether bloggers are journalists?

In a case that could ultimately decide whether bloggers can be classified as journalists, a California judge has ruled that three online blog sites must surrender the names of confidential sources who allegedly leaked information about an upcoming product put out by Apple Computer Inc. Read more about the case here.

To read the opinion of the court, click here.

Call for blogger freedom

"Internet bloggers should enjoy traditional press freedoms and not face regulation as political groups, US politicians and journalists have said." Read more here.

If this was so, what would the jurisdictional implications (if any) of this be?

BitTorrent case to test FTA laws

Read all about it here.

Campaign Launched to Crack Down on Online Fraud

A national awareness campaign has been launched by banks and the Australian Federal Police outlining practical ways consumers can protect themselves and reduce risks of fraud perpetrated by criminals over the Internet.To build awareness of this criminal activity, banks and police have worked together to produce an advertising campaign and free consumer fact sheets with useful tips for minimising risks. As well as individuals, small business has also been identified as being at risk.David Bell, chief executive of the Australian Bankers Association, says identity theft is a complex crime and is an emerging threat, not just for banks, but for individuals, for other corporations and the entire community.Suggestions for protection include installing and keeping up-to-date anti-virus software and firewalls, never giving out your PIN or password, deleting spam e-mail and not accessing internet banking from a link in an e-mail.

For more information, click here.

Beware of changes to privacy policies

Tonight's session is on privacy and the internet. As we will be looking at privacy policies at some stage tonight, have a look here.

E-voting

Although it is not a topic covered in LWN117 Legal Regulation of the Internet, there have been a couple of interesting articles on e-voting recently:

Is home internet banking safe?

The Associate Dean of IT at Queensland University of Technology, Bill Caelli, says that hacking tools such as trojans and spyware - which lure users to sites where software was secretly downloaded allowing criminals to log every keystroke - has rendered the home PC useless for secure financial transactions.

Read more here.

A privacy issue?

"A woman who installed a spyware program on her husband's computer to record his online exchanges with another woman cannot use that evidence in her divorce proceeding, a Florida appeals court has ruled on an issue of first impression."

For more, click here. What do you think?

Media giants join forces to fight Ontario ruling

More than 50 of the world's largest media organizations have banded together to overturn an Ontario court ruling that they say threatens free speech and development of the Internet.

"This is a case of free expression," Brian McLeod Rogers, a Toronto lawyer representing the media coalition, told the Ontario Court of Appeal yesterday.

The 52-member coalition includes CNN, The New York Times, Time magazine, The Times of London, Google and Yahoo, as well as Canadian media such as The Globe and Mail, CanWest Publications Inc., CTV and CBC.

Read more here.

EBay and Phishing

From The New York Times: "On EBay, E-Mail Phishers Find a Well-Stocked Pond"

"The proliferation of eBay and PayPal phishes means that the legitimate e-mail that powers eBay transactions are increasingly being eliminated by junk e-mail filters. At the same time, some sellers say that buyers are becoming wary because of the constant threats from phishing, which is straining eBay's relationship with customers and may be driving down auction prices."

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/07/technology/07ebay.html?ex=1110862800&en=e1f51fd0875ae424&ei=5070 This article is relevant to a couple of topics we wil look at this semester.