Software Firms Fear Hackers Who Leave No Trace By JOHN MARKOFF and ASHLEE VANCEMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The crown jewels of Google, Cisco Systems or any other technology company are the millions of lines of programming instructions, known as source code, that make its products run.If hackers could steal those key instructions and copy them, they could easily dull the company’s competitive edge in the marketplace. More insidiously, if attackers were able to make subtle, undetected changes to that code, they could essentially give themselves secret access to everything the company and its customers did with the software.The fear of someone building such a back door, known as a Trojan horse, and using it to conduct continual spying is why companies and security experts were so alarmed by Google’s disclosure last week that hackers based in China had stolen some of its intellectual property and had conducted similar assaults on more than two dozen other companies.“Originally we were saying, ‘Well, whoever got it has the secret sauce to Google and some 30 other California companies, and they can replicate it,’ ” said Rick Howard, director of security intelligence at VeriSign iDefense, which helped Google investigate the Chinese attacks. “But some of the more devious folks in our outfit were saying, ‘Well, they could also insert their own code — and they probably have.’ ”For example, a foreign intelligence agency might find it extremely useful to know who was asking particular questions of Google’s search engine. Security researchers took particular interest in the fact that the Silicon Valley company Adobe Systems was one of the companies hit by the recent wave of attacks. Computer users around the globe have Adobe’s Acrobat or Reader software sitting on their machines to create or read documents, and Adobe’s Flash technology is widely used to present multimedia content on the Web and mobile phones. “Acrobat is installed on about 95 percent of the machines in the world, and there have been a lot of vulnerabilities found in Flash,” said Jeff Moss, a security expert who sits on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. “If you can find a vulnerability in one of these products, you’re golden.”Products from Microsoft, including Windows, Office and Internet Explorer, have long been favored targets for hackers because so many people use them. But McAfee, a leading software security firm, predicts that Adobe’s software will become the top target this year, as Microsoft has improved its products after years of attacks and Adobe’s software has become ubiquitous.Adobe said it was still investigating the attacks but so far had no evidence that any sensitive information had been compromised. Brad Arkin, the director of product security at Adobe, said the company generally expected to face increasing attention from hackers given the growing…

 SINOGRAPH
China rejects siren
song on yuan
As China sees weakness in America's response to the global economic crisis, Beijing is in no mood to concede to US demands for a revaluation of the yuan. With the US yet to get its house in order, significant appreciation is unlikely and, besides, it would have a destabilizing effect not just on China but throughout the world. - Francesco Sisci Read Article

   US census worker found hanged FBI investigating the death of Bill Sparkman, 51, who had the word 'fed' scrawled across his chest    Chris McGreal in Washington guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 September 2009 Article history
Substitute teacher and US census worker Bill Sparkman, 51, was found dead in a Kentucky forest. Photograph: AP   The FBI is investigating the death of a census taker found hanged in a Kentucky forest with the word "fed" scrawled across his chest, prompting one line of inquiry that he was the victim of an extreme anti-government group. But police officials admit to being baffled by the killing of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old substitute teacher and Boy Scout leader. They are also exploring the possibility he was murdered because he stumbled on some illegal activity, such as methamphetamine labs, while knocking on doors in the area of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural south-east Kentucky.Sparkman's body was found nearly two weeks ago but the death has only now been made public. Although law enforcement officials say that southern Kentucky is not considered a particular hotbed of anti-government sentiment, there is little doubt that growing rightwing and libertarian anger at Barack Obama and his administration is increasingly belligerent.Federal officials say that government workers are regularly threatened. A census data collector asking personal questions may have angered some individuals or groups.However, the local police also consider it possible that Sparkman was killed because he came across illegal activity. A local police chief, Jeff Culver, said the area has a history of methamphetamine manufacturing and other drug trading."That part of the county, it has its ups and downs. We'll get a lot of complaints of drug activity. They'll whittle away, then flourish back up," he said. The Associated Press reported that Sparkman was reported missing by a former policeman, Gilbert Acciardo, who had warned him to be careful in the area. "Even though he was with the census bureau, sometimes people can view someone with any government agency as 'the government'. I just was afraid that he might meet the wrong character along the way up there," said Acciardo.Acciardo feared for Sparkman's safety when he didn't turn up for a teaching job for two days. "He was such an innocent person. I hate to say that he was naive, but he saw the world as all good, and there's a lot of bad in the world," he said.Officials did not say what was used to write the letters on Sparkman's chest. Robbery does not appear to have been the motive as Sparkman's vehicle was found nearby with his computer inside. Sparkman was making extra money working for the census bureau as one of hundreds of thousands of temporary employees who knock on doors conducting demographic surveys.The bureau says it has suspended operations in the area of Kentucky where Sparkman died. The FBI has been called in because it is a federal crime to harm…

  New air tanker fleet is still pie in sky

Neighbors say Tiger Woods was unconscious, snoring after crashA shoeless Tiger Woods was snoring in the middle of his Isleworth street by the time his neighbors realized he had crashed outside their home, the neighbors told authorities several hours after the...   " Woods' mother and a woman the neighbors thought to be his mother-in-law came out of the golfer's house at some point after the accident."