contributed by Simple.Nomad
An article in Computer currents has labeled the Hong Kong Blondes as a hoax. The HKBs are a deep underground group who work to disrupt Chinese computer systems from the inside. This article claims that because he can't find any evidence to support their existence they must be fake. Maybe they are just really good at hiding. That is, after all, what it means to be underground. Last year the Cult of the Dead Cow formed a relationship with the group to help train them on encryption and intrusion techniques. Last December the cDc issued a press release claiming that their training had been successful and that their relationship would now end. Just because the reporter who wrote this article can find no evidence of their existence probably means he didn't look too hard.

Computer Currents

Late Update
In a recent conversation with HNN Reid Fleming a cDc cultee said "An absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence."

Cult of the Dead Cow - cDc Press Release about HKB and cDc parting company.

contributed by Lionel
Jose Ramos Horta, a Nobel laureate, has warned that if fraud is detected in the August 30th balloting in the vote for East Timor's independence then cyber war will result. The Timor resistance leader has warned that a dozen viruses were being designed by over 100 people in Europe and North America to infect computers if there is fraud detected. (While these claims may be true it reeks of sensationalism and headline grabbing. With no evidence to support these claims we remain doubtful.)

BBC

contributed by TurTleX
In continuing violation of Constitutional Law, Kevin Mitnick is still being denied the ability to practice his religion by not being served kosher foods. A rabbi for the San Bernardino County Detention Center has confirmed that the center does not provide kosher meals. Kevin has started eating the vegetarian meals provided by the prison as an alternative, even though they are not kosher.

Wired

contributed by skeletor and deepquest
MediaOne, the largest cable provider in Massachusetts, recently performed an audit of 162,000 non-customer homes and found that over 23,000 where receiving cable illegally. MediaOne has decided not to press charges but instead has disconnected the freeloaders. MediaOne has hired contractors to go street by street to check whether non customers are receiving cable TV service. These audits are preformed from outside the homes.

Boston Globe

A raid conducted on Wednesday by MediaOne officials and the Moreno Valley Police Department has uncovered more than a million dollars' worth of "black boxes," the descrambling device that enables users to illegally access cable-TV channels. All equipment, including shipping and billing information from Cable Converter Concepts and Hi-Tech Converter Labs was confiscated.

Andover News

contributed by deepquest
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has admitted that its web page had been defaced back in 1996. The spy agency admitted that its web page had been changed to read "Canadian Security Illegal Service". CSIS admitted what had occurred in a recent paper released by the agency that discuss cyber warfare.

Globe Technology
Andover News

contributed by AlienPlague
A new virus set to hit on Christmas day could be more devastating than the CIH virus. The virus, which has been described as being "very well written", kills the CMOS memory, overwrites data on all available drives, and destroys the flash BIOS using the same method the Chernobyl virus used. Luckily, computer users will have until December 25 to buy or update their anti-virus software. The virus only infects users of Microsoft Windows.

ZD Net

contributed by darktide
Microsoft recently released Windows Media Audio, a audio format set to compete against MP3. The difference is the WMA has security features built in to force people to pay for the music they listen to. One day after the release of this format cracking programs like unfuck.exe and AudioJacker where available to defeat this technology. Microsoft is working on a fix.

C|Net

contributed by jordan
Zero-Knowledge Systems, the Montreal-based start-up, is set to release Freedom, which is a comprehensive Internet privacy package that offers multiple online pseudonyms and Byzantine encrypted rerouting that even Zero-Knowledge couldn't crack if it wanted to. Freedom 1.0 for Windows is set for release in late October or early November.

CNN
Zero Knowledge Systems