Software Industry Announcements and News


Unraveling Software Piracy

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.26.10 under Security & Privacy

PARIS — April 20, 2010 — Say the word “counterfeits” and most people think of cheap knock-offs offered at flea markets or low-quality fake designer goods sold out of someone’s car trunk. These images are at odds with the real story behind software piracy. That story involves highly organized criminals operating sophisticated manufacturing plants to create near-exact replicas of genuine software.

These counterfeits are intended to deceive consumers into thinking they are buying the genuine article and are often sold at prices that are nearly the same as genuine software. However, while the counterfeit discs and packaging appear the same as legitimate software, the counterfeit software code itself can contain malware or viruses, or be stripped of critical security features that protect customers’ information and technology systems. This faulty code leaves consumers vulnerable to system failures and, even worse, to cybercriminals who roam the Internet for potential victims.

Combatting these counterfeits and the criminals behind them is the role of Microsoft’s David Finn and his team of piracy experts. They use cutting-edge intelligence and forensic techniques to track down global criminal counterfeiting syndicates and support law enforcement in more than 70 countries throughout the world. What’s more, says Finn, who heads the company’s anti-piracy investigations through its worldwide Legal and Corporate Affairs department: “We are increasingly collaborating with our own customers, who are providing critical information to help us identify software pirates, and addressing their concerns about the risks of using counterfeit software.”

This week the story gains international attention through a new counterfeiting exhibition at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (French Science and Industry Museum) in Paris. Microsoft will be part of this broader exhibit that showcases how different industries are affected by piracy, as well as the risks that consumers face. The company will represent the software industry with a video documentary about how partnering with law enforcement across several continents led to prosecution of a Chinese criminal syndicate in what became the largest counterfeit case in history. In addition, a number of genuine and counterfeit Microsoft products will be displayed to help consumers distinguish genuine software from counterfeit. Also on display will be the company’s latest technology used to identify and track down software pirates.

Says Blandine Savrda, commissioner at the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie: “This exhibition represents one of the largest combined efforts of government and industry coming together to speak out on the threats consumers face because of counterfeiting. If not for the collaboration of governments and private industry, the illegal trade of pirated products would continue to increase at an even higher rate.”

The software piracy world today, says Finn, is a vast web of large and small criminal enterprises, seeking to profit in a variety of ways. Consumers are increasingly the victims of pirated software riddled with malware, viruses and malicious code produced by counterfeiters who are happy to take their money without regard to the quality and integrity of the product they are passing off as the real thing.

One key study by IDC in 2006* showed that one in four Web sites offering counterfeit software attempted to install unwanted or malicious code upon downloading. This rate is rising, as found by Media Surveillance, an anti-piracy solutions company based in Germany, when it recently downloaded several hundred pirated copies of Windows and hacks and found that 32 percent contained malicious code.

The impact of harmful counterfeit software can be dramatic. Companies using pirated software are 73 percent more likely to experience a loss of data and 43 percent more likely to have computer failures lasting 24 hours or longer, accordingly to a Harrison Group study. “We are telling this story in order to underscore the fact that counterfeit products can be much more expensive than people think, putting people’s business and financial information at risk. And to make sure people understand that we are talking about criminal gangs — like the massive syndicate involved in the China case — who are behind the global manufacture and distribution of counterfeit software,” says Finn.

Unraveling Counterfeit Organizations

Donal Keating, Microsoft worldwide senior forensics manager, has devoted his career at Microsoft to developing technologies that uncover counterfeit software. Keating’s work has helped to unravel the mystery behind the world’s largest software counterfeiting crime syndicates and has helped lead to arrests, product seizures and convictions all over the world.

“As a rule, the software counterfeiting business is much like many legal big businesses in their level of organization, manufacturing expertise and sophistication,” says Keating. “The difference is that these organizations also employ many of the same tactics commonly used by criminal rings, such as the use of violence and child labor, and the involvement in other types of crimes.”

Keating has traveled the world providing his expertise to law enforcement at counterfeit production sites under investigation by the police. “Seeing where counterfeit discs are manufactured has helped me see behind the curtain of what the crime syndicates are doing, which in turn has enabled us to develop innovative forensic systems and tools to develop evidence that helps bring them to justice,” he says.

“Ballistic” Forensics for Discs

In the early days, even if Microsoft was able to identify the counterfeiters, it was sometimes difficult to prove with certainty that a particular disc was counterfeit. Beyond that, it was quite difficult to prove the full extent of the criminal activity. These challenges motivated Finn and his team to develop more sophisticated forensic methods of analyzing counterfeit evidence. Microsoft also responded by developing more robust optical disc and print security features such as interactive holograms and embedded threads. “We are now able to match counterfeit discs to the machines that produced them through what I call ballistic forensics, much like police do with markings on bullets,” says Keating. “We are also able to ‘connect the dots’ between pieces of counterfeit to establish the distribution patterns of the crime rings.” These technology innovations led to the dismantling of the largest counterfeit ring in history in a case known as “Operation China Online.”

The China Syndicate

In a landmark case, Microsoft assisted China’s Public Security Bureau and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in an investigation that led to raids in Southern China of a criminal syndicate believed to have produced more than $2 billion worth of counterfeit Microsoft software. Along with the use of forensic technologies, customers were a critical element in the investigation of this ring as more than 1,000 customers submitted counterfeit copies of their software to Microsoft, which Keating and his team were able to forensically link to the counterfeit syndicate. The counterfeit software came from 36 different countries and included 19 different versions of Microsoft products in 11 languages. Based in significant part on this powerful forensic evidence, a Chinese court convicted 11 members of the ring and sentenced them to the longest prison terms ever handed down in a software counterfeiting case in China. This case made international headlines and will be featured at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie beginning today.

“This case marked a milestone in the fight against software piracy, showcasing how governments, law enforcement and private companies can work together across borders to bring counterfeiters to justice,” said FBI Agent Jason Smolanoff. “Unfortunately, software counterfeiting is a global, illegal business without borders. Criminals may be on the other side of the globe and may not even speak the same language, but they prey upon consumers all over the world.”

* “The Risks of Obtaining and Using Pirated Software,” IDC white paper sponsored by Microsoft, Doc # WP1006GRO, October 2006

DOJ Fights IP Crimes

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.26.10 under Government News, Security & Privacy

Department of Justice Announces New Assistant United States Attorneys and FBI Agents to Combat Intellectual Property Crimes

As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.

These new positions – announced on the 10th annual World Intellectual Property Day – are part of the department’s continued commitment to combat the growing number of IP crimes here at home, and abroad. The new AUSA positions will be part of the department’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program.

“Intellectual property law enforcement is central to protecting our nation’s ability to remain at the forefront of technological advancement, business development and job creation,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler. “The department, along with its federal partners throughout the Administration, will remain ever vigilant in this pursuit as American entrepreneurs and businesses continue to develop, innovate and create.”

The 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys will work closely with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) to aggressively pursue high tech crime, including computer crime and intellectual property offenses. The new positions will be located in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

The 20 new FBI Special Agents announced today will be deployed to specifically augment four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where IP crimes are of particular concern. The four squads will be located in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the District of Columbia. The squads will allow for more focused efforts in particular hot spot areas and increased contact and coordination with our state and local law enforcement partners. The 20 new agents will join the 31 agents devoted to investigating IP crimes who have already been deployed to field offices around the country.

“Theft of intellectual property – from inventions to trademarks and copyrights, to industrial designs and trade secrets – is a worldwide problem. It affects individuals and corporations financially and can threaten public safety. The additional FBI agents will significantly strengthen the efforts of our squads investigating intellectual property rights violations and help bring to justice those who seek to profit from intellectual property theft,” said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI Cyber Division.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler serves as chair of the department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property , which was established earlier this year by Attorney General Eric Holder to coordinate the department’s efforts on IP crimes. The task force focuses on strengthening efforts to combat intellectual property crimes through close coordination with state and local law enforcement partners as well as international counterparts. As part of its mission, the task force works together with the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), housed in the Executive Office of the President, to implement an Administration-wide strategic plan on intellectual property.

The task force includes representatives from the offices of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Associate Attorney General; the Criminal Division; the Civil Division; the Antitrust Division; the Office of Legal Policy; the Office of Justice Programs; the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the FBI.

World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to recognize the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and enforcing their laws. Each year on April 26th, WIPO and its member states seek to increase public understanding of intellectual property through activities, events and campaigns.

Non-profit launches project to show malware’s human impact

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.20.10 under Security & Privacy

StopBadware Stories encourages people to share their experiences with badware

Cambridge, Mass., April 20, 2010: StopBadware, a non-profit organization that fights computer viruses, spyware, and other badware, announced today the launch of StopBadware Stories, a project to collect and share stories about the effects of badware on people’s lives.

StopBadware defines badware as software that fundamentally disregards a user’s choice about how his or her computer or network connection will be used. Badware includes hidden programs that steal users’ bank account information, downloads that install additional software without the user’s permission, and fake anti-virus applications that present false results to trick users into buying useless or dangerous software.

The StopBadware Stories project is part of an effort to raise awareness of badware as a problem that affects, and is affected by, individual Internet users. There is a perception that badware is just a computer problem, one that can be solved with better technology, said Maxim Weinstein, executive director of StopBadware. The truth is that it is a very human problem. The effects on people’s lives, on businesses’ profits, and on national security are real and extend well beyond the desktop. We hope that these stories will open people’s eyes to the importance of us all working together to combat badware.

StopBadware Stories is an extension of the organization’s online community, BadwareBusters.org, which serves as a forum for people to request help and to discuss ways of combating badware. The site now allows users to submit stories combining text, images, and video. Visitors can browse, rate, comment on, and share each others’ stories. Authors are asked to agree to a Creative Commons license that allows their stories to be remixed, reused, or redistributed for non-commercial use. StopBadware hopes this will expand the creative opportunities for storytellers and broaden the reach of the project’s educational message. That message will also be reinforced through links to information about fighting badware that appear alongside the stories.

The project’s home page can be found at http://badwarebusters.org/stories.

About StopBadware

StopBadware is a non-profit organization that works with its network of individuals and partner organizations including Google, PayPal, and Mozilla to fight back against viruses, spyware, and other badware. The organization began as a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University before spinning off as a standalone organization in 2010. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

FTC to Host Public Roundtable

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.19.10 under Government News, Security & Privacy

Roundtable: Whether Technology Changes Warrant Changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule

In light of rapidly changing technology such as the increased use of smartphones and other devices to access the Internet, the Federal Trade Commission will host a public roundtable, “Protecting Kids’ Privacy Online: Reviewing the COPPA Rule,” on June 2, 2010 to explore whether to update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. The Rule was enacted in 2000 and requires Web site operators to obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13. Roundtable topics will include:

* Whether the Rule should be applied to emerging media such as mobile devices, interactive television, and interactive gaming;
* Potential expansion of the Rule to cover more items of information that might be collected from children; and,
* A review of the parental verification methods used by Web site operators.

For a more detailed list of topics, see the Commission’s March 24, 2010 request for public comment on the COPPA Rule, at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/coppa.shtm.

The roundtable will be held at the FTC Conference Center at 601 New Jersey Avenue N.W. in Washington, DC. It is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. Members of the public and press who wish to participate but who cannot attend can view a live webcast at ftc.gov.

Individuals and organizations may submit requests to participate as panelists and may recommend topics for inclusion in the agenda. The requests and recommendations should be submitted electronically to childrensprivacyroundtable@ftc.gov. Prospective panelists should submit a statement detailing their expertise on the issues to be addressed and contact information no later than May 5, 2010. Panelists will be selected based on expertise and the need to include a broad range of views.

Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Requests should be submitted via email to cmglothlin@ftc.gov or by calling Carrie McGlothlin at (202) 326-3388. Requests should be made in advance. Please include a detailed description of the accommodation needed, and provide contact information.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,800 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

McAfee, Inc. Recognizes FBI Cybersecurity Strategist with McAfee Cybercrime Fighter Award

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.15.10 under Government News, Security & Privacy

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Shawn Henry Receives Award for Leadership in Worldwide Efforts to Fight Cybercrime

WASHINGTON–McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today presented the McAfee Cybercrime Fighter Award to Shawn Henry, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. The award recognizes Henry for his efforts protecting the nation from cybercrime and his role in revamping cyberstrategy and investigative programs. The award was presented Thursday by McAfee President and Chief Executive Officer Dave DeWalt during the McAfee Public Sector Summit in Washington D.C.

“When considering candidates for this award, McAfee assesses only those who have exhibited leadership and made a significant impact in protecting the public from vicious cyberattacks,” said DeWalt. “Shawn Henry has engineered innovative strategies and redesigned investigative programs to protect the nation and its citizens from cybercrime and make real strides for law enforcement combating this relatively new type of crime.”

The noted accomplishments Henry spearheaded for the FBI include:

* Development and implementation of the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF); the FBI was subsequently designated the executive agent of the NCIJTF by the President of the United States, leading the domestic response against cyberexploitation.
* Full time international deployment of FBI cyberagents into the national police agencies of foreign law enforcement agencies, resulting in unprecedented success in mitigating foreign criminal threats to US interests.
* Broad coordination and collaboration with the private sector, resulting in joint intelligence products being produced and disseminated which prevented some cyberattacks.

“I’m very proud of the FBI’s accomplishments in the area of cybercrime and thank McAfee for the recognition, which I share with all the people at the FBI who work tirelessly to protect our nation and its citizens from criminals,” said Henry. “While we have made great headway in the fight against cybercrime, it continues to be a battle that requires an alliance of good people to fight the fight, starting with a strong public-private partnership.”

Serving the FBI since 1989, Henry was recently appointed assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office. Previously he held the position of assistant director of the FBI Cyber Division. Henry and his team are responsible for protecting the United States against the most harmful Internet fraud, serious computer invasions, the spread of malicious code and operations aiming to obtain U.S. intellectual property.

Henry specializes in cyber program management and defending the nation against advanced cyberattacks. He spent his career improving computer security and developing key initiatives for national security. As a member of the National Cyber Study Group (NCSG), he helped develop the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). Henry is responsible for transforming the FBI’s cyberstrategies and investigative programs. He contributed to the National Security Branch (NSB), and was selected to serve as Chief of the Executive Staff to the Executive Assistant Director of the NSB.

His current office, the Washington Field Office, has three major national security priorities. It protects the U.S. against terrorist attacks, foreign intelligence operations and espionage and cyberbased attacks and high-technology crimes.

The McAfee Cybercrime Fighter Award is given to an individual from government, industry, academia or a non-governmental organization who has exemplified outstanding leadership in the global effort to combat cybercrime. The honoree has contributed to the effort in a way that may include: raising awareness of cybercrime prevention, leading law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute cybercrime, educating the next generation of cybercrime fighters, creating innovative ways to combat cybercrime, protecting consumers or children from cybercrime threats, or other efforts.

The McAfee Cybercrime Fighter Award is part of the McAfee Initiative to Fight Cybercrime. For more information on the initiative, visit http://www.mcafee.com/fightcybercrime.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world’s largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee is committed to relentlessly tackling the world’s toughest security challenges. The company delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure systems and networks around the world, allowing users to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the web more securely. Backed by an award-winning research team, McAfee creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com

NOTE: The product plans, specifications and descriptions herein are provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied.

McAfee and the McAfee logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright © 2010 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adobe Releases Illustrator CS5

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 04.12.10 under Desktop Publishing

Delivers New Levels of Precision and Power to Create Distinctive Vector Artwork Across Media

SAN JOSE, Calif.–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Illustrator® CS5, a compelling new release of its comprehensive vector graphics software that allows users to create distinctive artwork with sophisticated drawing tools, expressive lifelike brushes and a host of other every day time-savers that dramatically impact the efficiency of the software. Adobe Illustrator CS5 will be available as a stand-alone application or as a component across multiple Adobe Creative Suite® 5 editions (see separate releases).

“Illustrator is a main-stay across creative disciplines and when coupled with new tools, such as Flash Catalyst, gives graphics professionals and artists a new entry point into interactive design”

“Illustrator is a main-stay across creative disciplines and when coupled with new tools, such as Flash Catalyst, gives graphics professionals and artists a new entry point into interactive design,” said David Burkett, vice president and general manager of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “Whether you’re creating for print or digital media, Illustrator CS5 strikes the right balance of productivity enhancements and powerful new drawing and paint tools that allow you to deliver striking, high-impact designs.”

Design with Powerful Creative Tools

New stroke and paint capabilities anchor Illustrator CS5. Designing with strokes is now more powerful and flexible than ever: users can control stroke width at any point along a path, align dashes to corners and path ends, add accurately placed arrowheads directly from the Stroke panel and control how brushes stretch along a path. Painting with vectors now resembles real-world brush strokes with the new Bristle Brush, which offers breakthrough control of painting. Using this highly anticipated tool, designers can set bristle characteristics such as size, length, thickness and stiffness, as well as brush shape, bristle density and paint opacity, for simulated life-like blending.

In addition, new perspective drawing capabilities bring depth to designs. Artists can use perspective grids to draw shapes and scenes in accurate 1-, 2- and 3- point linear perspectives and dynamically move, scale, duplicate and transform objects, including live text and symbols, in perspective.

“Adobe Illustrator CS5 offers many new features that help our team work quickly while delivering crisp, precise graphics for print, Web, interactive and mobile designs,” says Andy Hawgood, art director of Ordinary Kids, a graphics and interactive arts studio with clients including Adidas Skateboarding, Nike Biz, GAP, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Tracy Chapman and more. “For instance, I tried the variable width stroke feature in Illustrator CS5 on the nuances of a logo, and wow—designers are definitely going to want to check this feature out.”

Work Smoothly, Efficiently and Deliver Virtually Anywhere

New innovations in Illustrator CS5 encourage efficient ways of working. Multiple artboards now can be named, organized and viewed more easily. New capabilities for drawing behind and inside other objects enable fast creation of complex designs with automatic masking and layer control. Join paths with a single keystroke, scale symbols with nine-slice control and intuitively combine shapes directly on the artboard.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 allows designers to incorporate vector artwork into virtually any project and deliver it reliably across media. When designing artwork for Adobe Flash® Catalyst® CS5 (see separate press release), Adobe Flash Professional CS5 and Adobe Dreamweaver® CS5 software, Illustrator users can create vector objects precisely on the file’s pixel grid for delivering pixel-aligned artwork that keeps raster images looking sharp. Additionally, Illustrator designs can be opened in Flash Catalyst CS5, where they can be transformed into interactive components without writing code. When changes are needed, round-trip editing allows artwork to be perfected in Illustrator, while preserving the structure and interactivity added in Flash Catalyst.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 is being introduced hot on the heels of Adobe Ideas digital sketchbook for Apple® iPad™ and iPhone, which was announced earlier this month. Adobe Ideas is an ideal companion for Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop® software, allowing users to sketch design concepts from anywhere, capture and store color themes from photos saved on their tablet or phone and e-mail ideas as PDF files for editing in Illustrator or Photoshop or viewing with any PDF viewer. Key features include simple vector-based drawing tools, zoom control, variable-size brushes with multi-touch control and more.

Streamline Review Processes

New tools and services integrate with Adobe Illustrator CS5 to make review processes more efficient. With Adobe CS Review, users can create and share document reviews online from within Illustrator CS5. Adobe CS Review is part of Adobe CS Live, a new set of five online services that accelerate and improve key aspects of the creative workflow. CS Live online services are complimentary for a limited time* and currently include: Adobe BrowserLab, Adobe CS Review, Acrobat.com, Adobe Story and SiteCatalyst® NetAverages™ from Omniture.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Illustrator CS5 is scheduled to ship within 30 days, with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales. Estimated street price for Adobe Illustrator CS5 will be US$599. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available. For more detailed information about features, OS support, upgrade policies, pricing and International versions, please visit www.adobe.com/go/illustrator.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

© 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Creative Suite, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, Flash Catalyst and SiteCatalyst NetAverages are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Prices listed are the Adobe direct store prices; reseller prices may vary. Prices do not include tax or shipping and handling.

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