Slammer the First Warhol Worm; Credit Suisse Suspends Banker for Document Retention Issues; DNA Pioneer Urges DNA Data Bank; Charity Donations from Major Corporations Reach Bin Laden

Slammer the First Warhol Worm

CNET News today reports that the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), a mainly U.S. government-funded think tank devoted to developing tools and standards for measuring Internet traffic, has issued a report saying the SQL Slammer worm doubled in size every 8.5 seconds when it first appeared. Slammer, also known as Sapphire, reached the full rate at which it was scanning for vulnerable computers—more than 55 million scans per second—after about three minutes. Researchers have theorized about such speedy worms, called Warhol worms because they could infect the whole Internet in 15 minutes , but until now examples have not been seen in the wild. CNET says the authors of the CAIDA report noted that the worm paves the way for future versions that could spread even more quickly and create more chaos. “If the worm had carried a malicious payload, had attacked a more widespread vulnerability, or had targeted a more popular service, the effects would likely have been far more severe,” they wrote in the report. Credit Suisse Suspends Banker for Document Retention IssuesWashington Post, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. put star investment banker Frank Quattrone on administrative leave yesterday after discovering e-mails that suggest he knew about ongoing criminal and regulatory probes when he and a subordinate advised employees to “clean up those files.” The Post says that Quattrone assured the banks lawyers last week that he knew nothing about any probes when he and a subordinate sent e-mails on Dec. 4 and 5, 2000, about document retention to the firm’s technology-banking employees. They warned employees to delete notes, drafts and internal memos because “the securities litigation bar is expected to [launch] an all out assault.”

According to a story in todays

DNA Pioneer Urges DNA Data BankThe Independent to mark the 50th anniversary of his discovery, the scientist said the risks posed by terrorists and organized criminals now outweighed the possible objections on civil liberties grounds to a DNA database.

Everybody in Europe and the United States should have their genetic fingerprints entered into an international database to enable law enforcement agencies to fight crime and terrorism in an unstable world, according to James Watson, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix. In an interview with

Charity Donations from Major Corporations Reach Bin LadenMiddle East & North Africa Business Report today writes that several major international corporations contributed funds to a Muslim charity, the Benevolence International Foundation, now accused of funneling money to the Al-Qaeda network. The Former director of BIF, Enaam Arnaout, will go on trial next month for transferring donations made by Microsoft, UBS and Compaq to terrorist organizations, reported the U.S. Justice Department. According to the U.S. government, the foundation, a Saudi charity that established Chicago headquarters in 1992, received both direct employee donations and matching grants from those companies. The MENA Report says Microsoft revealed that it contributed close to $20,000 to BIF over an extended period of time but ended the matching grants after it was informed of the terrorist links. UBS and Compaq have also stopped donating to the charity. BIF told donors that their contributions were helping Muslims in distress in Bosnia and Chechnya.

The