FBI Misses Database Deadline; PayPal Scam Uses New Worm; Verisign Awarded RFID Root Directory Contract; Tape Shows Police Chase That Ends With Seven Dead; Private Eye Linked to Threatened Reporter

FBI Misses Database Deadline

Federal Computer Week reports that a consolidated database for a single terrorist watch list is still not operational, and one lawmaker blames the delay on a lack of leadership. According to the story, officials at the FBI-led Terrorist Screening Center, responsible for consolidating a dozen terrorist watch lists, are testing a database application but missed the Dec. 1, 2003, deadline to have the center and merged list completed.PayPal Scam Uses New WormComputerworld reports that after releasing a new version of the Mimail e-mail worm last week, virus authors are using a new tool this week to help it spread: spam e-mail containing a Trojan horse program that, once installed, retrieves and installs the worm. The story reports that the new threat, which targets customers of eBay Inc.’s PayPal online payment service, highlights a growing trend in which online criminals combine computer viruses, spam distribution techniques, Trojan horse programs and “phishing” scams to circumvent security technology.Verisign Awarded RFID Root Directory ContractInfoworld reports that VeriSign Inc. has been awarded a contract to manage a key component of a coming global distribution network that uses electronic product code (EPC) technology, according to a joint announcement by VeriSign and EPCglobal Inc., a non-profit organization. According to the report, VeriSign will design and operate the Object Naming Service (ONS) root directory, which will link RFID tags attached to shipping palates or individual products to stored data about the tagged items.Tape Shows Police Chase That Ends With Seven DeadThe authorities have released a videotape of a police officer pursuing a stolen car that later crashed, killing seven teenagers, but some relatives of the victims question whether the officer chased the youths to their deaths, according to a story in the New York Times. The story reports that the chase ended when the teenagers’ car hit an embankment, flipped and landed in a creek.Private Eye Linked to Threatened ReporterFiles seized from a celebrity private investigator’s office included “corroborating evidence” linking him to a threat against a reporter who had been looking into a possible link between actor Steven Seagal and the mob, according to a story in the Washington Post. The story reports that the reporter was researching a possible link between actor Steven Seagal and a reputed Mafia associate in June 2002 when she found her car’s windshield smashed, a dead fish inside the vehicle with a rose in its mouth and a cardboard sign saying “Stop.”