Computer Crime

From his 17th-floor Seattle apartment overlooking Puget Sound, Robert Alan Soloway allegedly ran an illicit network of computers around the world, secretly commandeering the machines of thousands of unsuspecting bystanders. Prosecutors say Internet users who clicked on infected e-mails and websites inadvertently took part in his criminal endeavor: spam.

Microsoft Corp. released four crucial patches to plug security holes in several versions of its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer Web browser and other programs. The patches that carried Microsoft's highest security warning all are to prevent hackers from remotely taking control of computers without permission.

Hackers have infiltrated at least 1 million computers in the U.S. without their owners' consent, using them to steal personal information or attack other systems, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI plans to notify the computers' owners, most of whom are unaware that someone is using their computer to commit a crime, according to a statement. Criminals take control of a group of remote computers and use that network to launch attacks.

More than 1 million computers are used by hackers as remote-controlled robots to crash online systems, accept spam and steal users' personal information, the FBI said. What was viewed seven years ago as a prank to boot people offline has evolved into schemes to defraud computer users by stealing their credit card and Social Security data, by crashing retail websites and through "pump-and-dump" online stock deals.

The state has hired a computer security expert to determine the likelihood of someone getting access to data on a backup storage device that has been stolen, Gov. Ted Strickland said Sunday. Matthew Curtin of Interhack Corp. was to start his investigation today. The theft was revealed Friday.

Virgin America began selling airline tickets Thursday but found sales slowed by an apparent hacker attack on its website, the company said. Spokesman Gareth Edmondson Jones said the airline was trying to fix the problem and identify the culprits. The airline's inaugural flights are scheduled to take off Aug. 8 from Los Angeles International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and arrive at roughly the same time in San Francisco, which will serve as Virgin America's hub.

Three of California's electronic voting systems -- including those used in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties -- can be easily hacked into, potentially compromising millions of votes, according to a detailed review announced Friday. Makers of Los Angeles County's InkaVote system did not submit its equipment in time, so it wasn't included, said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who requested the study.

Representatives of three voting machine companies criticized a state study Monday that found that their machines could be breached by hackers, saying it had reached unrealistic conclusions. Their testimony was countered by a UC Davis professor who helped lead the review and who said it revealed "very real" vulnerabilities. "It may be that all of them can be protected against. It may be that some cannot," said Matt Bishop, a computer science professor.

For a tech geek who has never been described as flashy, Debra Bowen demonstrated a rare flair for the dramatic late Friday night in Sacramento. With only minutes to spare before a midnight deadline to determine whether the various electronic voting machines used by counties were reliable, California's bleary-eyed secretary of state concluded there was the potential for serious security breaches.