Twitter Porn-star Game Could Be Attempt At Identity Theft

According to Canada's privacy commissioner, a game being plaid by Twitter users that asks them to combine their first pet's name with the name of the first street they lived on, in order to come up with a "personalized adult-film star pseudonym" for them, could actually be an attempt by hackers to obtain information that password protected websites often use to identity people. Agreed, this does sound phishy...

Source: Globe and Mail

Ontario issues new drivers licenses, hope is that they will be accepted at the border

The Ontario government has begun issuing new drivers licenses with high tech features that they hope will cut down on identity theft and be accepted for entry into the US in lieu of a passport. According to the Globe and Mail, "Some of the new security features include a second photo on the front of the card, raised lettering of the number on the licence, signature and date of birth, a fine-line background, a barcode, and ultraviolet features." and "The card conforms with new standards developed by the American Association of Motor Transport Administrators." Transportation Minister Jim Bradley says that New York State, Washington, Michigan, Vermont, Manitoba and British Columbia are all interested in introducing similar licences.

New Zealand teen alleged botnet kingpin

Police in New Zealand questioned an 18 year old Hamilton resident and seized a number of computers in an international investigation aided by police in the Netherlands and the FBI. The teen who was later released is alleged to be a ring leader in a group of hackers that the FBI estimates controls more than 1 million computers and has caused combined economic losses of more than $20-million. “He is very bright and very skilled in what he's doing,” said Martin Kleintjes, head of the police electronic crime centre, “He hires his services out to others.”

The Globe and Mail has more.

Virtual theft nets real consequence

A 17 year old Dutch teen finds himself in hot water, having been arrested by police for theft of virtual items from other users of the social networking and gaming website Habbo Hotel. The teen is accused of stealing 4000 euros ($5700) worth of virtual furniture from other users, and since in game items are purchased with real money, the theft is being treated as it would in the real world. The crime was committed through a phishing type scheme where users were lured to fake websites where their user names and passwords where harvested. The CBC has more here.

Canada to tighten identity theft laws

The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Canadian government is tightening up it's laws regarding identity theft. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that Ottawa will introduce legislation targeting the gathering and trafficking of personal data for the purposes of using it deceptively. Fraudulent use of identity is already a criminal act in Canada, but the gathering and selling of credit card, banking, and other information is not, yet. “Our government will be giving police the tools to better protect Canadians by stopping identity theft activity before the damage is done,” the Minister said in a statement.