'S'pore Privacy Bug' threatens net users

Thu, 31 Jul 1997, 00:00 WIB | Source: DPA

SINGAPORE (DPA): A Singapore computer researcher said
yesterday that he had found a security flaw -- which could allow
unscrupulous programmers to lift Internet users' credit card
numbers -- in the latest version of the Netscape Communicator
Internet browser.

Dubbed the "Singapore Privacy Bug" by California-based
Netscape Communications Corporation, the glitch reportedly allows
anyone who sets up a website to trace the Internet "trails" of
information left by computer users who visit the site.

"If you enter a credit card number into a shopping site, your
card number could be obtained," said Chiang Kuo Chiang, who
discovered the flaw.

Chiang, 25, said the Singapore Privacy Bug was the third to be
discovered in the Netscape Communicator browser. A browser is an
Internet service which helps users search the worldwide computer
network for information.

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