'S'pore Privacy Bug' threatens net users

Thu, 31 Jul 1997 | 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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