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CNN Live Today

Rescue At Sea; Muslim Outrage; Nuclear Dispute; Scooter Libby Trial Date Set; Cyberattack; Invasion of the Botnets; Super Bowl Alternative Tips

Aired February 03, 2006 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're in overtime. Here's Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Miles, you have a great weekend in New York City.

We are following several big stories happening at this hour.

The search for survivors. A passenger ship with more than 1,400 people aboard sinks in the Red Sea.

Also outrage. Muslims take to the streets around the world over caricatures over the prophet Mohammad.

And a critical decision expected today on Iran's nuclear program. That will set the tone for what happens next.

Live reports on all of these stories just ahead. But first, what else is happening "Now in the News."

This just in to us from the Associated Press. Authorities in Alabama report two churches in the same area were hit by fire overnight. One burned to the ground. A third church nearby was damaged by fire late yesterday. We don't know if the fires are connected. There have been no arrests so far.

Scooter Libby's back in court this morning. As you know, Vice President Cheney's former aid facing perjury and obstruction charges. Today lawyers and prosecutors plan to report on the exchange of evidence and a judge may set a trial date in that case.

Lawmakers will have five more weeks to reach a compromise on The Patriot Act. Last night, the Senate followed the House in approving an extension. The stalled bill would make 14 of the 16 provisions permanent and extend two others until 2009. Congress previously extended the act back in December.

Donald Rumsfeld said the Pentagon's revised strategy for the year's ahead is a four-prong approach to defeating terrorism. The defense secretary's views are outlined in the latest defense review being released today. And at the same time, the Associated Press is reporting the Bush administration will ask Congress to fund the Pentagon with nearly $440 billion in the 2007 budget.

And just out this morning, encouraging news on the economy. The government reports the jobless rate dropped to 4.7 percent in January. That's the lowest level since before 9/11. But new job gains fell short of economists' predictions.

Well, good morning to you on this Friday morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We're going to start this hour with breaking news. Rescue efforts underway in a remote area of the Red Sea where an Egyptian passenger ship has sunk. Looking at a file photo of the sprawling 35- year-old vessel. It had more than 1,400 people aboard. Egyptian officials say that about 100 survivors have been rescued so far. Sandy Petrakowski is following the latest developments and sh joins us by phone from Cairo.

Sandy.

SANDY PETRAKOWSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Yes, at least four Egyptian naval ships are on the scene right now. There are helicopters, planes, and at least one British navel ship is on it's way to the scene and should be there at some point. They have said -- the officials have told us that at least 100 survivors have been pulled out so far, 20 bodies found. But there were at least 1,400 people on this boat.

Now, what happened was, this is a ferry that was leaving Saudi Arabia and heading across the Red Sea to Egypt and about 40 -- shortly after leaving Saudi Arabia, it disappeared from the radar screens last night. It left at about 7:00 and was due to arrive in Egypt at 3:00 in the morning. It was lost from the radar screens and at this point searches are underway.

President Mubarak has made comments through his spokesperson says that they're making every effort to help with the recovery and to help with the survivors. There are bad weather conditions right now, we're being told, in the Red Sea. It's a very windy area. It's a choppy sea. It's a very busy area. But the efforts are underway.

The company had said that the ship was fit and met all safety requirements and was in good shape. Daryn.

KAGAN: So, at this point, too early to tell about what the cause of the trouble might be, Sandy?

PETRAKOWSKI: Yes, there's no indication at this point. They don't know. They said there was no distress call. There wasn't any information. The Egyptian authorities told us that they had hoped to get contact from them and they hadn't and then the search began. But at this point it's unclear what exactly happened and it's very early in the search and recovery.

KAGAN: And those bad weather conditions that continue, is that hampering any search and recovery?

PETRAKOWSKI: It is making it very difficult with the sea conditions as they are right now. This is a very busy area. This ferry ran regularly between these two areas. And what would have happened is, this is a large ferry. Some people originally said it's a cruise ship. But it is a ferry that would have been carrying goods, cars and passengers. And a lot of people would have used this to either workers that are in Saudi Arabia and coming home to Egypt, visa versa, or people who are doing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. This is an way -- it's an inexpensive way of transport in this part of the world and it would have been used by people that would not be able to afford necessarily flying and doing the pilgrimage that way.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Sandy Petrakowski on the phone with us from Cairo. Sandy, thank you.

On to other news now at five after the hour. Throughout much of the Muslim world, outrage is growing over caricatures of the prophet Mohammad. Muslim hardliners say the cartoons are blasphemous and that they mock their religion.

In Indonesia, hundreds of Muslims protested outside the Danish embassy and then charged into the lobby. The cartoons had first appeared in a Danish newspaper and then papers across Europe defiantly published the cartoon to underlying what they say is freedom of the press. That is stoking the anger and it prompted a warning for Europeans to flee Gaza. Let's get the latest now from CNN's Adrian Finigan who is live in London.

Adrian, hello.

ADRIAN FINIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, hello to you.

I'm stands right outside the Danish embassy here in south central London, just along the street from the famous Harrod 's department store. And as you can see behind me, there's a group of about 100 to 150 protesters. It's a fairly noisy demonstration until now. They're fairly quiet just as you come to me.

But they've been making their opinions known, chanting there's no God but Ala. Mohammad is his prophet. Mohammad is his loved one. God is great. A more sinister tone to some of the chanting. They've been saying, Denmark, you will play with your blood. Remember Theo van Gogh. Of course a reference to the Dutch filmmaker who was murdered just over a year ago.

As you say, this demonstration has come about after that Danish newspaper published cartoons back in September. Those cartoons were then reprinted in European newspapers earlier this week and at the end of last week. Many Muslims, of course, see the depiction of the prophet Mohammad as defamation. Muslim leaders here in Britain have called for calm, saying that the republication of these cartoons creates or brings about a situation that can be exploded by extremists. As I said, this demonstration fairly peaceful but noisy here in central London, although some eggs have been thrown at the building.

Daryn. KAGAN: So, Adrian, we at CNN were pixellating, I guess, the offensive part of the pictures. But to better explain to our audience what is in it -- in these cartoons that is so offensive.

FINIGAN: These cartoons depict the prophet Mohammad. Now Muslims don't publish images of the prophet Mohammad for fear that that will create idolatry. And so these insulting, as Muslims see it, cartoons amount to defamation of the prophet's name and that's what these protesters -- right around the world at the moment, including in the West Bank and in Iraq where, of course, Denmark has troops involved in the military operation in Iraq at the moment. They see it as a gross insult to the prophet Mohammad.

Denmark, of course, has been warned in messages from al Qaeda's number two al-Zarqawi of a London-style attack. So, as you can imagine, there's heightened security across all of Denmark's embassies around the world at the moment.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Adrian Finigan live from London. Adrian, thank you.

So that defiance by European newspapers to publish the cartoons has cost one managing editor his job. The Paris newspaper "France Soir" fired its managing editor after the daily reprinted the cartoons. The paper's Egyptian owner named a replacement but he refused the job. Today the paper's staff printed its own protest of the firing. Even the country's interior minister is rallying in defense of the press freedoms. He said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of censorship."

It is a diplomatic showdown over Iran's nuclear program and that now seems certain. U.S. and European officials fearing that Tehran is secretly pursuing nuclear weapons have been lobbying the world's nuclear watchdog group to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council. The International Atomic Energy Agency appears poised to do just that. The question now, what will Iran do? Our Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance is covering the IAEA meeting in Vienna, Austria, and joins us now.

Matthew, hello.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, thank you very much.

Certainly a lot of diplomatic wrangling going on behind the scenes here at the U.N. nuclear watchdog's headquarters in the Austrian capital Vienna. Diplomats that we've spoken to say they already have a simple majority in the 35-member board of governors that is to vote on a draft resolution that would report Iran to the United Nations Security Council.

But what the diplomats say they're trying to do is build as broad a consensus as possible. To get as many countries on board behind that resolution as they can to send the clearest message possible to Iran about the will of the international community. That it wants the question marks over it's controversial nuclear program answered and the kind of blanks filled in where there are blanks that have existed for several years.

Iran, for its part, has been defiant in its response to the possibility of this going to the security council. It says that it would be the end of negotiations if Iran is reported or involved -- the security council is involved in any way in this nuclear issue. It says it will stop voluntary snap inspections by U.N. inspectors on the ground of its nuclear facilities and also resume full uranium enrichment activities. That's exactly what the meeting here is meant to try and stop. And so a very key diplomatic episode that we're witnessing here. The outcome of which may set Iran and the rest of the international community on a collision course.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew Chance following all the developments from Vienna, Austria. Thank you for that.

This just in from Washington, D.C., a development in the Scooter Libby case. Scooter Libby being the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney. Our John King is just out of the courthouse there in Washington, D.C.

John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning to you.

The major headline out of the status hearing today in Scooter Libby's case is that his trial will begin next January, January 8, 2007, the judge set for jury selection in the trial. Scooter Libby, of course, under indictment for allegedly misleading, lying to a federal grand jury about his knowledge of the Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson case.

Now that trial, again, January 8, 2007. That is almost a year away from now. We just got through this State of the Union by President Bush. It will be right around State of the Union time next year when Scooter Libby will be going on trial. Jury selection to begin January 8th next year, the judge said.

The prosecution and the defense each saying their case should take about two weeks. So late January into February of next year should be this high stakes trial in this CIA leak investigation.

The hearing today mostly on housekeeping matters, but the defense serving notice that it hopes there will never be a trial. It said within the next 10 days to two weeks, it will file a comprehensive motion trying to get the government's indictment thrown out entirely. A number of other contentious issues, Daryn.

Again, a very calm hearing today. Scooter Libby said just two words. He spoke, "yes, sir," when the judge asked him if he understood he was waiving his right to a speedy trial. They was it. But they are now going into a closed hearing on classified matters.

One of the things the defense wants is the president's daily intelligence brief and thousands and thousands of other pages of highly classified documents to make the case, in their view, that if Scooter Libby said something that was wrong, it was accidental. That he did not deliberately lie to a grand jury. There will be evidentiary hearings now throughout February and into March. They will fight this out over the spring and summer.

But the judge serving notice that if all that goes through, as he makes those rulings, and one of them is will journalists be required to testify and the like. Classified information fights. But if all that works out over the spring into the summer, again the trial of Scooter Libby now scheduled to begin almost a year from now on January 8.

Daryn.

KAGAN: A long year indeed. John, thank you. John King in Washington, D.C.

Well, Kama Sutra. We're talking black worm. It has several names. Whatever you call it, it is dangerous for your computer. A computer worm set to strike today that goes right after your documents. Our tech exert Daniel Sieberg has the latest damage report. Plus, another big problem that is looming out there in cyberspace.

And for many, the best part of the super bowl isn't the game, it's the commercials. We'll look at some that are sure to be unforgettable ahead this hour on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: By now you've probably heard of the Kama Sutra worm. A malicious software program that, starting today, threatens to devour documents on your hard drive if it infects your PC. Our Technology Correspondent Daniel Sieberg here with some tips on how to protect yourself and explain even a bigger problem out there than Kama Sutra.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a bigger problem out there, and we'll get to that in just a second.

Today is d-day for the worm, I guess devour is probably a better word than delete because it really overwrites file on your computer. We're talking about photos, pictures, word documents, just about everything on your computer if you're infected. It's been spreading since January 16th. About 300,000 infections worldwide. And on the third of every month is when this worm springs into action and starts to do its thing by removing these files on your computer. The number of infections is 300,000, but the number of people who are actually affected by it is tough to clarify because a little bit of embarrassment here of the nature of this, promising porn and that kind of thing.

However, the FBI very seriously -- taking this very seriously. They did come out with a statement yesterday saying, "by its design, the worm is intended to destroy various computer files on infected computers on the third day of each month. Immediately upon learning of this latest worm, the FBI acted swiftly and jointly with our partners in law enforcement and the anti-virus companies to investigate its origin and author(s). The investigation remains ongoing."

So, because it's a global worm and the very nature of the Internet makes it tough to go after these guys, this is something they're probably going to be looking at for a while. Certainly worth taking seriously because, again, it could happen on the third of the month next month. But right now it looks like probably mostly OK with Kama Sutra.

KAGAN: So stay away from the sexy e-mail.

SIEBERG: Yes.

KAGAN: Bigger problem than the worm.

SIEBERG: Yes, right, a bigger problem with the worm is something called botnets or zombie computers. And I know this sounds kind of sci-fi . . .

KAGAN: It does.

SIEBERG: There actually may be a bit of a connection with the Kama Sutra worm, at least one expert thinks so. And here now we will explain to you just what zombie computers is all about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG, (voice over): We've all seen the movies, like this one, "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," an army of scary zombies seeking victims. Well, a similar concept is playing out in the online world and your computer could be the next victim. Merrick Furst, a computing professor at Georgia Tech, has been studying the massive explosion of something called botnets short for robot networks. Zombie computers controlled by a remote master designed to make money via method ranging from spam, to extortion, to fraud.

MERRICK FURST, GEORGIA TECH COLLEGE OF COMPUTING: We've watched bot armies grow to be as large as 350,000 machines. Typical bot army sizes range between 10,000 machines and 100,000 machines.

SIEBERG: And Furst says an army of just 5,000 computers can earn a bot master as much as $15,000 a month.

FURST: A bot master is a criminal who wants to use your computer as a resource in some way. So he or she buys software and has that software released on to the Internet in a way that's self-propagating, either as a virus or a worm. It then finds its way on your computer without you knowing about it.

SIEBERG: Once your computer is unwittingly conscripted into this botnet army, the bot master can steal data or use your machine in a massive attack elsewhere. Furst showed us one example from Brazil where a bot master was able to see exactly what a person was typing on their banking website, including the passwords and account info. And botnets are a global problem. FURST: We're pretty sure it's at least 7 percent of the Internet. Typical numbers range around 75 million to 100 million machines that are currently conscripted.

SIEBERG: Law enforcement officials aren't sure how many generals are commanding all those bot armies, but around the world authorities are trying to crack down on this rapidly growing crime.

FURST: We've actually had some success.

SIEBERG: Furst says he helped the FBI track down a bot master from Turkey who spread a Mytob/Zotob worm last year. And in California, in November, federal prosecutors nabbed another culprit, 20-year-old Jeanson James Ancheta.

JAMES AQUILINA, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Based on the indictment and the conduct to which Mr. Ancheta he pled guilty, it is a fair inference that Mr. Ancheta had compromised over 700,000 computers.

SIEBERG: Court documents show Ancheta made more than $60,000 from Internet fraud and close to $100,000 from selling his bot armies to others. The zombi computers could be used in all sorts of nefarious schemes, from sending out spam, including e-mails that fish for user's private banking information, to extortion, threatening to shut down a website by inundating it with computer traffic unless the web masters pay-up. Then there's something called click fraud.

FURST: What the bot master will do, a criminal will do, is they'll build a website. It looks like a normal website. They'll put up banner ads or other types of ads on that website. These are ads which are served up by Google. So he commands the machines in his bot army to click on the ads on this site. Every time one of his machines clicks, the message goes back to Google, Google charges the advertiser, the advertiser pays Google, Google keeps 20 percent and gives 80 percent to the bot master.

SIEBERG: Bot masters can also use their zombi computer to raise their trust ratings on sites like eBay. All this without the computer owner's knowledge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: And we did talk to Google about this problem, by the way. They did give us a statement on what they say about botnets. They say they take it "extremely seriously. Our expert teams and technology filter out certain invalid clicks, including some generated from automated robots, before they even reach the advertisers' bill." Google goes on to say that basically they look for it very quickly and they "believe that the losses associated with invalid clicks are small."

In any case, worth taking seriously yourself. The tips for handling a botnet or a virus or a worm in any case, keep your anti- virus software updated. Look for any spyware or adware on your computer and make sure you get rid of it on a regular basis.

And when it comes to something like the Kama Sutra worm, Daryn . . .

KAGAN: Yes?

SIEBERG: You just can't fall for those sexy subject lines. I know it can be tough to practice safe computing . . .

KAGAN: Yes.

SIEBERG: And kind of exercise some restraint. But most of the time it's a bait and switch.

KAGAN: Well, and since you've warned me, I've tried to not open any of those sexy e-mails in my in-box.

SIEBERG: Good for you. Good advice for everyone.

KAGAN: So thank you for the guidance. Appreciate that.

SIEBERG: All right.

KAGAN: Thank you, Daniel Sieberg.

Well, we have already promised you a look at some of this year's Super Bowl commercials. How about the entertainment? Steve, Aretha, Aaron, Mick. They're all talking about the big show. And that's just ahead.

But what if you're not interested in the game? Gerri has some advice on what to do on Super Bowl Sunday.

Hi, Ger.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

You know, some people consider the Super Bowl an American tradition. For others of us, it's four hours of boring. I'll tell you what you can do with your time. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Cranky, cranky, cranky. Markets aren't happy on this Friday morning. You can see the Dow is down 45 appoints. The Nasdaq also in negative territory. It is down 19.

Go Steelers. Just had to get that little plug in there. Today's "Top Five Tips." Maybe the Super Bowl is not your cup of tea, but you don't want to be out of it on Monday around the water cooler, do you? That's why we have our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis here.

I guess we're kind of stretching it by calling this financial tips but it will . . .

WILLIS: Hey, I have numbers.

KAGAN: You do have numbers? OK. WILLIS: I have numbers. OK. A hundred and thirty six million of us will not be watching the Super Bowl. We are a silent majority. Some 22 million will be throwing a Super Bowl party. Fifty-three million will be actually going to somebody's Super Bowl party. And then there's about 8 million hanging out in a restaurant or bar watching Super Bowl. But, you know, there are many, many people like you who may not want to watch the Super Bowl.

KAGAN: Not like me. I will be tuned in.

WILLIS: I heard who you were pull for there.

KAGAN: Yes, Steeler nation. OK. So there are lots of other things that you can do. Go against the trend.

WILLIS: This is a great time to go to that movie you've been waiting to see. To go shopping. To do your laundry. To get out, go those places that are typically crowded, but you don't have to worry about it today because it's the Super Bowl and everybody's inside. That's a great idea.

Or you can just tune in to Animal Planet and watch Puppy Bowl Two. Listen to this, Daryn. If you watch Puppy Bowl Two you see these puppies.

KAGAN: Oh.

WILLIS: What are they doing? They're rolling around and playing in an area that looks like a football stadium. And then, get there, Daryn, there's kitty halftime show. I'm telling you, it's like kitties gone wild. You definitely want to watch this. Are they not cute?

KAGAN: That is pretty darn cute. That might see my remote control get over to that channel.

WILLIS: Yes, you definitely need to go there.

KAGAN: If you're not interested in the game, well then just watch for the commercials.

WILLIS: Well, about 19 percent of the people who watch the Super Bowl are really watching it for the commercials. But you don't even have to bother with that these days. Guess what? You can go to the NFL's channel called NFL Cable Channel, watch it there, just the commercials. You can watch CNN Today, we're showing a bunch of them.

KAGAN: Yes, we're going to do a little look ahead in the next hour.

WILLIS: Or nfl.com. Or you can even get them on your cell phone, Daryn.

KAGAN: That I don't need.

WILLIS: So you don't have to bother with that. KAGAN: So for people who don't really want to watch but they want to sound like they're in the know.

WILLIS: Yes, if you want to talk the talk, and you have to help me here, Daryn, because clearly you are in the know. I just study up on this. OK, the Steelers, they won four Super Bowls in the '70s. They have not been back since.

KAGAN: No.

WILLIS: The Seahawks, never been there. This will be their first time.

KAGAN: No. Right.

WILLIS: And, guess what, it's a classic match-up. It's old economy versus new economy. It's east coast versus west coast. How am I doing?

KAGAN: Yes, no, we want -- the Steelers have been back, they just haven't won.

WILLIS: Oh, OK. Well, thank you for that correction.

KAGAN: And I can add this. The city of Seattle has never won a major championship. Their baseball team, their basketball team. So that would be good for them. And Bill Cowher, the coach of the Steelers, has done so much but has not captured a Super Bowl ring. So a lot of people rooting for him.

WILLIS: And, as a matter of fact, the betting is really heavily in favor of the Steelers. Some 65 percent, if you look at some of the Web sites where there's betting on football, you'll find that the thinking out there is that the Steelers have it wrapped up.

KAGAN: We'll see. OK. So you're not really interested in the game but you want to sound like you know what happened on Monday morning. Where are the places you can get the highlights?

WILLIS: Over the water cooler. You know, you only end up talking about either a play or two or maybe the halftime show is the story from the year, right? Well, you want to go to espn.com, nfl.com. They'll give you details on the game itself. You can read that. You don't even have to watch the game.

KAGAN: So are you really not going to watch?

WILLIS: You know, I'll walk past the TV a couple of times. You know, it's not my thing.

KAGAN: OK. But you've got plenty of great things, so we love having you on anyway.

WILLIS: Yes, I'll shop.

KAGAN: Sounds good. Another good sport. Thank you, Gerri.

WILLIS: Thank you, Daryn.

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