***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 08, 2006 Michigan President Defends Google's Book Scanning Bill Would Forbid Unnecessary Storing of Data Thailand Blocks Yale Press Web Site McAfee Tackles Bots MICHIGAN PRESIDENT DEFENDS GOOGLE'S BOOK SCANNING Speaking at the annual conference of the Professional/Scholarly Publishing division of the Association of American Publishers, the president of the University of Michigan defended her institution's participation in Google's Book Search program. The program has upset many publishers and other copyright owners, who contend that the project violates their intellectual property rights. Mary Sue Coleman told conference attendees that the program "is about the social good of promoting and sharing knowledge" and argued that Thomas Jefferson would have loved it. Insisting that vast numbers of cultural artifacts are at risk of being lost due to insufficient efforts at conservation, particularly among libraries, Coleman characterized Google's project as one of preservation and her institution's participation as central to the university's mission. She noted that the University of Michigan had been "digitizing books long before Google knocked on our door, and we will continue our preservation efforts long after our contract with Google ends." Coleman's comment also included a clear defense of the rights of copyright holders. Her institution would not "ignore the law and distribute [protected material] to people to use in ways not authorized by copyright." CNET, 6 February 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6035858.html BILL WOULD FORBID UNNECESSARY STORING OF DATA A bill introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) would require operators of Web sites to delete information about the site's users unless the site had a "legitimate" need to preserve that data. Information covered by the bill includes names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and other data, and all Web sites would be subject to the legislation, including those operated by individuals and nonprofits. According to Markey, the Eliminate Warehousing of Consumer Internet Data Act of 2006 is intended to address two issues: identity theft and government subpoenas of Internet data from Web sites including Google and Yahoo. Markey said personal information about Internet users "should not be needlessly stored to await compromise by data thieves or fraudsters, or disclosure through judicial fishing expeditions." ZDNet, 8 February 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6036951.html THAILAND BLOCKS YALE PRESS WEB SITE Internet users in Thailand will not be able to access the Yale University Press Web site following the government's response to a biography that presents an unflattering image of the country's king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thai officials in the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology frequently block access to online materials that include adult or violent content, criticism of the Thai royal family, information about the country's national security, or allegedly false advertising. The book, written by journalist Paul M. Handley, who reported from Thailand for 13 years, will be released by the Yale University Press in July. It is also expected to be banned in the country. Although Handley refused to comment specifically on the government's decision to censor the press's Web site, saying that the book will speak for itself, Yale issued a statement defending the book and the author. Chronicle of Higher Education, 8 February 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/02/2006020801t.htm MCAFEE TACKLES BOTS McAfee has introduced a new tool designed to defend against bots. Most distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are carried out by networks of computers running automated programs, or bots, that are controlled centrally. So-called botnets typically consist of thousands of computers hijacked by a hacker who can use them to launch DDoS attacks. Most attacks involve bots sending thousands of incomplete packets to the targeted server, which may be overwhelmed by the traffic. Defending against such attacks is difficult because it is not easy to distinguish legitimate traffic from DDoS traffic, and system administrators do not want to inadvertently block legitimate server requests. McAfee said that its new system, called Advanced Botnet Protection, is able to identify traffic that consists of incomplete packets, allowing network operators to separate malicious botnet traffic and avoid DDoS attacks. TechWorld, 8 February 2006 http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=5326&inkc=0 ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
