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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2006 Northwestern Reports Break-In Microsoft Files Piracy Suits India Clamps Down on Blogs Microsoft Teams Up with Nortel NORTHWESTERN REPORTS BREAK-IN Officials at Northwestern University have said that in May, hackers compromised troubleshooting software, giving them access to nine personal computers on campus that contained sensitive data on about 17,000 students and applicants. The troubleshooting software allows support staff to access computers remotely to fix problems; the compromised computers were in the school's Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. According to Chuck Loebbaka, Northwestern's director of media relations, there are no indications that the hackers used the compromised data or even knew it was on the machines. Still, the university is working to contact individuals affected and has encouraged them to report the risk of identity theft to the three major credit bureaus. Chicago Sun Times, 15 July 2006 http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-hack15.html MICROSOFT FILES PIRACY SUITS Microsoft has filed 26 lawsuits in the United States against companies accused of selling pirated copies of the company's software to businesses and consumers. Because of the increasing saturation of the global market for software, Microsoft has more to gain by ensuring that the copies of its Windows and Office software that are bought are legitimate. The lawsuits are intended to raise awareness and encourage buyers and sellers to avoid pirated software, according to Microsoft, rather than to recoup money lost to counterfeit copies. The U.S. suits follow aggressive action in overseas markets, including China, Russia, and India, which are thought to be havens for software pirates. Ted Schadler, analyst with Forrester Research, said that although the rate of piracy is much lower in the United States than in other countries, Microsoft likely believes its influence with foreign governments will be stronger if it takes a tough line on domestic piracy. The lawsuits reportedly followed letters to those suspected of piracy, though at least one defendant denied that he had received such a letter. Wired News, 18 July 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71404-0.html INDIA CLAMPS DOWN ON BLOGS The Indian government has ordered the country's 153 ISPs to block access to 17 Web sites, some of them blogs, causing an outcry among the country's bloggers. The government issued a directive in 2003 noting that it has the authority to restrict Web sites if they are deemed threatening to the state or its relationship with other countries or could potentially incite crime. The blogging community in India has reacted strongly, criticizing the government for censoring free speech. One blogger, Amit Agarwal, said his country has "joined the Internet Filtering Club of China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia." Others expressed fears that the government is trying to restrict all blogs in the country, a charge the government denied. BBC, 19 July 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5194172.stm MICROSOFT TEAMS UP WITH NORTEL Microsoft and Nortel Networks have announced a partnership aimed at strengthening the idea of unified communications, in which all of a business's communications--phone, e-mail, instant messaging, and so forth--run on a single platform. Microsoft has been supporting this idea for a long time and has taken steps toward such a scenario, including merging its Exchange unit with the unit that handles instant messaging and presence management. Under the four-year deal announced with Nortel, the two companies will work to integrate Microsoft's communications software with Nortel's telephony hardware and software. Nortel will be Microsoft's strategic partner in the effort to promote unified communications, and Nortel will also be the systems integration partner in the initiative. CNET, 18 July 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1037_3-6095368.html ***************************************************** 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. 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