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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2006 Researchers See Security Risk in Nike + iPod VeriSign Keeps Control of .com until 2012 Taxes Loom for Online Assets RESEARCHERS SEE SECURITY RISK IN NIKE + IPOD Researchers at the University of Washington argue that a recently introduced recreational device poses potentially significant security risks to anyone who uses it. The device, the Nike + iPod, transmits data from running shoes to a receiver plugged into an iPod. The data are used to calculate how far a person has run and how fast. The researchers said that they were able to collect the information on another sensor from as far away as 60 feet, and although the data are encrypted, the researchers were able without much difficulty to read the unique identifier used by the system. "A bad person could use this information to compromise your personal privacy and safety," said Scott Saponas, Jonathan Lester, Carl Hartung, and Tadayoshi Kohno in a statement. All are from the university's Department of Computer Science and Engineering. They described several scenarios in which malicious individuals could cheaply and easily build a network of sensors that could track people who used the Nike + iPod, providing information about where they are and when. The Register, 4 December 2006 http://www.theregister.com/2006/12/04/nike_ipod_security_threat/ VERISIGN KEEPS CONTROL OF .COM UNTIL 2012 The U.S. government has approved a deal under which VeriSign, which has operated the .com domain since 1999, will retain control of the domain until 2012. The proposal, drafted by VeriSign and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), was presented to the U.S. Department of Commerce in March of this year. Since that time, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the Department of Commerce, has been reviewing the proposal and comments on it. Specifically, many international organizations complained that control of the world's most popular Internet domain should not lie with a U.S. company. Other criticisms included the length of the contract, which some said was too long. In the end, the agencies involved approved the contract, which includes limits on price increases. BBC, 4 December 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6199394.stm TAXES LOOM FOR ONLINE ASSETS At the fourth annual State of Play/Terra Nova symposium, a panel discussion on the tax implications of real assets in virtual worlds offered attendees a clear message: paying taxes on such assets is just a matter of time. One panelist, Bryan Camp, tax professor at the Texas Tech University School of Law, noted that existing law is sufficiently broadly defined that revenue from activities in a virtual world, such as Second Life or World of Warcraft, is already subject to taxes, despite there being no mechanism to track or collect such taxes. William LaPiana, a wills, trusts, and estates professor at New York Law School, made similar comments, saying that estates above a certain threshold are subject to tax, and that includes virtual assets that are part of those estates. Dan Miller, a senior economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, said, "[T]he question is when, not if, Congress and IRS start paying attention to these issues." That committee is expected to release a report next year outlining the government's approach to the issues of taxation on events and assets held in virtual worlds. CNET, 3 December 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-6140298.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. 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
