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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003 Identity Theft on the Rise Senate Introduces Moratorium on Data-Mining Project MonsterHut Loses Spam Case Latest Group to Oppose Copy Controls AND SEVIS Data Stolen from University of Kansas Developers Toolkit from UnitedLinux IDENTITY THEFT ON THE RISE The Federal Trade Commission reports that identity theft is the most commonly reported consumer crime, comprising 43 percent of complaints. In 2002, 162,000 reports were filed, up from 86,000 in 2001, an increase which may reflect heightened consumer awareness more than an increase in identity-theft crimes. Statistics for the FTC report are compiled from state and federal sources. The most common use for stolen identities is to open credit card accounts (25 percent), followed by bank and loan frauds and false cell-phone accounts. Identity theft often involves an insider at an organization who has access to personal information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, and the like. The rise of white-collar crime, including identity theft, is due in part to its relative ease and to less severe penalties compared with those for violent crimes. As more people use the Internet to process information like bank and loan applications, the potential for such fraud increases. New York Times, 23 January 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/politics/23THEF.html SENATE INTRODUCES MORATORIUM ON DATA-MINING PROJECT The U.S. Senate voted 69 to 29 to add to an appropriations bill a moratorium on the government's Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. TIA is the federal government's planned data-mining tool, which would comb disparate data sources looking for indications of terrorist activity. Privacy advocates have fought against TIA since it was announced, saying that it would give the government a free hand in snooping on its citizens and could pose a significant threat to civil liberties. The Senate-introduced moratorium would ban use of TIA unless specific authorization is given by Congress or the president can show that not using TIA would "endanger the national security of the United States." Because a House of Representatives version of the appropriations bill does not include the moratorium, its fate will be decided by a conference committee. CNET, 24 January 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-981945.html MONSTERHUT LOSES SPAM CASE A victory against spam was scored when New York State Supreme Court Justice Lottie E. Wilkins banned MonsterHut, a Niagara Falls-based company, from sending unsolicited e-mails. Accused of sending around 500 million unwanted commercial e-mails, MonsterHut told recipients who complained that they had requested the solicitations through an �opt in� feature. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued MonsterHut on behalf of roughly 750,000 Internet users who, since March 2001, had tried and failed to get off MonsterHut�s e-mail lists. MonsterHut claimed that it had obtained "third-party, permission-based" agreements, which amounts to having acquired e-mail addresses from other organizations that had received permission to send ads. Judge Wilkins determined that MonsterHut had "not offered any proof or legal basis to demonstrate that their practice conforms with industry-wide accepted 'opt in' protocols" and barred MonsterHut from further "fraudulent, deceptive and illegal acts and practices." Wired News, 23 January 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57363,00.html LATEST GROUP TO OPPOSE COPY CONTROLS The latest group to argue against government mandates for protecting digital content is the newly created Alliance for Digital Progress (ADP), which is made up of 27 organizations, including major high-tech companies Apple Computer, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Frederick McClure, president of ADP, said the new group opposes efforts by media companies to push governmental action on copy controls. He said the ADP is concerned about protection of copyrighted material but supports private-sector actions to deal with the problem. McClure cited a survey that showed 72 percent of Americans think private-sector efforts are the best way to control digital piracy and said that revenues for the motion picture industry have continued to increase even while it complains about piracy. Technology companies have opposed all proposals, including the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act, introduced by Senator Fritz Hollings, that would require copy-protection features to be installed on consumer electronics devices. PCWorld, 24 January 2003 http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,108936,00.asp AND ***************************************************** SEVIS DATA STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Officials from the University of Kansas reported that someone broke into the campus's computer network and stole personal information on more than 1,400 foreign students. The information had been collected as part of the university's compliance with the Immigration and Naturalization Service's new Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which is designed to track foreign students studying at U.S. institutions of higher education. University officials said the hacker broke in five times and used campus resources for other activity, leading them to believe the theft of SEVIS data was not the hacker's goal. An agent from the FBI, which is investigating the incident, agreed that so far there is no evidence to suggest the actions are related to terrorism. Chronicle of Higher Education, 24 January 2003 http://chronicle.com/free/2003/01/2003012403n.htm DEVELOPERS TOOLKIT FROM UNITEDLINUX UnitedLinux, a consortium of four Linux sellers formed to compete with leading Linux seller Red Hat, has launched a developer Web site with resources for building applications that will work with UnitedLinux's operating system. UnitedLinux includes SuSE, SCO Group, Turbolinux, and Conectiva. This week Hewlett-Packard announced it will be a technology partner, which means it will certify that its servers will work with UnitedLinux's software. IBM and Advanced Micro Devices are also technology partners. The developer Web site is intended to foster a community of developers working with the software, thereby strengthening UnitedLinux's position in the market. At the site developers can find discussion lists, space for Web presentations, various programming tools, and other resources. CNET, 23 January 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1001-981853.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html 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] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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