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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2003 Latest Worm Uses Network Connections, Not E-Mail New Online Music Venture Supreme Court Rules for NextWave Early Snags for AT&T Spam Filter Report Predicts Increase in IT Outsourcing IBM Pushes Grid Computing LATEST WORM USES NETWORK CONNECTIONS, NOT E-MAIL The latest wide-scale Internet attack exploited a weakness in Microsoft's SQL Server 2000 and used network connections rather than e-mail to propagate itself. The "Slammer" or "Sapphire" worm hit over the weekend, slowing down Internet traffic significantly, to the point of causing some automatic teller machines not to function. South Korea, which is regarded as having relatively weak computer security, was one of the areas most affected by the worm. The worm can be defeated simply by turning off an infected machine, but other measures must be taken to prevent the machine from being reinfected. Security experts said this latest attack highlights the reactionary approach of many network administrators because, like the Code Red and Nimda attacks, this one exploits a known weakness for which fixes are available but not universally implemented. Associated Press, 27 January 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Internet-Attack.html NEW ONLINE MUSIC VENTURE Six music retailers have formed a consortium to sell music over the Internet. Echo Inc. includes Best Buy, Hastings Entertainment, Tower Records, Trans World Entertainment Corp., Virgin Entertainment Group, and Wherehouse Music and was formed in a direct response to dropping sales of CDs, largely attributed to online piracy and sharing of music files. Echo Chief Executive Dan Hart said the consortium will work to establish licensing deals with various record labels. Observers noted that the creation of Echo suggests that the six retailers hope that by working as a group, they can arrange better licensing deals than if they worked independently. Other such consortia have not fared well in the marketplace, including Echo's predecessor, Echo Networks. Still, the retailers feel they must do something to fight falling profits. Wherehouse last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Best Buy will close more than 100 of its Musicland stores. Wall Street Journal, 27 January 2003 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1043622261155551944,00.html SUPREME COURT RULES FOR NEXTWAVE In 1996, NextWave Telecom won 200 wireless licenses at an auction for $4.7 billion. When NextWave filed for bankruptcy protection, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seized the licenses, which had not been paid for. NextWave took the FCC to court to have the licenses returned, and Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of NextWave. The majority opinion dismissed the FCC's claim of regulatory justification for confiscating the licenses, which NextWave can now either use or try to sell. The company said it has equipment in place to begin offering service in 95 of the markets it has licenses in, though analysts are skeptical about that possibility. Rudy Baca from the Precursor Group said, "This would mean NextWave would be the sixth, seventh, or eighth competitor in a market where no one is making any money." Washington Post, 27 January 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49271-2003Jan27.html EARLY SNAGS FOR AT&T SPAM FILTER Within 24 hours, AT&T WorldNet implemented, and then removed, a controversial spam-filtering rule. It was discovered that the new filter kept subscribers from receiving legitimate e-mail and that neither the senders nor receivers were notified of missed messages. AT&T WorldNet employed a "reverse DNS lookup" rule, a spam-filtering technique already used by some smaller Internet service providers (ISPs). The technique works by attempting to validate incoming mail by matching each message's IP address with a known, valid domain or Web address by searching a DNS database. An e-mail isn�t delivered if it can�t be mapped. Ray Everett-Church, chief privacy officer for consultancy EPrivacy Group, noted that legitimate e-mail is often blocked because "few networks are properly configured to provide correct reverse domain name service." AT&T WorldNet already successfully uses spam-filtering products from Brightmail but plans to work out the kinks and reinstall the reverse DNS lookup filter by Friday to provide superior protection against spam to its subscribers. CNET, 24 January 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-982118.html REPORT PREDICTS INCREASE IN IT OUTSOURCING By 2005, more than a third of the in-house North American IT workforce will be outsourced, according to a study of nearly 2,000 private and government employers conducted by Foote Partners LLC. The outsourcing of IT labor, which is 20 to 50 percent cheaper in areas like India and Eastern Europe, is part of a greater trend toward offshore operations to lower costs. David Foote, "Computerworld" columnist and president and chief research officer at Foote Partners, said that U.S. companies "can't afford to do application development in the U.S. anymore." While Jeremy Grigg of Gartner Inc. and other analysts agree with the study�s predictions, others find the timeframe too aggressive. Many IT managers, however, view their companies as bucking the trend, having found that it is more cost-effective to keep IT resources in-house. Analysts recommend that to retain employment, IT workers should train in the areas of application development, Web design, project management, IT security, and wireless networking. ComputerWorld, 24 January 2003 http://www.idg.net/ic_1026928_9677_1-5048.html IBM PUSHES GRID COMPUTING IBM will introduce 10 new products and services to support grid computing in business environments. IBM sees grid computing as one of the steps toward having computing power on demand, like a utility, referring to grid computing as "e-business on demand." IBM will introduce grid hardware, software, and services geared toward specific industries, such as financial services, life sciences, automotive and aerospace, and governments. So far, most grid-computing efforts have focused on academic and research communities, which typically use the technology to devote sizable resources to solving distinct problems. Using grid technology in a business setting to address small, but ongoing, problems is a new approach, one that is largely unproven. New York Times, 26 January 2003 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/technology/FT1042491219172.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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