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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2003 War Incites Cyberattacks Music Industry Complains to 300 Companies Technique Hides Data in Songs Congress Seeks to Regulate Internet Gambling AND Another University Opts for Cellular Phones Report Shows Shrinking Digital Divide WAR INCITES CYBERATTACKS Security firm F-Secure reports that more than 1,000 Web sites have been hacked in direct response to the launching of war in Iraq. According to F-Secure, although some of the hackers apparently are U.S.-based supporters of the war, the majority of the attacks came from people opposed to the war. iDefense, another security firm, also reported that hundreds of Web sites have been hacked by peace activists, some of whom have called this the "new era of cyber war." Sites that have been hacked since the beginning of military action against Iraq include the U.S. National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the U.S. Navy. Damage from the recent hacking activity is reported to be minimal. BBC, 21 March 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2871985.stm MUSIC INDUSTRY COMPLAINS TO 300 COMPANIES The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sent letters last week to about 300 companies whose computers were allegedly used by employees to supply file-swapping networks. The letters informed companies of the suspected piracy and warned that employees and employers might be subject to significant legal damages, but made no explicit threat to sue the individuals or companies involved. Although the RIAA did not name the companies that received letters, it said that some were warned in October and February about piracy. The Information Technology Association of America, a trade group representing more than 400 software and service companies, protested the action. San Jose Mercury News, 19 March 2003 http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/5427437.htm TECHNIQUE HIDES DATA IN SONGS SunnComm Technologies has licensed a technique to hide data, video, software, or an identifying watermark inside music files. The company is working with Stealth MediaLabs to create a watermark that could be embedded inside music files and survive digital compression, rerecording through an analog connection, or recording from the radio. The technology, originally developed at the University of Miami, would also permit embedding other data, such as liner notes or pictures, although the original intent was protection of intellectual property. The technique works by encoding binary data inside the stereo audio signal, said the companies, making removal difficult without substantially changing the sound of the song. CNET, 20 March 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1027-993588.html CONGRESS SEEKS TO REGULATE INTERNET GAMBLING Senator John Kyl (R.-Ariz) has sponsored a bill to prevent Americans from accessing offshore gambling sites by prohibiting U.S. banks, credit card companies, and other Internet payment systems from making payments to those sites. Bill co-sponsor Richard Shelby (R.-Ala.) is chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Critics assert that online casinos can get around such legislation by arranging credit for American gamblers through offshore banks. Rep. John Conyers (D.-Mich.) compares the effort to prohibition in the 1920s. He proposes legalizing, regulating, and taxing online gambling, following a study of the issue, to inhibit gambling by minors, money laundering, and crooked games. Internet News, 21 March 2003 http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2168531 AND ***************************************************** ANOTHER UNIVERSITY OPTS FOR CELLULAR PHONES Marshall University will assign students moving into four new dormitories this fall cellular phones instead of land-line phones as part of an experimental program. About 500 students will pay $30 each per month--as part of their residence fees--for cell phones and service. They will have to pay extra for voicemail and cannot use the phones outside a 30-mile radius of the Huntington, West Virginia, campus. Students will have to return the phones to the university at the end of the year. The residence halls are wired for land-line phones and the Internet in case students don't like the program. Land lines in existing residence halls help pay for phone service on the rest of the campus, so eliminating all land-line service could damage the university's budget. Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 March 2003 http://chronicle.com/free/2003/03/2003031901t.htm REPORT SHOWS SHRINKING DIGITAL DIVIDE A report released March 19 indicates that the digital divide in the United States is shrinking as children from all ethnic groups and income levels increasingly use the Internet. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting reported that children under 17 spend nearly as much time using computers as watching television, with Internet use among minority and low-income children surging over the past two years. More than two-thirds of low-income households have a computer at home, compared to fewer than half two years ago. Gaps persist, however, particularly with respect to high-speed Internet access at home. Washington Post, 19 March 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53259-2003Mar19.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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