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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2003 Federal Agencies Under Pressure to Increase IT Security Movie Industry Closely Watching Recording Industry Journal to Bring Technologists and Policy Makers Closer AND Intel Teams with Higher Education on Global Network Some Libraries Opt for No Filters, No Federal Funding Filter Requirement Raises Questions about Blocked-Site Lists FEDERAL AGENCIES UNDER PRESSURE TO INCREASE IT SECURITY Representatives of several federal agencies were under pressure at a hearing of a House of Representatives subcommittee to explain why IT security at their agencies continues to lag behind where legislators expect it to be. Laws including the Federal Information Security Management Act and the Government Information Security Reform Act require agencies to take actions to improve IT security. Recent reports have shown, however, that progress has been slow. The State Department, for example, has reportedly certified none of its systems, only 15 percent of which have security plans in place. Only 26 percent of the systems at the Department of Agriculture comply with guidelines of the Office of Management and Budget. Adam Putnam (R.-Fla.), chair of the subcommittee, was not satisfied with the agencies' progress, saying, "There is very little indication that anyone takes the threat seriously." Internet News, 25 June 2003 http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2227291 MOVIE INDUSTRY CLOSELY WATCHING RECORDING INDUSTRY Movie-industry executives have been working on technological and legislative measures in an attempt to prevent the level of piracy in the music industry from affecting movies. Digital copies of movies are much larger than music files, and movies are typically much poorer quality than songs. But, say movie studios, as technology improves, movies will potentially suffer significant piracy if preventive measures are not taken. Civil liberties groups and others question whether the threat of piracy is the real impetus behind movie studios' efforts. Some argue that the film industry is using the piracy issue to further its true goal--to exert significant control over who can view movies, when, and on what hardware. Fred von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said movie studios fear losing control over a new revenue stream, as happened with the advent of videocassette rentals in the 1970s. Washington Post, 24 June 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23575-2003Jun23.html JOURNAL TO BRING TECHNOLOGISTS AND POLICY MAKERS CLOSER A new journal published by the Ethics and Public Policy Center aims to narrow what its publishers see as a gap of understanding between technologists and lawmakers. Eric Cohen, editor of the journal--called New Atlantis, named for an essay by Sir Francis Bacon--described the problem this way: "Policymakers know too little about science, and scientists think too little about the ethical and social consequences of their research." Glenn Zorpette of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers noted that many new technologies open the door to privacy threats, a situation that calls for greater understanding of the social implications of technology. Article topics in the first issue of the journal include military technology and DNA databases. The Ethics and Public Policy Center is a conservative think tank founded in the 1970s to "promote the moral and ethical traditions of Western Civilization." NewsFactor Network, 25 June 2003 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21794.html AND ***************************************************** INTEL TEAMS WITH HIGHER EDUCATION ON GLOBAL NETWORK Intel is teaming up with a group of universities around the world to create a new network, called PlanetLab, that will comprise 1,000 servers in 16 countries. The goal of PlanetLab, which functions on top of the Internet but is separate, is to provide opportunities for researchers to build and test applications designed to work simultaneously on computers across the globe, accessing data from separate storage systems. Dave Culler, one of the researchers involved in the project, said, "In the future, applications will spread themselves over a large fraction of the planet," and, according to Larry Peterson, one of the project's designers, "Simulation and emulation doesn't cut it." Institutions taking part in PlanetLab include Princeton University; the University of California at Berkeley; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Harvard University; Cornell University; Rice University; and universities in Israel, China, England, Sweden, Taiwan, and Germany. CNET, 23 June 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1035_3-1020157.html SOME LIBRARIES OPT FOR NO FILTERS, NO FEDERAL FUNDING Many San Francisco Bay Area libraries remain opposed to installing Internet filters, despite Monday's Supreme Court ruling that ties some federal funding to installing filters. Some librarians questions the efficacy of filters, noting that often they do not successfully block X-rated content but can block access to age-appropriate medical and sexual information. The portion of funding that some libraries receive from the federal government is relatively small, and many libraries wish to avoid the cost and hassle of installing filters and to continue to offer patrons access to all information. Susan Gallinger, director of the Livermore Public Library, said, "We just don't feel we as librarians need to be in the position of telling people what they should read, see, or hear." Bay Area libraries are pursuing different approaches to protecting children from inappropriate content, from installing filters that block pornographic Web sites in the children's reading section but not in the adult area to issuing "smart cards" to children with Internet access authorized by their parents. San Jose Mercury News, 24 June 2003 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/local/6158188.htm FILTER REQUIREMENT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT BLOCKED-SITE LISTS Now that public libraries must install Internet filters or risk losing federal funds, companies that make filters may be forced to soften their position of not revealing what sites they block, according to Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom. Krug said the ALA will encourage its members to choose only those filters whose makers agree to disclose their lists of blocked sites. Net Nanny, which does allow users to view and update its list of blocked sites, hopes to take advantage of the situation Krug described and have its software installed in many libraries. David Burt of N2H2, which keeps its list secret, said his company has invested millions of dollars in developing its list and believes keeping it private will not be a consideration for libraries newly installing filters. Of the institutions that have already installed N2H2 filters, Burt said, none has requested to see the list. Wall Street Journal, 24 June 2003 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105649238011074300,00.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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